Matthew 15

Matthew 15:8:
This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me.

Repentance is not a matter of words: it means a turning around, a change of direction, in the whole life of a man. It is not a matter of words but of life. Forgiveness comes when satisfaction, restitution, is made and the Biblical penalty for adultery as death. To reduce God's repentance to a muttering of words is to offend God. To make forgiveness a matter of words and feelings is to deny Gods righteousness and His law. Such an antinomian society will soon crumble. There can be no reconstruction without that sovereign grace which produces faith, love, and obedience. Of this generation it must be said, with respect to most churchmen, what Isaiah said of his (Isa 29:13), and our Lords of His day.

Matthew 15: 17-18:
Do not ye yet understand, that whatsoever entereth in at the mouth goeth into the belly, and is cast out into the draught? But those things which proceed out of the mouth come forth from the heart; and they defile the man

Jesus seems to be saying that words have meaning. Every utterance is communicated and get its start with the heart! Our hearts produce falsehoods, selfish desires of an immoral nature such as murder, adultery, illicit sex, swearing, theft and perjury. Jesus says that we may appear unclean on the outside, but it really is our insides that are dirty and what we should be concerned with!

Matthew 15:19-20:
For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies:
These are what defile a person. But to eat with unwashed hands does not defile anyone.”

Christ shows that the defilement they ought to fear, was not from what entered their mouths as food, but from what came out of their mouths, which showed the wickedness of their hearts. Nothing will last in the soul but the regenerating graces of the Holy Spirit; and nothing should be admitted into the church but what is from above; therefore, whoever is offended by a plain, seasonable declaration of the truth, we should not be troubled at it. The disciples ask to be better taught as to this matter. Where a weak head doubts concerning any word of Christ, an upright heart and a willing mind seek for instruction. It is the heart that is desperately wicked, Jer 17:9, for there is no sin in word or deed, which was not first in the heart. They all come out of the man, and are fruits of that wickedness which is in the heart, and is wrought there. When Christ teaches, he will show men the deceitfulness and wickedness of their own hearts; he will teach them to humble themselves, and to seek to be cleansed in the Fountain opened for sin and uncleanness.
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As has been well said, the heart of the human problem is the problem of the human heart. Not the blood pumping vessel that is the concern of your cardiologist, but the seat of your personality that is the concern of the Gospel.
Jesus teaches us that there is something far more fundamental to our sinfulness than the actual sins we commit. Our sins do not make us sinful. Rather, we commit sins because, at the very center of our lives, we are sinful. Sin has invaded the inner recesses of our personalities.
This is essential information for spiritual health because it keeps us from misdiagnosing our real problem. So often we are quick to blame others for our failures and shortcomings. We even mask how we do this by employing the “if-only” rationale to excuse our sin. “If only I had been raised differently…I had a better job…you hadn’t provoked me…my husband would listen to me…my church were better….” The list is endless and usually contains genuinely flawed people and circumstances that are blameworthy.
But no circumstance, other person, or activity can ever justify my sin. I sin, Jesus said, because my heart is sinful. That is a shattering reality. But we must humbly face it if we want to be spiritually healed. - Tom Ascol; Founders Ministries

Matthew 15:21-28:
And Jesus went away from there and withdrew to the district of Tyre and Sidon. And behold, a Canaanite woman from that region came out and was crying, “Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David; my daughter is severely oppressed by a demon.” But he did not answer her a word. And his disciples came and begged him, saying, “Send her away, for she is crying out 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.” And he answered, “It is not right to take the children’s bread 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, “O woman, great is your faith! Be it done for you as you desire.” And her daughter was healed instantly”

The word “dog” is a derogatory term in Ancient Israel. Dogs were not your normal friendly and helpful house pets. The dogs of the Old Testament were ravenous, blood thirsty hounds who traveled in packs. They devoured whatever came in their presence. The Israelites often referred to the Gentiles as dogs because they were not ceremonially clean. They were outside the covenant community. Jesus is not the only New Testament person to use the term “dog,” Paul uses the word to describe Jewish Christians who sought to undermine the Gospel by preaching a “different gospel” of circumcision in Philippians 3:1-2 (cf. Galatians 1-3). In summation, dogs were unfavorably viewed in Israel. To call someone a “dog” would be one of the worst insults.
So we ask, why did Jesus refer to this woman as a dog? Commentators, especially recent ones, try to pin Jesus as a racist and insensitive person. If that is the case, why did Jesus help other Gentiles in Scripture, like the Roman centurion? Why did Jesus talk with the adulterous Samaritan woman at the well? Why did Jesus speak of the “good Samaritan” as a godly example compassion over and above priests and Levites? Jesus was not racist or insensitive. He rather had a different intent in referring to the woman as a “dog.”
Jesus’ use of the word “dog” tested the woman’s persistence. He repeatedly made clear what His original mission was: to save “the lost sheep of the house of Israel”. He was merely stating that she was not a Jew and did not have a seat at the table. However, just as the Roman centurion made comments to Jesus about how he is under Christ’s authority, the Syrophoenician woman asserted herself to be in the Master’s court, receiving the scraps from the table. She did not show insult to His comments, rather she made a confession of faith in Jesus, attesting to His healing power. She acknowledged Jesus’ first mission to the Jews, but considered herself one of the Gentiles who would receive the “overflow” blessing. -Bibliword