Sermon for August 16, 2026: Practicing What You Preach based upon Matthew 15:10-28

Matthew 15:10-28 Things That Defile (New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition)
 
Then he called the crowd to him and said to them, “Listen and understand:  it is not what goes into the mouth that defiles a person, but it is what comes out of the mouth that defiles.” Then the disciples approached and said to him, “Do you know that the Pharisees took offense when they heard what you said?” He answered, “Every plant that my heavenly Father has not planted will be uprooted. Let them alone; they are blind guides of the blind. And if one blind person guides another, both will fall into a pit.” But Peter said to him, “Explain this parable to us.” Then he said, “Are you also still without understanding? Do you not see that whatever goes into the mouth enters the stomach and goes out into the sewer? 18 But what comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart, and this is what defiles. For out of the heart come evil intentions, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, slander. These are what defile a person, but to eat with unwashed hands does not defile.”

​Jesus left that place and went away to the district of Tyre and Sidon. Just then a Canaanite woman from that region came out and started shouting, “Have mercy on me, Lord, Son of David; my daughter is tormented by a demon.” But he did not answer her at all. And his disciples came and urged him, saying, “Send her away, for she keeps shouting after us.” He answered, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” But she came and knelt before him, saying, “Lord, help me.” He answered, “It is not fair to take the children’s food and throw it to the dogs.” She said, “Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters’ table.” Then Jesus answered her, “Woman, great is your faith! Let it be done for you as you wish.” And her daughter was healed from that moment.

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    Last week, we talked about how Jesus seemed to be testing the disciples to see what they would do without him being physically with him. It was a hard test. It took everything they had, but they made it through the night, Peter’s water-walking escapades notwithstanding. At the end of the ordeal, they found themselves saying, “Truly you are the Son of God.” Something had changed within them overnight, and it made their faith stronger.

     In a commentary on last week’s text, Mitzi Smith notes that Jesus had changed within the story, too. I didn’t talk about her commentary last week, but it seems important to bring up this week. When talking about Matthew 14:22-33, Dr. Smith points out that Jesus’ time in the mountains at the beginning of the story is worth paying attention to. Though this story is not specific about what he does there, if his pattern for this time in the wilderness holds true, he likely spent the time there in prayer and away from the crowds who needed his help. It is after this time away, that the story tells us that Jesus’ power in manifest in dramatic ways in the story.

     First, he walks on water towards his friends. Remember, they think he’s a ghost. And, after Jesus and the disciples get to land, and the crowds find him, we learn that it is possible to simply touch his cloak and be healed. That is no small amount of power. Dr. Smith says, “After his time of self-care, Jesus is empowered from his head to the sole of his water-walking feet and at the fringe of his garment (14:34-36).” Smith notes while there are earlier stories of people touching Jesus’ clothes for healing, at this point, it hasn’t happened since chapter 9: 20-21.

     In that story, a desperate and faithful woman secretly reached out for Jesus in hopes that just touching him will heal her from years of constant bleeding. It worked. The people in chapter 14 are doing something similar, though they don’t feel like they have to hide their actions from Jesus. They feel empowered enough to reach right out. Healing comes through a rested and powerful Christ meeting faithful and empowered people who trust that his healing will be shared easily. That background sets the scene for today’s reading.
Today’s reading isn’t always preached all together. I could have had our reading simply read the argument between Jesus and the Pharisees in verses 10-20 or read only chapter 21 to chapter 28, the story of a new empowered woman looking to Jesus for healing. It is easy to split this chapter here based on who is interacting with Jesus and what they are talking about. I think when I’ve preached on this story before, I’ve just talked about the woman. This week, I’m glad I read about the argument with the Pharisees first because I think it helps explain some of Jesus’ initial reaction to the Canaanite woman and why their interaction is so powerful.

     According to Anderw Overman, verses 10-20 are part of a longer conversation about Jewish religious law. Jesus and the Pharisees both thought it was important to follow Jewish religious law as a sign of one’s covenant with God. As you know, few people argue more fiercely than people who both love something and disagree about it. Jesus (and many other Jewish people) argued that it was most important to honor the spirit intended behind the religious law, not just the exact wording. In the first part of chapter 15, they are talking about laws governing ritual purity, specifically around handwashing, and laws about food.

     Ultimately, Jesus’ foundational argument is that the thing that demonstrates most clearly your commitment to God is not exacting attention to purity rituals and food, but instead are your words and behaviors. Whatever goes into the mouth can be released to the sewer. Whatever comes out of the mouth comes from the heart. If that which is your heart is good, your words and actions with usually be good. If evil intent is in your heart, your words and deeds will spread that out into the world. “These are what defile a person, but to eat with unwashed hands does not defile.” He never says not to follow the purity codes. He does say do not argue about who is following them perfectly. That is not the most important part of their shared faith. Increasing the love and justice in the world is.

     Jesus says all of that and then proceeds to deny a faithful person healing because they don’t follow purity laws. That’s basically what happens in the next part of the story. Jesus left Jerusalem and the conversation with the Pharisees and has an encounter with a Canaanite woman in Tyre and Sidon, in Syria. The author of Matthew notes that she is Canaanite, according to Eunjung Lim in her commentary on this text, as a kind of shorthand to say “these people aren’t really supposed to be talking to each other because of ethnic, religious, and gender differences.” She is a member of Israel’s ancient enemy nation. She does not keep ritual purity codes. And, she is a woman who not related to Jesus or his disciples. Jesus has been taught his whole life not to hang out with the likes of her.

     This woman, however, like the bleeding woman before her and the empowered people Jesus met after the boat incident, is faithful. She is confident Jesus can heal her daughter. She also likely knows that he’s not supposed to spend time with her. She doesn’t care. She knows he can make things right. So, she approaches him with the greatest respect she can: “Have mercy on me, Lord, Son of David; my daughter is tormented by a demon.” In her commentary on chapter 15, Mitzi Smith points on that in calling Jesus “Son of David,” this woman might not just be describing Jesus’ Jewishness and identity as Messiah. She might also be reminding him that three of David’s ancestors were Canaanite women: Tamar, Rahab, and Ruth. These are also Jesus’ ancestors. In calling him “lord,” it is also an acknowledgement of his role as teacher and healer. And, she names clearly the suffering of her loved one. This action on its own is often enough to drive Jesus into action.

     It is not this time. In fact, he is deeply unkind to her in his response. This woman, who has demonstrated faith and respect for covenant in her works an action, the thing Jesus has said is most import in the argument right before this, is denied care because of her identity as one outside of religious covenant, a covenant which is made visible, in part, by keeping purity codes and eating food in a particular way. His disciples told him to run her off. He said to her face, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” She said, again, “Lord, help me.” He said, “It is not fair to take the children’s food and throw it to the dogs.” He called her and her suffering child a dog.

     Thank God this woman, like Tamar, Rahab, and Ruth, is faithful and brave. She’s gonna help her daughter. With that love in her heart, she puts these words into the world, “Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters’ table.” In that moment, Jesus is changed. In that moment, he decided to practice what he had been preaching. He sees her for what she is: a powerful example of living a life rooted in love and keeping promises. And, this is basically what he has told his disciples to be. “Woman, great is your faith! Let it be done for you as you wish.” While we don’t see the daughter in any of the story, the narrator tells us that she is instantly healed.

     Jesus is not the only one who has been caught not living up to his stated morals, or, at the very least, thinking too narrowly about his mission. He can actually offer love, healing, and connection beyond his own religious community. His own family line was an example of people who disrupted what Dr. Lim calls “entrenched social divisions.” Perhaps he just needed to be reminded that love and justice are needed in the whole world. May we be so quick to change our minds when shown that we aren’t practicing what we preach. And, when leaders we trust aren’t living up to their promises, may we be as bold as this woman in reminding them that grace is best shared with all who need it. Let us know that God means more for us than merely crumbs. May our actions and our words demonstrate our faith in that promise.

Resources consulted while writing this sermon:
Mitzi Smith on Matthew 14:22-33: https://www.workingpreacher.org/commentaries/revised-common-lectionary/ordinary-19/commentary-on-matthew-1422-33
Mitzi Smith on Matthew 15:10-28: https://www.workingpreacher.org/commentaries/revised-common-lectionary/ordinary-20/commentary-on-matthew-1510-20-21-28-4
J. Andrew Overman's note on Matthew in the The New Oxford Annotated Bible: The New Revised Standard Version with Apocryphya, ed. Michael Coogan (New York: Oxford University Press, 2001)
​Eunyung Lim: https://www.workingpreacher.org/commentaries/revised-common-lectionary/ordinary-20/commentary-on-matthew-1510-20-21-28-7