Matt.15.1 - Then came to Jesus scribes and Pharisees, which were of Jerusalem, saying,
Matt.15.2 - "Why do Your disciples transgress the tradition of the elders? For they do not wash their hands when they eat bread."
Matt.15.3 - But he answered and said unto them, Why do ye also transgress the commandment of God by your tradition?
Matt.15.4 - For God commanded, saying, Honour thy father and mother: and, He that curseth father or mother, let him die the death.
Matt.15.5 - But ye say, Whosoever shall say to his father or his mother, It is a gift, by whatsoever thou mightest be profited by me;
Matt.15.6 - 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.
Matt.15.7 - Ye hypocrites, well did Esaias prophesy of you, saying,
Matt.15.8 - This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me.
Matt.15.9 - But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.
Matt.15.10 - And he called the multitude, and said unto them, Hear, and understand:
Matt.15.11 - Not that which goeth into the mouth defileth a man; but that which cometh out of the mouth, this defileth a man.
Matt.15.12 - Then came his disciples, and said unto him, Knowest thou that the Pharisees were offended, after they heard this saying?
Matt.15.13 - But he answered and said, Every plant, which my heavenly Father hath not planted, shall be rooted up.
Matt.15.14 - Let them alone: they be blind leaders of the blind. And if the blind lead the blind, both shall fall into the ditch.
Matt.15.15 - Then answered Peter and said unto him, Declare unto us this parable.
Matt.15.16 - And Jesus said, Are ye also yet without understanding?
Matt.15.17 - Do not ye yet understand, that whatsoever entereth in at the mouth goeth into the belly, and is cast out into the draught?
Matt.15.18 - But those things which proceed out of the mouth come forth from the heart; and they defile the man.
Matt.15.19 - For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies:
Matt.15.20 - These are the things which defile a man: but to eat with unwashen hands defileth not a man.
Matt.15.21 - Then Jesus went thence, and departed into the coasts of Tyre and Sidon.
Matt.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.
Matt.15.23 - But he answered her not a word. And his disciples came and besought him, saying, Send her away; for she crieth after us.
Matt.15.24 - But he answered and said, I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel.
Matt.15.25 - Then came she and worshipped him, saying, Lord, help me.
Matt.15.26 - But he answered and said, It is not meet to take the children's bread, and to cast it to dogs.
Matt.15.27 - And she said, Truth, Lord: yet the dogs eat of the crumbs which fall from their masters' table.
Matt.15.28 - 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.
Matt.15.29 - And Jesus departed from thence, and came nigh unto the sea of Galilee; and went up into a mountain, and sat down there.
Matt.15.30 - And great multitudes came unto him, having with them those that were lame, blind, dumb, maimed, and many others, and cast them down at Jesus' feet; and he healed them:
Matt.15.31 - Insomuch that the multitude wondered, when they saw the dumb to speak, the maimed to be whole, the lame to walk, and the blind to see: and they glorified the God of Israel.
Matt.15.32 - Then Jesus called his disciples unto him, and said, I have compassion on the multitude, because they 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.
Matt.15.33 - And his disciples say unto him, Whence should we have so much bread in the wilderness, as to fill so great a multitude?
Matt.15.34 - And Jesus saith unto them, How many loaves have ye? And they said, Seven, and a few little fishes.
Matt.15.35 - And he commanded the multitude to sit down on the ground.
Matt.15.36 - And he took the seven loaves and the fishes, and gave thanks, and brake them, and gave to his disciples, and the disciples to the multitude.
Matt.15.37 - And they did all eat, and were filled: and they took up of the broken meat that was left seven baskets full.
Matt.15.38 - And they that did eat were four thousand men, beside women and children.
Matt.15.39 - And he sent away the multitude, and took ship, and came into the coasts of Magdala.

What does Matthew chapter 15 mean?
Jesus' fame and influence over the people has grown to the point where the religious leaders are concerned about Him. A delegation of Pharisees and scribes travels from Jerusalem to Galilee to challenge Jesus. They pick the issue of ritual handwashing to confront Him. However, they are looking for any way to discredit Him. The Pharisees ask why Jesus' disciples break the tradition of the elders by not washing their hands before they eat. These "traditions" were rules added to the Law of Moses by prior generations of Pharisees. The current religious leaders honored the elders' wisdom by practicing these additional rules as if they were commands of God. The rules were often designed to keep the people from unknowingly or accidentally breaking one of God's commands (Matthew 15:1–2).

Their challenge is so hypocritical that Jesus doesn't even bother to answer it, at first. Instead, He immediately fires a question of His: why do they break the actual command of God for the sake of tradition? As Jesus sees it, the Pharisees criticize Him for ignoring tradition in favor of God's actual intent, while they ignore God's intent in favor of tradition! For example, the Pharisees allowed people to claim some of their possessions and money as "devoted to God." Anything so devoted was meant to be given to the temple. A loophole allowed the people to keep the designated items, and even continue to use them. It had become a way for adult children to avoid caring for their aging parents because all their money and possessions were ostensibly "devoted to God" (Matthew 15:3–6).

Jesus calls the Pharisees hypocrites for allowing this to happen. They cared more about the traditions than the true commands of Scripture. One of Isaiah's prophecies is applied to them: their worship of God is pointless since they replace God's doctrines with human legalism and loopholes (Matthew 15:6–9).

Turning to the people, Jesus then answers the Pharisee's original charge about handwashing. This point can be misunderstood unless one remembers that Jesus is not ignoring Old Testament law, He is accurately expressing it (Matthew 5:19–20). It's not the edible material which enters the body—the physical substance—that causes one to be sinful or unclean. Sin and corruption come from what's inside a person, as it expresses itself on the outside. Jesus explains to the disciples that accidentally eating a speck of unclean food can't defile a person. People are defiled by their own sinfulness, which they express when they speak—or, when they purposefully eat that which God has forbidden. He states flatly that eating with unwashed hands has nothing to do with one's spiritual state (Matthew 15:10–20).

Christ withdraws from Israel with His disciples and heads into the pagan Gentile district of Tyre and Sidon. This is the same region Jesus once mentioned while shaming Israel for stubbornness (Matthew 11:20–24). A Canaanite woman finds Him somehow. She knows He is the Messiah and can heal her daughter from demon oppression. To draw out her faith, and give an example to the disciples, Jesus refuses at first. His mission is to Israel alone. His metaphor is that of a Master choosing not to take bread from His children to give to pet dogs. The woman persists—noting that for dogs to eat crumbs passed over by the children would be different. Jesus praises her great faith. He heals her daughter—setting up for the disciples the idea that Gentiles, as well, will share in the kingdom of heaven (Matthew 15:21–28).

Jesus travels from there to the southeastern side of the Sea of Galilee, another mostly-Gentile region. He spends three days healing many people and then repeats the miraculous feeding He performed at Bethsaida (Matthew 14:13–21). This event is for a slightly smaller group of four thousand men, plus additional women and children. As with the encounter with the Canaanite woman, this establishes how the gospel will spread beyond the nation of Israel (Romans 9:30–33; Acts 1:. After sending the people away, Jesus and the disciples travel by boat back to the western shore of the Sea of Galilee and back into Jewish territory (Matthew 15:29–39).

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