Day 15, Matthew 15 
According to Jesus, honoring one's father and mother
could involve providing for their needs in their
old age. Keep in mind that, even today, most people
around the world depend on their children to take
care of them in their old age, as saving money for
retirement is impossible in poor nations. It was
in this context that the Pharisees taught that one
was not obligated to take care of his parents if
he had given his money to God. (We can't help but
wonder if "giving to God" was the same
as "giving to the Pharisees.") So they
invalidated God's commandment for the sake of their
tradition.
When leaders in the church today teach "as
their doctrines the precepts of men" (15:9),
it similarly reveals that their hearts are far away
from God, as Jesus said (15:8). Love for God produces
a love for His Word, and neither traditions, "new
revelations," or pop psychology (which all enamor
large segments of the modern church) have any attraction
to the lover of God. They are, in fact, repulsive
to him, because they are actually an assault on the
One whom they love so much.
Modern Pharisees, just like their ancient counterparts,
are often fixated on their petty practices while
ignoring what is truly important, and they are quick
to separate themselves from anyone who is not similarly
obsessed. While multitudes are starving and millions
wait to hear the gospel for the first time, you'll
find them deriding those who don't subscribe to their
peculiarities. We read today that in Jesus' time,
the big concern of the Pharisees and scribes was
that His disciples were defiling themselves by eating
with unwashed hands, a rule not exactly found among
the Ten Commandments!
The Syrophoenician woman who came to Jesus on behalf
of her demon-possessed daughter was a descendant
of the Canaanites, whom God had commanded the Israelites
of Joshua's day to exterminate, and for justifiable
reasons. They had a reputation for idolatry, child
sacrifice, gross sexual perversion, and a hardness
of heart that put them beyond redemption. With such
a legacy, it is quite possible that the descendants
of those who survived were not exactly paragons of
virtue, and Jesus' treatment of the Syrophoenician
woman seems to verify this. Many are troubled by
His treatment of her, but don't forget that the New
Testament declares that "the eyes of the
Lord are upon the righteous, and His ears attend
to their prayer, but the face of the Lord is against
those who do evil" (1 Pet. 3:12). Jesus
was God and played the part perfectly. He ignored
the initial cries of the Syrophoencian, just as God
ignores the prayers of unrepentant sinners.
What is missed by readers is how this desperate
Syrophoenician woman was changed as she pursued her
daughter's deliverance. When Jesus completely ignored
her at first, even as she kept shouting at Him,
what message did that send to her? When His disciples
asked that she be sent away, He declared that He
was only sent to the lost sheep of Israel, another
commentary on her unworthy status. She then came
to Him and bowed before Him. He told her in so many
words that she was an undeserving dog! She didn't
debate Him, but rather begged for crumbs, confessing
Him as her master. Only then did Jesus grant her
request and commend her for her great faith. She
had been humbled and repented. (I've written more
extensively on this story here.
Let us learn a lesson from this story about Jesus.
His Word tells us, "The Lord is far from the
wicked, but He hears the prayer of the righteous" (Prov.
15:29). The apostle John similarly penned, "Whatever
we ask we receive from Him, because we keep His commandments
and do the things that are pleasing in His sight" (1
John 3:22; see also Prov. 28:9; Ps. 66:18). There
is an undeniable relationship between holiness
and answered prayer.
For the second time in Matthew's Gospel we read
of Jesus feeding thousands of hungry people. Take
note they were not just physically hungry, but also
very spiritually hungry. God meets the needs of those
who seek Him.
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