Matthew 15:31 - Printer Friendly

ESV: so that the crowd wondered, when they saw the mute speaking, the crippled healthy, the lame walking, and the blind seeing. And they glorified the God of Israel.

NIV: The people were amazed when they saw the mute speaking, the crippled made well, the lame walking and the blind seeing. And they praised the God of Israel.

NASB: So the crowd was astonished as they saw those who were unable to speak talking, those with impaired limbs restored, those who were limping walking around, and those who were blind seeing; and they glorified the God of Israel.

CSB: So the crowd was amazed when they saw those unable to speak talking, the crippled restored, the lame walking, and the blind seeing, and they gave glory to the God of Israel.

NLT: The crowd was amazed! Those who hadn’t been able to speak were talking, the crippled were made well, the lame were walking, and the blind could see again! And they praised the God of Israel.

KJV: Insomuch that the multitude wondered, when they saw the dumb to speak, the maimed to be whole, the lame to walk, and the blind to see: and they glorified the God of Israel.

NKJV: So the multitude marveled when they saw the mute speaking, the maimed made whole, the lame walking, and the blind seeing; and they glorified the God of Israel.

What ancient Israelites would have considered "mountains," many other cultures would consider very large hills. Christ is not scaling a rock face; He's in a place where people can walk to where He's positioned. This spot is in the mostly-Gentile region of the Decapolis, literally meaning "ten cities." Here, on the southeast side of the Sea of Galilee, crowds of people bring their sick and afflicted.

Jesus is healing these Gentiles without any of the reservations He expressed to the Canaanite woman in the previous section of verses (Matthew 15:21–28). That makes it even more likely that His interaction with her was a deliberate teaching moment for the disciples. What Israel has mostly ignored, the Gentile world will come to embrace (Romans 9:30–33).

In fact, Jesus seems eager to provoke these Gentiles into glorifying the God of Israel. Matthew says the people wondered when they saw their friends and neighbors healed. The mute spoke. The lame walked. The blind saw. Crippled people became healthy. Perhaps some in that area knew that these miracles were to be signs of the coming of Israel's Messiah (Matthew 11:2–6; Luke 7:18–23). If so, that was even more reason to give God glory.

Matthew 15:29–31 follows Jesus and the disciples back to the Sea of Galilee, this time to the southeastern side near the Decapolis, a mostly Gentile region. Jesus positions Himself on a mountain, and crowds come with sick and afflicted people. Jesus heals them, and the people glorify God. This adds context to the prior passage, which depicted His encounter with a Gentile woman begging for healing. That conversation, and this healing work, seem to be ways in which Jesus prepares His followers to spread the gospel beyond the nation of Israel.

Pharisees and scribes come from Jerusalem to challenge Jesus. They are offended that His disciples break the religious leaders' tradition about ritual handwashing before meals. Jesus turns that attack upside down, pointing out that His critics honor tradition above God's actual commands! He insists that nobody is defiled by what goes in the mouth—by the literal matter itself—but by the overflow of the spirit, such as the words that come out of the mouth. He and the disciples travel out of the country. Jesus casts a demon out of the daughter of a persistent Canaanite woman. They travel to the southeast side of the Sea of Galilee where Jesus feeds thousands of people from a few loaves and fishes. These last two events set up the eventual spread of the gospel beyond the people of Israel.

Matthew 15 begins with a confrontation between some Pharisees and Jesus. They ask why His disciples break the traditional practice of ritual handwashing. Pointedly, Jesus asks why they allow the obvious intent of God's commandments to be broken through their traditions. Jesus and the disciples travel out of Israel, encountering a Canaanite woman. He praises her faith and casts a demon from her daughter. They travel to the southeast side of the Sea of Galilee where Jesus heals more people and feeds thousands more from another few loaves and fishes. This sets up another confrontation with religious leaders, warnings about their teachings, and predictions of Jesus' death in the next chapter.

The Gospel of Matthew clearly shows the influence of its writer's background, and his effort to reach a specific audience. Matthew was one of Jesus' twelve disciples, a Jewish man, and a former tax collector. This profession would have required literacy, and Matthew may have transcribed some of Jesus' words as they were spoken. This book is filled with references to the Old Testament, demonstrating to Israel that Jesus is the Promised One. Matthew also includes many references to coins, likely due to his former profession. Matthew records extensive accounts of Jesus' teaching, more than the other three Gospels.