1 "THEN there come to Jesus from Jerusalem Pharisees and scribes, saying, Why do Thy disciples transgress the tradition of the elders? for they wash not their hands when they eat bread. And He answered and said unto them, Why do ye also transgress the commandment of God because of your tradition? For God said, Honor thy father and thy mother; and, He that speaketh evil of father or mother, let him die the death. But ye say, Whosoever shall say to his father or his mother, That wherewith thou mightest have been profited by me is given to God; he shall not honor his father. And ye have made void the Word of God because of your tradition. Ye hypocrites, well did Isaiah prophesy of you, saying,
8 This people honoreth Me with their lips;
But their heart is far from Me.
9 But in vain do they worship Me,
Teaching as their doctrines the precepts of men.
10 And He called to Him the multitude, and said unto them,
11 Hear, and understand: Not that which entereth into the mouth defileth the man; but that which proceedeth out of the mouth,1112 this defileth the man. Then came the disciples, and said unto Him, Knowest Thou that the Pharisees were offended, when 13 they heard this saying? But He answered and said, Every plant which My heavenly Father planted not, shall be rooted 14 up. Let them alone; they are blind guides. And if the blind 15 guide the blind, both shall fall into a pit. And Peter answered 16 and said unto Him, Declare unto us the parable. And He 17 said, Are ye also even yet without understanding? Perceive ye not, that whatsoever goeth into the mouth passeth into the 18 belly, and is cast out into the draught? But the things which proceed out of the mouth come forth out of the heart; and they 19 defile the man. For out of the heart come forth evil thoughts, 20 murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, railings; these are the things which defile the man; but to eat with unwashen hands defileth not the man.
21 "And Jesus went out thence, and withdrew into the parts of 22 Tyre and Sidon. And behold, a Canaanitish woman came out from those borders, and cried, saying, Have mercy on me, O Lord, Thou Son of David; my daughter is grievously vexed 23 with a devil. But He answered her not a word. And His disciples came and besought Him, saying, Send her away; 24 for she crieth after us. But He answered and said, I was not 25 sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel. But she 26 came and worshiped him, saying, Lord, help me. And He answered and said, It is not meet to take the children's bread 27 and cast it to the dogs. But she said, Yea, Lord; for even the dogs eat of the crumbs which fall from their master's table. 28 Then Jesus answered and said unto her, O woman, great is thy faith; be it done unto thee even as thou wilt. And her daughter was healed from that hour."
NOTE.—The texts inclosed in marks of parentheses, while not essential to the lesson study, will be found to throw much light upon the lesson, and are suggested for those who wish to study further.
SUGGESTIVE QUESTIONS.
About this time who came to see Jesus? Matt. 15:1.
What question did this Jerusalem delegation ask the Lord? Verse 2. Note 1. (Col. 2:8, 20-23.)
In what way did Christ answer their query? Verse 3.
What reason did He assign for thus answering? Verses 4-6. Note 2. (Mark 7:11, 12; Eph. 6:2.)
What scathing rebuke and condemnation did Christ then administer to His interviewers? Verses 7-9. Note 3. (Isa. 29:13; Eze. 33:31.)
How did He then explain His position to the multitude? Verses 10, 11. Note 4. (Heb. 9:10.)
What effect did this instruction have upon the disciples and the Pharisees? Verse 12.
What important truth did the Saviour utter? Verse 13. Note 5. (Isa. 3:12; Mal. 2:8, 9.)
What did He say of the Pharisees? Verse 14.
How did He explain His meaning to the disciples themselves? Verses 15-20. (James 3:6.)
Having brought on Himself the hatred of the Pharisees, where did the Saviour then go? Verse 21. Note 6.
Who came out of that country to meet Christ? For what purpose? Verse 22. Note 7.
What request did the disciples make when they noted the Saviour's silence? Verse 23.
To whom did He address His answer? What was it? Verse 24. (Rom. 15:8, 9; 1:16.)
What did the woman then do and say? Verse 25.
What apparently indifferent answer did Jesus give the woman? Verse 26. Note 8. (Phil 3:2, 3.)
With what words did she quickly turn the conversation in her favor? Verse 27.
In reply how did Jesus commend the woman? What was the result of her pleading? Verse 28. (Matt 8:10; Mark 7:29, 30)
Side Lights.—"Desire of Ages," chapters 42, 43. "Spirit of Prophecy," vol. 2, chapter 24.
NOTES.
1. They wash not.—The Jews were very scrupulous about washing their hands before and after eating. To neglect or slight this ordinance was counted one of the three great sins which brought poverty. It was even counted the same as adultery.
2. And honor not.—The divine law commands honor to be bestowed on parents without regard to age or circumstances. Even the Talmud of old had enjoined that "a child is bound to maintain his parents when old and helpless, even if he have to beg to do so." But in the days of Christ, the rabbis had established the maxim that the duty to honor God before honoring human relationship was paramount; hence the tradition that a child dedicating himself or money to the temple was free from all obligations to parents.
3. Ye hypocrites.—This was Christ's first denunciation of the party of the Pharisees. Their hatred of Him from that time was greatly intensified until they campassed His death. They could not challenge His loyalty to God's law; for He had held that aloft as the standard by which to arraign their human inventions. It was the light that shone through His exaltation of the law, condemning their actions, that made them desire to destroy Him.
4. Not that which goeth.—This is to be understood as instruction to offset the external forms, which the Pharisees taught were necessary to salvation. It is plain that the Saviour did not mean to convey the idea that one could take everything, of whatever nature, into the stomach, and not receive harm; for the very Word upon which all His appeals were based, teaches it to be wrong to drink intoxicating fluids. Hab. 2:15; Prov. 23:29-32. The same Word also pronounces a blessing upon that people whose rulers "eat in due season, for strength, and not for drunkenness." Eccl. 10:17.
5. Rooted up.—The plants not planted by God are those of human tradition and man-made commandments. Those things are no better in the church now than they were then. But it seems almost as hard now to keep free from these as it was for the people of that day.
6. Tyre and Sidon.—This journey lead the Master and the twelve northward and westward toward the seacoast. This region was thickly settled with Jews drawn thither by commerce. For ages the population had been half heathen and half Jewish. See Judges 1:32.
7. A Canaanitish woman.—Syro-Phenician—evidently meaning a mixed race growing out of Phenicia, having been attached to the Roman province of Syria.
8. To the dogs.—Dogs were so troublesome in the East, and became such a dislike, that fierce and cruel enemies were called dogs. Ps. 22:16, 20. All uncircumcised persons were called dogs by the Jews.
