Chapter 15 displays man and God, the moral contrast between the doctrine of
Christ and that of the Jews; and thus the Jewish system is rejected morally
by God. When I speak of the system, I speak of their whole moral condition,
systematised by the hypocrisy that sought to conceal iniquity, while
increasing it in the sight of God, before whom they presented themselves.
They made use of His name in order to sink lower, under the pretence of
piety, than the laws of natural conscience. It is thus that a religious
system becomes the great instrument of the power of the enemy, and more
especially when that, of which it still bears the name, was instituted by
God. But then man is judged, for Judaism was man with God's law and God's
culture.
The judgment which the Lord pronounces on this system of hypocrisy, while
manifesting the consequent rejection of Israel, gives rise to instruction
that goes thus much farther; and which, searching the heart of man, and
judging man according to that which proceeds from it, proves the heart to
be a spring of all iniquity; and thus makes it evident that all true
morality has its basis in the conviction and confession of sin. For,
without this, the heart is always false and flatters itself in vain. Thus
also Jesus goes to the root of everything, and comes out of the special and
temporary relations of the Jewish nation, to enter on the true morality
which belongs to all ages. The disciples did not observe the traditions of
the elders; about these the Lord did not concern Himself. He avails Himself
of the accusation, to lay it upon the conscience of their accusers, that
the judgment occasioned by the rejection of the Son of God was authorised
also on the ground of those relationships that already existed between God
and Israel. They made the commandment of God of none effect through their
traditions; and that in a most important point, and one even on which all
earthly blessings depended for the children of Israel. By their own
ordinances also Jesus exposes the consummate hypocrisy, the selfishness and
avarice, of those who pretended to guide the people, and to form their
heart to morality and to the worship of Jehovah. Isaiah had already
pronounced their judgment.
Afterwards He shews the multitude that it was a question of what man was,
of what proceeded from his heart, from within him; and points out the sad
streams that flow from that corrupt spring. But it was the simple truth
with respect to the heart of man, as known by God, which scandalised the
self-righteous men of the world, which was unintelligible even to the
disciples. Nothing so simple as the truth when it is known; nothing so
difficult, so obscure, when a judgment is to be formed respecting it by the
heart of man, who does not possess the truth; for he judges after his own
thoughts, and the truth is not in them. In short, Israel, and specially
religious Israel, and true morality are set in contrast: man is set in his
proper responsibility, and in his real colours before God.
Jesus searches the heart; but, acting in grace, He acts according to the
heart of God, and manifests it by coming out, both for the one and for the
other, of the conventional terms of God's relationship with Israel. A
divine Person, God, may walk in the covenant He has given, but cannot be
confined to it. And the unfaithfulness of His people to it is the occasion
of the revelation of Him passing out beyond that place. And note, here, the
effect of traditional religion in blinding moral judgment. What clearer or
plainer than that what came out of the mouth and heart defiled a man, not
what he ate? But the disciples through the vile influence of Pharisaic
teaching, putting outside forms for inward purity, could not understand it.
Christ now leaves the borders of Israel, and His disputes with the learned
men of Jerusalem, to visit those places which were farthest off from Jewish
privileges. He departs into the coasts of Tyre and Sidon, the cities which
He had Himself used as examples of that which was farthest from repentance;
see chapter 11, where He classes them with Sodom and Gomorrah as more
hardened than they. A woman comes out of these countries. She was one of
the accursed race, according to the principles that distinguished Israel.
She was a Canaanite. She comes to beg the interposition of Jesus on behalf
of her daughter, who was possessed by a devil.
In begging this favour, she addresses Jesus by the title, which faith knew
to be His connection with the Jews-"Son of David." This gives rise to a
full development of the Lord's position, and, at the same time, of the
conditions under which man might hope to share the effect of His goodness,
yea, to the revelation of God Himself.
As the Son of David, He has nothing to do with a Canaanite. He makes her no
answer. The disciples desired to get rid of her by granting her request, in
order to have done with her importunity. The Lord answers them, that He was
not sent but to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. This was indeed the
truth. Whatever may have been the counsels of God manifested on occasion of
His rejection (see Isaiah 49), He was the minister of the circumcision for
the truth of God, to fulfil His promises made to the fathers.
The woman, in more simple and direct language, the more natural expression
of her feelings, begs for the merciful interposition of Him in whose power
she trusted. The Lord answers her, that it is not meet to take the
children's bread and give it to dogs. We see here His true position, as
come to Israel; the promises were for the children of the kingdom. The Son
of David was the minister of these promises. Could He as such blot out the
distinction of the people of God?
But that faith which derives strength from necessity, and which finds no
resource but in the Lord Himself, accepts the humiliation of its position,
and deems that with Him there is bread for the hunger of those who have no
right to it. It perseveres, too, because there is a felt want, and faith in
the power of Him who is come in grace.
What had the Lord done by His apparent harshness? He had brought the poor
woman to the expression, to the sense, of her real place before God, that
is to say, to the truth as to herself. But, then, was it the truth to say
that God was less good than she believed, less rich in mercy towards the
destitute, whose only hope and trust was in that mercy? This would have
been to deny the character and the nature of God, of which He was the
expression, the truth, and the witness, on earth; it would have been to
deny Himself, and the object of His mission. He could not say, "God has not
a crumb for such." He answers, in fulness of heart, "O woman, great is thy
faith; be it unto thee even as thou wilt." God comes out of the narrow
limits of His covenant with the Jews, to act in His sovereign goodness
according to His own nature. He comes out to be God in goodness, and not
merely Jehovah in Israel.
But this goodness is exercised towards one who is brought, in the presence
of that goodness, to know that she has no right to it. To this point the
seeming harshness of the Lord had been leading her. She received all from
grace, while in herself unworthy of all. It is thus, and thus only, that
every soul obtains blessing. It is not merely the sense of need-the woman
had that from the beginning, it was that which brought her there. It is not
sufficient merely to own that the Lord Jesus can meet that need-the woman
came with that acknowledgment; we must be in the presence of the only
source of blessing, and be brought to feel that, although we are there, we
have no right to avail ourselves of it. And this is a terrible position.
When it comes to this, all is grace. God can then act according to His own
goodness, and He answers every desire which the heart can form for its
happiness.
Thus we see Christ here as a minister of the circumcision for the truth of
God, to fulfil the promises made to the fathers, and that the Gentiles also
might glorify God for His mercy, as it is written. At the same time this
last truth makes manifest the real condition of man, and the full and
perfect grace of God. On this He acts, while still faithful to His
promises; and the wisdom of God is displayed in a manner that calls forth
our admiration.
We see how much the introduction, in this place, of the story of the
Syro-Phenician woman develops and illustrates this part of our Gospel. The
beginning of the chapter shews forth the moral condition of the Jews, the
falseness of Pharisaic and sacerdotal religiousness; brings out the real
state of man as man, what the heart of man was the source of; and then
reveals the heart of God as manifested in Jesus. His dealings with this
woman display the faithfulness of God to His promises; and the blessing
finally granted exhibits the full grace of God, in connection with the
manifestation of the real condition of man, acknowledged by
conscience-grace rising above the curse which lay upon the object of this
grace-rising above everything to make itself a way to the need which faith
presented to it.
The Lord now departs thence and goes into Galilee, the place where He was
in connection with the despised remnant of the Jews. It was neither Zion,
nor the temple, nor Jerusalem, but the poor of the flock, where the people
were sitting in gross darkness (Isa. 8, 9). Thither His compassions follow
this poor remnant, and are again exercised in their behalf. He renews the
evidences, not only of His tender mercies, but of His presence who
satisfied the poor of His people with bread. Here however it is not in the
administrative power which He could bestow on His disciples, but according
to His own perfection and acting from Himself. He provides for the remnant
of His people. Accordingly it is the fulness of seven baskets of fragments
that is gathered up. He departs also without anything else taking place.
We have seen eternal morality, and truth in the inward parts, substituted
for the hypocrisy of forms, man's use of legal religion and man's heart
shewn to be a source of evil and nought else, God's heart fully revealed
that rises above all dispensation to shew full grace in Christ. Thus
dispensations are set aside though fully owned, and man and God fully shewn
out in doing so. It is a wonderful chapter as to what is everlasting in
truth as to God, and as to what the revelation of God shews man to be. And
this, note, gives occasion to the revelation of the assembly in the next
chapter, which is not a dispensation but founded on what Christ is, Son of
the living God. In chapter 12 Christ was dispensationally rejected, and the
kingdom of heaven substituted in chapter 13. Here man is set aside and what
he had made of law, and God acts in His own grace above all dispensations.
Then come the assembly and the kingdom in glory.
