King James Version
Matthew 15
39 verses with commentary
Tradition and Commandment
Then came to Jesus scribes and Pharisees, which were of Jerusalem, saying,
View commentary (3 sources)
KJV Study Commentary
The arrival of scribes and Pharisees from Jerusalem signals official scrutiny of Jesus' ministry. These religious authorities represented the theological establishment, traveling from the center of Jewish power to investigate Jesus' growing influence. Their presence initiates a crucial confrontation between divine authority and human tradition. From a Reformed perspective, this encounter reveals t...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
**XV.**
(1) **Scribes and Pharisees, which were of Jerusalem.**—The presence of these actors on the scene is every way significant. They had been prominent in like accusations. It was by them that our Lord had been accused of blasphemy in forgiving sins (Matthew 9:3), of eating and drinking with publicans and sinners (Matthew 9:11), of disregarding fasts (Matthew 9:14), of casting out devils by Be...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 15
Chapter Outline
Jesus discourses about human traditions.(1-9)
He warns against things which really defile.(10-20)
He heals the daughter of a Syrophenician woman.(21-28)
Jesus heals the sick, and miraculously feeds four thousand.(29-39)
**Verses 1-9**
Additions to God's laws reflect upon his wisdom, as if he had left out something which was needed, and which man...
Read full commentary →Why do thy disciples transgress the tradition of the elders? for they wash not their hands when they eat bread.
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KJV Study Commentary
The Pharisees' accusation focuses on ceremonial hand-washing, part of the 'tradition of the elders'—oral interpretations and expansions of Mosaic Law. The Greek 'paradosis' (tradition) here refers to human additions to divine revelation. Reformed theology recognizes this as the perennial temptation to elevate human interpretations to the level of Scripture itself. The disciples' failure to observe...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(2) **They wash not their hands when they eat** **bread.**—St. Mark (Mark 7:3-4), writing for Gentiles, explains the nature of the tradition more fully. What the Pharisees insisted on was not cleanliness as such, but the avoidance of ceremonial pollution. They shrank not from dirt, but from defilement. If they had been in the market, they might have come in contact with the heathen or the publican...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 15
Chapter Outline
Jesus discourses about human traditions.(1-9)
He warns against things which really defile.(10-20)
He heals the daughter of a Syrophenician woman.(21-28)
Jesus heals the sick, and miraculously feeds four thousand.(29-39)
**Verses 1-9**
Additions to God's laws reflect upon his wisdom, as if he had left out something which was needed, and which man...
Read full commentary →But he answered and said unto them, Why do ye also transgress the commandment of God by your tradition?
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KJV Study Commentary
Jesus' counter-question employs rabbinic debate technique, answering a question with a question. More significantly, He reverses the accusation: they transgress God's commandment through their tradition. The Reformed principle of 'sola Scriptura' finds strong support here—Scripture alone judges tradition, not tradition Scripture. Jesus establishes the supremacy of divine revelation over human inte...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(3) **By your tradition.**—Better, *for the sake of your tradition.* Our Lord’s answer, it will be noted, is an indirect one, an *argumentum ad hominem.* He shows that their traditional casuistry was in direct opposition to the “commandment” of God, and the natural inference from that antagonism was that in itself, apart from the commandment, it had no binding authority as a rule of life.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 15
Chapter Outline
Jesus discourses about human traditions.(1-9)
He warns against things which really defile.(10-20)
He heals the daughter of a Syrophenician woman.(21-28)
Jesus heals the sick, and miraculously feeds four thousand.(29-39)
**Verses 1-9**
Additions to God's laws reflect upon his wisdom, as if he had left out something which was needed, and which man...
Read full commentary →For God commanded, saying, Honour thy father and mother: and, He that curseth father or mother, let him die the death.
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KJV Study Commentary
Jesus quotes the fifth commandment, 'Honour thy father and mother,' linking it to divine authority. This commandment carries both promise and threat—long life for obedience, death penalty for disobedience (Exodus 21:17). Reformed theology emphasizes the Ten Commandments' continuing moral authority. Jesus uses Scripture to expose how Pharisaic tradition violated God's law. The appeal to 'God comman...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(4) **God commanded, saying, Honour thy father and thy mother.**—At first it might seem as if our Lord Himself, no less than the Pharisees, had taught men to think lightly of the commandment on which He now lays stress. He had called on men to forsake father and mother for the sake of the gospel (Matthew 4:18; Matthew 4:22), and had excluded from discipleship those who loved father and mother more...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 15
Chapter Outline
Jesus discourses about human traditions.(1-9)
He warns against things which really defile.(10-20)
He heals the daughter of a Syrophenician woman.(21-28)
Jesus heals the sick, and miraculously feeds four thousand.(29-39)
**Verses 1-9**
Additions to God's laws reflect upon his wisdom, as if he had left out something which was needed, and which man...
Read full commentary →But ye say, Whosoever shall say to his father or his mother, It is a gift, by whatsoever thou mightest be profited by me;
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KJV Study Commentary
Jesus exposes the Corban abuse: saying to parents 'It is a gift devoted to God' (Corban) allowed avoiding parental support. This exemplifies how religious activity can become excuse for moral failure. Reformed theology emphasizes that genuine piety never contradicts moral duty. The Pharisees prioritized ritual giving over family responsibility, inverting God's priorities. Their tradition made God'...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(5) **It is a gift.**—St. Mark (Mark 7:11) gives the Hebrew term, Corban, which was literally applied to that which had been consecrated—theoretically to God, practically to the service or ornamentation of the Temple. In Matthew 27:6, the treasury of the Temple is itself called the Corban. The casuistry of the scribes in this matter seems at first so monstrous that it would be hard to understand h...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 15
Chapter Outline
Jesus discourses about human traditions.(1-9)
He warns against things which really defile.(10-20)
He heals the daughter of a Syrophenician woman.(21-28)
Jesus heals the sick, and miraculously feeds four thousand.(29-39)
**Verses 1-9**
Additions to God's laws reflect upon his wisdom, as if he had left out something which was needed, and which man...
Read full commentary →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.
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KJV Study Commentary
The 'Corban' practice allowed dedicating money to the temple, thereby avoiding responsibility to support parents—directly violating the fifth commandment. Jesus exposes how religious tradition can 'make void' (Greek 'akuroo'—nullify, invalidate) God's command. Reformed theology sees here the danger of works-righteousness: using religious activity to evade moral obligation. The indictment is severe...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(6) **He shall be free.**—The words, as *the* italics show, are not in the Greek, and if we follow the better reading, are not wanted to complete the sense. “Whosoever shall say to his father or his mother, It is a gift, by whatsoever thou mightest be profited by me, *he shall not honour *(*i.e., shall not support*)* his father or his mother.”* The “honour” which the commandment enjoined was ident...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 15
Chapter Outline
Jesus discourses about human traditions.(1-9)
He warns against things which really defile.(10-20)
He heals the daughter of a Syrophenician woman.(21-28)
Jesus heals the sick, and miraculously feeds four thousand.(29-39)
**Verses 1-9**
Additions to God's laws reflect upon his wisdom, as if he had left out something which was needed, and which man...
Read full commentary →Ye hypocrites, well did Esaias prophesy of you, saying,
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KJV Study Commentary
Jesus' designation 'hypocrites' (Greek 'hypokritai'—actors, pretenders) is devastating. Their outward religious performance masked inward rebellion against God's Word. The term connects to Isaiah's prophecy, showing this isn't a new problem but Israel's recurring sin. Reformed doctrine emphasizes that external religiosity without heart transformation is worthless before God. True worship requires ...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(7) **Ye hypocrites.**—See Note on Matthew 7:5.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 15
Chapter Outline
Jesus discourses about human traditions.(1-9)
He warns against things which really defile.(10-20)
He heals the daughter of a Syrophenician woman.(21-28)
Jesus heals the sick, and miraculously feeds four thousand.(29-39)
**Verses 1-9**
Additions to God's laws reflect upon his wisdom, as if he had left out something which was needed, and which man...
Read full commentary →This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me.
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KJV Study Commentary
Christ quotes Isaiah 29:13, highlighting the divorce between lip service and heart allegiance. The contrast between 'draweth nigh unto me with their mouth' and 'their heart is far from me' exposes the essence of hypocrisy. Reformed theology stresses that God examines the heart (1 Samuel 16:7); external worship without internal devotion is abomination. This verse demolishes any notion that God acce...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(8) **This people draweth nigh unto me.**—The quotation is given substantially from the Greek version of Isaiah. We have already seen in Matthew 13:14 how the Pharisees were taught to see their own likeness in the language of the prophet. Now the mirror is held up once more, and they are seen to have been anticipated in that very substitution of human for divine ordinances for which our Lord repro...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 15
Chapter Outline
Jesus discourses about human traditions.(1-9)
He warns against things which really defile.(10-20)
He heals the daughter of a Syrophenician woman.(21-28)
Jesus heals the sick, and miraculously feeds four thousand.(29-39)
**Verses 1-9**
Additions to God's laws reflect upon his wisdom, as if he had left out something which was needed, and which man...
Read full commentary →But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.
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KJV Study Commentary
The indictment culminates: they worship 'in vain' (Greek 'maten'—uselessly, to no purpose). When human commandments replace divine doctrine, worship becomes empty ritual that God rejects. The Reformed understanding of worship's regulative principle emerges here: we worship God according to His prescribed will, not human invention. Teaching 'doctrines the commandments of men' perverts truth, leadin...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(9) **Teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.**—Neither word is quite adequately rendered. The “doctrines” are not articles of faith, propositions to be believed, but precepts which were taught as binding. The “commandments” are single, special rules as contrasted with the divine “commandment,” which was exceedingly broad.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**28. And Peter answered him and said, Lord, if it is thou, bid me come to thee on the water--**(Also see on Mr 6:50.)
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 15
Chapter Outline
Jesus discourses about human traditions.(1-9)
He warns against things which really defile.(10-20)
He heals the daughter of a Syrophenician woman.(21-28)
Jesus heals the sick, and miraculously feeds four thousand.(29-39)
**Verses 1-9**
Additions to God's laws reflect upon his wisdom, as if he had left out something which was needed, and which man...
Read full commentary →What Defiles a Person
And he called the multitude, and said unto them, Hear, and understand:
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KJV Study Commentary
Reformed theology emphasizes the divine initiative evident in this text. The verse connects to broader biblical themes of covenant, redemption, and God's unchanging character. Understanding this passage requires recognizing both its historical context and its application to Christian life.
Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(10) **He called the multitude, and said unto them.**—The act was more startling and suggestive than appears on the surface. He did not appeal to the authority of great names or of a higher tribunal. He removed the case, as it were, to another court, which His opponents did not recognise, and turned from the disputes and traditions of the schools to the unperverted conscience of the common people.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**29. And he said, Come. And when Peter had come down out of the boat. he walked on the water, to go to Jesus--**(Also see on Mr 6:50.)
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 10-20**
Christ shows that the defilement they ought to fear, was not from what entered their mouths as food, but from what came out of their mouths, which showed the wickedness of their hearts. Nothing will last in the soul but the regenerating graces of the Holy Spirit; and nothing should be admitted into the church but what is from above; therefore, whoever is offended by a plain, s...
Read full commentary →Not that which goeth into the mouth defileth a man; but that which cometh out of the mouth, this defileth a man.
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KJV Study Commentary
Jesus' teaching 'Not that which goeth into the mouth defileth a man; but that which cometh out of the mouth, this defileth a man' revolutionizes purity concepts. External ritual (dietary laws) doesn't make one unclean; rather, words revealing heart corruption defile. This shifts focus from external conformity to internal transformation. Jesus challenges Pharisaic emphasis on ceremonial purity whil...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(11) **Not that which goeth into the mouth.**—Up to this time the question had been debated indirectly. The scribes had been convicted of unfitness to speak with authority on moral questions. Now a great broad principle is asserted, which not only cut at the root of Pharisaism, but, in its ultimate tendency. swept away the whole Levitical system of ceremonial purity—the distinction between clean a...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**30. But when he saw the wind boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink, he cried, saying, Lord, save me--**(Also see on Mr 6:50.)
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 10-20**
Christ shows that the defilement they ought to fear, was not from what entered their mouths as food, but from what came out of their mouths, which showed the wickedness of their hearts. Nothing will last in the soul but the regenerating graces of the Holy Spirit; and nothing should be admitted into the church but what is from above; therefore, whoever is offended by a plain, s...
Read full commentary →Then came his disciples, and said unto him, Knowest thou that the Pharisees were offended, after they heard this saying?
View commentary (4 sources)
KJV Study Commentary
Reformed theology emphasizes the divine initiative evident in this text. The verse connects to broader biblical themes of covenant, redemption, and God's unchanging character. Understanding this passage requires recognizing both its historical context and its application to Christian life.
Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(12) **Then came his disciples.**—The sequence of events appears in Mark 7:17. The Pharisees drew back as in holy horror at the boldness with which the new Teacher set Himself, not only above their traditions, but above laws which they looked on as divine, and therefore permanent. The multitude heard in silence a teaching so unlike that with which they had been familiar from their youth. Even the ...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**31. And immediately Jesus stretched forth his hand, and caught him, and said to him, O thou of little faith, why didst thou doubt?--**(Also see on Mr 6:50.)
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 10-20**
Christ shows that the defilement they ought to fear, was not from what entered their mouths as food, but from what came out of their mouths, which showed the wickedness of their hearts. Nothing will last in the soul but the regenerating graces of the Holy Spirit; and nothing should be admitted into the church but what is from above; therefore, whoever is offended by a plain, s...
Read full commentary →But he answered and said, Every plant, which my heavenly Father hath not planted, shall be rooted up.
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KJV Study Commentary
This text illustrates key Reformed principles: sola Scriptura, sola gratia, and sola fide. The passage demonstrates how God's Word speaks authoritatively to human need, revealing both our depravity and God's merciful provision through Christ.
Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(13) **Every plant, which my heavenly Father hath not planted.**—The disciples could hardly fail to connect the words with the parable which they had heard so lately. The system and the men that they had been taught to regard as pre-eminently religious were, after all, in their Master’s judgment, as the tares and not as the wheat (Matthew 13:37-38). So far as they were a sect or party, His Father ...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**32. And when they had come into the boat, the wind ceased--**(Also see on Mr 6:50.)
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 10-20**
Christ shows that the defilement they ought to fear, was not from what entered their mouths as food, but from what came out of their mouths, which showed the wickedness of their hearts. Nothing will last in the soul but the regenerating graces of the Holy Spirit; and nothing should be admitted into the church but what is from above; therefore, whoever is offended by a plain, s...
Read full commentary →Let them alone: they be blind leaders of the blind. And if the blind lead the blind, both shall fall into the ditch.
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KJV Study Commentary
Jesus' description of the Pharisees—'Let them alone: they be blind leaders of the blind'—pronounces judgment on false teachers. 'Let them alone' means cease trying to please or appease them. They're 'blind' (spiritually unseeing) yet claim to lead others. The warning 'if the blind lead the blind, both shall fall into the ditch' shows that false teaching destroys both teacher and follower. This sta...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(14) **They be blind leaders of the blind.**—It would appear from Romans 2:19 that the phrase was one in common use to describe the ideal of the Rabbi’s calling. Now they heard it in a new form, which told them that their state was the very reverse of that ideal. And that which was worst in it was that their blindness was self-chosen (Matthew 13:15), and that they were yet all unconscious of it, a...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 10-20**
Christ shows that the defilement they ought to fear, was not from what entered their mouths as food, but from what came out of their mouths, which showed the wickedness of their hearts. Nothing will last in the soul but the regenerating graces of the Holy Spirit; and nothing should be admitted into the church but what is from above; therefore, whoever is offended by a plain, s...
Read full commentary →Then answered Peter and said unto him, Declare unto us this parable.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Then answered Peter and said unto him, Declare unto us this parable</strong> (φράσον ἡμῖν τὴν παραβολήν, <em>phrason hēmin tēn parabolēn</em>)—Peter, as spokesman for the Twelve, requested explanation of Jesus's teaching that 'not that which goeth into the mouth defileth a man; but that which cometh out of the mouth' (v. 11). The word <em>phrason</em> (explain, make clear) shows Peter reco...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(15) **Declare unto us this parable.**—The answer shows that Peter’s question referred not to the proverb that immediately preceded, but to what seemed to him the strange, startling utterance of Matthew 15:11. It was significant that he could not as yet take in the thought that it was a truth to be received literally. To him it seemed a dark enigmatic saying, which required an explanation, like th...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 10-20**
Christ shows that the defilement they ought to fear, was not from what entered their mouths as food, but from what came out of their mouths, which showed the wickedness of their hearts. Nothing will last in the soul but the regenerating graces of the Holy Spirit; and nothing should be admitted into the church but what is from above; therefore, whoever is offended by a plain, s...
Read full commentary →And Jesus said, Are ye also yet without understanding?
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KJV Study Commentary
This verse reveals profound theological truth central to Reformed understanding of Scripture. The passage demonstrates God's sovereignty and grace working through human circumstances. Christ's teaching here challenges contemporary religious assumptions while pointing to deeper spiritual realities.
Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(16) **Are ye also yet without understanding?**—The pronoun is emphatic: “Ye, My disciples, who have heard from My lips the spiritual nature of My kingdom, are *ye* too, like the Pharisees, still such backward scholars?”
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 10-20**
Christ shows that the defilement they ought to fear, was not from what entered their mouths as food, but from what came out of their mouths, which showed the wickedness of their hearts. Nothing will last in the soul but the regenerating graces of the Holy Spirit; and nothing should be admitted into the church but what is from above; therefore, whoever is offended by a plain, s...
Read full commentary →Do not ye yet understand, that whatsoever entereth in at the mouth goeth into the belly, and is cast out into the draught?
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KJV Study Commentary
Reformed theology emphasizes the divine initiative evident in this text. The verse connects to broader biblical themes of covenant, redemption, and God's unchanging character. Understanding this passage requires recognizing both its historical context and its application to Christian life.
Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(17) **Is cast out into the draught.**—The word is used in its old English meaning, as equivalent to drain, sewer, cesspool (see 2Kings 10:27). St. Mark (Mark 7:19) adds the somewhat perplexing words, “purging all meats,” on which see Note on that verse. The principle implied is that a process purely physical from first to last cannot in itself bring any moral defilement. It was possible, of cours...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 10-20**
Christ shows that the defilement they ought to fear, was not from what entered their mouths as food, but from what came out of their mouths, which showed the wickedness of their hearts. Nothing will last in the soul but the regenerating graces of the Holy Spirit; and nothing should be admitted into the church but what is from above; therefore, whoever is offended by a plain, s...
Read full commentary →But those things which proceed out of the mouth come forth from the heart; and they defile the man.
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KJV Study Commentary
This verse reveals profound theological truth central to Reformed understanding of Scripture. The passage demonstrates God's sovereignty and grace working through human circumstances. Christ's teaching here challenges contemporary religious assumptions while pointing to deeper spiritual realities.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 10-20**
Christ shows that the defilement they ought to fear, was not from what entered their mouths as food, but from what came out of their mouths, which showed the wickedness of their hearts. Nothing will last in the soul but the regenerating graces of the Holy Spirit; and nothing should be admitted into the church but what is from above; therefore, whoever is offended by a plain, s...
Read full commentary →For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies:
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KJV Study Commentary
Jesus lists sins originating from the heart: evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies. This catalog reveals total depravity—the heart's natural state produces evil continually (Genesis 6:5). Reformed theology emphasizes that sin's root is internal corruption, not external influence. Ethical reformation without heart regeneration fails because the problem...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(19) **Evil thoughts, . . . blasphemies.**—The plural form points to the manifold variety of the forms of guilt under each several head. The order is in some measure an ascending one, beginning with the “thoughts,” or rather trains of thought, which are the first suggestions of evil, and ending in the “blasphemies” or revilings which, directly or indirectly, have God and not man for their object. ...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
CHAPTER 15 Mt 15:1-20. Discourse on Ceremonial Pollution. ( = Mr 7:1, 23).
**The time of this section was after that Passover which was nigh at hand when our Lord fed the five thousand (Joh 6:4)--**the third Passover, as we take it, since His public ministry began, but which He did not keep at Jerusalem for the reason mentioned in Joh 7:1.
**1. Then came to Jesus scribes and Pharisees, which we...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 10-20**
Christ shows that the defilement they ought to fear, was not from what entered their mouths as food, but from what came out of their mouths, which showed the wickedness of their hearts. Nothing will last in the soul but the regenerating graces of the Holy Spirit; and nothing should be admitted into the church but what is from above; therefore, whoever is offended by a plain, s...
Read full commentary →These are the things which defile a man: but to eat with unwashen hands defileth not a man.
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KJV Study Commentary
Jesus concludes: 'These are the things which defile a man: but to eat with unwashen hands defileth not a man.' This revolutionary teaching shifts focus from ceremonial to moral purity. Defilement is fundamentally spiritual and ethical, not ritual. Reformed doctrine sees here the transition from Old Covenant ceremonial law to New Covenant spiritual reality. While external religion appears impressiv...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
2. Why do thy disciples transgress the tradition of the elders? for they wash not their hands when they eat bread.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 10-20**
Christ shows that the defilement they ought to fear, was not from what entered their mouths as food, but from what came out of their mouths, which showed the wickedness of their hearts. Nothing will last in the soul but the regenerating graces of the Holy Spirit; and nothing should be admitted into the church but what is from above; therefore, whoever is offended by a plain, s...
Read full commentary →The Faith of a Canaanite Woman
Then Jesus went thence, and departed into the coasts of Tyre and Sidon.
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KJV Study Commentary
This verse reveals profound theological truth central to Reformed understanding of Scripture. The passage demonstrates God's sovereignty and grace working through human circumstances. Christ's teaching here challenges contemporary religious assumptions while pointing to deeper spiritual realities.
Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(21) **Into the coasts of Tyre and Sidon.**—St. Mark (Mark 7:31) says (in the best MSS.) our Lord passed, after the miracle, “through Sidon,” and so we have the one recorded exception to that self-imposed law of His ministry which kept Him within the limits of the land of Israel. To the disciples it might seem that He was simply withdrawing from conflict with the excited hostility of His Pharisee ...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**3. But he answered and said unto them, Why do ye also transgress the commandment of God by your tradition?--**The charge is retorted with startling power: "The tradition they transgress is but man's, and is itself the occasion of heavy transgression, undermining the authority of God's law."
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 21-28**
The dark corners of the country, the most remote, shall share Christ's influences; afterwards the ends of the earth shall see his salvation. The distress and trouble of her family brought a woman to Christ; and though it is need that drives us to Christ, yet we shall not therefore be driven from him. She did not limit Christ to any particular instance of mercy, but mercy, merc...
Read full commentary →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.
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KJV Study Commentary
This text illustrates key Reformed principles: sola Scriptura, sola gratia, and sola fide. The passage demonstrates how God's Word speaks authoritatively to human need, revealing both our depravity and God's merciful provision through Christ.
Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(22) **A woman of Canaan.**—The terms Canaanite and Canaan, which in the earlier books of the Old Testament were often applied in a wider sense to all the original inhabitants of what was afterwards the land of Israel (Genesis 10:18; Genesis 12:6; Judges 1:10), were used more specifically of Phœnicia and its inhabitants (Exodus 3:8; Exodus 3:17; Ezra 9:1, and elsewhere), and are employed here with...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**4. For God commanded, saying, Honour thy father and mother--**(De 5:16).
**and, He that curseth father or mother, let him die the death--**(Ex 21:17).
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 21-28**
The dark corners of the country, the most remote, shall share Christ's influences; afterwards the ends of the earth shall see his salvation. The distress and trouble of her family brought a woman to Christ; and though it is need that drives us to Christ, yet we shall not therefore be driven from him. She did not limit Christ to any particular instance of mercy, but mercy, merc...
Read full commentary →But he answered her not a word. And his disciples came and besought him, saying, Send her away; for she crieth after us.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>But he answered her not a word</strong> (ὁ δὲ οὐκ ἀπεκρίθη αὐτῇ λόγον, <em>ho de ouk apekrithē autē logon</em>)—Christ's silence toward the Canaanite woman's plea seems harsh, even cruel. Yet this wasn't rejection but testing, drawing out faith through resistance. The phrase 'not a word' emphasizes complete silence—no acknowledgment, no comfort, no immediate help.<br><br>Jesus's silence se...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(23) **He answered her not a word.**—Two alternative views present themselves as to our Lord’s action in this matter. That which has found favour with nearly all ancient and most modern interpreters assumes that from the first He had purposed to comply with her request, and spoke as He did only to test and manifest her faith. Men have been unwilling to recognise the possibility of a change of purp...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**5. But ye say, Whosoever shall say to his father or his mother, It is a gift--**or simply, "A gift!" In Mark (Mr 7:11), it is, "Corban!" that is, "An oblation!" meaning, any unbloody offering or gift dedicated to sacred uses.
by whatsoever thou mightest be profited by me;
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 21-28**
The dark corners of the country, the most remote, shall share Christ's influences; afterwards the ends of the earth shall see his salvation. The distress and trouble of her family brought a woman to Christ; and though it is need that drives us to Christ, yet we shall not therefore be driven from him. She did not limit Christ to any particular instance of mercy, but mercy, merc...
Read full commentary →But he answered and said, I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel</strong> (οὐκ ἀπεστάλην εἰ μὴ εἰς τὰ πρόβατα τὰ ἀπολωλότα οἴκου Ἰσραήλ, <em>ouk apestalēn ei mē eis ta probata ta apolōlota oikou Israēl</em>)—Jesus defined the primary scope of his earthly ministry. The word <em>apestalēn</em> (I have been sent) indicates divine commission, specific and intentional. 'Lost sheep' (ἀπολωλότα, <em>...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(24) **I am not sent** (better, *I was not sent*)** but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel.**—This, then, was what had restrained Him. Those wandering sheep, without a shepherd, were the appointed objects of His care. Were He to go beyond that limit in a single case, it might be followed by a thousand, and then, becoming, as it were, before the time, the Apostle of the Gentiles, He would c...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**6. And honour not his father or his mother, he shall be free--**that is, It is true, father--mother--that by giving to thee this, which I now present, thou mightest be profited by me; but I have gifted it to pious uses, and therefore, at whatever cost to thee, I am not now at liberty to alienate any portion of it. "And," it is added in Mark (Mr 7:12), "ye suffer him no more to do aught for his f...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 21-28**
The dark corners of the country, the most remote, shall share Christ's influences; afterwards the ends of the earth shall see his salvation. The distress and trouble of her family brought a woman to Christ; and though it is need that drives us to Christ, yet we shall not therefore be driven from him. She did not limit Christ to any particular instance of mercy, but mercy, merc...
Read full commentary →Then came she and worshipped him, saying, Lord, help me.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Then came she and worshipped him, saying, Lord, help me</strong> (ἡ δὲ ἐλθοῦσα προσεκύνει αὐτῷ λέγουσα, Κύριε, βοήθει μοι, <em>hē de elthousa prosekynei autō legousa, Kyrie, boēthei moi</em>)—despite apparent rejection, the woman drew nearer. The word <em>prosekynei</em> (worshipped, prostrated) indicates full submission and reverence. Her cry 'Lord, help me' (Κύριε, βοήθει μοι) is brief, ...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(25) **Then came she and worshipped him.**—The word implies the act of prostrate homage. She had apparently stood apart during the conversation between the Prophet and His disciples, and now came again, renewing her passionate entreaty.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**7. Ye hypocrites, well did Esaias prophesy of you, saying--**(Is 29:13).
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 21-28**
The dark corners of the country, the most remote, shall share Christ's influences; afterwards the ends of the earth shall see his salvation. The distress and trouble of her family brought a woman to Christ; and though it is need that drives us to Christ, yet we shall not therefore be driven from him. She did not limit Christ to any particular instance of mercy, but mercy, merc...
Read full commentary →But he answered and said, It is not meet to take the children's bread, and to cast it to dogs.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>It is not meet to take the children's bread, and to cast it to dogs</strong> (οὐκ ἔστιν καλὸν λαβεῖν τὸν ἄρτον τῶν τέκνων καὶ βαλεῖν τοῖς κυνάριοις, <em>ouk estin kalon labein ton arton tōn teknōn kai balein tois kynariois</em>)—Jesus used the diminutive <em>kynariois</em> (little dogs, house dogs), not the harsh term for wild scavengers. 'Children's bread' referred to blessings promised t...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(26) **To cast it to dogs.**—The word used was diminutive in its form, and as such pointed not to the wild, unclean beasts that haunt the streets of an Eastern city (Psalm 59:6), but to the tamer animals that were bred in the house, and kept as pets. The history of Tobias and his dog, in the Apocrypha, furnishes the one example in Biblical literature of this friendly relation between the dog and h...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**8. This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, &c.--**By putting the commandments of men on a level with the divine requirements, their whole worship was rendered vain--a principle of deep moment in the service of God. "For," it is added in Mr 7:8, "laying aside the commandment of God, ye hold the tradition of men, as the washing of pots and cups; and many other such like things ye do...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 21-28**
The dark corners of the country, the most remote, shall share Christ's influences; afterwards the ends of the earth shall see his salvation. The distress and trouble of her family brought a woman to Christ; and though it is need that drives us to Christ, yet we shall not therefore be driven from him. She did not limit Christ to any particular instance of mercy, but mercy, merc...
Read full commentary →And she said, Truth, Lord: yet the dogs eat of the crumbs which fall from their masters' table.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Truth, Lord: yet the dogs eat of the crumbs which fall from their masters' table</strong> (Ναί, κύριε· καὶ γὰρ τὰ κυνάρια ἐσθίει ἀπὸ τῶν ψιχίων τῶν πιπτόντων ἀπὸ τῆς τραπέζης τῶν κυρίων αὐτῶν, <em>Nai, kyrie; kai gar ta kynaria esthiei apo tōn psichiōn tōn piptontōn apo tēs trapezēs tōn kyriōn autōn</em>)—she accepted Christ's categories ('Truth, Lord') without offense, then used his own m...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(27) **Truth, Lord: yet the dogs eat of the crumbs.**—The insertion of the conjunction “for” in the Greek gives it a force which it is hard to reproduce in English, “Yet grant what I ask, for the dogs under the table . . .” The woman catches at the form which had softened the usual word of scorn, and presses the privilege which it implied. She did not ask that the “children” might be deprived of a...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 21-28**
The dark corners of the country, the most remote, shall share Christ's influences; afterwards the ends of the earth shall see his salvation. The distress and trouble of her family brought a woman to Christ; and though it is need that drives us to Christ, yet we shall not therefore be driven from him. She did not limit Christ to any particular instance of mercy, but mercy, merc...
Read full commentary →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.
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KJV Study Commentary
Jesus' response to the Canaanite woman—'O woman, great is thy faith: be it unto thee even as thou wilt'—commends extraordinary faith. 'Great is thy faith' contrasts with His frequent 'little faith' rebukes to disciples. Her persistent faith despite apparent rejection, ethnic barriers, and insulting language (dogs, v. 26) demonstrated uncommon trust. 'Be it unto thee even as thou wilt' grants her r...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(28) **O woman, great is thy faith.**—The answer of the woman changed the conditions of the problem, and therefore, we may reverently add, changed the purpose which depended on them. Here again, as in the case of the centurion, our Lord found a faith greater than He had met with in Israel. The woman was, in St. Paul’s words, a child of the faith, though not of the flesh, of Abraham (Romans 4:16), ...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**10. And he called the multitude, and said unto them--**The foregoing dialogue, though in the people's hearing, was between Jesus and the pharisaic cavillers, whose object was to disparage Him with the people. But Jesus, having put them down, turns to the multitude, who at this time were prepared to drink in everything He said, and with admirable plainness, strength, and brevity, lays down the gr...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 21-28**
The dark corners of the country, the most remote, shall share Christ's influences; afterwards the ends of the earth shall see his salvation. The distress and trouble of her family brought a woman to Christ; and though it is need that drives us to Christ, yet we shall not therefore be driven from him. She did not limit Christ to any particular instance of mercy, but mercy, merc...
Read full commentary →Jesus Heals Many
And Jesus departed from thence, and came nigh unto the sea of Galilee; and went up into a mountain, and sat down there.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>And Jesus departed from thence, and came nigh unto the sea of Galilee</strong> (Καὶ μεταβὰς ἐκεῖθεν ὁ Ἰησοῦς ἦλθεν παρὰ τὴν θάλασσαν τῆς Γαλιλαίας)—The verb μεταβαίνω (metabainō, 'to pass over, to remove, to depart') indicates deliberate transition from the region of Tyre and Sidon (15:21) back to Jewish territory. Jesus had just healed the Canaanite woman's daughter (15:28), demonstrating...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(29) **Jesus departed from** **thence.**—As St. Mark (in the better MSS.) gives the narrative, His journey led Him actually through Sidon. It was the one instance in which He visited a distinctly heathen city, and walked by the shore of the Great Sea, and looked out towards the isles of Chittim, the isles of the Gentiles, to which His name was to come in after years as the message of joy and peace...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**11. Not that which goeth into the mouth defileth a man; but that which cometh out of the mouth, this defileth a man--**This is expressed even more emphatically in Mark (Mr 7:15, 16), and it is there added, "If any man have ears to hear, let him hear." As in Mt 13:9, this so oft-repeated saying seems designed to call attention to the fundamental and universal character of the truth it refers to.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 29-39**
Whatever our case is, the only way to find ease and relief, is to lay it at Christ's feet, to submit it to him, and refer it to his disposal. Those who would have spiritual healing from Christ, must be ruled as he pleases. See what work sin has made; what various diseases human bodies are subject to. Here were such diseases as fancy could neither guess the cause nor the cure o...
Read full commentary →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:
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>And great multitudes came unto him, having with them those that were lame, blind, dumb, maimed, and many others</strong> (καὶ προσῆλθον αὐτῷ ὄχλοι πολλοὶ ἔχοντες μεθ' ἑαυτῶν χωλούς, τυφλούς, κωφούς, κυλλούς, καὶ ἑτέρους πολλούς)—The verb προσέρχομαι (proserchomai, 'to come to, to approach') emphasizes intentional drawing near. The catalog of afflictions—χωλός (lame), τυφλός (blind), κωφός ...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(30) **Blind, dumb.**—St. Mark (Mark 7:31-37) relates one memorable instance of a work of healing in this connection. Here we get a great aggregate of miracles, unrecorded in detail, working on the minds of the multitude, and leading them to repeated utterances of praise in the form of a doxology—they “glorified the God of Israel.”
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**12. Then came his disciples, and said unto him, Knowest thou that the Pharisees were offended, after they heard this saying?--**They had given vent to their irritation, and perhaps threats, not to our Lord Himself, from whom they seem to have slunk away, but to some of the disciples, who report it to their Master.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 29-39**
Whatever our case is, the only way to find ease and relief, is to lay it at Christ's feet, to submit it to him, and refer it to his disposal. Those who would have spiritual healing from Christ, must be ruled as he pleases. See what work sin has made; what various diseases human bodies are subject to. Here were such diseases as fancy could neither guess the cause nor the cure o...
Read full commentary →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.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Insomuch that the multitude wondered, when they saw the dumb to speak</strong> (ὥστε τὸν ὄχλον θαυμάσαι βλέποντας κωφοὺς λαλοῦντας)—The consecutive ὥστε ('so that, insomuch that') introduces the result: θαυμάζω (thaumazō, 'to marvel, to wonder'). Seeing κωφούς λαλοῦντας ('mute ones speaking') violated natural order—fulfilled Isaiah 35:6. <strong>The maimed to be whole, the lame to walk, an...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**13. But he answered and said, Every plant, which my heavenly Father hath not planted, shall be rooted up--**They are offended, are they? Heed it not: their corrupt teaching is already doomed: the garden of the Lord upon earth, too long cumbered with their presence, shall yet be purged of them and their accursed system: yea, and whatsoever is not of the planting of My heavenly Father, the great H...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 29-39**
Whatever our case is, the only way to find ease and relief, is to lay it at Christ's feet, to submit it to him, and refer it to his disposal. Those who would have spiritual healing from Christ, must be ruled as he pleases. See what work sin has made; what various diseases human bodies are subject to. Here were such diseases as fancy could neither guess the cause nor the cure o...
Read full commentary →Jesus Feeds the Four Thousand
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.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Then Jesus called his disciples unto him, and said, I have compassion on the multitude</strong> (Ὁ δὲ Ἰησοῦς προσκαλεσάμενος τοὺς μαθητὰς αὐτοῦ εἶπεν, Σπλαγχνίζομαι ἐπὶ τὸν ὄχλον)—The verb σπλαγχνίζομαι (splanchnizomai, 'to be moved with compassion') comes from σπλάγχνα (viscera, inward parts), indicating deep emotional response. Jesus felt compassion in His innermost being—not mere pity b...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(32) **I have compassion on the multitude.**—The obvious resemblance between the details of this narrative and that of the feeding of the Five Thousand has led the schools of critics, who do not regard either as the record of a fact, to treat this as only another version of the same incident, or rather, from their point of view, of the same legend. The notes of distinctness are, however, too numer...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**14. Let them alone: they be blind leaders of the blind. And if the blind lead the blind, both shall fall into the ditch--**Striking expression of the ruinous effects of erroneous teaching!
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 29-39**
Whatever our case is, the only way to find ease and relief, is to lay it at Christ's feet, to submit it to him, and refer it to his disposal. Those who would have spiritual healing from Christ, must be ruled as he pleases. See what work sin has made; what various diseases human bodies are subject to. Here were such diseases as fancy could neither guess the cause nor the cure o...
Read full commentary →And his disciples say unto him, Whence should we have so much bread in the wilderness, as to fill so great a multitude?
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>And his disciples say unto him, Whence should we have so much bread in the wilderness, as to fill so great a multitude?</strong> (καὶ λέγουσιν αὐτῷ οἱ μαθηταί, Πόθεν ἡμῖν ἐν ἐρημίᾳ ἄρτοι τοσοῦτοι ὥστε χορτάσαι ὄχλον τοσοῦτον;)—The question πόθεν ('from where') expresses perceived impossibility. The phrase ἐν ἐρημίᾳ ('in wilderness, in a deserted place') emphasizes the lack of resources. Re...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(33) **His disciples say unto him.**—Here, on the assumption that we are dealing with a true record, a difficulty of another kind meets us. How was it, we ask, that the disciples, with the memory of the former miracle still fresh in their recollection, should answer as before with the same child-like perplexity? Why did they not at once assume that the same divine power could be put forth to meet ...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**15. Then answered Peter and said unto him, Declare unto us this parable--**"when He was entered into the house from the people," says Mark (Mr 7:17).
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 29-39**
Whatever our case is, the only way to find ease and relief, is to lay it at Christ's feet, to submit it to him, and refer it to his disposal. Those who would have spiritual healing from Christ, must be ruled as he pleases. See what work sin has made; what various diseases human bodies are subject to. Here were such diseases as fancy could neither guess the cause nor the cure o...
Read full commentary →And Jesus saith unto them, How many loaves have ye? And they said, Seven, and a few little fishes.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>And Jesus saith unto them, How many loaves have ye?</strong> (καὶ λέγει αὐτοῖς ὁ Ἰησοῦς, Πόσους ἄρτους ἔχετε;)—Jesus's question focuses them on present resources, not absent provisions. He always begins with what we have, not what we lack. The interrogative πόσος ('how many') invites inventory—what's available for God to use? <strong>And they said, Seven, and a few little fishes</strong> (...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(34) **Seven, and a few little fishes.**—The resemblance of the answer to that which had been given before is, at least, interesting as showing what was the provision habitually made by the travelling company of preachers for the supply of their daily wants. The few barley loaves and dried fishes, this was all their store, as they went from village to village, or passed days and nights on the hill...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**16. And Jesus said, Are ye also yet without understanding?--**Slowness of spiritual apprehension in His genuine disciples grieves the Saviour: from others He expects no better (Mt 13:11).
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 29-39**
Whatever our case is, the only way to find ease and relief, is to lay it at Christ's feet, to submit it to him, and refer it to his disposal. Those who would have spiritual healing from Christ, must be ruled as he pleases. See what work sin has made; what various diseases human bodies are subject to. Here were such diseases as fancy could neither guess the cause nor the cure o...
Read full commentary →And he commanded the multitude to sit down on the ground.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>And he commanded the multitude to sit down on the ground</strong> (καὶ παραγγείλας τῷ ὄχλῳ ἀναπεσεῖν ἐπὶ τὴν γῆν)—The verb παραγγέλλω (parangellō) means 'to command, to charge' with authority. The verb ἀναπίπτω (anapiptō, 'to recline, to sit down') suggests the posture of dining guests at a banquet, not desperate refugees scrambling for food. Jesus orchestrates order before provision—teach...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(35) **He commanded the multitude to sit down on the ground.**—Probably, with the same orderly precision as before, by hundreds and by fifties, the women and children, as we learn from Matthew 15:38, being in this instance also grouped together apart from the men.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**17-18. Do not ye yet understand that whatsoever entereth in at the mouth, &c.--**Familiar though these sayings have now become, what freedom from bondage to outward things do they proclaim, on the one hand; and on the other, how searching is the truth which they express--that nothing which enters from without can really defile us; and that only the evil that is in the heart, that is allowed ...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 29-39**
Whatever our case is, the only way to find ease and relief, is to lay it at Christ's feet, to submit it to him, and refer it to his disposal. Those who would have spiritual healing from Christ, must be ruled as he pleases. See what work sin has made; what various diseases human bodies are subject to. Here were such diseases as fancy could neither guess the cause nor the cure o...
Read full commentary →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.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>And he took the seven loaves and the fishes, and gave thanks</strong> (καὶ λαβὼν τοὺς ἑπτὰ ἄρτους καὶ τοὺς ἰχθύας εὐχαριστήσας)—The verb εὐχαριστέω (eucharisteō, 'to give thanks') gives us 'Eucharist.' Jesus blessed the Father before distribution, modeling gratitude for provision. Thanksgiving preceded multiplication—recognizing God's goodness unlocks His generosity. The aorist participle ...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**17-18. Do not ye yet understand that whatsoever entereth in at the mouth, &c.--**Familiar though these sayings have now become, what freedom from bondage to outward things do they proclaim, on the one hand; and on the other, how searching is the truth which they express--that nothing which enters from without can really defile us; and that only the evil that is in the heart, that is allowed ...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 29-39**
Whatever our case is, the only way to find ease and relief, is to lay it at Christ's feet, to submit it to him, and refer it to his disposal. Those who would have spiritual healing from Christ, must be ruled as he pleases. See what work sin has made; what various diseases human bodies are subject to. Here were such diseases as fancy could neither guess the cause nor the cure o...
Read full commentary →And they did all eat, and were filled: and they took up of the broken meat that was left seven baskets full.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>And they did all eat, and were filled</strong> (καὶ ἔφαγον πάντες καὶ ἐχορτάσθησαν)—The verb χορτάζω (chortazō) means 'to feed, to fill, to satisfy fully'—not mere subsistence but complete satisfaction. The πάντες ('all') emphasizes universality—no one left hungry. This fulfills Psalm 107:9: 'He satisfies the longing soul and fills the hungry soul with goodness.' Where Jesus provides, ther...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(37) **Seven baskets full.**—The nature of the baskets has been explained above. As it is hardly likely that these could have been carried by the disciples on their journey, we must think of them as having been probably brought by some of the multitude to hold their provisions. The fact that the disciples were shortly afterwards (Matthew 16:7) again without provision, suggests the thought that the...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**19. For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts--**"evil reasonings"; referring here more immediately to those corrupt reasonings which had stealthily introduced and gradually reared up that hideous fabric of tradition which at length practically nullified the unchangeable principles of the moral law. But the statement is far broader than this; namely that the first shape which the evil that is i...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 29-39**
Whatever our case is, the only way to find ease and relief, is to lay it at Christ's feet, to submit it to him, and refer it to his disposal. Those who would have spiritual healing from Christ, must be ruled as he pleases. See what work sin has made; what various diseases human bodies are subject to. Here were such diseases as fancy could neither guess the cause nor the cure o...
Read full commentary →And they that did eat were four thousand men, beside women and children.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>And they that did eat were four thousand men, beside women and children</strong> (οἱ δὲ ἐσθίοντες ἦσαν τετρακισχίλιοι ἄνδρες χωρὶς γυναικῶν καὶ παιδίων)—The enumeration follows ancient Near Eastern custom of counting ἄνδρες (men, adult males) separately. The phrase χωρὶς γυναικῶν καὶ παιδίων ('besides women and children') indicates the total crowd was likely 10,000-15,000. Four thousand me...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**20. These are the things which defile a man: but to eat with unwashen hands defileth not a man--**Thus does our Lord sum up this whole searching discourse.
Mt 15:21-28. The Woman of Canaan and Her Daughter.
For the exposition, see on Mr 7:24-30.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 29-39**
Whatever our case is, the only way to find ease and relief, is to lay it at Christ's feet, to submit it to him, and refer it to his disposal. Those who would have spiritual healing from Christ, must be ruled as he pleases. See what work sin has made; what various diseases human bodies are subject to. Here were such diseases as fancy could neither guess the cause nor the cure o...
Read full commentary →And he sent away the multitude, and took ship , and came into the coasts of Magdala.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>And he sent away the multitude, and took ship</strong> (καὶ ἀπολύσας τοὺς ὄχλους ἐνέβη εἰς τὸ πλοῖον)—The verb ἀπολύω (apolyō, 'to send away, to dismiss, to release') indicates orderly dismissal, not abandonment. Jesus controlled both gathering and dispersing—sovereign over crowd dynamics. He didn't cling to popularity but purposefully moved according to His Father's agenda. Taking ship (ἐ...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(39) **Into the coasts of Magdala.**—The better MSS. give the reading Magadan. The narrative implies that it was on the western shore of the lake, and it is probably to be identified with the modern village of *El Mejdel,* about three miles above *Tabarieh* (Tiberias). The name would seem to be an altered form of the Hebrew *Migdol,* a tower. On the assumption that “Mary, called Magdalene,” derive...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 29-39**
Whatever our case is, the only way to find ease and relief, is to lay it at Christ's feet, to submit it to him, and refer it to his disposal. Those who would have spiritual healing from Christ, must be ruled as he pleases. See what work sin has made; what various diseases human bodies are subject to. Here were such diseases as fancy could neither guess the cause nor the cure o...
Read full commentary →