Pam Padgett ... teacher
When scribes and Pharisees came to Jesus accusing His disciples for not
following the tradition of the elders regarding washing their hands,
Jesus called them hypocrites because they held their own traditions over
the commandments of God ...
Matthew 15:1 Then came to Jesus scribes and
Pharisees, which were of Jerusalem, saying, 2 Why do thy disciples
transgress the tradition of the elders? for they wash not their hands
when they eat bread. 3 But he answered and said unto them, Why do ye
also transgress the commandment of God by your tradition? 4 For God
commanded, saying, Honour thy father and mother: and, He that curseth
father or mother, let him die the death. 5 But ye say, Whosoever shall
say to his father or his mother, It is a gift, by whatsoever thou
mightest be profited by me; 6 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. 7 Ye hypocrites, well did Esaias prophesy of
you, saying, 8 This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and
honoureth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me. 9 But in
vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.
10 And he called the multitude, and said unto them, Hear, and
understand: 11 Not that which goeth into the mouth defileth a man; but
that which cometh out of the mouth, this defileth a man.
The Pharisees were offended by the answer Jesus gave ...
Matthew 15:12 Then came his disciples, and said unto him, Knowest
thou that the Pharisees were offended, after they heard this saying? 13
But he answered and said, Every plant, which my heavenly Father hath not
planted, shall be rooted up.
But when a woman of Canaan came, asking Jesus to help her daughter who
was terribly vexed with a devil, Jesus at first didn't answer, then responded that it wasn't
appropriate to take bread from children and cast it to dogs.
Matthew 15:22 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. 23 But he
answered her not a word. And his disciples came and besought him,
saying, Send her away; for she crieth after us. 24 But he answered and
said, I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel. 25
Then came she and worshipped him, saying, Lord, help me. 26 But he
answered and said, It is not meet to take the children's bread, and to
cast it to dogs.
This woman was not offended by this response, but rather agreed
with Jesus and pointed out that even dogs get crumbs from their master's table. Because of her
faith shown by this, Jesus granted what she asked ...
Matthew 15:27 And she said, Truth, Lord: yet the
dogs eat of the crumbs which fall from their masters' table. 28 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.
The Canaanite woman had been given faith in Jesus, worshiping Jesus as
her Lord (verse 25). And, as her Lord, she was not offended by His
first response and humbled herself by agreeing with Him. The Pharisees
did not have faith in Jesus and were offended by the truth He spoke to
them.
I was reminded that Jesus said that those who are not offended in Him are blessed ...
Matthew 11:2 Now when John had heard in the prison the works of
Christ, he sent two of his disciples, 3 And said unto him, Art thou he
that should come, or do we look for another? 4 Jesus answered and said
unto them, Go and shew John again those things which ye do hear and see:
5 The blind receive their sight, and the lame walk, the lepers are
cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the poor have
the gospel preached to them. 6 And blessed is he, whosoever shall not be
offended in me.
Sometimes the word brought to us by the Holy Spirit requires us to go a way other than the way we desire to go, or shows us that we need to correct ourselves in someway. When we humble ourselves and are not offended by what God speaks to us,
it shows that He is our Lord. We are blessed that God has called us and
opened our hearts to receive Him as our Lord, and we are also blessed
by the many ways He cares for, helps, and corrects us.