Matthew 15:10-28 (NRSV)
10 Then he called the crowd to him and said to
them, “Listen and understand: 11 it is not what goes into the mouth
that defiles a person, but it is what comes out of the mouth that defiles.” 12
Then the disciples approached and said to him, “Do you know that the
Pharisees took offense when they heard what you said?” 13 He
answered, “Every plant that my heavenly Father has not planted will be
uprooted. 14 Let them alone; they are blind guides of the blind. And
if one blind person guides another, both will fall into a pit.” 15 But
Peter said to him, “Explain this parable to us.” 16 Then he said,
“Are you also still without understanding? 17 Do you not see that
whatever goes into the mouth enters the stomach, and goes out into the sewer? 18
But what comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart, and this is what
defiles. 19 For out of the heart come evil intentions, murder,
adultery, fornication, theft, false witness, slander. 20 These are
what defile a person, but to eat with unwashed hands does not defile.”
21 Jesus left that place and went away to the
district of Tyre and Sidon. 22 Just then a Canaanite woman from that
region came out and started shouting, “Have mercy on me, Lord, Son of David; my
daughter is tormented by a demon.” 23 But he did not answer her at
all. And his disciples came and urged him, saying, “Send her away, for she
keeps shouting after us.” 24 He answered, “I was sent only to the
lost sheep of the house of Israel.” 25 But she came and knelt before
him, saying, “Lord, help me.” 26 He answered, “It is not fair to
take the children’s food and throw it to the dogs.” 27 She said,
“Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters’
table.” 28 Then Jesus answered her, “Woman, great is your faith! Let
it be done for you as you wish.” And her daughter was healed instantly.
Matthew 15:1-20
contains sayings on the theme of points of Jewish law. The source is Mark,
although verse 14 contains two sayings from the material common to Matthew and
Luke. The mode of a disputation is the cast of the whole episode like those
that took place between Pharisees and Christians after 70 AD. The saying in verses 10-11 continues some of
the reflections of Jesus on points of Torah, especially its concern for ritual
purity and cleanliness. Jesus challenges the received Jewish tradition. Part of
the concern for ritual cleanliness focused on food, and thus, what went into
the mouth could make one clean or unclean. Jesus directly assaults this
tradition in a way that assaults a way of life. It would appear to assail
kashrut and thus the continuing significance of an important element of the
Torah and the oral tradition. Such a view explains in part why Jesus could so
easily cross boundaries that Torah and its oral tradition had established.
Verses 12-13 relate an exchange between Jesus and the disciples, in which the
disciples inform Jesus that he has offended the Pharisees by his statement
regarding ritual cleanliness and purity. Speaking the truth in public does not
mean people will welcome it. Taking a stand invites the opposition to stand up
as well. His response is simple. In a saying, common lore or a common proverb,
he says that anything God does not sponsor will fail. Besides, in two sayings
from the material common to Matthew and Luke that likely come from common lore,
Jesus warns his followers that Pharisees are like a blind leader leading blind
people, resulting in both falling into the pit. All of this foreshadows the
developing and deadly relationship between Jesus and religious leaders. Verses
15-20 represent an explanation of the view of Jesus on ritual purity. Our
bodies will eventually expel the food we eat. The body purges itself of any
impurity that might come from food. It will do so naturally. However, the truly
impure and unclean has its core definition in the Ten Commandments: murder,
adultery, fornication, theft, false witness, and slander. Matthew still
considers the Ten Commandments to be God’s Law and binding. Such a list is
similar to what we find in Romans 1:28-32, where Paul will refer to degrading
passions, coveting, envy, murder, strife, deceit, gossips, slanderers, as well
as other expressions of wickedness and evil. It would seem that the moral
element of the Ten Commandments remains in play for Jesus, the earliest
Christian community, and Paul. We might also think of the list in Colossians 3,
where if we are to live authentic lives we will not lie to each other. We will
bear the burden of the other. We will practice love and forgive. We are at
peace. We live gratefully before God and each other. We might also think of
Galatians 5:22-23, focusing our lives on love, joy, peace, patience, kindness,
generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. This text shows that
followers of Jesus are to focus upon the real wrongs human beings do toward
each other and therefore against God. These moral infractions make one impure
and unclean; they arise from our hearts. The point is simple. The path to
solid, supportive, healthy relationships, as well as to self-respect and a life
of quality, starts with the painful decision to do the right thing. Humanity
always wants to avoid this, for we are uncertain if truth and falsity, right
and wrong, even exist. Yet, it would appear that avoiding the question would
lead us down a self-destructive path.
Matthew
15:21-28 has the theme of the healing of the daughter of the Canaanite woman.
The source is Mark. Peter, then later James, led the Palestinian branch of the
early church. Paul, on the other hand,
understood the focus of his missionary work on gentiles. Paul was closer to Jesus on this point than
Peter or James. Yet, for us to reach
this conclusion, we have some difficult sayings of Jesus to consider. Jesus
leaves Galilee and goes to Lebanon, biblical Phoenicia, foreign and unclean
territory for Torah. To our knowledge, this story represents the only time
Jesus goes outside Israel. It foreshadows the Gentile mission. In context,
then, we have another way Jesus challenged ritual purity. Jesus makes this move
largely because he wants to escape the crowd, but again, human need finds him.
The need comes to him in the form of a Canaanite, a people who had long been
enemies of the Jewish people, considered pagan, and opposed to the monotheistic
faith of Judaism. The need comes to him in the form of a woman who willingly
breaks strict behavioral codes of decency in approaching him. She approaches
Jesus in a theologically correct way. She refers to him as Lord, the title
offered by believers in the stories of the Gospel. She refers to him as Son of
David, a title offered by the common folk who were able to see Jesus as the
Messiah of Israel. We wonder about the character of a woman who has a
demon-possessed daughter. Verses 23-25 are only in Matthew. The first response
from Jesus is silence, suggesting he is off-guard and considering a response or
even trying to ignore her. The disciples want Jesus to give her what she wants
so that she will go away and stop pestering them. They seem to have no concern
for theological matters or for the mission of Jesus. Their advice to Jesus
arises out of their convenience. The second response of Jesus to the woman,
then, is to remind the disciples and her that the Father has sent him to
Israel, who is truly like lost sheep. The response surprises us. He treats her
with apparent cold heartedness. Yet, the response is theologically correct. His
mission is to Israel. He affirms the primacy of the covenant of God with
Israel, in spite of a form of disobedience that makes them more like lost
sheep. Jesus will not abrogate the promises of God to Israel for the sake of
this woman. In context, we can see that his concern was not so much with ritual
purity. He was open to the non-conforming elements of Israel. He would have had
regular contact with Gentiles in Galilee. Jesus did not view himself as forming
a remnant in contrast with Israel. His movement was open to Israel as a whole.[1]
The woman responds by coming to Jesus again in a theologically appropriate way.
She properly kneels before him in reverence, the sign of faithfulness in the
Gospel story. She again addresses him with the theologically correct term,
Lord. She offers a pathetic plea for help. She is tenacious. She has enough
faith that she seems to turn Jesus from his view of his mission. In this case,
if we think of the context, the exterior matters, such as her being Canaanite
and a woman, do not make the encounter ritually unclean. The danger is that
this encounter will lead to moral uncleanness. Zeal for ritual purity here, in
the guise of doing what is right, could lead to much that would be wrong. The
harsh response of Jesus surprises us even more, as he suggests that the
children of Israel deserve to receive their spiritual food before the
domesticated dogs of Gentiles and infidels. Yet, this woman responds with the
theologically correct address, Lord. She has humility, faith, trust,
confidence, love, persistence, and cheerfulness. Hearing the cutting remark
from Jesus, she responds with playfulness and wit, using an ironic sense of
humor. We see evidence in the exchanges in the gospels that Jesus had with his
contemporaries that he could appreciate such humor. She acknowledges her
secondary position in the mission of Jesus, but she has her place as well. Her
response impresses Jesus. Yet, the humor or cleverness of the woman is not what
impresses him. Rather, he focuses upon her faith. The table is broader than Jesus may have
thought. Jesus had attempted to keep his focus upon Israelites. However, the
encounter with this woman pushed Jesus beyond the perimeters of his vision and
moved him further along the road toward the plan of his Father for human
salvation.
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