Bible Commentaries

Then ¹ came together unto him the Pharisees, and certain of the scribes, which came from Jerusalem.

(1) None resist the wisdom of God more than they that should be wisest, and they resist because of their zeal for their own traditions: for men please themselves in superstition more than in any other thing, that is to say, in a worship of God fondly devised by themselves.

And when they saw some of his disciples ^a eat bread with ^b defiled, that is to say, with unwashen, hands, they found fault.

(a) Literally, "eat bread": an idiom which the Hebrews use, understanding bread to represent every type of food.

(b) For the Pharisees would not eat their food with unwashed hands, because they thought that their hands were defiled with the common handling of things; (Matthew 15:11-12).

For the Pharisees, and all the Jews, except they wash [their] hands oft, eat not, ^c holding the tradition of the elders.

(c) Observing diligently.

And [when they come] from the ^d market, except they wash, they eat not. And many other things there be, which they have received to hold, [as] the washing of cups, and ^e pots, brasen vessels, and of tables.

(d) That is to say, after coming from civil and worldly affairs they do not eat unless they first wash themselves.

(e) By these words are understood all types of vessels which we use daily.

Then the Pharisees and scribes asked him, Why ^f walk not thy disciples according to the tradition of the elders, but eat bread with unwashen hands?

(f) Why live they not? This is a Hebrew idiom: for among them the "way" is taken for "lifestyle".

² He answered and said unto them, Well hath Esaias prophesied of you hypocrites, as it is written, This people honoureth me with [their] lips, but their heart is far from me.

(2) Hypocrisy is always joined with superstition.

³ Howbeit in vain do they worship me, teaching [for] doctrines the commandments of men.

(3) The more earnest the superstitious are, the more mad they are in promising themselves God's favour because of their deeds.

⁴ For 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.

(4) The deeds of superstitious men not only do not fulfil the law of God (as they blasphemously persuaded themselves) but these deeds utterly take away God's law.

⁵ And he said unto them, Full well ye reject the commandment of God, that ye may keep your own tradition.

(5) True religion, which is completely contrary to superstition, consists in spiritual worship: and all enemies of true religion, although they seem to have taken deep root, will be plucked up.

For Moses said, Honour thy father and thy mother; and, Whoso curseth father or mother, let him ^g die the death:

(g) Without hope of pardon, he will be put to death.

Because it entereth not into his heart, but into the belly, and goeth out into the draught, ^h purging all meats?

(h) For that which goes into the draught purges all meats.

Thefts, ⁱ covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lasciviousness, an ^k evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness:

(i) All types of craftiness by which men profit themselves at other men's losses.

(k) Corrupted malice.

⁶ And from thence he arose, and went into the ^l borders of Tyre and Sidon, and entered into an house, and would have no man know [it]: but he could not be hid.

(6) That which the proud reject when it is offered to them, that same thing the modest and humble sinners as it were voraciously consume.

(l) Into the uttermost coasts of Palestine, which were next to Tyre and Sidon.

The woman was a ^m Greek, a ⁿ Syrophenician by nation; and she besought him that he would cast forth the devil out of her daughter.

(m) By nationality, profane.

(n) A neighbour of or near to Damascus.

But Jesus said unto her, Let the children first be filled: for it is not meet to take the children's bread, and to cast [it] unto the ^o dogs.

(o) "Dog" here signifies a little dog, and he uses this term that he may seem to speak more reproachfully.

And she answered and said unto him, ^p Yes, Lord: yet the dogs under the table eat of the children's crumbs.

(p) As if she said, "It is as thou sayest Lord, for it is enough for the dogs if they can but gather up the crumbs that are under the table; therefore I crave the crumbs and not the children's bread."

⁷ And again, departing from the coasts of Tyre and Sidon, he came unto the sea of Galilee, through the midst of the coasts of ^q Decapolis.

(7) As the Father created us to this life in the beginning in his only son, so does he also in him alone renew us into everlasting life.

(q) It was a little country, and it was so called because it consisted of ten cities under the jurisdiction of four surrounding governments; Pliny, book 3, chap. 8.