15:11 Then came to Jesus scribes and Pharisees, which were of
Jerusalem, saying,
(1) None commonly are more bold condemners of God, then they
whom God has appointed keepers of his law.
15:2 Why do thy disciples transgress the tradition of the
elders? for they a wash not their hands when they eat
bread.
(a) Which they received handed down from their ancestors,
or their elders allowed, who were the governors of the
Church.
15:32 But he answered and said unto them, Why do ye also
transgress the commandment of God by your tradition?
(2) Their wicked boldness in corrupting the commandments of
God (and that upon the pretence of godliness) and usurping
authority to make laws, is reproved here.
15:4 For God commanded, saying, b Honour thy father and
mother: and, He that curseth father or mother, let him die
the death.
(b) By honour is meant every duty which children owe to
their parents.
15:5 But ye say, c Whosoever shall say to [his] father or
[his] mother, [It is] a gift, by whatsoever thou mightest
be profited by me;
(c) The meaning is this: whatever I bestow upon the
temple, is to your profit, for it is as good as if I
gave it to you, for (as the Pharisees of our time say)
it will be meritorious for you: for under this form of
religion, they gathered all to themselves, as though he
that had given anything to the temple, had done the
duty of a child.
15:6 And honour not his father or his mother, [he shall be
free]. Thus have ye made the commandment of God of none d
effect by your tradition.
(d) As much as you could, you destroyed the power and
authority of the commandment: for otherwise the
commandments of God stand fast in the Church of God, in
spite of the world and Satan.
15:73 [Ye] hypocrites, well did Esaias prophesy of you,
saying,
(3) The same men are condemned for hypocrisy and superstition,
because they made the kingdom of God to consist of outward
things.
15:104 And he called the multitude, and said unto them, Hear,
and understand:
(4) Christ teaches us that the hypocrisy of false teachers who
deceive our souls is not to be endured at all, not even in
small matters, and there is no reason why their office or
position should blind our eyes: otherwise we are likely to
perish with them.
15:21 Then Jesus went thence, and departed into the e coasts
of Tyre and Sidon.
(e) Coasts which were next to Tyre and Sidon, that is in
that region where Palestine faces toward Venice, and
the sea of Syria.
15:22 And, behold, a woman of f 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.
(f) Of the people of the Canaanites, who dwelt in
Phoenicia.
15:235 But he answered her not a word. And his disciples came
and besought him, saying, Send her away; for she crieth
after us.
(5) In that Christ sometimes shuts his ears, as it were, to the
prayers of his saints, he does it for his glory, and our
profit.
15:24 But he answered and said, I am not sent but unto the lost
sheep of the g house of Israel.
(g) Of the people of Israel, who were divided into tribes,
but all those tribes came from one family.
15:296 And Jesus departed from thence, and came nigh unto the
sea of Galilee; and went up into a mountain, and sat down
there.
(6) Christ does not cease to be beneficial even where he is
condemned, and in the midst of wolves he gathers together
and cares for his flock.
15:30 And great multitudes came unto him, having with them
[those that were] lame, blind, dumb, h maimed, and many
others, and cast them down at Jesus' feet; and he healed
them:
(h) Whose members were weakened with paralysis, or by
nature, for after it is said that he healed them. Now
Christ preferred to heal in this way, that such
members as were weak, he restored to health, and yet
he could easily, if he had wanted, have given them
hands and feet and other members which they lacked.
15:327 Then Jesus called his disciples [unto him], and said,
I have compassion on the multitude, because they i
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.
(7) By doing this miracle again, Christ shows that he who
follows Christ will never be in need, not even in the
wilderness.
(i) Go not from my side.
15:35 And he commanded the multitude to k sit down on the
ground.
(k) Literally, "to lie down backwards", as rowers do in
rowing, when they draw their oars to themselves.
15:37 And they did all eat, and were filled: and they took up of
the broken [meat] that was left seven l baskets full.
