Our family is in the season of birthdays. For the last two months and for the next two months, each member of my family has a birthday. These are kind of important to keep track of. It would be a shame to forget your child’s birthday. Not only that, but you’ve got to keep track of your parents’ birthdays and your siblings’ birthdays and your friends’ birthdays. Last week was my brother’s birthday, and I almost forgot to call him, but I remembered in the late afternoon. Knowing basic information about your family is kind of expected.
But what if I asked you when George Washington’s birthday was? What if I asked you the birthday of Abraham Lincoln? We might not know it. What if I asked you about George Washington, who he was, what he was like? Some of you might remember something about a cherry tree (which is made up as it turns out). Maybe you’d recall how he crossed the Delaware at Christmas. But these historical figures we know very little about in general. We might certain facts, but we don’t really know the person.
There is one person, however, about whom everyone wants to know: Jesus Christ. Every year around Easter and Christmas, major magazines and publications and television channels try to answer the question: who was Jesus Christ? And it is actually a very important question.
Today, if you talk to a neighbor or friend about Jesus, you might hear some interesting perspectives. Some say he is a great revolutionary. Others say he is a moral teacher with some good things to say. Some might say he shows us what it means to love. Even the lost will say that he is someone to be admired. But in order to understand Jesus, we should look at his Word.
If we’re going to understand who Jesus is, we should look at the text. What we’re going to see in Matthew 15:1-39 is not just who Jesus is and what he is characterized by, but that he is the Messiah, the King of Kings and Lord of Lords.
The Pharisees Come Down From Jerusalem (Matthew 15:1–9)
These are Pharisees and scribes coming from Jerusalem out into the boondocks. These are the religious leaders who set the tone for what it looked like to follow God during the time of the life of Christ. For them to travel out of Jerusalem to confront Jesus was a big deal. It would be like the Department of Justice showing up at your office or home. They had power and prestige, and they were here to confront Jesus publicly.
They come to Jesus with a question. It is said that Jesus’s disciples don’t wash their hands before eating. This wasn’t about hygiene. They weren’t concerned with disease transfer or a global pandemic. See, the elders and teachers had set up systems on top of God’s law. New rules. These new rules were based on Levitical laws and developed by Jewish schools. Essentially, they read the law of God about ceremonial cleanliness and said, let’s go one step further and just tell everyone that they have to be ceremonially clean whenever they eat anywhere.
This was a trap laid by the Pharisees and scribes. If someone were caught breaking the tradition of the elders, that was considered a religious crime with severe consequences, sometimes even punishable by death. These are not good faith questions. Jesus knows this. So let’s look at how he responds.
Jesus doesn’t answer their question. Instead, he points a question back at them regarding the tradition of the elders. They have sought to put him on the defensive, and he will go on the offensive. Jesus says, “Oh, you want to talk about the tradition of your elders? Sure, let’s talk about that.” He says that more than violating the traditions of the elders, their traditions are making void the law of God. How so?
They made a carve-out for people to avoid fulfilling the commandment of God to honor your father and mother. How did they do this? Anything dedicated to worship or the temple could be considered exempt from fulfilling your duties to your parents. Part of honoring your father and mother involved taking care of them when they became older and could not work. But if you declared your income as dedicated to God, the teaching of the elders permitted you to essentially opt out of obeying God’s law. “Sorry, can’t honor my father and mother; it all belongs to God.” The result: they themselves have made void the Word of God for the sake of their tradition.
Jesus quotes Isaiah to them, calling them hypocrites. This is a severe charge. He has not just pointed out their inconsistency here. He is leveling judgment against them.
As J.C. Ryle put it:
He shows how the vaunted traditions of the Pharisees were actually destroying the authority of the fifth commandment. In short, He establishes the great truth, which ought never be forgotten, that there is an inherent tendency in all traditions, to “make the word of God of none effect.” The authors of these traditions may have meant no such thing. Their intentions may have been pure. But that there is a tendency in all religious institutions of mere human authority, to usurp the authority of God’s word, is evidently the doctrine of Christ.
What is hypocrisy? William Gurnall is helpful here:
Hypocrisy cannot so properly be said to be one single sin, as the sinfulness of other sins, it is among sins, as sincerity among graces, now that is not one grace but an ornament, that beautifies and graces all other graces. The preciousness of faith is, that it is unfeigned, and of love to be without dissimulation, Thus the odiousness of sins is, when they are committed in hypocrisy.
Hypocrisy is claiming to be holy by holding out laws that you say lead to salvation and then lording them over others in a condemnatory way while you yourself do not even follow those same laws. It is about the outward form of religion without a humble heart before the Lord.
What Defiles a Person (Matthew 15:10–20)
Jesus isn’t done yet. He doesn’t just want to tell the Pharisees and scribes this. He wants to make sure his teaching (all of this was done in front of a crowd) was clearly understood by the people watching.
He doesn’t let the crowds off. He wants to sharpen the distinction in a public way between the tradition of the elders and the men who claim to uphold them: the Pharisees and scribes who had clout and had come down from Jerusalem to trap him. He is essentially publicly humiliating them in front of everyone.
He wants to make clear that it is the heart that produces sin. It is out of the heart that sin comes. They have made it about external things, and not just made it about external things, but have nullified the law of God with their external things. There are external things mandated by God’s law, but they are rooted in sincere love for the Lord.
Don’t misunderstand this. We live in a traditionless and rootless age. One where people are fragmented and disconnected from the past. Jesus is not teaching that traditions are bad. He is teaching that traditions and teachings extrapolated from God’s Word should never be used to suggest that adherence to traditions can save one’s soul. Traditions are good and necessary. They shape who we become. But, we must be careful not to hold out traditions as salvific in and of themselves.
The disciples come to Jesus and let him know: “Um, Jesus, you offended the Pharisees and scribes when you said that stuff.” This wasn’t the disciples trying to tone-police Jesus; they were genuinely concerned for their safety. Because he didn’t defend the accusation from the Pharisees and scribes, he just went after them for their hypocrisy. Rather than calm the situation with the ruling powers, he aggravated and offended them. They were afraid for their lives.
He is totally unconcerned by causing the Pharisees and scribes offense. He intended to offend them. Why? Because they have not been planted by the Father. He says to let them alone because they are blind guides and they do not know the truth. Their teaching will lead people to hell. Let them be offended; they are blind guides leading people into a pit.
Peter says, “Okay, but can you at least tell us what you meant?” Jesus says it’s simple. You eat food, and it doesn’t change your heart, your affections, your will. The food you eat will be expelled. The issue is what comes out of the heart, for out of the heart the mouth speaks. And in the heart are born sins: evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, and slander. He is talking about the Ten Commandments.
The question comes down to defilement. The Pharisees and scribes taught that external conformity to their traditions could keep you clean. Jesus says it is much worse than that. It is the heart that is wicked and must be cleansed.
The question that always comes up when dealing with Jesus in this way is: who are the Pharisees and scribes today? Many want to blame religious people for being hypocrites. And that can be true. There can be those who claim Christ who are Pharisees, who load people with heavy burdens promising religious adherence can save.
But more often than not in our world, it is not the religious but the irreligious who are the Pharisees. They are the ones who manufacture new laws and teachings, often using Scripture to justify themselves as if they are just following Jesus regarding love and tolerance and compassion and in their boasting about their love and their wicked teaching about how to be a good person, they enact laws and promote ideologies that are complete perversions of what the Bible teaches.
Many Christians will ask me: “how can they not see that they promote tolerance and inclusivity while spewing out such hatred?” It is because they are Pharisees. They are blind guides promoting their novel ideologies while being filled with hatred and wrath. They are the Pharisees who load up people with their perversions promising deliverance, which only leads to the pit. Promising salvation if you will just modify the external appearance while ignoring the sin on the inside. They promote the insane idea that if you simply cut off your genitals, or at least approve of those who do, then you can be a “good person.”
What does this show us about Jesus? He was not afraid to offend those who needed offense. He did not get tricked into silly debates with bad-faith actors. He was shrewd and cunning. He was completely unbothered by offending the Pharisees. But how does this speak to him being the Messiah? He himself is fulfilling the role of prophet. He is confronting the duplicity of the religious leaders just like the prophets did in the Old Testament. This testifies to his authority and Messianic mission.
But this isn’t all there is to Jesus. He is also full of compassion and mercy.
The Faith of the Canaanite Woman (Matthew 15:21–28)
Jesus leaves this area and goes to Tyre and Sidon, which were borderlands of Israel where there were other people who were not Jews. This is important to note because of who he encounters: a Canaanite woman. The Canaanites were ancient enemies of the Jewish people. They are who the Israelites were supposed to expel from the land they were given.
This Canaanite woman comes crying to Jesus, asking for his help, calling him “Lord, Son of David.” This is surprising. How would she know him to be Lord and the Son of David? Perhaps word had gotten around. Maybe she had heard some teaching in a synagogue as she passed by on a Saturday. Either way, she has a daughter who is oppressed by a demon, and she needs help. She needs deliverance. And she is desperate.
Jesus did not answer her. This does not seem merciful. In fact, his disciples beg Jesus to send her away because she’s being obnoxious. When he finally does respond to her, he simply says that she is not part of his mission. He came to the Jews first, to save the lost sheep of Israel, not the Gentiles. She replies, “Lord, help me.” Still a no from Jesus. He says that dogs do not deserve the bread that is being offered to children. Just like I wouldn’t serve my dog food my wife had made for the family. This seems harsh. And it was, in a certain sense. There’s no getting around that. But Jesus is testing her. She claims “Lord” with her mouth, but does she really grasp who he is, or is she just coming to him as a last resort, like she’ll try anything?
She says that even the dogs get crumbs. Here her heart is revealed. She is not posturing. She is not coming presumptuous. She is coming completely humbled before the Lord, knowing that it is only he who can save. Jesus sees her faith, and he heals her daughter.
We see the mercy of Jesus here, and his shrewdness. He was not going to be manipulated by this crying woman to do what she wants unless he knew her heart first. He could see her faith, that she was not just desperate looking for a quick fix. She was a true believer that Jesus Christ is the Son of David, the Lord.
Notice the difference. He offends this woman and she responds in humility and faith. He offends the Pharisees and they conspire to kill Jesus.
Healing on the Mountain (Matthew 15:29–31)
Jesus comes to the Sea of Galilee, to those who are lame, blind, crippled, and mute, and he heals them. They come to him in their need, and Jesus binds their wounds. They in turn glorify God, which was the purpose of Jesus’s life: to bring glory to God.
Jesus is able and willing not just to offend, but also to show mercy. He will show mercy to those who need mercy, and offend those who need offense. This mercy of Jesus also points to his Lordship. To the Gentile, he is willing to save — although in this particular iteration of his mission before the cross and resurrection, he is reluctant at first. But he wants people of faith. And to those who are hurting with physical ailments, he heals. All of this testifies to him being the Messiah who was promised: not just the Savior of Israel, but the Savior of the world, and one who would bind up those who were wounded and perform signs and wonders.
Compassion for the Hungry (Matthew 15:32–39)
Jesus has been with the crowds for three days. They don’t have access to food. They are enamored and have faith in Jesus. They are listening to his teaching and watching what he is doing. And Jesus says that he has compassion on them.
He asks his disciples what they have, after the disciples note that there are no restaurants or resources nearby from which to feed the crowd. They only have seven loaves of bread and a few small fish. Jesus says that is enough. He takes that food and multiplies it and feeds the entire crowd, amounting to four thousand men so at least double or triple that size, including women and children.
This is your Lord. He is overflowing with generosity. He loves to bless. The baskets didn’t run out; in fact, they were overflowing with resources. There is more than enough for what people need provided by Jesus.
Who Is Jesus Christ?
How can this Jesus who will offend and confront and show mercy and compassion be the same man? Because he is fully man and fully God. This is what these four episodes of the life of Christ testify to.
Jesus has rebuked the hypocrites. He has shown mercy to the Canaanite and the crippled. He has had compassion on the crowds that followed him. There is none like Christ. To answer who Jesus Christ is is simple: he is the Messiah, the Savior of the world, the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. He is the embodiment of perfect wisdom and rhetoric. And he alone saves.
A Call to Come to Christ
In this text, we don’t just answer who Jesus is in terms of what he is like; we answer it in terms of why Jesus came. Each episode provides further proof that Jesus Christ is the Messiah, the King of Kings and Lord of Lords.
When I was young, many Christians would wear bracelets that said “WWJD,” or what would Jesus do? We should ask, “What would Jesus do?” But when we ask that, we shouldn’t adopt the mind of the world that likes to flatten Jesus into whatever mold it has created for him. My daughter plays with Play-Doh, and it has molds. You can put the Play-Doh in and it produces a shape like a star. When you ask many people who Jesus is or what Jesus is like, they are going to answer according to their mold. In our world, that is typically liberal democratic values around inclusivity, tolerance, diversity, “love is love,” and multiculturalism. But when we as Christians are asked who Jesus is or what he is like, we can only confess that he is the mold and we are the clay, that we aspire to live like Christ every day and be conformed to his image.
We may make mistakes. We aim to be like Jesus, but we won’t always strike the right tone with the right audience. That’s okay. But we shouldn’t default to assuming that the cultural narratives about what is good and true match what Jesus taught. We should rigorously study the Scriptures, and more than that, we should know Jesus Christ by putting our faith in him for salvation.
And we must be clear that it is our hearts that must be washed clean by Jesus. This is the question that should be asked in response to Jesus’s teaching about what comes out of the heart defiling us: who can make us clean? If it is true that out of the heart comes all manner of evil, and that we cannot cleanse our hearts, then how can we be saved? The answer is Jesus Christ. We must come to him like the Canaanite woman, begging for scraps, desperate for Jesus. We come hungry and in need of sustenance like the crowds. We don’t come to Jesus demanding answers or justifications like the Pharisees. When things are not going as we want in life, we don’t question Jesus. We continue to come to him as nothing more than beggars.
Friends, the gospel is for you. You cannot save yourself. You cannot outwardly obey enough to cleanse your heart. You must be given a new heart with new affections and new obedience. You must cast all your sin on him because he took it on the cross.
A people transformed by this reality won’t just settle for stories about Jesus or the example of Jesus, but will wholly worship him from a heart cleaned by his blood. That kind of people, his church, is to be a light in the darkness, clarity in the confusion of our day. It is that kind of people he has called to himself to be his witnesses in the world. If you are looking to be like Jesus, then you must know Jesus. And the only way to know Jesus is to come to him in your desperation and fear, in your hunger and striving, and depend on him alone.
This sermon was preached at Trinity Church in Denver, CO on May 3, 2026. To listen to this sermon go here.