In our last study in Matthew, Jesus was confronted by the
Pharisees in front of a crowd of people for a second time.
The first time was when they charged Him with casting out
demons by the power of Beelzebul. Jesus
answered the charge by pointing out that if this were true then Satan must be
pretty stupid. But the charge seemed to
cloud the people’s thinking since they always looked up to these leaders. Jesus continued to teach them but in a veiled
way using parables. These teaching
devices helped to explain to those who were tuned in to His words why there
would be a delay in the coming of the kingdom.
But then in chapter 15, there was a second confrontation
concerning the fact that Jesus did not pay much heed to the traditions of the
elders—the extra-Biblical practices that were supposed to ensure true
godliness. And, just like his earlier
answer, Jesus showed how foolish they were just using common sense. But even more embarrassing was His evaluation
of another non-biblical tradition that actually contradicted the biblical commandment
of God to honor your parents. He
explained to His disciples that the Pharisees may have been well-meaning but
they were blind and were leading others to destruction. Sincerity is never the test for truth—reality
is.
Notice in both confrontations how Jesus responded to the
false teaching. First, when they said He
was empowered by Beelzebul and second when they said He was unconcerned with
defilement. In both cases, He answered
the charge without emotional personal attacks.
He was passionate for the truth without getting personal. The Pharisees were blind guides, He said—but
that implies that they didn’t know any better. When we encounter false
teaching, let this be a lesson in both firmness and gentleness. Too often, we have seen false teachers
attacked as if they were deliberately being evil—and not just blind and
deceived themselves.
Now, in the remainder
of the chapter, we are going to look at another response of Jesus to this
growing opposition. Remember, that after
the first charge and His response, He began teaching in parables. And now after this second charge and His
response, He does something else. He
leaves Galilee and heads up to what is today southern Lebanon—the Bible calls
it the “district of Tyre and Sidon.”
This was the area where King Hiram cut down huge beams of cedar for Solomon
to use for roof beams in building the temple. Later it became known as the homeland of the
Phoenicians. It was populated by both
Jews and Gentiles at this time. Jesus
had spent most of his time teaching in Galilee but for now He heads northeast for
Lebanon. If He actually visited the
ancient site of Tyre itself, that was about 40 miles or several days’ travel. But
it seems that He wanted to avoid provoking the religious authorities too much
because it was not yet “His time.” But
He also had another couple of reasons that the text makes clear.
There was a “Canaanite woman” there that had a demon
oppressed daughter. Mark calls the
mother a Syrophoenician. She pleaded with Jesus to heal her daughter. Notice that Matthew has just mentioned that, for
Jesus, the biggest issue we have is the problem of evil in the heart. Here is a girl with an evil spirit that needs
to be cast out. Her Gentile mother is
crying out and begging Jesus for help. But
Jesus says, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel.” Jesus’ main reason for being there was to reach
these Jewish people—these lost sheep of Israel.
But the Canaanite woman knelt down and pleaded with Him. And Jesus said, “It isn’t right to take the
children’s bread and cast it to the dogs.”
Some people point out that the Jews called Gentiles disparaging terms
like “dogs” but here Jesus seems to be speaking in a proverbial way. His mission was to feed Israel. But the woman persisted and humbled herself
saying, “Yes, but even the dogs are allowed to eat the crumbs that fall to the
floor.” Jesus was so excited to see her
faith that He healed her daughter right then and there. Here are the lost sheep of Israel—God’s
children—mostly rejecting Jesus message of repentance even though He backs it
up with clear signs of His heavenly authority while this Gentile is begging for
a few crumbs. And Jesus responds with
compassion!
Matthew records that Jesus left the area and went back to
the Sea of Galilee but Mark points out specifically that He goes to the district
of Decapolis which is on the east side of the lake. Decapolis was for centuries a Gentile area so
named for the ten principal cities of the area.
But although He initially entered the area quietly according to Mark,
the people eventually discovered that He was there. Matthew describes the many people that came
to Him for healing: “the lame, the blind, the crippled, the mute, and many
others.” And the crowds wondered and
glorified the God of Israel when they witnessed Jesus heal them all.
It is at this time that the crowds were growing despite the
desolate nature of the place and after three days of growing numbers and no
sign of them leaving, that Jesus pointed out to His disciples once again that
He needed to feed them. So, Matthew
records what to many critics seems like a redundant repeat of His earlier
feeding of the 5000. But notice that
this event is recorded just a few pericopes later. And furthermore, in our next chapter in
Matthew, within the same paragraph, Jesus Himself will refer to both as
separate incidents that prove His ability to provide. (So critics, begone!) This feeding used seven loaves and a “few
fish” while the other one used five loaves and two fish. This time he only fed 4000 people and only
had seven baskets of leftovers while the other incident had twelve baskets of
leftovers. I say ONLY 4000 but of course
it is exactly what was needed! “They all
ate and were satisfied” just like the 5000.
Jesus supplies exactly what we need.
And we need far more than full bellies and physical health.
Note, by way of comment, that Jesus did not do miraculous
feedings very often. It was an act of
compassion but it was also a miraculous sign that He was sent by the same God
who had fed the Israelites in the wilderness.
Now, these children were “lost sheep” who had gone astray. Jesus came to plead with them to repent and
return to the God Who loved them. They
liked His food and His healing but they were not so sure about His
message. But here in Galilee, Decapolis,
and Tyre where the international trade route passed, thousands of Gentiles also
saw Jesus and they were also attracted to Him.
They had no loyalty to the Jewish religious establishment and their own
false religious sentiments were shown to be quite hollow in comparison to what
Jesus preached. This area is where the
early church was most quickly established for we learn later that it is in this
area (to the north of Israel) at Antioch where the believers were first called
Christians.
The first missionaries to Asia discovered a similar
problem. When they had few converts in
those early days they noticed that the few they had were frequently more
interested in the free meals. And whenever
persecution came they fell away quickly.
The missionaries called them “rice Christians.” After the missionaries were forced out in
1949 by the Communists believers in the West wondered if the tiny church would
survive. But under persecution the church
actually exploded in numbers. Some
experts estimate that they outnumber their brethren in the West today. It is Christ Himself that we really need in
order to grow. Miracles and free food
were His credentials but not the message.
Do we believe in God because of miraculous answers to prayer or because
we realize we just need Him?
© 2018 Eric Thimell
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