A lot of people know the story about Jesus feeding 5000+ people using a little boy’s five small barley loaves and two small fishes. (Matthew 14:14-21; Mark 6:32-44; Luke 9:10-17; John 6:1-13.) But that is not the only time Jesus did such a thing. In today’s passage, Matthew reports that Jesus fed 4000+ people using 7 loaves and a few little fishes.

The two stories have a lot of similarity.
(1) Jesus spent all day healing the sick.
(2) There was a multitude of hungry people.
(3) Jesus told His disciples to feed the people.
(4) The disciples protested that they did not have enough food.
(5) Jesus asked and was told how much they had.
(6) Jesus took what they had, blessed it, and broke it.
(7) Everybody ate as much as they wanted.
(8) The disciples gathered several baskets of leftovers.

There are also differences.
(1) The number of people fed—though both were large numbers.
(2) The number of loaves they started with—though both were small numbers.
(3) The 5000+ had been with Jesus one day; the 4000+ had been with Him three days.
(4) The 5000+ were predominantly Jewish, many on their way to the Passover; the 4000+ were predominantly heathen gentiles.

The disciples had seen Jesus feed the 5000. They should have known that he could feed this slightly smaller multitude. They should also have noticed that Jesus was healing the sick gentiles just as He had healed the Jews. But their faith was not yet fully formed, and their prejudice against “heathen gentile dogs” had not yet been fully broken down. (See yesterday’s post.) Jesus continued to work against their prejudices by giving the gentiles the same blessings He had given the Jews as they expressed faith in Him.

The Jews were supposed to be a light to the world, with all nations marveling over the wisdom and blessings they had received from God. (Deuteronomy 4:6.) They were to receive anyone of any nation who was willing to obey God and take hold of His covenant. (Isaiah 56:3-8.) The teachings of the scribes and Pharisees were preventing anyone, Jew or gentile, from entering the kingdom of God. (Matthew 23:13.) It had become hidden from all that the gentiles were supposed to have access to the covenant, and Jesus came to reveal that salvation is for all. (Ephesians 2:11-22.)

Now I want to use my imagination for a moment to picture what is happening in this story. Jesus goes to the region of Decapolis. (See Mark 7:31-8:9.) This is the same area where he had healed the demoniacs. (Matthew 8:28-34.) Someone sights Him and spreads word that He is there. Somebody hears about Him, and brings a man who is deaf and dumb. Jesus heals the man and tells him not to tell anybody, but the man can’t help but tell everyone he sees about his healing. As word spreads, people start bringing people with all kinds of problems to Jesus. Each person healed receives individual attention and instruction from Jesus. The sick arrive faster then Jesus can personally attend to them, and a line starts forming. By evening, the line is very long. All the people in line sleep on the ground that night so that they do not lose their place in line to see Jesus. The next morning, Jesus gets up, and after some time of prayer and meditation continues healing people. This continues all day for a second day. They all spend a second night sleeping on the ground on the mountain. By the end of the third day, Jesus finally heals the last person in line. But many who were healed did not go home—they stayed to see and hear Jesus. They have no food and would be in danger of fainting on the way home. Jesus shows His compassion one more time by feeding them. Then He sends them away. The people go home believers in Christ and children of God. (John 1:12.)

The point for me today: (1) God is not prejudiced, but receives all who come to Him in faith. (2) Don’t be discouraged when resources seem all but non-existent. Give what you have to God and let Him multiply it!

Jesus cares about the “dogs.” Actually, He cares about all people.

When I was a teenager, we boys had a term for girls we thought were ugly. We called them dogs. The Jews considered heathen gentiles to be dogs. Nobody wants to associate with a person who is a “dog.”

So when a Canaanite woman followed Jesus asking Him for help, He seemed to ignore her. I don’t think He really considered her to be a dog. I think He wanted to see how His disciples would react to her. They considered her to be a dog and asked Jesus to send her away.

I was amazed at how this woman addressed Jesus and the titles she used for Him. First, she asked for mercy. This request for mercy shows that she did not consider herself to deserve His attention. Then she referred to Him as Lord. A lord is a person who is in charge. She recognized the Jesus had a position of power, even though He seemed to be a wanderer with no official office. Finally, she called Him “Son of David.” Since the Messiah was to come from the line of David, this is a reference to Him as Messiah and rightful heir to the throne of Israel. Though this woman was a Canaanite, she obviously had done some homework and knew Whom she was addressing.

Picking up on her faith and His disciples disdain for her, Jesus determines to use her faith to teach His disciples a lesson He had first been indifferent to her, acting as though she did not even exist. Now He tells her that He is only sent to Israel. Many of the Jews were under the impression that heathen gentiles could not participate in the covenant with God. The woman responds by worshiping Him (thus proclaiming that she considers Him to be God) and begging Him to help her. Now Jesus heaps the ultimate Jewish insult on her, calling her a dog.

Jesus used the typical Jewish insults for a heathen gentile. But I don’t believe His manner was insulting. We are only told what He did and said. We do not know His facial expressions or intonation. I think something about His manner gave the woman hope that He would grant her request.

Having been called a dog, she takes ownership of the insulting title. Like all repentant sinners she sees herself of undeserving. But she maintains hope in the mercy of a gracious God. She embraces her “dogness” and asks for the privileges of a dog to eat the crumbs dropped by the children. I have children and a dog, and I know that the children sometimes drop some pretty big “crumbs” for the dog to eat.

By His next statement, “O woman, great is thy faith,” Jesus elevates her from the position of dog to that of a child of God. “But as many as received Him, to them gave He power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe [have faith] on His name.” (John 1:12.) Jesus rewards her faith and persistence by declaring that her petition is granted. “He spake, and it was done.” (Psalm 33:9.) From a distance, the devil is cast out of the woman’s daughter by the word of the Son of God acting on the faith of the mother.

This woman came to Jesus as a dog in her eyes and the eyes of His disciples. She left a child of God.

This incident set the stage for the disciples to overcome Jewish prejudice against the heathen and take the gospel to the whole world. The lesson was not yet complete. Peter had to have a vision and be instructed by the Holy Spirit before he was willing to teach in Cornelius’ house. (Acts 10.) Later, he had to be rebuked by Paul for the way he snubbed the gentile believers. (Galatians 2:11-16.)

We too have our prejudices. There are class, racial, national, and religious boundaries that we are unwilling to cross. We don’t associate with “those people.” My father spent nearly 30 years teaching students who were predominantly a different race than him. He told me, “Of course I am prejudiced. Everybody is. But we have to overcome our prejudices.” There are people of all classes, races, nations, and religions who are seeking the healing touch of Jesus Christ, the Lord, the Son of David. It is our privilege and responsibility to relieve their sufferings and minister the blessings of Jesus to them.

The point for me today: I must not snub anyone who is seeking the blessing of God, regardless of class, race, nationality or religion, but must willingly put myself where I can help them. Also, it pays to be persistent when presenting your requests to God.

If the elders contradict God, then you should listen to God and disregard what the elders say. Don't let anybody put a requirement on you that is not in the Bible. And don't let anybody tell you that what the Bible says does not apply.

Somebody once said to me, "A pastor told me that ...." While we should respect the pastor, elder, or deacon (only respectable people should be in those offices), we should ultimately look for what God says, not what the pastor, elder, or deacon says. After all, I have seen where different pastors from the same seminary published books with exactly opposite opinions!

Here the question is about washing hands before eating bread. This is a tradition of the Jewish elders. Now let's be clear here about what is meant by "washing hands." I have actually seen the Orthodox Jews (Pharisees) do this. They pour a few drops of water over their fingertips. This hardly sanitizes the hands. The idea is that the few drops of water make their hands "spiritually" clean, not physically clean. This in turn is supposed to make the bread they eat spiritually clean and keep their souls spiritually clean. There is no Biblical command to do this. It is purely a tradition made up by the rabbis or elders.

Jesus points out that they have a lot of traditions that appear (to themselves) to keep them righteous. But some of these traditions are "loopholes" for breaking God's laws. Here Jesus mentions only the "loophole" to "relieve" a person of the obligation to take care of their elderly parents. Jesus declares that this "loophole" is a violation of the Ten Commandments. There are many more "loopholes" Jesus could have pointed out.

The Pharisees are not the only ones guilty of transgressing the commandment of God by their tradition. The vast majority of people who call themselves Christians do this. That is one reason why there are so many different denominations. Each denomination follows the Bible to one extant or another. But at some point, nearly all denominations have some traditions that they would rather follow instead of the commandment of God.

When it comes to spiritual purity, Jesus is more worried about what is in the heart than whether you have poured a few drops of water on your hands. Pouring water on your hands has no significance. What's in your heart has every significance. Jesus here listed the evil things that come out of a person's heart. But we also know that when a person has the Holy Spirit, these evil things will be replaced by "love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control." (Galatians 5:22-23 NIV.)

The point for me today: Outward show does not make me righteous. Nor is it wise to blindly follow what the pastor or elder says. I need the word of God applied in my heart by the Holy Spirit. This will affect what I do and say.

I'm back. It seems it is easier to stop posting than to start again. Just had to make a commitment to start again.

The satellite seminars were good, especially The Presence. One consequence of the seminars is that some of my children are now giving Bible studies to the neighbors. They have done it with me before. But this is the first time to do it on their own.

We have been reading the Bible through in our morning family worship. We have continued the whole time I have not been blogging. I'm not going to try to catch up. I'll start with today's reading. I'll be posting about that in a few minutes.

I haven't posted here in about a week. I have been very busy preparing for a big Pathfinder campout as well as getting the church ready for the Most Amazing Prophecies and The Presence seminars.

I am still studying the Bible and praying daily. I just don't have time to write. I'll be back to post again, God willing, either next week or the week after.