Matthew 15

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Matthew 15:18

But those things which proceed out of the mouth ,.... Meaning not material things, as spittle, vomit, &c.; but, as it follows, which come forth from the heart : are first conceived and formed there, and then come forth from thence, and are expressed by the mouth; as all idle words, foolish talking, filthy jesting, unsavoury communication, and every word that is rotten and corrupt, or which is done in the life and conversation; and they defile the man : the heart is the corrupt... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Matthew 15:19

For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts ,.... Of God, of Christ, of the Spirit, of fellow creatures, and of all sorts of wickedness. The thoughts of sin are evil, are to be hated, forsaken, and for which men are accountable to God. All wicked imaginations, carnal reasonings, lustful desires, and malicious contrivances, are here included; which take their rise from, and are devised, and forged, in the corrupt heart of man. Murders ; inveterate hatred of men's persons, malice prepense,... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Matthew 15:20

These are the things which defile a man ,.... These are filthy in themselves, and must pollute all in whom they are; they bring a defilement on the whole man, both body and soul, fasten guilt upon him, and expose him to everlasting punishment: but to eat with unwashen hands defileth not a man : should a man neglect to wash his bands before eating a common meal, this need give him no uneasiness; he contracts no filth to his soul hereby, nor any guilt to his conscience; nor does he break... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Matthew 15:21

Then Jesus went thence ,.... From the land of Gennesaret, after he had silenced the Pharisees, as to the charge brought by them against his disciples; and when he had reproved them for their hypocrisy and wickedness, in making void the commands of God by their traditions; and had explained some difficult and parabolical sayings he had made use of to his disciples, he then left that country, and departed very privately: either to shun the multitude, for the sake of retirement; or to avoid any... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Matthew 15:22

And behold a woman of Canaan ,.... That is, of Phoenicia, which was called Canaan; so Shaul, the son of a Canaanitish woman, is, by the Septuagint in Exodus 6:15 called the son of a Phoenician; and the kings of Canaan are, by the same interpreters in Joshua 5:1 called kings of Phoenicia: hence this woman is by Mark said to be a Greek, that is, a Gentile, as the Jews used to call all of another nation, and a Syrophenician, being a native of Phoenicia, called Syrophenician; because it... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Matthew 15:23

But he answered her not a word ,.... Not that he did not hear her, or that he despised either her person or petition, or that he was not moved with it; but to continue her importunity, and try her faith, and make it manifest: for like reasons the Lord does not always, and immediately, answer the requests of his people. This giving her no answer, either that he would, or would not help her, carried in it a tacit repulse of her, and a denial of assistance to her; and it seems as if she did for... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Matthew 15:24

But he answered, and said ,.... To his disciples, who knew how limited their commission was, that they were not to go into the way of the Gentiles, not to preach to them, nor perform miracles among them; and therefore could not reasonably expect that either the woman, or they, on her behalf, should succeed in this matter. I am not sent, but to the lost sheep of the house of Israel ; as a priest, or as a Saviour and Redeemer, he was sent to make satisfaction and atonement for the sins of... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Matthew 15:25

Then came she and worshipped him ,.... She followed the disciples into the house; and perceiving another repulse by Christ's answer to them, she pushes on, through all discouragements; her faith grows stronger, and her importunity greater: she had called Christ Lord, and the son of David before, but now she worships him as God: Saying, Lord help me ; a short petition, but what fully and fitly expressed her case: the object she prays unto is the Lord, by which she owns his sovereignty,... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Matthew 15:26

But he answered, and said ,.... To the woman, as the Persic version reads it, and the sense requires: it is not meet to take the children's bread, and to cast it to dogs ; which he said, to try her faith the more, and make it the more illustrious; and that not so much from his own sense of things, as in the language of the Jewish people, and which she might not be a stranger to. By "the children", are meant the Jews, to whom the adoption belonged; who, as a nation and people, were the... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Matthew 15:27

And she saith, truth, Lord ,.... She owns all that he had said to be true, that he was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel: that she was indeed but a dog, a poor sinful creature, and unworthy of any favour; and that it was not right and fitting that all the children's bread should be taken from them and given to dogs: yet the dogs eat of the crumbs which fall from their master's table . The Syriac and Persic versions add "and live": thus she wisely lays hold upon and... read more

Group of Brands