Who are the Lost Sheep of Israel?

He answered, "I was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel."

Matthew 15:24

At this moment Jesus says something that seemed quite out of character for Him.  He had healed Gentiles before; why was He saying that He was sent only for the Jews?  Sometimes, we need to let Jesus continue to speak and reveal before we can have a chance to get His full meaning.

The disciples wanted this pesky Gentile woman to go away, and this was Jesus' response.  They must have thought He was affirming them, but He was waiting for things to set themselves into place.  The Canaanite woman begged for mercy on behalf of her daughter - Jesus again made an allusion to the idea that His message was an exclusive one for the Israelites.  But then came the moment He was waiting for - she pushed back on the Almighty Creator of the Universe, saying "even the dogs get the crumbs".  And at her persistent faith, He commended her and healed her daughter.

What?! Did He just go back on His word? No, His understanding of the lost sheep of Israel was so much broader in context than the disciples' limited, pharisaical understanding.  The Israelites were no special thing in this moment.  It had been reduced simply to an issue of genetics for them.  And in this light, as John the Baptizer had said, "out of these stones God can raise up children of Israel." (Matthew 3:9).

And as if to seal the statement with an exclamation mark, He feeds the thousands again.  It's no accident that this time the number left over (seven baskets) is akin to the number they started with (seven fish).  For the full context of the scope of the His message had been defined: He had come for all.  A number of completion.  A display of perfection.  All driven by His compassion for any who are in need of His love.

So be mindful of the entirety of His words - not just what you first hear.

When There's More to What He's Saying Than What He's Saying

Peter said, "Explain the parable to us."

Matthew 15:15

The Pharisees confronted Jesus regarding the disciples and their failure to wash their hands before meals.  In turn Jesus confronted them regarding the tradition of allowing children to fail in the honoring of their parents by signing the parents' money over to the synagogue.  Then he used a biological metaphor to highlight that the condition of the hands matters nothing when compared to the condition of the heart.  

But he didn't stop there.  He makes a reference to the parable of the wheats and tares (Matthew 13:24-30) and states that the Pharisees are a blind people leading other blind people.  In unpacking all that Jesus pronounced over the Pharisees, it's clear that He didn't just pronounce judgments over the Pharisees.  Who were the blind people that the Pharisees were leading (v14)?  Was He only referring to the Pharisees as those that the Father did not plant (v15)?

Over the ages, we've seen religious systems (not just speaking of the Christian flavor here) extort money from people in many ways and for many reasons.  From temple prostitution to buying your way into favor to buying salvation, the means of religious systems are not only varied, but creative.   But what's more, who is enabling whom?  Did the religious leaders come up with these streams of revenue, or did the people come up with the idea to escape a more difficult, transparent path to provision, resolution, legitimacy, salvation, etc (to which the leaders gladly played along)?

It's the condition of the heart that makes us blind, and in the desperate condition of our souls we willingly allow those over us to blindly lead us over the cliff and into a tragic, terrible abyss.  Even if (or when) intentions are good and fair, the hapless state is a scene straight out of a Keystone Cops show.  And it's the condition of our soul - not the cleanliness of our skin - that makes us unclean. Without a soul-transformation, we are without hope.  And so, He circles it all back around to Him and why He came.

And to think it all started with something as trivial as hand washing!