Gary Eugene Howell uses the Berean Standard Bible. The Holy Bible, Berean Standard Bible, BSB is produced in cooperation with Bible Hub, Discovery Bible, OpenBible.com, and the Berean Bible Translation Committee. The Text of the Berean Standard Bible was dedicated to the public domain as of April 30, 2023.

Verses 1-9

Then some Pharisees and scribes came to Jesus from Jerusalem and asked, “Why do Your disciples break the tradition of the elders? They do not wash their hands before they eat.”

Jesus replied, “And why do you break the command of God for the sake of your tradition? For God said, ‘Honor your father and mother’ and ‘Anyone who curses his father or mother must be put to death.’ But you say that if anyone says to his father or mother, ‘Whatever you would have received from me is a gift devoted to God,’ he need not honor his father or mother with it. Thus you nullify the word of God for the sake of your tradition. You hypocrites! Isaiah prophesied correctly about you:

‘These people honor Me with their lips, but their hearts are far from Me. They worship Me in vain; they teach as doctrine the precepts of men.’

Commentary

The Pharisees and scribes appear to be conflating the tradition of the elders with the worship of God. Anytime someone adds to the word of God, they are adding something God didn’t want there.

Jesus immediately points out their hypocrisy in that they nullify the word of God for the sake of following their tradition.

He then says, “These people honor Me with their lips, but their hearts are far from Me”

Today, honoring God with one’s lips while the heart is far from Him describes any person who calls themselves a “Christian” and goes through the motions of participating in Christian traditions but doesn’t actually have faith in Christ. Here are some simple examples: Anyone who attends church only on Christmas and Easter is a person who is following traditions, but whose heart is far from God. Anyone who perhaps goes to church every Sunday but who, from the back row, watches football highlights on their phone or plays a video game throughout the sermon, or perhaps doesn’t even enter the sanctuary at all but sits on the couch in the foyer eating donuts and drinking coffee during the sermon, has a heart far from God.

Let’s be clear: I myself have been seen sitting in the foyer eating donuts during a sermon on occasions when I was asked to show up early to help set up and arrived without breakfast. I’m not talking about occasional circumstances. I’m talking about a person who makes it their habit to be spiritually disengaged. The issue isn’t whether or not your behavior honors God; the issue is whether or not your heart loves God.

[And to the person who says, “I’ve been hurt in a church, and that’s why I no longer attend,” my advice is: go to a different church! There is a point at which reasons start to become excuses. When you received poor service at a restaurant, you didn’t afterward claim to have sworn off all restaurants, but that’s what you did with church because your heart is far from Christ.]

Verses 10-11

Jesus called the crowd to Him and said, “Listen and understand. A man is not defiled by what enters his mouth, but by what comes out of it.”

Commentary

Jesus speaks spiritual wisdom to the crowd; we will examine its meaning below when He explains it to the disciples in verses 16–20.

Verses 12-15

Then the disciples came to Him and said, “Are You aware that the Pharisees were offended when they heard this?” But Jesus replied, “Every plant that My heavenly Father has not planted will be pulled up by its roots. Disregard them! They are blind guides. If a blind man leads a blind man, both will fall into a pit.”

Peter said to Him, “Explain this parable to us.”

Commentary

The disciples asked if Jesus was aware the Pharisees were offended. Why do you suppose Jesus offends people? Our culture often seeks to paint a picture of Jesus as being a soft, all-loving man who perhaps just wants to give everyone a hug. In reality, however, Jesus wants everyone to turn from their wicked ways, and he rebukes, judges, and condemns those who claim to be religious but are actually leading others astray.

Jesus says “Every plant that My heavenly Father has not planted will be pulled up by its roots”, a reference to the parable of the weeds in Matthew 13:24-30 & 36-43.

Jesus then tells his disciples to disregard the Pharisees. Keep in mind that they were the preeminent religious leaders of the time. Always be cautious of spiritual leaders until their character has been proven and you’ve had a chance to see the fruit on their tree. There’s nothing worse than spending years attending a church and only then discovering that you’ve been following a Pharisee. This happens because people want to assume a pastor is a person of integrity. However, that’s not always the case. Instead, enter every church with healthy skepticism, looking for what’s wrong. But again, to do this correctly, you must know the Word of God. Otherwise, you’ll judge the pastor according to your preferences.

Verses 16-20

“Do you still not understand?” Jesus asked. “Do you not yet realize that whatever enters the mouth goes into the stomach and then is eliminated? But the things that come out of the mouth come from the heart, and these things defile a man. For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, and slander. These are what defile a man, but eating with unwashed hands does not defile him.”

Commentary

Many skeptics and naysayers have labeled Christians hypocrites because we eat pork, shrimp, lobster, and catfish (see Leviticus chapter 11). But such people fail to understand two important points:

One: Salvation is not by works. The Bible is not a self-help book of behavior modification. Christians don’t search the Bible looking for a list of approved behaviors.

For it is by grace you have been saved through faith, and this not from yourselves; it is the gift of God, not by works, so that no one can boast. (Ephesians 2:8-9)

Second: The purpose of the Levitical law was not for salvation but rather to show us that we are all sinners in need of a Savior.

Therefore no one will be justified in His sight by works of the law. For the law merely brings awareness of sin. (Romans 3:20)

What comes out of the heart is that which defiles a person, not what goes into their stomach. The human heart is inherently evil, however, when we put our faith in Christ and as a result are filled with the Holy Spirit, we die to sin and become alive to Christ (see the entire book of Romans).

Verses 21-28

Leaving that place, Jesus withdrew to the district of Tyre and Sidon. And a Canaanite woman from that region came to Him, crying out, “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on me! My daughter is miserably possessed by a demon.”

But Jesus did not answer a word. So His disciples came and urged Him, “Send her away, for she keeps crying out after us.” He answered, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” The woman came and knelt before Him. “Lord, help me!” she said.

But Jesus replied, “It is not right to take the children’s bread and toss it to the dogs.” “Yes, Lord,” she said, “even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their master’s table.” “O woman,” Jesus answered, “your faith is great! Let it be done for you as you desire.” And her daughter was healed from that very hour.

Commentary

Jesus left Israel and went to Tyre and Sidon. A Canaanite woman (a Gentile, someone who is not Jewish) approached him begging that he heal her daughter. But Jesus at first refused because he needed to bring his ministry to Israel first. Why Israel first?

You worship what you do not know; we worship what we do know, for salvation is from the Jews. (John 4:22)

I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, first to the Jew, then to the Greek. (Romans 1:16)

Then Paul and Barnabas answered them boldly: “It was necessary to speak the word of God to you first. But since you reject it and do not consider yourselves worthy of eternal life, we now turn to the Gentiles. For this is what the Lord has commanded us: ‘I have made you a light for the Gentiles, to bring salvation to the ends of the earth.’” (Acts 13:46)

I ask then, did they stumble so as to fall beyond recovery? Certainly not! However, because of their trespass, salvation has come to the Gentiles to make Israel jealous. But if their trespass means riches for the world, and their failure means riches for the Gentiles, how much greater riches will their fullness bring! (Romans 11:11-12)

It was very important that Jesus’s earthly ministry be presented first to Israel, so that after they rejected him, he could bring salvation to the rest of the world.

Jesus said, “It is not right to take the children’s bread and toss it to the dogs.” The children are God’s chosen people, the Israelites. The dogs are the Gentiles (non-Jewish people).

When she responded, ‘Yes, Lord, but even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their master’s table,’ she was confessing that Jesus is Lord by calling him her Master.

that if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with your heart you believe and are justified, and with your mouth you confess and are saved. (Romans 10:9-10)

This woman is speaking a faith that justifies and saves. She confesses with her mouth, she believes in her heart that Jesus is Lord. Thus, she is justified by her faith. This is something the Pharisees and Sadducees repeatedly refused to do.

Jesus answered, “O woman, your faith is great! Let it be done for you as you desire.” And her daughter was healed from that very hour.

Verses 29-39

Moving on from there, Jesus went along the Sea of Galilee. Then He went up on a mountain and sat down. Large crowds came to Him, bringing the lame, the blind, the crippled, the mute, and many others, and laid them at His feet, and He healed them. The crowd was amazed when they saw the mute speaking, the crippled restored, the lame walking, and the blind seeing. And they glorified the God of Israel.

Then Jesus called His disciples to Him and said, “I have compassion for this crowd, because they have already been with Me three days and have nothing to eat. I do not want to send them away hungry, or they may faint along the way.” The disciples replied, “Where in this desolate place could we find enough bread to feed such a large crowd?”

“How many loaves do you have?” Jesus asked. “Seven,” they replied, “and a few small fish.” And He instructed the crowd to sit down on the ground. Taking the seven loaves and the fish, He gave thanks and broke them. Then He gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the people.

They all ate and were satisfied, and the disciples picked up seven basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over. A total of four thousand men were fed, besides women and children. After Jesus had dismissed the crowds, He got into the boat and went to the region of Magadan.

Commentary

Once again, Jesus provided for the people by creating something out of nothing. There were only seven loaves of bread and a few small fish. So then, where did the seven basketfuls of broken pieces come from, not to mention the fact that all 4,000 men plus women and children ate their fill and were satisfied? God created all the additional food out of nothing. Despite the fact that God rested from his work at the end of the creation week, he is still able to create things from nothing. This should be a great encouragement in that nothing is impossible for God. If God can create something out of nothing, then there is no limit to his abilities. Our earthly lives can be boiled down to merely the gathering and utilizing of resources (I need food, I need shelter, I need clothing, I need transportation, I need communication). If God is able to provide for people in such miraculous ways, there is no reason why we cannot depend upon him for everything.

Some will say, ‘God doesn’t work in such miraculous ways today,’ and I would more or less agree. But the issue is not how he works, but rather that he is capable of doing anything to provide for you.

Our curse, which came through Adam and Eve’s sin, is that we toil and labor and earn our living by the sweat of our brow (Genesis chapter 3). Thus, we can’t sit under a shade tree and expect God to act like our servant bringing us lunch on a platter. Rather, when we put our faith in Christ, we know that he has the ability to work things for our benefit.