MAX KLEIN BIBLE MINISTRIES
The Seven Baptisms
Written by: Max Klein
Baptism means identification or association:
Introduction:
1. This meaning began in Homer's time. Homer wrote of the one-eyed giant, Cyclops who had trapped Ulysses and his men in a cave and was eating them one at a time. The ingenious Ulysses devised a plan. He had his men sharpen a large log and together they rammed this log into the eye of the one-eyed Cyclops rendering him blind. They identified (baptized) the sharpened log with Cyclops’ eye which changed Cyclops from a seeing giant to a blind giant. Having blinded the Cyclops, they were able to maneuver their way out of the cave. Another example by Homer: Homer's Odyssey, book 9, used baptism for hot metal identified (baptized) with water when a smith dipped a piece of hot iron into water. This is how a blacksmith would temper swords in the ancient world. After this identification, the sword was made stronger and so less likely to bend.
2. Xenophon said that the Spartan military recruits after finishing infantry training would identify (baptize) their spears with pig’s blood. They would run by a barrel of pig’s blood and thrust their spears into this blood. This ritual, identified their spears with killing and the soldier’s readiness for combat with the enemy.
3. Euripides used the word for a ship identified with the bottom of the sea when it sank. Before sinking, the ship was valuable; after sinking it had no value at all.
4. So "baptize" in the classical Greek meant to identify one thing with another so that the characteristics of the original thing were altered. Therefore, the interpretation of the word "baptism" is identification with something that brings about a change.
5. There are a number of cognates related to this Greek word such as bapto, baptizo, baptisma, baptismos, baptistes, and embapto. A few examples follow:
6. John 13:26, “Jesus then answered, ‘That is the one for whom, I shall dip [the future of the Greek word bapto] the morsel and give it to him. So, when he had dipped [the aorist participle of bapto; the sop now takes on a new meaning that of honor] the sop [the morsel], He took and gave it to Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot.”
To give someone a sop [a special bit of food usually a piece of bread or meat with a tasty sauce] was the highest honor of a banquet. At a banquet a special piece of bread or meat was prepared along with a special sauce for the guest of honor who would then honor someone by giving it to that person. Jesus as the guest of honor took this sop and dipped it into a special sauce and gave it to Judas. In this way, the Lord Jesus Christ honored Judas as a member of the family of God, and for his ministry as an apostle to the Lost Sheep of Israel. This honor should have given Judas second thoughts regarding his plan to betray Jesus to the Sanhedrin.
7. Matthew 3:7, “but when he [John the Baptizer] saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming for baptism [identification: the Greek word baptisma], he said to them, “You brood of vipers [poisonous snakes], who warned you to flee from the wrath to come [Baptism of Fire: identification with the fire of Torments and then the Lake of Fire]?”
8. Hebrews 6:1-2, “Therefore, leaving behind the elementary teaching about Christ, let us advance to maturity, not laying again the foundation [of the basics such as]: a change of thinking about dead works [just as an unbeliever must have a change of mind about Christ to obtain salvation, so the believer must have a change of mind about legalism (dead works) in order to obtain the spiritual life], and of faith toward God [Faith-Rest Drill], (2) doctrine of baptisms [the Greek word baptismos; a reference to the seven types of baptism as found in Scripture] as well as the laying on of hands [ritual rebound in the age of Israel], and of resurrection from the dead, and of eternal judgment [the Great White Throne Judgment].
9. Matthew 3:1, “In those days John the Baptizer [the Greek word baptistes; when John baptized someone into the Jordan River, the converts were identified with the plan of God and his kingdom.] came proclaiming [as a herald] in the desert of Judea.”
There are two categories of identification in Scripture namely an actual identification or a real baptism and a representative identification or a ritual baptism which uses water.
The four real or actual identifications with something that has significance.
1. The Baptism of Moses: 1 Corinthians 10:1-2 presents the baptism of Moses, "For I do not want you to be unaware, brethren, that our fathers were all under the cloud and all passed through the sea; (2) and all were baptized [the Greek word baptizo] into Moses in the cloud [the Lord] and in the sea." This was a real identification in which Moses was identified with the Lord and the open path through the Red Sea and the Jews were identified with Moses. By the way, none of the Jews got wet, only Egyptian unbelievers who were immersed in the water as a means of death.
2. The Baptism of the Cross is found in Matthew 20:22, “But Jesus answered [Salome by addressing her sons] and said, “You [plural: a reference to James and John] do not know what you [James and John] ask. Are you [James and John] able to drink of the cup [bear the punishment of all the sins of the world] that I am about to drink of, and to be baptized with the baptism [the sins of the world identified with Christ followed by the Father judging them] that I am baptized with [identified with]?” They [James and John] said to Him, “We are able. [the dumbest statement that James and John ever made]” [I selected the longer text as did Jerome.]
3. The Baptism of the Holy Spirit (Retroactive Positional Truth and Current Positional Truth) occurs at salvation for Church Age believers only.
Colossians 2:12. Having been buried [aorist participle] with Him [Jesus Christ] by means of the baptism [God the Holy Spirit identified us with the burial of Jesus Christ as part of our salvation] by means of which [Baptism] you have been raised up [main verb] with Him [in union with Jesus Christ seated at the right hand of the Father] through faith [at the point of salvation] in the operational power from the source of God who has raised Him [the humanity of Christ was given a resurrection body] out from the dead [physical death].
Romans 6:3-9:
Romans 6:3: Or do you not know that all of us who [a correlative] have been baptized into [identified with] Christ Jesus [Current Positional Sanctification: we are in union with Christ in his life in heaven], have been baptized into His death [Retroactive Positional Truth and so identified with his substitutionary spiritual death on the cross]?
Positionally, (in union with Christ) we share His righteousness, heirship, priesthood, destiny, election, eternal life, royalty, sonship etc. All these making us a new spiritual species in Christ Jesus. The plural correlative hosoi (ὅσοι) means that if we were identified with Christ in heaven and we were, then also we have been identified with Christ in his substitutionary spiritual death in which he removed the power of sin nature. Thus, the sin nature should not have power over our lives.
A few more points will be noted:
1. Note that the baptism of the Holy Spirit at salvation enters the believer into union with Christ at the right hand of God the Father which union is called current positional truth.
2. This verse also mentions identification with Christ in His spiritual death on the cross which identification theologians call retroactive positional truth. Retroactive positional truth also includes identification with Christ in His physical death and burial as well.
3. Identification with Christ in His death, then, has a two-fold connotation namely all personal sins were judged at the cross and since that is the case, God the Father is free to provide in grace, the Recovery Procedure. The second connotation is that good and evil were rejected by Jesus on the cross since good and evil are a part of Satan’s policy and plan. On the cross, Jesus relied on the proto-type spiritual life which operated under the two power options namely God’s power system.
4. So, the old sin nature’s ruling power over the Christian has been broken since all sins were judged on the cross and the Recovery Procedure has been provided. So, Retroactive Positional Truth has destroyed the sovereignty of the old sin nature over the life of the Christian.
5. Also, since Jesus rejected the good and evil policy of Satan so should the believer reject Satan’s policy of good and evil as the believer applies Retroactive Positional Truth.
Romans 6:4: Therefore, we have been buried together with Him through the identification [Baptism of the Spirit] into His death [physical], in order that just as Christ has been raised up from the dead [on Resurrection Sunday], through the glory of the Father [through the Father’s power], [So also we, the dead in Christ, will be raised from the dead by the power of the Father, and those alive at the Rapture, by the power of the Holy Spirit.] in this manner we also might walk in newness of life [Experiential sanctification should reflect our future ultimate sanctification.].
Christ had to die physically “and Jesus having shouted clearly with a loud voice said, Father, into your hands I deposit my [human] spirit, and having said this, he exhaled” (Luke 23:46). This last exhale caused His soul and spirit to depart from his mortal body resulting in physical death. Just as Christ had to die physically in order to obtain his resurrection body, so we must depart from our body of corruption, or mortality in order to receive our eternal body called our resurrection body.
The Newness of Life:
1. The newness of life provided through the baptism of the Spirit includes positional freedom from producing good and evil. Not only are we free from the tyranny of good and evil but we are also free from having to produce good and evil.
2. The believer has no obligation to improve the devil’s world through social action, socialism, welfare state, communism, environmentalism, or any social gospel, social action, getting involved, etc.
3. The human race is protected from Satan’s policy of good and evil through the laws of divine establishment which promote freedom instead of improvement at the cost of freedom.
4. In addition to the Laws of Divine Establishment the believer is insulated from good and evil positionally through the baptism of the Spirit.
5. Divorced from the Old Sin Nature positionally and its useless activity of human good and the function of evil, the life of the believer can be devoted to glorifying the Lord Jesus Christ through maximum knowledge and application of Bible doctrine.
Romans 6:5: For if we have become united with Him [Christ, the new husband] in the likeness of His death [the substitutionary spiritual death of Christ on the cross], and we have, and not only this, but also, we shall be [united in the likeness] of His resurrection [Current Positional Truth: in union with the resurrected Christ].
Romans 6:6: Be knowing this [through Retroactive Positional Truth], that our old man [our former husband, the sin nature dates back to the Garden] has been crucified together [with Him], in order that the [human] body, with reference to its sin nature, [the sin nature located in the body] might be rendered powerless [when we use Recovery Procedure and the two power options], that we should no longer be slaves to the sin nature.
“Our old man has been crucified with Him” meaning that the power of the sin nature has been broken on the cross. Since the power of the sin nature was broken by the work of the cross, we as believers have no excuse for not executing the spiritual life. We will not be able to say to Christ at our evaluation that our sin nature was too powerful for us to execute the spiritual life.
A few points for further clarification:
1. Retroactive positional truth is that phase of the baptism of the Holy Spirit at salvation which identifies the believer with Christ in His spiritual death, physical death and his burial.
2. In the substitutionary spiritual death of Christ on the cross all the personal sins in human history were imputed to Christ, but at the same time the other two trends of the old sin nature were not imputed for judgment.
3. Good and evil is the policy of Satan as the ruler of this world and the function of the old sin nature as the sovereign of human life. In fact, the sin nature functions as the agent of Satan.
4. Good and evil were not imputed for judgment on the cross. Hence, in the spiritual death of Christ on the cross they were rejected to remain an issue in the angelic conflict, rejected to be perpetuated in human history as an issue every believer must face, and either overcome through the intake of doctrine or be entrapped by ignorance of doctrine and therefore lose out in glorifying God in time.
5. We are identified with Christ in His spiritual death, which means that we must understand that our sins have been judged and that good and evil has been rejected.
6. It all adds up to the fact that the sovereignty of the old sin nature over human life has been made powerless through retroactive positional truth.
7. The imputation of all personal sins of the human race to Christ on the cross means that the believer through the rebound technique is instantly forgiven sins, cleansed from all wrong doing which includes Satanic good and evil, restored to fellowship and filled with the Spirit.
Romans 6:7: For we who have died [the Christian is identified with the substitutionary spiritual death of Christ: theologically called Retroactive Positional Truth] have been acquitted [positional deliverance] from [the power of] the sin nature.
A few points for further clarification:
1. A dead person is discharged from the obligations of his former sphere of life. This is why the word “death” is used in this context. It is not a literal, physical death we are discussing but identification with Christ in His death.
2. As unbelievers we were under the authority of Satan as the ruler of this world, and under the authority of the old sin nature as the sovereign of human life.
3. Both the power of Satan and the old sin nature have been abrogated through the baptism of the Holy Spirit at salvation.
4. This passage, then, emphasizes the annulling of the power and the authority of the old sin nature as the sovereign of human life.
5. Positionally, the power of the sin nature has been broken. Experientially, the old sin nature controls to the extent that we fail to understand and utilize the provision and support of logistical grace.
Romans 6:8: Now if we have died with Christ, and we have [retroactive positional truth], we also believe that we shall live in association with Him [the instrumental of association; a reference to Current Positional Truth].
In this verse, the 1st Class conditional sentence shows the relationship between Retroactive Positional Truth with Current Positional Truth. The protasis, the ‘if’ clause states the reality of Retroactive Positional Truth and the apodosis, the concluding clause states the doctrinal inference and the reality of Current Positional Truth. While Retroactive Positional Truth presents positional rejection and separation from good and evil as the policy of Satan and the function of the old sin nature, Current Positional Truth relates the believer to the function of the royal family of God. In other words, they have separate functions.
Romans 6:9: Knowing that because Christ has been raised from the dead [He received a resurrection body], no longer can He die; [physical] death is no longer a master over Him.
Analysis:
1. Retroactive positional truth destroys the sovereign authority of the old sin nature over human life. Current positional truth, on the other hand, destroys the limited authority of physical death in human life.
2. Instead of being ruled by the old sin nature located in the cells of the human body and influencing our souls toward sin, good and evil, we now have a new sovereign, the Lord Jesus Christ. We are identified with Him in His deaths, in His burial, resurrection, ascension and session.
3. Before salvation and the baptism of the Holy Spirit our lives were under the absolute rule of Satan who is the ruler of this world and under the rule of the old sin nature which is the ruler of life, and under the limited rule of physical death. All of that, of course, has been changed since salvation.
4. Now both retroactive and current positional truth have abrogated the authority and power of these former rulers. The power of Satan over our lives has been broken through identification with the rejection of good and evil namely Satan’s policy and plan and through our position in union with Christ. The power of the old sin nature is broken through retroactive positional truth and the power of physical death is broken through current positional truth.
5. Therefore, having studied these things by principle and by implication we are now ready for application, verses 12 & 13 specifically.
6. Having been positionally liberated from the sovereignty of the old sin nature as an absolute ruler, and the authority of physical death, we must recognise and apply doctrine for the experiential victory commanded in verses 11-13.
Galatians 3:25-28, “But now that faith has come, we are no longer under the authority of [have need of] a school bus. (26) For you are all children of God through faith in Christ Jesus. (27) For all of you who were baptized into Christ [identified with Christ through union with Him] have clothed yourselves with Christ. (28) There is neither Jew nor Greek [no racial distinction], there is neither slave nor free man [no social or economic distinction], there is neither male nor female [no gender distinction]; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. [All Christians have the same privileges and opportunities to execute the spiritual life.]”
Current Positional Truth, Elaborated:
In the Church Age, Current Positional Truth establishes our relationship with Christ as opposed to religion. It refers to the Church Age believer in union with Christ and is the key to understanding the Church Age and how the royal family came into being. Therefore, it is the basis for distinguishing between Christianity and religion. Christianity is a relationship with God without merit whereas religion is a system of works to gain the approbation of God. Never shall the twain meet!
The mechanics of Current Positional Truth is the Baptism of the Holy Spirit, whereby the Spirit enters us into union with Christ. 1 Corinthians 12:13, “For also by agency of the one Spirit we are all baptized [identification resulting in becoming a new spiritual species] into one body [in union with Christ], whether Jews or Greeks [racial distinctions are removed], whether slave or free [class and economic distinctions are removed], even all were made to drink [the aorist passive, the voice of grace] the one Spirit [The Holy Spirit did not ask us whether we wanted to be put into union with Christ or not.].” Ephesians 4:5, “One Lord [becomes our Lord positionally at Salvation]), one faith [faith alone in Christ alone; Acts 16:31], one baptism [Baptism of the Holy Spirit takes place at salvation].”
Current Positional truth guarantees that there will be no judgment for believers in eternity, Romans 8:1, “Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” Thus, the condemnation which occurred at the first birth was removed at the 2nd birth. As a result of being born with the sin nature and the imputation of Adam’s Original Sin, we were condemned to the Lake of Fire for all eternity, but now that has been removed. Romans 5:12, “For this reason just as through one man [Adam] the sin [nature] entered into the world [procreation], and so spiritual death through the sin [the imputation of Adam’s Original Sin to the sin nature], and so spiritual death spread to all mankind, because all sinned when Adam sinned [since we were all genetically in Adam when he sinned, we will receive Adam’s Original Sin].” However, at our spiritual birth, the 2nd birth, our pre-salvation sins were all forgiven including Adam’s Original Sin. After which, the Spirit entered us into union with Christ where there is now no condemnation (Romans 8:1).
Current Positional truth qualifies the believer to live with God forever. To live with God forever, the believer must have eternal life and God’s perfect righteousness, 1 John 5:11-12, “And this is the deposition [testimony] that the God [the Father] has given to us, eternal life, and this life is in his son [Since we are in union with Christ, we share this life.]. (12) and he who has the son [a relationship with the Son] has the life [eternal life] and the one who does not have the son of God [relationship with the Son] does not have the life [eternal life].” 2 Corinthians 5:21, “And He [the Father] made Him who knew no sin [perfection] to be a sin offering [imputation of sins on the cross] as a substitute for us so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him [current positional truth].” To live with God forever means you must have His life, and you must be as righteous as He is.
Positional truth guarantees the believer’s eternal security, Romans 8:38-39, “For I am persuaded that neither death [nothing in death] nor life [nothing in life] nor angels nor principalities [ruling angels] nor powers [human organizations] nor things present nor things to come (39) nor height [nothing in heaven] nor depth [nothing in Hades] nor any other creature shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Eternal life in Christ is for all eternity!
Positional truth belongs to all categories of believers whether they be apostate, mature, immature, spiritually adult, or carnal. Since Current Positional Truth occurs at the point of salvation before experience in the Christian life begins, it doesn’t depend on that experience. 1 Corinthians 1:2, “to the church of God which is in Corinth, to those who have been sanctified in Christ Jesus [at salvation], called saints together with all who call upon the person of Our Lord Jesus Christ, their [Lord] and ours.” So, even though you may be carnal or in reversionism, you still have positional truth. Being in union with Christ has nothing to do with what you do [experiential righteousness], or don’t do [failure to execute God’s plan]. Current Positional sanctification is completely the work of God the Holy Spirit and so is not based upon our volition, but on the sovereign decision of God. We make the decision to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, but we don’t make the decision to enter into union with Christ “all were made to drink the one Spirit” as per 1 Corinthians 12:13. God the Holy Spirit graciously did that for us and so it cannot be undone.
Current Positional truth creates a new spiritual species in Christ as per 2 Corinthians 5:17, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ and he is, he is a new spiritual species. The old things have lost their power; behold, new things have come to pass.” You become a new spiritual species at salvation by being put into union with Christ. It is what God does for you, and therefore it is grace. It is not what you do after salvation, such as the self-righteous works of legalism. The “old things” have to do with spiritual death and those things related to that death; the “new things” refer to things you receive at salvation such as the 40 assets and the unique spiritual life.
Positional truth should motivate the production of divine good and a pattern of life compatible with royalty as per Ephesians 2:10, “For we are his creation, having been created in Christ Jesus [a new spiritual species with many assets] for the purpose of divine good production [via experiential sanctification] which the God [the Father] has prepared in advance [in eternity past, God the Father provided election and predestination as part of our Portfolio of Invisible Assets], that we in the sphere of them [election and predestination] may pattern our lives.”
Even though a Christian may die the Sin on to Death, he will not lose his position in union with Christ (1 John 5:18-20), and so cannot lose his salvation. In order for a believer to lose his position in Christ, he would have to sin in that status, but since the believer cannot sin in union with Christ, he cannot lose his position in Christ and so cannot lose his salvation. Thus, it is comforting and reassuring to a believer to know that even though a loved one may have died the ‘sin on to death’, he has not lost his salvation.
Because we are in union with Christ, we share His:
1. Eternal life, 1 John 5:11, “And this is the deposition [testimony] that the God [the Father] has given to us, eternal life [At salvation, God the Father imputes this life to the human spirit], and this life is in his son [The Christian also shares the life of Christ through union with Him]. (12) and he who has the son [a relationship with the Son] has the life [eternal life] and the one who does not have the son of God [relationship with the Son] does not have the life [eternal life].”
John 14:6, “Jesus said to him [Thomas], ‘I am the way, the truth and the life [eternal life]; no person [in human history] comes face to face with the Father [having an eternal relationship with the Father] except through Me.’”
2. Perfect righteousness, 2 Corinthians 5:21, “And he (God the Father) made him [Jesus] who knew no sin (perfection) to be a sin offering as a substitute for us so that we might become the righteousness of God in him [positional truth]. Sharing the righteousness of Christ, we become the objects of God the Father’s love as per Romans 8:39.
3. Election, Ephesians 1:4, “just as He [the Father] has elected us for Himself in Him [Jesus Christ] before the creation of the world [in eternity past], that we may be set apart [experiential sanctification] and blameless [ultimate sanctification] in the presence of Him [Father].”
4. Destiny, Ephesians 1:5, “By means of love, He has predestined us for the purpose of adoption as adult sons to Himself through Christ Jesus our Lord according to the grace purpose of His will.”
5. Sonship, Galatians 3:26, “For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus.”
6. Heirship, Romans 8:16-17, “The Spirit Himself testifies together [bears witness] with our [human] spirit, that we are the children of God. (17) Now, if we are children and we are, also heirs, on the one hand heirs of God [the Father], and joint heirs with Christ. If indeed [if it is true that], we suffer with Him [pass all three stages of undeserved suffering], that also we might be glorified with Christ.”
7. Sanctification, 1 Corinthians 1:2, “to the church of God which is in Corinth, to those who have been sanctified in Christ Jesus, called saints together with all who call upon the person of Our Lord Jesus Christ, their [Lord] and ours.”
8. Priesthood, Hebrews 7:12-19, “For when the priesthood is changed, of necessity there takes place a change in the Law also. (13) For the One [the Lord Jesus Christ] concerning whom these things are spoken belongs to another tribe [the tribe of Judah] from which no one has officiated at the altar. (14) For it is evident that our Lord has descended from Judah, a tribe with reference to which Moses spoke nothing concerning priests, (15) and this is clearer still, if another priest arises similar to Melchizedek, and there has, (16) who has become a priest not on the basis of physical requirement [a reference to the Levitical Priesthood] but on the basis of indestructible life [the Lord’s priesthood is forever]. (17) For this reason, it is witnessed, ‘You are a priest forever similar to the order of Melchizedek.’” [We are in union with Christ. Therefore, we are royalty and priests forever. We represent ourselves before God as royal priests.] (18) For, on the one hand, there is a rescinding of the former commandment [the Mosaic Law that authorized the Levitical priesthood] because of its weakness and uselessness (19) (for the Law brought nothing to completion), but on the other hand, there is the bringing in of a better hope [the second door of hope for the Church Age believer—a personal sense of destiny—by which we enter the adult spiritual life] through which we draw near to God.”
Hebrews 7:26-28, “For it is fitting that we should have such a high priest, impeccable integrity, the One who cannot do evil, undefiled, separated from sinners and exalted above the heavens; (27) Who does not need daily, like those Levitical priests, to offer up sacrifices, first for their own sins, and then for the sins of the people, because this He did once for all when He [Jesus] offered up Himself. (28) For the Law appoints men as high priests who are weak, but the word of His [God the Father’s] oath, which came after the Law, appoints a Son, who has become perfect forever [Jesus Christ is a perfect high priest].”
9. Royalty, 1 Peter 2:9, “ But you and only you are an elect [elect by God the Father] race [as a new spiritual species], a royal priesthood [since Jesus is a king-priest], a holy nation [God’s entity: a nation of priests: every Christian is a priest], a people for God’s own possession [a protected people], so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him [Christ] who has called [in eternity past] you out of darkness [spiritual death and the Cosmic Systems] into His amazing light [his plan];”
10. New Spiritual Species, 2 Corinthians 5:17, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ and he is, he is a new spiritual species. The old things have lost their power [Old Covenant]; behold, new things have come to pass [This would include the New Covenant to the Church.].”
Current Positional Truth changes our relationship with Angels.
1. Through current positional truth the believer is higher than angels positionally.
2. Christ is seated at the right hand of the Father, and so superior to all angels. By virtue of being in union with Christ, every believer is now positionally superior to angels.
3. Positional truth has fulfilled the believer’s triumph with Christ in the angelic conflict. We are victorious with Him already.
4. Furthermore, positional truth demands compatibility with experiential righteousness. Therefore, the believer’s walk on this earth must be compatible with positional truth since we have perfect security in Christ, we have the freedom to choose for Jesus Christ, to love Jesus Christ, to respond to His love, and to fulfill our purpose on this earth.
What positional truth is not?
1. It is not an experience, emotions or ecstasies.
2. It is not progressive; it cannot be improved in time or eternity.
3. It is not related to human merit or ability.
4. It cannot be changed by God, man or angels. It is eternal in nature.
5. It is not obtained gradually as you grow in grace, but in toto at salvation.
6. It is not known apart from the metabolization of doctrine.
7. From understanding the doctrine of positional truth, we progress in our spiritual life, but we cannot improve it since it is perfect at salvation.
8. We are not in Christ because of what we do (execution of the spiritual life) or fail to do (fail to execute the spiritual life), but because of what God has done.
A few points of explanation:
1. The conclusion from positional truth, whether retroactive or current, is that the Christian must apply these doctrines to his spiritual life.
2. In Romans 7:1-4 where we have an illustration of a woman whose first husband has died freeing her to marry another. This is what actually happens to us as believers at salvation. The old sin nature is the husband up to the point of salvation, but at the moment we believe in Jesus Christ positionally the sin nature is dead, as it were, the first husband has died and we have a new husband through union with Christ. Retroactive Positional Truth removes our first husband, the sin nature whereas Current Positional Truth enters us into union with Christ, our new husband.
3. The old sin nature-husband is still around, still seeking to regain his control over his former wife, the believer. But union with the second husband, the Lord Jesus Christ, has broken the first husband’s authority over the former wife.
4. The Baptism of Fire:
Matthew 3:11, “On the one hand I [John the Baptizer] baptize you [believers] by means of water because of a change of thinking [about Christ], but the one coming after me is mightier than I whose sandals I am not worthy to lace [loosen, remove]. He himself will baptize by means of the Holy Spirit [a reference to the Baptism of the Holy Spirit in the Church Age] and by means of fire [a reference to the Baptism of Fire at the 2nd Advent].”
Baptism of Fire: The baptism of fire (identification with fire) is defined as the judgment of unbelievers both Jew and gentile at the Second Advent. They will be removed from the earth and placed in fire for 1000 years until the Last Judgment, Luke 3:16-17; Mathew 25:31, 33. The analogy to the Baptism of Fire is found in Matthew 24:36-41. The one left in the field is the mature believer; the one taken is the unbeliever.
Parables of the Baptism of Fire:
1. The wheat and the tares (the unbelievers), Matthew 13:24-30, 36-40.
2. The good and bad fish (unbelievers), Matthew 13:47-50.
3. The ten virgins: five wise, five foolish (the unbelievers), Matthew 25:1-13.
4. The sheep and the goats (the unbelievers), Mathew 25:31-46.
5. The talent test, Matthew 25:14-30. The one talent man represents the unbeliever.
If Jesus Christ had not been rejected by the Jewish people, then the age of Israel would have continued until its completion (the Tribulation completes the age of Israel). (However, they did reject Jesus Christ as Savior and Messiah and so the client nation was destroyed, and the Church age was intercalated that is inserted before the age of Israel was complete.) After the completion of the age of Israel at the end of the Tribulation, comes the wrath of God namely the Baptism of Fire when the Lord removes both Jewish and gentile unbelievers from the earth and identifies them with fire forever. After which, the Millennial reign begins.
The Three Ritual Baptisms. None are extant at the present time. They are representative identifications in which water is used as a training aid to represent some principle of doctrine.
1. The Baptism of John is found in Matthew 3:2-6, “Saying, ‘Change your thinking [regarding Christ] for the kingdom of heaven is near.’ [The future king was already on the earth] (3) For this is what was communicated through Isaiah, the prophet saying, ‘The voice of one [John the Baptizer] proclaiming loudly in the desert [of Judea]. Prepare [the aorist tense is a one time-decision] the way of the Lord [an idiomatic expression for salvation]. Keep on making upright [the use of the Recovery Procedure followed by the development of experiential righteousness] His paths!’ (Isaiah 40:3) (4) Now, John himself kept on having a garment of camel’s hair [very uncomfortable] and a leather belt around his waist, and his food was locusts and wild honey. (5) Then [after John went where God wanted him to be] Jerusalem kept on going out to him [face to face] and all Judea and all the districts around the Jordan. (6) and they were being baptized [identified with the kingdom] by him [under John’s authority] in the Jordan River [where Israel crossed when they entered the land], and they kept on confessing their sins [post-salvation confession of sins].”
MAX KLEIN BIBLE MINISTRIES
The Gospel of Matthew: Chapter Fifteen
A verse-by-verse commentary by Max Klein
Matthew is the Gospel of the King
Chapters:
1. Genealogy and Birth of the King
2. Protection of the King
3. Heralds of the King
4. Temptations of the King
5-7. Platform of the King
8. Power of the King
9. Ministry of the King
10. Representatives of the King
11. Ministry of the King continues
12. Rejection of the King
13. Parables of the King
14. Focus on the King
15. Opposition of the King
Matthew 15:1
Τότε προσέρχονται τῷ Ἰησοῦ ἀπὸ Ἱεροσολύµων Φαρισαῖοι καὶ γραµµατεῖς λέγοντες,
Then, the Pharisees and the scribes who were from Jerusalem came to Jesus, saying,
The scribes and the Pharisees are often mentioned together since both groups were religious Jewish unbelievers. The Pharisees were the political party in the Sanhedrin which believed that religion ought to rule the state, whereas the scribes concentrated on theology and studied the Old Testament extensively and often became Pharisees.
These hostile, religious unbelievers came in opposition and immediately their opposition is expressed, as is often the case, by a question. It is very interesting that religious people often appear to be very interested in the Scripture and seekers of truth, but they are not seekers at all, but are simply looking for an opportunity to express opposition. These people came to Jesus, as it were, seeking information, seeking enlightenment by way of a question.
Matthew 15:2
∆ιὰ τί οἱ µαθηταί σου παραβαίνουσιν τὴν παράδοσιν τῶν πρεσβυτέρων; οὐ γὰρ νίπτονται τὰς χεῖρας αὐτῶν ὅταν ἄρτον ἐσθίωσιν.
Why do your disciples transgress the tradition of the elders? For they do not wash their hands before they eat.
The tradition of the elders is the oral law handed down in Israel. When it was reduced to writing, it was called the Mishnah. Washing the hands before eating is not part of the Mosaic Law but became a commandment in the Mishnah. These were taboos; some were useful, but most were not. Whatever the benefits of sanitation, they do not extend into the spiritual realm. This is a situation where religion takes something good and makes a false issue out of it. Again, washing the hands is a sanitary precaution, but not a spiritual matter. The disciples obviously did not observe this taboo. The only possible exception to this may have been Judas Iscariot for he was from the tribe of Judah. The people from Galilee generally did not observe this sanitary principle, but the Judeans did for the most part.
The scribes and Pharisees were criticizing the Lord since he did not enforce this taboo and that took a lot of audacity. Religion always looks for an opportunity to criticize those who teach the truth even God who is the truth.
Matthew 15:3
ὁ δὲ ἀποκριθεὶς εἶπεν αὐτοῖς, ∆ιὰ τί καὶ ὑµεῖς παραβαίνετε τὴν ἐντολὴν τοῦ θεοῦ διὰ τὴν παράδοσιν ὑµῶν;
But He answered and said to them, ‘Why do you also transgress the commandment of God [Exodus 20:12: honor your father and mother] because of your tradition [namely the Corban gimmick]?
Jesus answers a question with a question. Jesus is going to show them that one of their traditions namely ‘corban’ violated Scripture. Corban was a tradition related to giving. A gimmick that allowed a young man to avoid his financial responsibility toward his parents and by so doing dishonored his parents.
Corban was a gimmick by which the religious leaders, and a young man could benefit at the expense of his parents. A Hebrew word adopted into the Greek of the New Testament and left untranslated. It occurs only once (Mark 7:11). It means a gift or offering consecrated to God. Anything over which this word was once pronounced was irrevocably dedicated to the temple. Though dedicated to the temple, the young man who had pronounced Corban over his wealth could use his monies for his own personal needs until his death but was not allowed to spend any of these funds on his parents. Apparently, he could avoid some taxes as well, for example not having to give to the poor of the Land every 3rd year. Upon the death of the young man, the funds would go to the temple. Our Lord condemns the Pharisees for their false doctrine, which effectively destroyed the commandment which requires children to honor their father and mother, giving them an excuse for not helping their parents by the device of pronouncing "Corban" over their goods, thus reserving them to their (the priests and the young man) own selfish use.
Matthew 15:4
ὁ γὰρ θεὸς εἶπεν, Τίµα τὸν πατέρα καὶ τὴν µητέρα, καί, Ὁ κακολογῶν πατέρα ἢ µητέρα θανάτῳ τελευτάτω·
For God said, ‘Honor your father and mother’ and ‘he who speaks evil of [curses] father or mother [a teenager who is incorrigible], must be put to death [to be executed by stoning]."
They emphasized their traditions over the Word of God. The Lord will make this issue clear. So, Jesus reminds them of the 5th commandment. Exodus 20:12 states, “Honor your father and your mother with the result that your life span will be long in the land which the Lord your God gives to you.” Honor refers to respecting and obeying one’s parents, and to provide for their needs when necessary.
Deuteronomy 21:18-21, “If someone has a stubborn and rebellious son [a young son living in the home of his parents] who does not obey his father and mother and will not listen to them when they discipline him, 19 his father and mother shall take hold of him and bring him to the elders at the gate of his town. 20 They shall say to the elders, “This son of ours is stubborn and rebellious. He will not obey us [totally incorrigible]. He is a glutton and a drunkard.” 21 Then all the men of his town are to stone him to death. You must purge the evil from among you. All Israel will hear of it and be afraid.”
Although this passage regarding stoning does not apply to a young man dishonoring his parents via Corban, it does emphasize the importance of honoring one’s parents, and the evil of the religious leaders encouraging the dishonoring of parents.
Stability in family life leads to stability in national life, and as goes the families of the nation so goes the nation itself. Therefore, instability in family life leads to instability in national life.
The Divine Institutions are as follows: the Individual, Marriage, Family and Nation. The authority of the individual is his volition; the authority in marriage is the husband and the authority over the nation is the government. So, the state of the individual affects the marriage, and marriages in a nation affect the nation, but it all starts with the individual. This explains why the integrity of the individual or lack of it, is so important in a nation. It further explains why the Jews were commanded to execute arrogant teenagers who had become incorrigible. Incorrigible teenagers would become adults and produce unhappy marriages and families, and unhappy marriages and families would lead to national decline.
Matthew 15:5-6
ὑµεῖς δὲ λέγετε, Ὃς ἂν εἴπῃ τῷ πατρὶ ἢ τῇ µητρί, ∆ῶρον ὃ ἐὰν ἐξ ἐµοῦ ὠφεληθῇς, (6) οὐ µὴ τιµήσει τὸν πατέρα αὐτοῦ· καὶ ἠκυρώσατε τὸν λόγον τοῦ θεοῦ διὰ τὴν παράδοσιν ὑµῶν.
But you say [tradition from the Mishnah], “Whosoever shall say [some adult son or possibly even a daughter] to father or mother, ‘whatever you might have received from me as financial aid is [now] a gift to God [Corban].’ (6) And in no way does he honor his father or his mother. And you [scribes and Pharisees] nullified [voided, invalidated] the Law [commandment] of God for the sake of your tradition.
Legalism is always opposed to doctrine and the grace of God, and religion always places emphasis on money.
Verses 7-9 the indictment:
Matthew 15:7
ὑποκριταί, καλῶς ἐπροφήτευσεν περὶ ὑµῶν Ἠσαΐας λέγων,
Hypocrites! Well, did Isaiah prophesy of you saying [Isaiah 29:13],
Jesus is talking to the spiritual hierarchy of Israel whom He denigrates and not in whispers.
Matthew 15:8-9
Ὁ λαὸς οὗτος τοῖς χείλεσίν µε τιµᾷ, ἡ δὲ καρδία αὐτῶν πόρρω ἀπέχει ἀπí ἐµοῦ· (9) µάτην δὲ σέβονταί µε, διδάσκοντες διδασκαλίας ἐντάλµατα ἀνθρώπων.
‘This people [the Jews] honor Me with their lips [in religious worship], but their heart [mentality of their soul] is far from Me [there is no truth in their souls].’ (9) But in vain they worship Me [ritual but no reality], teaching [as] doctrines the precepts of men.
You cannot teach human traditions as if they were doctrine from God.
Verses 10-20: the condemnation of religion:
Matthew 15:10
Καὶ προσκαλεσάµενος τὸν ὄχλον εἶπεν αὐτοῖς, Ἀκούετε καὶ συνίετε·
And He called the crowd and said to them, ‘Hear and understand.’
In verses 10 and 11 the Lord wants the people to understand that their religious leaders are hypocrites. He wants to warn them against religion with a parable in the following verse. A parable is an ordinary event in life which illustrates doctrine. All one needs to know is the doctrine, then listen to the parable and put the two together.
Matthew 15:11
οὐ τὸ εἰσερχόµενον εἰς τὸ στόµα κοινοῖ τὸν ἄνθρωπον, ἀλλὰ τὸ ἐκπορευόµενον ἐκ τοῦ στόµατος τοῦτο κοινοῖ τὸν ἄνθρωπον.
Not that which goes into the mouth defiles a man [this takes us back to the disciples eating without washing their hands]; but what comes out of the mouth, this defiles a man.
Our spiritual life is not related to sanitation and health. This statement in the above verse takes us right back to the washing of hands. So, the disciples didn’t wash their hands, and this means that their food was possibly defiled, especially if they handled their food with their fingers as they habitually did. So, they eat something that is perhaps going to cause them some trouble physically; “but that which cometh out of the mouth, this defiles the man.” In other words, it isn’t what you eat that is going to destroy your relationship with God, it is what you say, and what you say is what you think. Words are formed in the mind, and so speaking is inevitably what you think. And if you are thinking envy and jealousy then you are going to malign and gossip; and if you are thinking hostility and implacability then you are going to run down someone else. So, what one speaks through his mouth merely indicates what is being thought.
Religion always places the emphasis on the externals, not on what one thinks or how one is motivated. The scribes and Pharisees were placing the emphasis on dirty hands whereas the Lord put the emphasis on dirty souls.
Matthew 15:12
Τότε προσελθόντες οἱ µαθηταὶ λέγουσιν αὐτῷ, Οἶδας ὅτι οἱ Φαρισαῖοι ἀκούσαντες τὸν λόγον ἐσκανδαλίσθησαν;
Then His disciples came and said to Him, ‘Do You know that the Pharisees were offended when they heard this saying?’
Rather than being influenced by the teaching of Christ, the disciples are bothered by His criticism of the scribes and Pharisees. The disciples were not impressed with the Lord’s doctrine but offended by the criticism. People who will not accept doctrine are offended by doctrine. Religion rejects doctrine, therefore religion fights doctrine. Legalism and religion try to obscure and phase out Bible doctrine, always. And even these disciples have been touched by religion. Instead of being influenced by what Jesus just said, doctrine, these disciples were bothered by the criticism of the scribes and Pharisees. The disciples were not impressed with the doctrine that Jesus gave, rather the disciples were bothered by the Lord’s criticism of the Pharisees.
Matthew 15:13
ὁ δὲ ἀποκριθεὶς εἶπεν, Πᾶσα φυτεία ἣν οὐκ ἐφύτευσεν ὁ πατήρ µου ὁ οὐράνιος ἐκριζωθήσεται.
But He answered and said, ‘Every plant which My heavenly Father has not planted [namely the unbelievers like the tares of the Parable of the Wheat and Tares] shall be rooted up [at the Last Judgment].’
The person who believes in the Lord Jesus Christ is the plant. If a person does not believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, he will be rooted up at the Last Judgment namely, he will stand before Christ at the Great White Throne Judgment. So, disciples, get your priorities straight. These scribes and Pharisees will be rooted-up.
The plant which the heavenly Father plants is any person who believes in Jesus Christ. Regeneration is the planting which cannot be rooted-up. It is in the aorist tense, indicating a once and for all planting. If you are not planted by the heavenly Father through regeneration, then you are going to be rooted up and face the Great White Throne Judgment.
Revelation 20:11-15, “Then, I saw [constantive aorist: the eschatological vision of the last courtroom of human history] a great [the importance of the judge] white [the integrity of the judge] throne, and he [the Lord Jesus Christ] who was sitting on it [the judgment bench] from whose presence [face] planet earth and heaven [earth’s atmosphere and stellar space] fled [ingressive aorist: will attempt to escape figuratively from the justice of the Lord. Since the earth and heaven were the locations of many sins, pseudo good and evil, they must be destroyed.] Consequently, no place was found for them [culminative aorist: The earth and heaven (earth’s atmosphere and stellar space) will be destroyed. They will be replaced by the New Heaven and the New Earth]. (12) Then I saw the dead [all unbelievers of human history arraigned before the Supreme court in heaven], the great [famous and successful] and the insignificant [losers in history] standing [unbelievers in their resurrection bodies as a result of the 2nd Resurrection] before the throne [the Great White Throne]. Then, the books [which register the deeds of the unbelievers] were opened (to function as evidence that they are not righteous enough), and another book was opened which is the Book of Life [to verify that they do not possess eternal life]. Then, the dead [unbelievers] were judged from the things which had been written in the books according to their deeds [good deeds and accomplishments]. (13) Then, the sea [the sea prison of the Nephilim: half human-half angelic] gave up their dead which were in it, also Death [apparently those unbelievers, involved in the Gog-Magog revolution upon death (1st death) are changed from their mortal bodies directly into their eternal bodies (no need for them to be sent to Torments and given interim bodies, and then a short time later have their interim bodies changed into everlasting bodies) are arraigned before the Great White Throne Judgment ] and Hades [all unbelievers in Torments will be changed from their interim bodies to their everlasting bodies] gave up the dead which were in them [two locations: Death and Hades] and they were judged each one of them [individually] on the basis of their deeds [good deeds]. See R. B. Thieme Jr’s Revelation series 457, lessons 673-674. (14) Then Death [apparently those unbelievers, involved in the Gog-Magog revolution upon death (1st death) are changed from their mortal bodies directly into their eternal bodies (no need for them to be sent to Torments and given interim bodies) are arraigned before the Great White Throne Judgment] and Hades (the temporary location of the unbelievers now in their eternal bodies) were thrown into the Lake of Fire. This is the 2nd death, the Lake of Fire. (15) And, if anyone’s name having been written in the Book of Life [at birth] was not found in the Book of Life [at the Great White Throne Judgment], he was thrown into the Lake of Fire.”
Matthew 15:14
ἄφετε αὐτούς· τυφλοί εἰσιν ὁδηγοί· τυφλὸς δὲ τυφλὸν ἐὰν ὁδηγῇ, ἀµφότεροι εἰς βόθυνον πεσοῦνται.
Let them alone [separate yourselves from them]. They are blind leaders [scribes and Pharisees] of the blind [at that time the disciples]. And if the blind lead the blind, both shall fall into the ditch [the scribes and Pharisees led many astray].
This is an analogy to religion. As believers we are commanded to stay away from legalistic unbelievers or legalistic believers. Don’t have anything to do with legalistic people. They will influence you in the wrong way as the disciples were influenced temporarily. The scribes and Pharisees fell into the ditch of unbelief, and the disciples were on track to fall into the ditch of failure in their spiritual lives if they had continued listening to the blind scribes and Pharisees.
2 Timothy 3:1-7, “But know this that in the last days [periods of apostasy in the Church Age; the entire 7 years of the Tribulation] difficult times are imminent. (2) For persons [believers] will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, slanderers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful ones and anti-establishment [totally irresponsible]. (3) Unloving [no capacity for love], implacable, malicious gossips, without self-control, violent and brutal [unreasonable in thinking and action], not lovers of intrinsic good [no spiritual values and skills] (4) treacherous [disloyal], thoughtless types [insensitive], having become pumped up with arrogance, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God [false priorities]. (5) Holding to a superficial form [outward appearance] of the spiritual life, but they themselves have disregarded its power; avoid such ones as these. (6) For among them are those [immoral Christian men] who creep into homes [slyly enter the homes] and seduce [captivate] silly women [morally weak women because there is no doctrine in their souls] who are overwhelmed by their sins and are carried away by various lusts. (7) Always learning [these women], but they are never able to come to an epignosis knowledge of the truth.”
Matthew 15:15-16
Ἀποκριθεὶς δὲ ὁ Πέτρος εἶπεν αὐτῷ, Φράσον ἡµῖν τὴν παραβολήν. (16) ὁ δὲ εἶπεν, Ἀκµὴν καὶ ὑµεῖς ἀσύνετοί ἐστε;
Then, Peter answered [in his mind] and said to Him, ‘Explain this parable to us.’ (this parable of verse 11) (16) And Jesus said, ‘Are you also still without understanding?’
The Lord is surprised that Peter and the others did not understand the parable.
Matthew 15:17-19
οὐ νοεῖτε ὅτι πᾶν τὸ εἰσπορευόµενον εἰς τὸ στόµα εἰς τὴν κοιλίαν χωρεῖ καὶ εἰς ἀφεδρῶνα ἐκβάλλεται; (18) τὰ δὲ ἐκπορευόµενα ἐκ τοῦ στόµατος ἐκ τῆς καρδίας ἐξέρχεται, κἀκεῖνα κοινοῖ τὸν ἄνθρωπον. (19) ἐκ γὰρ τῆς καρδίας ἐξέρχονται διαλογισµοὶ πονηροί, φόνοι, µοιχεῖαι, πορνεῖαι, κλοπαί, ψευδοµαρτυρίαι, βλασφηµίαι.
Do you not yet understand that whatever enters in at the mouth goes into the stomach, and is cast out into the latrine [the toilet]? (18) But the things which come out of the mouth come from the heart [the mentality], and they defile the man [the sins of the tongue express the sins of mental attitude]. (19) For out of the heart [the mentality of the soul] comes evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies;
Evil thoughts of the soul produce evil decisions and actions expressed through the mouth.
Matthew 15:20
ταῦτά ἐστιν τὰ κοινοῦντα τὸν ἄνθρωπον, τὸ δὲ ἀνίπτοις χερσὶν φαγεῖν οὐ κοινοῖ τὸν ἄνθρωπον.
These are the things which defile a man, but to eat with unwashed hands does not defile a man.
Which is worse to have dirty minds and clean hands or the opposite? The Pharisees and scribes had clean hands, but dirty minds. Jesus is saying that it is better to have dirty hands and a clean mind than to have the reverse.
Matthew 15:21
Καὶ ἐξελθὼν ἐκεῖθεν ὁ Ἰησοῦς ἀνεχώρησεν εἰς τὰ µέρη Τύρου καὶ Σιδῶνος.
And going out from there, Jesus withdrew to the district of Tyre and Sidon [Phoenician cities on the coast of the Mediterranean Sea].
These two Phoenician cities had been conquered by Alexander the Great. Sidon capitulated, and Tyre was taken after a long battle. You might find the following tidbit interesting. The Carthaginians of Carthage, a colonial city of Phoenicia, discovered the Americas even landing off the coast of Maryland at the time of the Second Punic War with Rome. However, for some reason the political rulers of Carthage decided that this information should not be known and so, they murdered the sea captains and everyone on those ships.
Matthew 15:22
καὶ ἰδοὺ γυνὴ Χαναναία ἀπὸ τῶν ὁρίων ἐκείνων ἐξελθοῦσα ἔκραζεν λέγουσα, Ἐλέησόν µε, κύριε, υἱὸς ∆αυίδ· ἡ θυγάτηρ µου κακῶς δαιµονίζεται.
And behold, a woman of Canaan [a Phoenician] coming out of same coasts kept calling out to Him [importunity: troublesomely urgent from the viewpoint of the disciples], saying, ‘Have mercy on me [apply grace to me], O Lord [as a believer, she recognizes the deity of Christ], Son of David! My daughter is horribly [implies that some illness was related to this possession] demon possessed.’
The Phoenicians knew of David and his line. In this way, she not only recognizes Him as the God-Man, but also the rightful ruler of Israel. She also knows that only Jesus Christ has the answer. In requesting mercy, she knows her rights as a believer.
She understood that her daughter couldn’t believe in the Lord Jesus Christ while demon possessed. Furthermore, her daughter was apparently seriously ill due to demon possession.
Matthew 15:23
ὁ δὲ οὐκ ἀπεκρίθη αὐτῇ λόγον. καὶ προσελθόντες οἱ µαθηταὶ αὐτοῦ ἠρώτουν αὐτὸν λέγοντες, Ἀπόλυσον αὐτήν, ὅτι κράζει ὄπισθεν ἡµῶν.
But He did not answer her a word. And His disciples came and kept on begging Him, saying, ‘Send her away, for she keeps on calling out after us.’
Here is a woman in distress and even though the Lord is the quintessence of a gentleman, He ignores her that He might test His disciples which test the disciples failed completely. The disciples should have concluded that this was a knowledgeable believer and needed help.
The disciples were embarrassed and inconvenienced by her importunity. This was very embarrassing for these Jewish men to be followed by a gentle woman who kept on calling out to them for help. However, if they had listened to her words, they could have saved themselves a greater embarrassment. They had their eyes on themselves and so were embarrassed. The disciples found it rather embarrassing to have some woman following them and constantly beseeching them. After all, someone might get the wrong idea!
Matthew 15:24
ὁ δὲ ἀποκριθεὶς εἶπεν, Οὐκ ἀπεστάλην εἰ µὴ εἰς τὰ πρόβατα τὰ ἀπολωλότα οἴκου Ἰσραήλ.
But He answered and said [to the Canaanite woman], I am not sent except to the lost sheep [unbelievers] of the house of Israel.
The Lord clearly states that his mission is to the unbelievers of Israel. By stating his mission, he clearly states that she does not qualify for the Lord’s attention since she is neither an unbeliever nor a Jew. This is a challenge to the woman’s grace orientation and knowledge and to the disciples listening. Have they learned anything? Have they developed any compassion? What is their mental attitude in an embarrassing situation? And, above all, are they relaxed?
Matthew 15:25
ἡ δὲ ἐλθοῦσα προσεκύνει αὐτῷ λέγουσα, Κύριε, βοήθει µοι.
Then she came and worshiped Him, saying, Lord, help me!
She not only knew of the Lord’s purpose in the First Advent, but also knew that this purpose did not exclude her rights as a believer and did not exclude his mercy toward her. So, even though his doctrinal mission was to the lost sheep of Israel, grace excludes no one, a higher law. She knew that the Lord, her Savior deals with individuals even though he was fulfilling an overall plan which plan brought him to the area of the Phoenicians.
Matthew 15:26
ὁ δὲ ἀποκριθεὶς εἶπεν, Οὐκ ἔστιν καλὸν λαβεῖν τὸν ἄρτον τῶν τέκνων καὶ βαλεῖν τοῖς κυναρίοις.
But He answered and said, “It is not fitting to take the children's [Jews'] bread [grace provision] and to throw it to the little dogs [Psalm 22: gentiles].”
Jesus Christ has just amplified his mission statement. Not only was He not sent to the Gentiles, but also, He was not to share their provision with the dogs namely the Gentiles. The Jews considered the gentiles as dogs since the gentiles ate pork, oysters, and shrimp etc. In the ancient world the dog was not man’s best friend and normally had to obtain his own provisions since most were wild and not provided for. So, he had to fight with the rats of the city over the food left on the streets. These dogs were dirty and sometimes quite vicious because of their ill treatment. So, to call someone a dog was not to be complimented!
Matthew 15:27
ἡ δὲ εἶπεν, Ναί, κύριε, καὶ γὰρ τὰ κυνάρια ἐσθίει ἀπὸ τῶν ψιχίων τῶν πιπτόντων ἀπὸ τῆς τραπέζης τῶν κυρίων αὐτῶν.
And she said, ‘True, O Lord; but even the little dogs [kunarion is the diminutive of kuon which means dog] eat of the crumbs [provision] which fall from their masters' tables.’
She was smart, objective and could think well under pressure. She didn’t argue with the Lord, nor did she make an issue of being called a dog. Rather, she made an issue out of a little dog’s provision. She understood and knew that all believers fall under the concept of logistical grace provision which would include helping her daughter. (She used the Faith-rest Drill in her application of Logistical Grace).
Matthew 15:28-29
τότε ἀποκριθεὶς ὁ Ἰησοῦς εἶπεν αὐτῇ, Ὦ γύναι, µεγάλη σου ἡ πίστις· γενηθήτω σοι ὡς θέλεις. καὶ ἰάθη ἡ θυγάτηρ αὐτῆς ἀπὸ τῆς ὥρας ἐκείνης. (29) Καὶ µεταβὰς ἐκεῖθεν ὁ Ἰησοῦς ἦλθεν παρὰ τὴν θάλασσαν τῆς Γαλιλαίας, καὶ ἀναβὰς εἰς τὸ ὄρος ἐκάθητο ἐκεῖ.
Then Jesus answered and said to her, ‘O woman, great is your faith! So be it to you even as you wish.’ And her daughter was healed from that very hour, (29) and moving-on from there [leaving Phoenicia] Jesus came beside the Sea of Galilee [in the region of Decapolis]. And He went up into a mountain and sat there [relaxed].
Mark 7:31, “Then Jesus left the vicinity of Tyre and went through Sidon, down to the Sea of Galilee and into the region of the Decapolis.”
Jesus probably sat down on a high point so that his disciples could look upon the Sea of Galilee and reflect upon the miracles which occurred there in Matthew 8 that is the calming of the storm, and then later when the Lord came to them walking on the Sea in Chapter 15.
Matthew 15:30-31
καὶ προσῆλθον αὐτῷ ὄχλοι πολλοὶ ἔχοντες µεθí ἑαυτῶν χωλούς, τυφλούς, κυλλούς, κωφούς, καὶ ἑτέρους πολλούς, καὶ ἔρριψαν αὐτοὺς παρὰ τοὺς πόδας αὐτοῦ, καὶ ἐθεράπευσεν αὐτούς· (31) ὥστε τὸν ὄχλον θαυµάσαι βλέποντας κωφοὺς λαλοῦντας, κυλλοὺς ὑγιεῖς, καὶ χωλοὺς περιπατοῦντας καὶ τυφλοὺς βλέποντας· καὶ ἐδόξασαν τὸν θεὸν Ἰσραήλ.
And great crowds came to Him [from the eastern side of the Sea of Galilee near Decapolis], having with them the lame, blind, dumb, maimed, and many others [of different kinds of handicaps]. And they laid them down at Jesus' feet. And He healed them, (31) so much so that the crowd was amazed when they saw the dumb speak, the maimed sound, the lame walk, and the blind see. And they glorified the God of Israel.
This crowd heard that Jesus Christ could heal, but then were surprised when the healing had taken place. ‘Glorifying the God of Israel’ might mean that they had responded to the gospel message. Most assuredly, the following verse would imply they were believers hungry for the Word of God.
Matthew 15:32
Ὁ δὲ Ἰησοῦς προσκαλεσάµενος τοὺς µαθητὰς αὐτοῦ εἶπεν, Σπλαγχνίζοµαι ἐπὶ τὸν ὄχλον, ὅτι ἤδη ἡµέραι τρεῖς προσµένουσίν µοι καὶ οὐκ ἔχουσιν τί φάγωσιν· καὶ ἀπολῦσαι αὐτοὺς νήστεις οὐ θέλω, µήποτε ἐκλυθῶσιν ἐν τῇ ὁδῷ.
Then, Jesus called His disciples and said, I have compassion on the crowd because they continue with Me for three days now and have nothing to eat. And I will not send them away fasting [no spiritual connotation; they were simply without food], lest they faint on the way.
After these people were healed, they remained to learn the Word of God. However, after remaining there for three days, they had run out of food and were becoming weak from hunger. The disciples had just witnessed the healing of all these people and just before that the Phoenician woman having trusted in the Lord to solve her problem. Have they learned anything?
Matthew 15:33-34
καὶ λέγουσιν αὐτῷ οἱ µαθηταί, Πόθεν ἡµῖν ἐν ἐρηµίᾳ ἄρτοι τοσοῦτοι ὥστε χορτάσαι ὄχλον τοσοῦτον; (34) καὶ λέγει αὐτοῖς ὁ Ἰησοῦς, Πόσους ἄρτους ἔχετε; οἱ δὲ εἶπαν, Ἑπτά, καὶ ὀλίγα ἰχθύδια.
And His disciples said to Him, “From where should we get so many loaves in this remote area to feed such a crowd?” (34) And Jesus said to them, ‘How many loaves do you have?’ And they said, ‘Seven, and a few little fish.’ (ichthudion is the diminutive of ichthus, fish)
What is the difference whether these fish were little or big! They are piling unbelief on unbelief. Well, they learned one thing from the Phoenician woman for she used the diminutive of dog, now they use the diminutive of fish. She used it to express her faith in the Lord as the source of problem solving; they used it to express their disbelief.
Matthew 15:35
καὶ παραγγείλας τῷ ὄχλῳ ἀναπεσεῖν ἐπὶ τὴν γῆν.
And He commanded the crowd to sit on the ground.
Sit down and do nothing. God does not help those who help themselves, but the helpless.
Matthew 15:36-37
ἔλαβεν τοὺς ἑπτὰ ἄρτους καὶ τοὺς ἰχθύας καὶ εὐχαριστήσας ἔκλασεν καὶ ἐδίδου τοῖς µαθηταῖς, οἱ δὲ µαθηταὶ τοῖς ὄχλοις. (37) καὶ ἔφαγον πάντες καὶ ἐχορτάσθησαν, καὶ τὸ περισσεῦον τῶν κλασµάτων ἦραν, ἑπτὰ σπυρίδας πλήρεις.
And He took the seven loaves and the fish, and gave thanks, and broke, and kept on giving to His disciples. And the disciples kept on giving to the crowd. (37) And they all ate and were satisfied; and they picked up seven large baskets full of the pieces that were left.
The number seven should have reminded them of the grace of God. Genesis 2:2, “And on the seventh day God [the Holy Spirit] finished his work which he had done, and he rested on the seventh day [the Sabbath] from all his work which he had done.” Thus, the Jews were to rest on the Sabbath to commemorate the grace of God. Just as the Phoenician woman understood and applied the grace of God, so should have the 12 disciples. Unfortunately, the disciples not only failed to apply the grace of God, but also were so lacking in appreciating grace that they left their 7 baskets behind as per Matthew 16:5, “And the disciples came to the other side of the sea, but they had forgotten to bring the bread.”
Matthew 15:38-39
οἱ δὲ ἐσθίοντες ἦσαν τετρακισχίλιοι ἄνδρες χωρὶς γυναικῶν καὶ παιδίων. (39) Καὶ ἀπολύσας τοὺς ὄχλους ἐνέβη εἰς τὸ πλοῖον, καὶ ἦλθεν εἰς τὰ ὅρια Μαγαδάν.
And those who ate were four thousand men, besides women and children [about ten thousand people]. (39) And sending the crowd away, He went into the boat and came into the borders of Magdala [same area as Dalmanutha].
Mark 8:8-10, “The people ate and were satisfied. Afterward the disciples picked up seven basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over. 9 About four thousand were present. After he had sent them away, 10 he got into the boat with his disciples and went to the region of Dalmanutha.”
Since chapter eight the disciples had been consistent, they had consistently fallen on their faces. Every time they had an opportunity to claim the promises of God and to use a little doctrine, they had consistently failed to use the faith-rest technique, they had consistently failed to apply doctrine, in fact they had consistently failed to learn doctrine. The most we can say about the disciples is that they were consistent!
