The American Wisdom Series

Presents
Matthew 15

One who takes His name and leads His children astray is going to pay an awesome price!

Wisdom and knowledge are not synonymous terms for there are many very intelligent people who are extremely knowledgeable in a wide variety of subjects while at the same time they lack the wisdom to use that knowledge in a just and right manner. (It seems we like to elect people like that and send them to our houses of congress.)

Take the Parable of the Tares for example. Understanding who the tares are and who their sower (sire) is gives one possession of an hidden treasure of knowledge for sure, but possessing the wisdom to use that knowledge according to His will is yet another matter. And since this parable singles out the only two churches (Philadelphia & Smyrna) in these last days with whom Jesus Christ finds no fault (Rev. 2, 3), it is extremely important that we know and understand how to wisely use and handle that knowledge... His way! To that end, Christ has already told us to "leave the tares alone" (Mat. 13:29) while at the same time telling us that if we understand the parable of the sower, meaning we have been instructed in the kingdom of heaven (Mat. 13:52), then we are to be like unto an householder and bring forth that treasure of knowledge and share it with others in our house!

Therefore, in today's study we are going to receive what we might call a secondary education in the application of the Parable of the Tares as Jesus Christ expounds upon that parable and shows us by example how to handle certain specific situations, e.g. what to do when the tares don't leave you alone and what you should teach openly to the multitudes concerning them. We begin as the leading scribes and Pharisees come to Jesus and make accusations concerning His "non-religious" disciples.

Matthew 15:1
Then came to Jesus scribes and Pharisees, which were of Jerusalem, saying,
It is important to note that whenever there was an encounter between Jesus and the scribes and Pharisees, it was always they who approached Him. In other words, He left the tares alone just as He instructed us to for He was not an hypocrite to say one thing and then do another. The parable of tares explains how it is they shall be dealt with... in the end, when the angels shall gather them together and bind them to be cast into the fire.

Now notice the motive of these tares (kenites) as they accuse the brethren...  just like their father the "accuser of our brethren" who shall soon be cast down to this earth (Rev. 12:7-10). Let us read this carefully and see if we can discern who it is they are really criticizing!

[2] Why do thy disciples transgress the tradition of the elders? for they wash not their hands when they eat bread.
To "wash not their hands" does not mean the disciples did not clean up before they ate dinner, as is commonly taught by the unlearned. It means they did not go through the ritual of "the washing of the hands" which was a "ceremony of purification", a religious tradition of the church. You see, the true disciples of Jesus Christ do not participate in the ritualistic traditions of men which are not written in God's Word. In fact, you could say that true disciples of Christ are not "religious" the way Churchianity defines the termbecause they follow Christ, the Word of God, and not the dictates and doctrines of churches and denominations which are often contrary to the Word of God and therefore iniquitous as we shall see in the following example Christ gives to us.

So here we see these oh-so-religious leaders coming to Christ to attack and entrap Him by asking Him why His disciples do not follow the religious traditions handed down from the elders, which are merely commandments of men (written in the Talmud) but which cannot be found written in the Word of God. In fact, they contradict the Word of God.

[3] But He answered and said unto them, Why do ye also transgress the commandment of God by your tradition?
Yes, religious traditions of men are iniquitous indeed in that they transgress God's commandments. Take heed to that fact for those who follow Churchianity instead of seeking Christ to know Him through His Word shall find themselves on the outside of the wedding feast looking in when the Lord returns.You see, one is mistaken and sorely deceived who says he or she knows the Living Word of God and yet knows not the Written Word of God. Remember we covered this in Matthew 7:21-23? "Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. [22] Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? [23] And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity."Understand and take heed to the fact that if a person supports and follows the traditions of men perpetuated by those religious leaders who "work iniquity", then that one becomes a partaker of their evil deeds (2 Jn. 1:11).

Again, Jesus Christ is being confronted face-to-face by some tares, Kenites who have become religious leaders, and is answering their question by pointing out that what they are teaching people to do in the name of God is contrary to and in transgression of the Word of God! To that end, He gives us a primary example of a tradition which abounds today even more so than ever.

[4] For God commanded, saying, Honour thy father and mother: and, He that curseth father or mother, let him die the death.
This is quoted from Exodus 20:12 and 21:17 which is what the Word of God says. Here is how the scribes and Pharisees make void His Word.
[5]But ye say, Whosoever shall say to his father or his mother, It is a gift, by whatsoever thou mightest be profited by me;

[6] And 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.

They say "as long as you give your gifts (money) to the church" to be used for a good cause, implying even if it is money needed to take care of your father and mother, then you do a good thing which is what God wants you to do. In effect they are saying you shall be free... free of guilt and free from the penalty of the law "Honor you father and mother".

It has even come to pass in these last days, that the religious leaders, many of whom are nothing more than robbers and thieves dressed up to appear like holy men of God and who should be teaching His Word instead of traditions, will take as much money from our father's and mother's Social Security checks as they can get... regardless if they can afford it or not.

They will even use and twist scripture, like Mal. 3:8 which is written to the preachers to let them know they have robbed (defrauded) God by taking in tithes and not providing His people with meat from His Word, to lay guilt trips on the elderly to get them to give that which they cannot afford. Shame on them for coercing money from little old ladies and caring not if they have any money left over to buy groceries or medication.  The point is, it is not "OK" to tell people God approves of them giving gifts to the church instead of taking care of their fathers and mothers.

By the way, this practice of asking people to "give to the church" as a means of showing yourself approved to God, is called Corban in the Book of Mark.

Mark 7:11-13
But 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.
Here is Strong's definition of Corban:
korban, kor-ban', Greek 2878; and korbanas, kor-ban-as'; of Hebrew and Chaldee origin respectively [Hebrew 7133 (qorban)]; a votive offering and the offering; a consecrated present (to the Temple fund); by extensive (the latter term) the Treasury itself, i.e. the room where the contribution boxes stood :- Corban, treasury.
[12] And ye suffer him no more to do ought for his father or his mother;
They tell people in so many sweet sounding you-are-doing-the-right-thing words, that they are "free from the penalty of violating the law" as long as they follow the tradition of Corban which again is to "give their tax free gifts and donations" to the church! God doesn't like it nor does He approve of the sin of Corban.
[13] Making the word of God of none effect through your tradition, which ye have delivered: and many such like things do ye.
DO NOT read over Christ's statement that there are MANY "such like things", i.e. MANY other church traditions, that are contrary to and therefore transgress the Word of God.In fact, Christ warned us that in these last days the "iniquity" of the false prophets would abound.

Let us take a little side trip and document it.
                       Matthew 24:11 And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many.

A "false prophet" is an hypocrite, a play actor, one who claims to represent Christ but teaches false doctrines. There are MANY of them RIGHT NOW and they have already deceived the multitudes! How so? Through their "works of iniquity" which are their teaching of traditions (MANY traditions, Mat. 15:13) that "transgress the commandments of God" just like Corban does!
[12] And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold.
The subject is "false prophets" (vs. 11) and the "iniquity" are those traditions they teach which transgress the law. Christ said because that "iniquity" (those traditions) SHALL ABOUND in these last days, that the love of many, which is the love for His Word shall wax cold. "Abound" is the Greek word "plethuno" which comes from "plethos" which is where we get our English word "plethora".
Abound, plethos, play'-thos, Greek 4128; from Greek 4130 (pletho); a fulness, i.e. a large number, throng, populace :- bundle, company, multitude.
It is through the traditions of men, i.e. iniquity, that the multitudes are drawn away from the love of His Word.
Iniquity = anomia, an-om-ee'-ah, Greek 458; from Greek 459 (anomos); illegality, i.e. violation of law or (genitive) wickedness :- iniquity, × transgress (-ion of) the law, unrighteousness.
Thus we know how the "famine of these last days" is brought about.

Have you read what that famine is?

Amos the prophet explains it to us: Amos 8:11 "Behold, the days come, saith the Lord GOD, that I will send a famine in the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the LORD." To wit it has come to pass for about all our people hear in most churches today are the traditions of men...and they love it!

Paul addresses this love for Churchianity verses the love for His Word.

2 Thes. 2:10-12
And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved.
Traditions deceive our people. They are a substitute for truth, even as Corban violates His commandment.
[11] And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie:
They are prone to believe most any lie their preachers tell them, but the "big lie" they shall believe is that Satan, the "instead-of-Jesus", is really Jesus Christ who he will claim to be when he is cast out of heaven to this earth (Rev. 12:7-9).
[12] That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.
To have "pleasure" in unrighteousness (iniquity) is to "approve" of the traditions of men, to think well of them, i.e. to believe false teachers that those things are good and pleasing to God.
pleasure, eudokeo, yoo-dok-eh'-o, Greek 2106; from Greek 2095 (eu) and Greek 1380 (dokeo); to think well of, i.e. approve (an act); specially to approbate (a person or thing) :- think good, (be well) please (-d), be the good (have, take) pleasure, be willing.
Let us now return to Matthew 15 where Christ is still addressing the tares face-to-face.
Matthew 15:7
Ye hypocrites, well did Esaias prophesy of you, saying,
Christ called them pretenders, play actors, and then quoted the Word of God from Isaiah 29.
[8] This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me.
How many people do you know like that? There mind is far from aligning with His Word for out of their "heart" they teach traditions.
[9] But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.
Teachers of God's Word are to teach and follow the commandments of God, NOT the commandments of men which don't mean a hill of beans. In fact, to claim His name, which is to claim His authority as a Christian pastor, preacher, priest, etc., and then use that name to teach vanity, emptiness, which is what the commandments of men are, is a direct violation of one of the 10 Commandments... and God will not hold one guiltless who does it!
Exodus 20:7
Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain; for the LORD will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain.

Editors Note: To take the "Lord's name in vain" is not swearing as I was taught when I was young!  It's claiming the Lord said, "this or that" when he said no such thing!
One who takes His name and leads His children astray is going to pay an awesome price! In fact, Satan was sentenced to perish in the Lake of Fire for leading 1/3 of God's children astray (Rev. 12:4, Ezek. 28:18-19). To that end, there are a lot of preachers who are going to be in big, big trouble when Christ returns because He himself told us flat out that there would be MANY in these last days who would come in His name, which again is to claim His authority to teach (i.e. Christian), who would deceive the multitudes, which is the majority of our brothers and sisters, by teaching the vain traditions of men instead of His Word chapter by chapter and line by line. We as His disciples are admonished to watch out for false teachers which is why we check out the things we are taught in the Word of God (1 Jn. 4).

It is an openly visible fact that many preachers spend much of their time that could be used to teach Father's Word, to talk about giving, giving, giving, which ought to reveal to a sensible person what they have on their minds, which is to get, get, get... money that is! Just listen to them and see how long it takes until they bring up the subject of the almighty dollar. Remember Christ instructed His disciples that when they go forth to teach not to
(1) take a purse, which means they do not need any financing, and
(2) not to take a scrip, a beggars bag, which means they are not ask for money.
God promises that if you do it His way, according to His commands (freely you have received so freely give), that He will see to it that your needs are met. He says just "Ask Him", not the people, for whatsoever you need and He shall provide! Matthew 10:9-10 "Provide neither gold, nor silver, nor brass in your purses, [10] Nor scrip for your journey, neither two coats, neither shoes, nor yet staves: for the workman is worthy of his meat." If you work for Him, He will see that you are well blessed.

With that understanding in mind, notice what Christ does next.

Matthew 15:10
And He called the multitude, and said unto them, Hear, and understand:
Christ called the multitude and instructed the people to open their ears to hear, to understand, to "see" the hypocrisy (play acting) and the iniquity of traditional Churchianity.

Here is what the multitude needs to understand: (These are Christ's own words so take heed!)

[11] Not that which goeth into the mouth defileth a man; but that which cometh out of the mouth, this defileth a man.
Tell the people, knowing that there are an abundance of religious hypocrites who use the name of Christ, that as Christians we should always examine what comes out of a preacher's mouth concerning the Word of God. We do that testing by documenting what they say in the Word of God, not from a church quarterly or catechism book, etc. However, and this is important to understand, Christ did NOT say that we should single out certain denominations or ministries or preachers, teachers, etc.

By the way, what should come out of a man's (teacher's) mouth?God's words!You "see", it is what a man teaches Father's children that can defile that man and expose Him as a false teacher. Therefore, one had better make certain that if he or she does teach, he or she speaks The Lord's Words. That is the express duty of a watchman in these last days, those who are knowledgeable of His Word and have been appointed by God, not man, to teach the lost sheep of the House of Israel. Ezek-i-el (God is my strength) was a type of the watchman.

Here is what the LORD said unto him:

Ezekiel 3:1-11
Moreover he said unto me, Son of man, eat that thou findest; eat this roll, and go speak unto the house of Israel.
The first order of business for a teacher of God's Word is to eat and digest the whole roll, yes, read and digest the entire Word of God.
[2] So I opened my mouth, and he caused me to eat that roll.

[3] And he said unto me, Son of man, cause thy belly to eat, and fill thy bowels with this roll that I give thee. Then did I eat it; and it was in my mouth as honey for sweetness.

[4] And He said unto me, Son of man, go, get thee unto the house of Israel, and speak with my words unto them.

Don't you go teaching some church doctrine you learned in man's seminaries. You speak MY WORDS unto them. (Skip on down to verse 10.)
[10] Moreover He said unto me, Son of man, all my words that I shall speak unto thee receive in thine heart, and hear with thine ears.
You seal up your mind real good with the Word of God and understand that which is written, even all the parables.
[11] And go, get thee to them of the captivity, unto the children of thy people, and speak unto them, and tell them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; whether they will hear, or whether they will forbear.
It is not the duty of God's disciples to "convert" the multitudes for we know from the parable of the sower that not all the "seed" falls on fertile ground. We are to plant the seeds of truth but we cannot force them to germinate or grow. Only God can do that. Nevertheless, the point is that Christ wants the multitudes to be aware of the vain religious sounding words that proceed forth from the mouths of those who claim to be teachers, lest ye eat that bread and become defiled yourself by passing it along to others.
Matthew 15:12
Then came His disciples, and said unto him, Knowest thou that the Pharisees were offended, after they heard this saying?
Hey Lord! You really upset those preachers by exposing their hypocrisy and telling people to watch out for religious con-artists whose words consist of nothing more that the less-than-worthless traditions of men! "Arrrgh"! After taking so much time to explain the major points of the Parable of the Sower in chapter 13, Christ's disciples should have been well attuned to the fact that these hypocrites were bad seed, a bunch of tares who were producing nothing but bad fruit which is both toxic and spiritually deadly to our brothers and sisters! They are "spiritual murderers", don't you know (see vs. 19 below)? Therefore Christ had to be a little disappointed with His students for giving "two hoots" about what the scribes and Pharisees thought or the fact that they were offended. Some of the multitude may become upset when they hear the true teaching of the Word of God, but as His disciples we should not be concerned that the truth is a little too hard on preachers! Then too, consider that it is only those on whom the shoe fits that would even be offended, right?

We need to consider carefully the Parable of the Tares and recall what shall happen to those tares, which is to be bound and burned lest they repent and turn to Him, then perhaps we shall not be so compassionate for the evil sower and his mouthpieces! However, make sure you comply with Christ's command in verse 14 below.

Here is the Lord's reply and instruction to His disciples as He makes reference to the Parable of the Sower.

[13] But He answered and said, Every plant, which my heavenly Father hath not planted, shall be rooted up.
The kenite and all those who are not planted as teachers by our Father, but rather take His name and teach vain traditions from their lips instead of teaching His Word, are going to be in big trouble when Christ returns. Until then, remember what we are to do, which is to leave them alone!
[14] Let them alone: they be blind leaders of the blind. And if the blind lead the blind, both shall fall into the ditch.
If you have a ministry that spends its time singling out and judging other preachers, ministries, churches, denominations, etc, then that ministry is in violation of the commands of Jesus Christ, the Word of God, who shall ultimately be the judge of them all! We are instructed NOT to go after religious leaders and name names. God will take care of those blind leaders who claim to represent Him but lead our people into following the ways of traditions. That is why you will never find a true teacher of God's Word criticize or attack another minister, teacher, preacher, ministry, etc. They teach His Word which is the truth, the Light which exposes lies and traditions for what they really are... iniquitous! And they also instruct and teach people how to become independent thinkers and document from that which is written in His Word, the words which come out of men's mouths. Do they give "lip service" and say and sing "Lord, Lord" or do they teach His Word chapter by chapter and verse by verse. You decide, for it is your soul!
[15] Then answered Peter and said unto him, Declare unto us this parable.
Peter might have been a little slow coming to a full understanding the Parable of the Tares, but He sure didn't lack desire nor was he too proud to ask and seek answers from the Word of God. That's a good thing for us, ain't it? (Thank you Peter.)
[16] And Jesus said, Are ye also yet without understanding?
You see, Christ covered all this "planting" thing back in chapter 13! However, because it so important for us to understand He has graciously given to us this marvelous additional training.
[17] Do not ye yet understand, that whatsoever entereth in at the mouth goeth into the belly, and is cast out into the draught?
Don't look at physical things or religious things. So what if you don't go through some ceremonial church ritual before you eat! You be more attuned to "those things which proceed out of the mouth" of those who claim to be preachers or teachers of His Word.
[18] But those things which proceed out of the mouth come forth from the heart; and they defile the man.
Again, this is old territory Christ is covering here. If you have the "understanding of the kingdom of heaven" then you are to be like unto an householder who brings forth good treasure. Therefore, be careful what comes out of your mouth when you teach and be sure to instruct others how to discern from His Word whether the things they hear are the iniquitous traditions of men or the truth from the precepts of God.
[19] For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies:
Consider all these things on the spiritual level, i.e. spiritual murder, spiritual adultery (idolatry), etc., which is how Christ is teaching us here. These are the thoughts which proceed forth from the mouths of false prophets, the teachings that defile and corrupt, that steal and rob our people both spiritually and monetarily. So learn how to discern whether things true or false come forth from the lips of anyone who claims to be planted of God! Remember, if you test the fruit you can always tell from what kind of tree it came! Matthew 7:17-18 "Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit. [18] A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit."
[20] These are the things which defile a man: but to eat with unwashen hands defileth not a man.
This concludes Christ's response and teaching to the question by the scribes and Pharisees as to why His disciples do not do "churchy" things, like go through the ritual of the "washing of the hands" before they eat. The point is, so what if you don't follow the "traditions of the elders"? So what if you don't observe this day or that day, or this holiday or that new moon, or wash someone's feet, or repeat this saying or that? One is NOT defiled by not doing what man tells them to.

Men are defiled by what comes out of their mouths through the abundance of their hearts. So make sure you are sanctified and cleansed with the washing of water by the Word!

Christ is now going to take a side trip to the coasts of Tyre and Sidon and return in order to teach His disciples, which means you and me in these last days, a great lesson concerning the grace and mercy of our God.

Jesus Christ has been expounding upon the Parable of the Tares and has just finished addressing the scribes and Pharisees, the multitude, His disciples, and finally Peter individually. Now He is going to take what we might call a side trip to the coasts of Tyre and Sidon and return in order to teach His disciples, which means you and me in these last days, a great lesson concerning the grace and mercy of our God. To that end, we are still receiving detailed instructions concerning the Parable of the Tares to know how to discern and handle that which is planted of God and that which is not. If you are one who has eyes to see and ears to hear, then today's study will surely increase your understanding of the kingdom of heaven (Mat. 13:52).

Matthew 15:21
Then Jesus went thence, and departed into the coasts of Tyre and Sidon.
Tyre, or Tyrus in Hebrew, means "rock" and the city of Tyre was a little rock island off the coast of Sidon or Zidon which became the world trading hub of the ancient world controlled by the kenites. You will find a detailed description of the trafficking and merchandising of Tyre and Sidon in the 27th chapter of Ezekiel which is followed by an even more detailed account of the king of Tyre in the 28th chapter... who was none other than the captor of men himself, Satan! Tyre and Sidon was therefore a type of Satan's globalization which is his One World Political/Economic System in these last days.

Here are the definitions of both Tyre and Sidon from Strong's Concordance.

Tyre, Tsor, tsore, Hebrew 6865; or Tsowr, tsore; the same as Hebrew 6864 (tsor); a rock; Tsor, a place in Palestine :- Tyre, Tyrus.

Zidon, Tsiydown, tsee-done', Hebrew 6721; or Tsiydon, tsee-done'; from Hebrew 6679 (tsuwd) in the sense of catching fish; fishery; Tsidon, the name of a son of Canaan, and of a place in Palestine :- Sidon, Zidon.

The root word from which Zidon is derived means "to catch" or even "to take captive" and so we see that Christ has just entered into Satan's camp which is his stronghold.
tsuwd, tsood, Hebrew 6679; a primitive root; to lie alongside (i.e. in wait); by implication to catch an animal (figurative men); (denominative from Hebrew 6718 (tsayid)) to victual (for a journey) :- chase, hunt, sore, take (provision).
It is also worthwhile to point out that if you look at a map you will see that Christ walked about 50 miles to get from Gennesaret to the coasts of Tyre and Sidon. The number "50" in Biblical numerics is a Jubilee, the year of freedom when "liberty is proclaimed throughout the land" (Lev. 25:10)! In fact Leviticus 25:10, "Proclaim liberty throughout all the land unto all the inhabitants thereof" is inscribed on our Liberty Bell. And so it is that Christ went to great lengths to give us this teaching and to do what He is about to do.

Understand also that Christ did not go to Tyre and Sidon to teach and convert people. He has entered into Satan's camp for a very special reason, the first of which is to show us that the Word of God can be found there if anyone so wishes to seek it!

Here is what happened:

[22] And, behold, a woman of Canaan came out of the same coasts, and cried unto him, saying, Have mercy on me, O Lord, thou Son of David; my daughter is grievously vexed with a devil.
The "Son of David" identifies Christ as being the heir to the throne of David, i.e. the throne of Israel, and yet this woman of Canaan who was so concerned for her daughter was definitely not an Israelite and perhaps even a kenite. Notice that she "came out of the same coasts (see Rev. 18:4)" and sought Jesus Christ, the Word of God, crying unto Him to have mercy on her because "her daughter was possessed (held captive, i.e. in bondage) by a demonic spirit! It is interesting that she was seeking deliverance for her daughter and not herself which is more the attitude of God's elect, i.e. to bring and declare His righteousness to the sons and daughters in this final generation who know not that they are the lost children of the house of Israel.
[23] But He answered her not a word. And His disciples came and besought him, saying, Send her away; for she crieth after us.
This whole teaching to the disciples is in relation to this verse. You "see", the disciples knew that this woman was not planted of God and they would have sent her away even though she was sincerely seeking His grace and deliverance from evil. Notice also that the disciples acknowledged she was perseverant in seeking Him which in itself is a tribute and attests to her faith. Of course Christ knew that this was the case, i.e. He knew what was in her heart and that she would persevere, but He wanted to make it evident to His disciples by not answering her right away.

Jesus now gives His explanation for "answering her not a word".

[24] But He answered and said, I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel.
True it is that Christ was sent to the lost sheep of the House of Israel and in like manner He also sent forth His disciples, not into the way of the gentiles, but "rather to the lost sheep of the House of Israel".
Matthew 10:5-8
These twelve Jesus sent forth, and commanded them, saying, Go not into the way of the Gentiles, and into any city of the Samaritans enter ye not:

[6] But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.

[7] And as ye go, preach, saying, The kingdom of heaven is at hand.

[8] Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out devils: freely ye have received, freely give.

However, Jesus Christ would soon pay the price on the cross which would open up salvation to "whosoever believeth in Him (Jn. 3:16)". The point to made here is that neither Christ nor His disciples sought after the woman from Canaan. She came to Christ of her own free will!
Matthew 15:25
Then came she and worshipped Him, saying, Lord, help me.
Mark 7:25 tells us that she fell at His feet. (Remember that when we get to verse 30.) So she came to Him and worshipped Him and ask the Lord to help her knowing that He had the power to cast out the unclean spirit from her daughter.
[26] But He answered and said, It is not meet to take the children's bread, and to cast it to dogs.
The term "dog" was commonly used for anyone who was a heathen. (See Matthew 7:6.)
[27] And she said, Truth, Lord: yet the dogs eat of the crumbs which fall from their masters' table.
Jesus Christ, the Word of God, is the Bread of Life and she was willing and desirous to even eat the crumbs which fall from the table of the Lord. In other words, though the bread is served (the teaching goes forth) to the children of the house of Israel, anyone who is willing can come and pick up from that which has spilled over and eat of that bread.
[28] Then Jesus answered and said unto her, O woman, great is thy faith: be it unto thee even as thou wilt. And her daughter was made whole from that very hour.
Jesus has now revealed to us through the example of this woman from Canaan that He will show forth His mercy and He will help even one of Satan's own who has the faith to come to Him and seek Him and persevere!

Now He is going to return to the Sea of Gennesaret where we learn even more about all this.

[29] And Jesus departed from thence, and came nigh unto the sea of Galilee; and went up into a mountain, and sat down there.
Jesus Christ, the Word of God, is seated and ready for anyone whosoever will come unto Him.

Pay close attention to that which follows.

[30] And great multitudes came unto Him, having with them those that were lame, blind, dumb, maimed, and many others, and cast them down at Jesus' feet; and He healed them:
Jesus Christ will heal and make whole all those who come to Him and "cast themselves down at His feet" just as the woman from Canaan did "fall at His feet (Mark 7:25)". You "see", that is the reason Christ came, i.e. to heal and bring salvation to "whosoever will believe on Him (Jn. 3:16)". You may recall from our study of Matthew 11 the words Christ sent back to John the Baptist who was in prison and about to be beheaded and desired to know if Christ would fulfill the prophecies of "He who should come", i.e. as King of kings to establish the kingdom or do we look for another time (a second advent).
Matthew 11:3-6
And said unto Him, Art thou He that should come, or do we look for another?

[4] Jesus answered and said unto them, Go and shew John again those things which ye do hear and see:

The following statement would let any student of the Book of Isaiah know what the answer to John's question was. Of course John was a scholar of the Word so he immediately knew.

Here is what Christ told John's disciples to tell him:

[5] The blind receive their sight, and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the poor have the gospel preached to them.
The poor are the humble in spirit who seek and desire to hear and know His Word.
[6] And blessed is he, whosoever shall not be offended in me.
You may also have read in Luke 4 where Christ stood up and was handed a scroll of Isaiah whereby He turned to chapter 61 and read from verse 1 to the middle of verse 2 and then stopped short of declaring that which pertained to the second advent.
Luke 4:18-19
The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised,

[19] To preach the acceptable year of the Lord.

In other words, Jesus Christ came to bring salvation and set at liberty those who are in bondage and those who walk in darkness and cannot "see". And never forget that Jesus Christ, the Word of God, is the only one who can "opens eyes" that a person might "see" and He is the only one who can heal the "lame" that they might be able to walk upright in His way. These are the wonderful works of God.

Now let us return to Matthew 15.

Matthew 15:31
Insomuch that the multitude wondered, when they saw the dumb to speak, the maimed to be whole, the lame to walk, and the blind to see: and they glorified the God of Israel.
The spiritual healing of the people is indeed the wondrous work of God. The physical healings Christ did, and He does heal our infirmities, are meant to show us how the Word of God heals on the spiritual level. Notice also that when one does good works by bringing forth the pure Light of Truth, and people see the marvelous change in other people's lives, they glorify the God of Israel, our Father which is in heaven. He is the One who is worthy to receive the praise and glory... not us!
Matthew 5:16
Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.
So the multitude has come to Christ and cast their blind and maimed and deaf at His feet and He has healed them.
Matthew 15:32
Then Jesus called His disciples unto Him, and said, I have compassion on the multitude, because they continue with me now three days, and have nothing to eat: and I will not send them away fasting, lest they faint in the way.
Why did Christ have compassion on this multitude? Because they "continued with Him three days". To continue means to persevere such as did the woman from Canaan. This they did of their own "free will"... from all nations and kindreds and tongues.
Continue, prosmeno, pros-men'-o, Greek 4357; from Greek 4314 (pros) and Greek 3306 (meno); to stay further, i.e. remain in a place, with a person: figurative to adhere to, persevere in :- abide still, be with, cleave unto, continue in (with).
Just as Christ did not send the woman away, neither will He send away with nothing to eat anyone whosever "continues" with Him! You "see", though He was sent to the lost sheep of the House of Israel, at the end of three days salvation shall be opened to all the peoples of the earth ("4" is the number of earth) and anyone who so desires can come to Him and eat the bread of life and His disciples shall feed them, lest they "faint in the way" which is to stumble and fall before the false-christ.
[33] And His disciples say unto Him, Whence should we have so much bread in the wilderness, as to fill so great a multitude?
We are in the wilderness now, the spiritually desert place, the valley of dry bones (Ezk. 37), for this is the time of the great famine of the last days spoken of by Amos the prophet in Amos 8:11-13 "Behold, the days come, saith the Lord GOD, that I will send a famine in the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the LORD." However, there is no barren pasture nor want for bread in the house of the Lord for those who love Him. You "see", He always leads us to lush green pastures and there is always a feast at the table He has prepared for those who come to Him.

Now don't forget that the disciples have already been through the feeding of the 5,000 and if you recall, they had 5 loaves and 2 fishes and took up 12 baskets full of fragments when they were finished. These figures are not given to us just to fill space and enhance the story but rather to give additional insight to those who work a little harder and dig deeper for more precious gems of truth and understanding. That is why most people just wonder why it is that the number of the loaves and the number of the multitudes is different in the two accounts.

You see, the number "5" in Biblical numerics* is the number of "grace" and "1000" is "divine completeness". Also, "fishes" are symbolic of Christianity while the number "2" denotes "witnessing", even as the sons and daughters of the two churches of Smyrna and Philadelphia (Rev. 2 & 3) bring forth the meat of His Word to the final generation and declare His righteousness. Finally, "12" is number of "governmental perfection" as in the number of the tribes of Israel from which 12,000 each shall be fed and sealed with His truth in their foreheads (Rev. 7:3-8).

* Some suggested resource materials giving you additional insight into Biblical numerics are (1) appendix 10 in the back of the "Companion Bible", (2) "Biblical Numerics", by E.W. Bullinger, Kregel Publications, and (3) "Numbers in Scripture", by Ed F. Vallowe.

So the disciples have asked Christ where they are going to get enough (so much) bread "in the wilderness", as to fill so great a multitude. The fact is there is plenty of bread in the wilderness (desert) to feed not only the whole house of Israel but ALL who dwell therein.

Let us learn from the Master Teacher.

[34] And Jesus saith unto them, How many loaves have ye? And they said, Seven, and a few little fishes.
Notice that we have moved from "5" loaves, the number of grace, to "7" which denotes "completeness" and "spiritual perfection". In fact "7" is the "hall-mark of the Holy Spirit's work*".
[35] And He commanded the multitude to sit down on the ground.
God is not the author of confusion and He always does things in an orderly manner.
[36] And He took the seven loaves and the fishes, and gave thanks, and brake them, and gave to His disciples, and the disciples to the multitude.
Once again it was the disciples who took the bread and the meat which were blessed and sanctified by Jesus Christ, the Word of God, and fed the multitude.
[37] And they did all eat, and were filled: and they took up of the broken meat that was left seven baskets full.
[38] And they that did eat were four thousand men, beside women and children.
As we stated previously, the number "4" is the number of "earth" as in all four directions, N, S, E, W. In other words, this multitude is not symbolic of just the House of Israel, God shed His "grace" (5) on thee, but of all the nations of the "earth". Let's see how that ties in with the work, the feeding, of these last days which is summarized in Rev. 7.
Rev. 7:3-4
Saying, Hurt not the earth, neither the sea, nor the trees, till we have sealed the servants of our God in their foreheads.
The sealing is to have the Word of God written in your heart and mind!
[4] And I heard the number of them which were sealed: and there were sealed an hundred and forty and four thousand of all the tribes of the children of Israel.
The teaching goes forth to feed and seal the 144,000 which is 12,000 out of each of the tribes of Israel (vs. 5-8). However, there is also a great multitude of all nations and kindreds and people and tongues who shall also come forth of their own free will and stand before the Lamb and persevere. They too shall be fed the rich, fulfilling, life sustaining bread and meat from the altar of God.
Rev. 7:9
After this I beheld, and, lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands;

Rev. 7:17
For the Lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall feed them, and shall lead them unto living fountains of waters: and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes.

Our Father is so good to us and full of grace and mercy. He loves all of His children and it is His desire that none perish, even the tares, but that all come to repentance.
2 Peter 3:9
The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.
John 3:16 "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life."
Matthew 15:39
And He sent away the multitude, and took ship, and came into the coasts of Magdala,
Magdala means "tower". So get set for some more wonderful instructions from the Word of God.

To study the Bible is the noblest of all pursuits; to understand it, the highest of all goals.
We pray that with the guidance of the Holy Spirit, you accomplish both.


The "American Wisdom Series"

is

Published by:

Rhine Publishing Co.
E-mail address - americanwisdomseries@verizon.net

If you would like to have your essay published
as part of the American Wisdom Series
submit your manuscript to Rhine Publishing Co
at the address above for consideration, or e-mail us
at the address shown on our home page.

Click Here to Return to "The American Wisdom Series" home page.