The Lost Sheep of Israel

Sometimes in reading the Bible, we are confronted with elements that are confusing, a theology that seems to conflict with another theology, and behavior that defies explanation. One such passage is the following:

Matthew 15:21-28 (KJV)
²¹ Then Jesus went thence, and departed into the coasts of Tyre and Sidon.
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.
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. 

Aren't we told that Yeshua had come to be the Savior of the world? Yet, in Matthew 15 we are surprised with Yeshua initially turning His back on the needs of a Canaanite woman. He then told her and the disciples that He had only been sent to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. Finally, after much persistence, Yeshua granted the woman's request and made much ado about her faith.

What are we to think of this account? Let's look a little closer! In verse 21 we see that Yeshua had gone into the coasts of Tyre and Sidon, two Gentile cities north of Israel. This very act seems to counter Yeshua's own claim about being sent only to the lost sheep of Israel. What would He be doing in a Gentile area?

Mark 7:24 (KJV)
²⁴ And from thence he arose, and went into the borders of Tyre and Sidon, and entered into an house, and would have no man know it: but he could not be hid. 

Mark's version of this account placed Yeshua not in the coasts of Tyre and Sidon, but on the borders of this area. Although this may clarify that Yeshua was not necessarily going into a completely Gentile territory, it seems certain that Yeshua was intending to come into contact with at least this one Gentile woman. She cried out to Him, calling Him the Son of David, and pleaded with Him regarding her daughter that was vexed with a devil (verse 22).

Strangely, Yeshua ignored her (verse 23). The disciples then asked Yeshua to send the woman away because of her crying out after them. In response, Yeshua informed both the woman and His disciples that He had been sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel (verse 24). The woman persisted, worshipped Him, and made her request again (verse 25). Yeshua then relegated this woman to an inferior position by calling those of Israel, the children, while she and the Gentiles collectively, were referred to as dogs (verse 26). She persisted again, not by disagreeing with Yeshua, but by wisdom noted that the dogs ate the crumbs from the masters' table (verse 27). At that point, Yeshua exclaimed that the woman's faith was great and that He would heal her daughter (verse 28).

Even from this account, we see hints of God's future ministry that would include Gentiles.

Matthew 28:19 (KJV)
¹⁹ Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: 

But what can we make of Yeshua's behavior towards the woman? He intentionally went into that particular area, treated the woman very harshly, and yet, healed her daughter. The only conclusion possible is that this whole incident was a setup, a test of faith for this Canaanite woman. Obviously, she passed the test, she demonstrated her faith and received what she requested. 

It makes sense that Yeshua needed to ground His ministry in Judaism before the Gentiles completely overran it. Today we have a situation where Christians and Jews are viewed as belonging to separate religions. But, if Yeshua had not primarily been sent to the lost sheep of Israel, would we Gentiles have held to the Old Testament at all? Would we even recognize that Christianity came out of Judaism? Would there be any Judeo-Christian understanding of morals and values? Probably not!

However, this account of the Canaanite woman and Yeshua's dealings with other Gentiles emphasize the faith that these Gentiles had. Why did Yeshua go out of His way to connect with these Gentiles at this point of His ministry?

Romans 11:17 (KJV)
¹⁷ And if some of the branches be broken off, and thou, being a wild olive tree, wert graffed in among them, and with them partakest of the root and fatness of the olive tree; 

Paul tells us in Romans that Gentiles are grafted into Israel by grace through faith. Yeshua knew this Canaanite woman "hidden" in the coasts of Tyre and Sidon, was one of His. He went to find her. She was one of the lost sheep of Israel.

This passage of Matthew emphasizes that sometimes our confusions are due to our not completely understanding all sides of an issue. Definitely, the Bible is complex, but Yeshua's only being sent to the lost sheep of Israel was by no means an exclusion of Gentiles. Not only would the ministry expand to Gentiles, but any and all Gentiles that wanted to follow Yeshua were allowed!

What's the Big Deal About Eating Bread with Unwashed Hands Part 2

Please see part 1

The second part of Yeshua's confrontation with the scribes and Pharisees over the disciples eating bread with unwashed hands begins with Mark 7:14.

Mark 7:14-23 (KJV)
¹⁴ And when he had called all the people unto him, he said unto them, Hearken unto me every one of you, and understand:
¹⁵ There is nothing from without a man, that entering into him can defile him: but the things which come out of him, those are they that defile the man.
¹⁶ If any man have ears to hear, let him hear.
¹⁷ And when he was entered into the house from the people, his disciples asked him concerning the parable.
¹⁸ And he saith unto them, Are ye so without understanding also? Do ye not perceive, that whatsoever thing from without entereth into the man, it cannot defile him;
¹⁹ Because it entereth not into his heart, but into the belly, and goeth out into the draught, purging all meats?
²⁰ And he said, That which cometh out of the man, that defileth the man.
²¹ For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders,
²² Thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lasciviousness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness:
²³ All these evil things come from within, and defile the man.

At this point, Yeshua gathered the multitude to hear and understand what He was about to teach regarding the eating of bread with unwashed hands (verse 14). He plainly explained that what is taken into the body cannot defile a man, or in other words, make him spiritually unclean. It is what comes from the man that causes defilement (verse 15).

The disciples then requested that Yeshua explain His statement (verse 17). Although Yeshua reprimanded the disciples for lacking in understanding (After all, He only had a limited amount of time before His disciples needed to be ready to take over His ministry), He complied and began His explanation (verse 18). Verse 19, without the embellishment of later translators, states that what is taken in by mouth goes not into the heart, but into the belly and whatever is unusable by the body is eliminated. This is clearly a description of the digestive process. Through it, all food is purged. Then, verses 20 to 23 demonstrate and list all of the many things that defile a man like evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, and murders.

Reason tells us that the physical process of digestion which eliminates impurities from food, could not possibly cause an unclean food to suddenly become clean in a spiritual sense. Digestion has been a bodily process from the time of Creation. God instituted His Torah Laws while digestion was already occurring. He commanded His people not to eat certain things that were unclean. Digestion continued, but still, certain foods were unclean. Yeshua came to earth as a man. Digestion continued. Nothing changed. It is impossible to believe that Yeshua now claimed that digestion caused all foods to become clean! As discussed in the prior posts, Yeshua could not speak against the Torah or to change it, or mankind would still be lost in sin and condemned without hope.

Just as was seen in part 1 of this post, the topic has nothing to do with unclean foods becoming clean. The primary point of the passage (Mark 7:1-23) is how the Pharisees were misusing tradition, often raising tradition to the level of the written commandments of God, or of even raising it above the Torah. This second part is a further explanation of how food that may have been contaminated by something cannot make someone unclean. It is the actions and thoughts of man that defile.

Mark 7:19's addition has added to the confusion about the continuing applicability of the Torah. Let's open our hearts and minds to the truths that are written there and seek to find the seamless and enduring Torah that exists in both the Old and New Testaments!