Exposition of Matthew (Matthew 14:34-15:11)

July 2, 2021 

(Jesus’ last days of earthly ministry)

Questions to be answered in this study

1. What is the halfway mark in Matthew?
2. Who were the ones that Jesus healed after being rejected as the Messiah?
3. What is the unpardonable sin, and who commits it?
4. What did the crowd ask Jesus if they could do?
5. Who designed Jesus’ clothes?
6. Jesus wore two garments: The undergarment was called a tunic. What was the outer garment called?
7. The outer garment had tassels on its hems which were knotted in five places. What did these five knots represent?
8. Why did the crowd desire to touch the hem of the clothes of Jesus?
9. How did the people know that touching the hem of Jesus’ garment was significant?
10. What is the object of true faith?
11. All through the gospels, Jesus conflicted with the religious leaders; why?
12. What was the most critical problem that the Pharisees had with Jesus?
13. What was Corban Law, and who came up with it and why?
14. How did the Pharisees avoid their responsibility of helping their aging parents?
15. What is legalism?
16. What is the only way we will ever please God?

Introduction

Today we finally cross the halfway mark in our study of Matthew as we enter chapter 15. We will find that some things are familiar while there are some things new. Today’s study goes back to the feeding of the 5,000, though we know that there were many more than 5,000, including women and children. Looking back at Matthew 14:14, we read that when Jesus went ashore, there was a large crowd, and Jesus had compassion on them and healed their sick. Healing the masses was an exception to what Jesus began to do after chapter 12, which was only healing those who believed.

You will recall that the religious leaders of Israel, in Chapter 12, rejected Jesus as their Messiah, and as a result, they committed the unpardonable sin. The unpardonable sin is the rejection of the salvation Jesus offers to whoever will believe. Jesus no longer offered the kingdom to Israel, and in general, He also stopped teaching the crowds and healing the masses. From this point forward, Jesus had been teaching His disciples and healing those who believed. The feeding of the 5,000 was an exception, apparently because He had compassion on them and healed them even though some did not have faith in Him as their Messiah.

Today we will take up Matthew 14:34, which will lead us into chapter 15:

Matthew 14:34-36, “And when they were gone over, they came into the land of Gennesaret. 35And when the men of that place had knowledge of him, they sent out into all that country round about, and brought unto him all that were diseased; 36And besought him that they might only touch the hem of his garment: and as many as touched were made perfectly whole.”

After the Sea of Galilee’s stormy crossing, He and His disciples probably remained in Capernaum for an unspecified time before moving on to the new location indicated in the verses above. They traveled along the western shore of the Sea of Galilee on foot until they came to the fishing village, Gennesaret, which still stands today and is a tourist attraction, but today it is called Ginosar.

The news of Jesus’ arrival soon spreads across the region, and the people came to Him for healing. Just as it is today, sickness was rampant, and the people were ready to drop everything and come to Jesus in the hope of receiving healing. Notice in verse 36 that the people “besought” Jesus that they might touch His garment in hopes of healing, and they were not disappointed because the Scripture says “many as touched Him were made perfectly whole.” Touching the garment of Jesus seems to be a rather odd approach to healing, but this simple action demonstrates that those who came to Jesus that day came in faith, believing if they could only touch His garment, Jesus would heal them.

The garment Jesus wore was designed according to the instructions given to Moses. There were two garments: a light inner tunic, similar to underwear, and worn over the tunic was a heavier outer garment called a tallit. The clothing Jesus wore had a meaning as we see in Numbers15:37-40: “And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, 38speak unto the children of Israel, and bid them that they make them fringes in the borders of their garments throughout their generations, and that they put upon the fringe of the borders a ribband of blue: 39And it shall be unto you for a fringe, that ye may look upon it, and remember all the commandments of the Lord, and do them; and that ye seek not after your own heart and your own eyes, after which ye use to go a whoring: 40That ye may remember, and do all my commandments, and be holy unto your God.”

The outer garment, the tallit, had tassels of knotted thread. These tassels were knotted five times to represent the five books of the Torah: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy. A person’s character was portrayed by wearing these tassels. To have the hem of these tassels cut off would mean disgrace. You remember the story of David in 1 Samuel 24 when he spared the life of King Saul but cut off the hem of his tallit, which humiliated Saul. 

Why were the people asking to touch the garment of Jesus? There is an underlying meaning. We find a prophecy of the Messiah that references the corners of His garment in the closing of the Old Testament. “But unto you that fear my name shall the Sun of righteousness arise with healing in his wings,” Malachi 4:2 (KJV); this is a reference to the coming Messiah. The words “corners of a garment” mean the same as “wings.” Spiritual and eventually physical healing was at the heart of the Messiah’s identity for all who trusted Him. In Hebrew, the corners or tassels on a man’s outer garment are a euphemism, which refers to wings. 

Those who knew the Jewish Scriptures knew that when the Messiah appeared, He would have healing in the tassels of His tallit. Therefore, this is the answer as to why they sought to touch the hem of the garment of Jesus, and that is how faith enters the picture in Matthew chapter 14. They remembered the prophecy of Malikiah and believed through faith, by just touching Jesus, Jesus would heal them. With childlike faith, they believed in Jesus and trusted in Him for healing. According to verse 36, “as many as touched Jesus’ hem were healed.”

True faith is more than just saying I have faith; it declares that your faith is in Jesus Christ the Lord. Religion has no value in itself; it is the object of religion, which is faith in Jesus. There is a false and powerless faith, which rests on many things unrelated to saving faith or true faith in the Lord. We find this kind of faith today even in the church. For example, it places faith in the world’s methods to reach people, especially the young. The motives are good, but we must remember that “the ends do not always justify the means.” There is a right way of faith and a wrong way. Anyway, other than faith in the Lord to bring about His will is the wrong way, whether for salvation or the building of His kingdom. Comprise with the world is never faith in the Lord.

Today’s false teachers, prominently on television, tell people that placing your faith in something you desire comes true. If we put our faith in God to heal or make you rich, He will do so, but first, send your seed money to them. That is not Biblical theology; that is the prosperity gospel. God is no genie in a lamp, standing ready to respond to our every wish or command. We don’t control God; He is in control. Anything other than that recognition is a powerless way to approach God. When these Jews came to Jesus, they went with a solid faith in Him to heal them and nothing else. They did not trust in their desire for healing.

Now, as we move forward, as Matthew reveals a new conflict between Jesus and the Pharisees over their invented rules:

Matthew 15:1-9 (KJV), “Then came to Jesus scribes and Pharisees, which were of Jerusalem, saying, 2Why do thy disciples transgress the tradition of the elders? for they wash not their hands when they eat bread. 3But he answered and said unto them, Why do ye also transgress the commandment of God by your tradition? 4For God commanded, saying, Honour thy father and mother: and, He that curseth father or mother, let him die the death. 5But ye say, Whosoever shall say to his father or his mother, It is a gift, by whatsoever thou mightest be profited by me; 6And honour not his father or his mother, he shall be free. Thus have ye made the commandment of God of none effect by your tradition. 7Ye hypocrites, well did Esaias prophesy of you, saying, 8This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me. 9But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.”

Matthew 15:1 says that some of the Pharisees came to Jesus from Jerusalem, about a three-hour trip. All through the gospels, Jesus conflicted with these Jewish leaders, mainly concerning His teaching, which contradicted their Mishna. The Mishna was a gathering of rules and regulations handed down from scribes over the years since Moses gave the law. These rules were more important to the religious leaders of Jesus’ day than the Bible and covered every aspect of Jewish life. The Jews were expected to live by these rules as if they were Scripture. So, when Jesus came along teaching a different way of living, it infuriated the Pharisees. 

The most significant problem the Pharisees had with Jesus was, His teaching was undermining the Pharisee’s power over the people. The Pharisees had already conflicted with Jesus over fasting, the Sabbath, and now over washing. There were laws concerning washing included in the laws of Moses, but the Pharisees had extended those laws to cover many things. The point is, Jesus was not teaching against washing but was teaching against unnecessary burdens that were not according to Scripture but were manufactured. Therefore, Jesus disregarded their rules, which upset the religious leaders.

In v.2, the Pharisees ask Jesus why His disciples were allowed to break the rules of the elders’? They were talking specifically about the observance of the ritual washing before eating bread as required by the Mishna. Instead of arguing over the rules of the Mishna, Jesus asked them a question. In verse 3, Jesus asks why the Pharisees violated the commandments of God while invoking their traditions. In verse 4, Jesus reminds the Pharisees concerning God’s law of honoring parents and states the penalty for failing to do so was death. The Pharisees had made God’s law of no effect by finding a way around it to keep their money to themselves. Caring for elderly parents that day was something the Jews understood, just as it is today, but it required spending money, which they were unwilling to do.

To keep their wealth, they came up with a creative way to avoid their obligations to their parents; this was called the Corban law meaning an offering or dedication; that meant that the Pharisees were obligated to give their offerings to the Lord and not use it to support their parents. Mark gives us a little more information on this: “And he said unto them, Full well ye reject the commandment of God, that ye may keep your own tradition.10For Moses said, Honour thy father and thy mother; and, Whoso curseth father or mother, let him die the death: 11But ye say, If a man shall say to his father or mother, It is Corban, that is to say, a gift, by whatsoever thou mightest be profited by me; he shall be free.12And ye suffer him no more to do ought for his father or his mother,” Mark 7:9-12 (KJV).

In other words, the Pharisees were saying that all their money was dedicated to God and, therefore, could only be given to God. The corban law enabled the Pharisees to keep their wealth; this was a way to avoid their financial obligations to their parents, the poor, or anyone else. When asked for help, all the Pharisee had to do was a point to the law of Corban. The fallacy of their reasoning was, God does not need our money; it does not ascend to heaven to fill God’s bank. It is a human need to meet the needs people have here on earth. That is why we are to give of our money.

In verse 7, Jesus labels them correctly as hypocrites. Precisely, that is how Isaiah labeled them in Isaiah 29:13 (KJV): “Wherefore the Lord said, Forasmuch as this people draw near me with their mouth, and with their lips do honour me, but have removed their heart far from me, and their fear toward me is taught by the precept of men:” Their problem was they followed the traditions of man rather than God’s Word. Ironically, they changed the rules to suit their own selfish, sinful desires, claiming all the time to be honoring God. Hypocrisy is just a form of legalism. Legalism establishes rules outside of God’s Word to go by, making those abiding by their own rules think they are holy and righteous when they are the opposite and are usurping the authority of God’s Word over them. In one sentence, legalism is substituting artificial rules for God’s commandments. 

Jesus calls the crowd together and teaches them a better way to live:

Matthew 15:10-11 (KJV): “And he called the multitude, and said unto them, Hear, and understand: 11Not that which goeth into the mouth defileth a man; but that which cometh out of the mouth, this defileth a man.”

In these verses, Jesus calls on the crowd to hear and understand the truth; He says, “it’s not what enters a mouth that defiles a person but what comes out of the mouth.” Jesus uses the dietary rules that the Jews lived by as an example of a fundamental spiritual principle.

The dietary laws of the Mosaic system had a purpose; it separated Israel from other nations as does sin separate us from God, and only God can cleanse us of sin through the shed blood of Christ. The Pharisees took that law and used it as a form of self-righteousness. They hypothesized that keeping bad food out of the body made Israel righteous instead of a picture of sin and holiness as intended.

Jesus explains the error in this way of thinking in verse 11: “Not that which goeth into the mouth defileth a man; but that which cometh out of the mouth, this defileth a man.” A good paraphrase of that is, “we sin because we are sinners and not sinners because we sin.” We are born with the sinful Adamic nature, which constantly manifests by our hearts and mouths in words and actions. There is nothing we can do personally to make ourselves righteous, no matter the dos and don’ts or how hard we try. The Pharisees falsely assumed that what went into the body was defiled, which is false because sin is already within. No matter how practical they are, rules can never make a person righteous and never please God.

According to the Bible, the only way God will ever be pleased and we are ever acceptable to Him is when we trust in Jesus to forgive our sins and when His perfect righteousness is imputed to us. We don’t become righteous on our own through keeping rules or by good works. It is entirely a work of God by His grace alone plus nothing else, not works, baptism, or anything we do or don’t do.