Exploring the Connection Between Matthew 15 and Ezra

Exploring the Connection Between
Matthew 15 and Ezra

For BibleInTen.com - By DH, 17th January 2026

Welcome back to Bible in Ten!    

Today, we have another bonus episode as our daily commentary from the Superior Word closes out Matthew Chapter 15.

Matthew’s Gospel contains 28 chapters, and remarkably, it mirrors the first 28 books of the Old Testament as arranged in the Christian Bible.
So in this episode, having concluded our walk through Matthew 15, we’ll now look at its fascinating counterpart: Book 15 of the Old Testament-Ezra.

Please do check the last episode to see how Chapter 15 of Matthew gives a picture of what is going on in the world from the time Jesus fulfilled the law until the rapture. The verses, though literally occurring at the time of Jesus, point to truths after the completion of Jesus’ ministry.

1. Authority from Jerusalem 

Matthew 15 opens with scribes and Pharisees
coming from Jerusalem to challenge Jesus.

Jerusalem represents authority still bound to Sinai.

Ezra came from Babylon to Jerusalem
as a scribe skilled in the Law of Moses.

That was necessary then. But Matthew 15 shows what happens after the Law has been fulfilled.

The authority remains -  but the life is gone.

Paul explains this tension in Galatians:

“Jerusalem which now is… is in bondage with her children.”

The challenge to Jesus does not come from pagans -   but from Law-bound religion.

In verses 2 through 9,  Jesus exposes the condition of Israel.

They honor God with lips, but their hearts are far away.

Ezra saw the same problem.

Israel had returned from exile.
The Temple was rebuilt.
But the heart problem remained.

Ezra tore his garments and confessed:

“After all that has come upon us… should we again break Your commandments?”

External obedience never cured internal rebellion.

Matthew 15 shows that the problem has hardened.

Jesus says:

“What goes into the mouth does not defile a man,
but what comes out of it.”

This is more than food.

It is proclamation.

Israel refuses to confess Jesus.

Paul later explains:

“If you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus
and believe in your heart… you will be saved.”

Defilement is not ritual failure.

It is rejecting the Rock.

Ezra spoke of a land defiled by peoples and practices.
Jesus reveals the deeper truth -
defilement flows from the heart outward.

Jesus then says something severe:

“Let them alone.”

Blind leaders.
Blind followers.

Ezra enforced physical separation.
Jesus declares spiritual separation.

Same judgment.
Different stage of history.

The Law has reached its limit.

Verse 21 is pivotal.

Jesus goes out from there
to Tyre and Sidon.

Ezra’s restoration preserved Israel.
Jesus now expands the promise.

Tyre means Rock.
Sidon means Fishery and fish relates to increase.

Israel abandoned their Rock.
The nations who receive Him will increase.

A Canaanite woman approaches -
humbled, persistent, faithful.

Ezra allowed Gentiles who separated from uncleanness
to join Israel.

Jesus reveals the heart of that principle.

Faith, not bloodline, is the door.

Jesus speaks of children’s bread.

The woman doesn’t argue.

She trusts.

“Even the crumbs are enough.”

This is not rebellion against Israel.

It is trust in Israel’s Messiah.

Ezra guarded the holy vessels carefully.
Jesus shows that grace is not diminished by sharing.

Faith gathers what Law could only preserve.

Jesus ascends a mountain
near the Sea of Galilee - Liberty.

A great gathering forms.

Ezra gathered Israel to restore covenant order.
Jesus gathers the nations under Himself.

Broken people come.
They are healed.

And Matthew records something unique:

“They glorified the God of Israel.”

The Gentiles now do what Israel was called to do.

Paul later says:

“That the Gentiles might glorify God for His mercy.”

The feeding of the four thousand follows.

Three days.
Divine fullness.

Seven loaves.
Spiritual completeness.

Four thousand -
the world number.

Ezra preserved what was holy
by careful accounting.

Jesus preserves what is holy
by abundance.

Seven large baskets remain.

Nothing is lost.

The fullness of the Gentiles comes in
while Israel remains partially blinded.

The chapter ends with a quiet note.

Jesus goes to Magdala -
Migdal-El, the Tower of God.

Not Babel.
Not the tower of man.

Ezra ended with restored order.
Matthew 15 points toward final deliverance.

Ezra shows us
what faithfulness under the Law looked like.

Matthew 15 shows us
what happens when grace takes the field.

The Rock rejected by Israel
becomes the foundation of the nations.

CONCLUSION

Ezra supports the typological interpretation of Matthew 15 because it provides the historical “control text” that shows Matthew follows an existing biblical pattern.   

The reason Ezra confirms the typological reading of Matthew 15 is that Ezra provides the final Old Covenant pattern.   Matthew typologically provides the New Covenant pattern.

In Ezra, Israel is restored to the land, the Law is fully reinstated, scribal authority is established, separation is enforced, and a remnant is preserved - yet the heart problem remains unresolved.

Matthew 15 follows that same sequence in order: authority from Jerusalem, Law elevated through tradition, defilement exposed, separation declared, a preserved remnant, and then a movement beyond Israel to the Gentiles. The difference is that what Ezra preserves under the Law, Jesus resolves through Himself. Because Matthew follows Ezra’s structure rather than inventing a new one, the typology is not imaginative - it is controlled, historical, and intentional.

Matthew 15 is not merely a series of confrontations, healings, and feedings, nor is it simply a lesson about religious hypocrisy or personal faith, as it is often reduced to in casual teaching. Rather, it is also a picture of what is going on in the world from the time Jesus fulfilled the law until the rapture.

What Ezra records historically - Israel restored under the Law, preserved through separation, yet still bound by the limitations of Sinai - Jesus reveals prophetically. Matthew 15 walks through that same reality step by step: Jerusalem-based authority bound to tradition, a people near in speech but distant in heart, blindness leading blindness, separation declared, and then a decisive movement outward to the nations.

Ezra preserves a remnant under the Law.
Jesus gathers a people by grace.

Ezra safeguards holiness through consolidation and exclusion.
Jesus reveals holiness through mercy, healing, and abundance.

Seen together, these chapters show that Matthew 15 is not simply about what happened on a particular day in Galilee, but about what God has been doing in redemptive history from the close of the Old Covenant to the fullness of the New. It is the Law reaching its limit and Christ stepping into that space - not to abolish what came before, but to fulfill it.

Matthew 15, read through Ezra, becomes a sweeping retelling of Israel’s restoration, its partial blindness, the inclusion of the Gentiles, and the preservation of God’s people - all centered on the person of Jesus Christ, the true Rock, the Bread of Life, and the Lord of the harvest.

Lord God, we thank You for Your word - holy, faithful, and true.

We confess that it is easy to handle Scripture carelessly, to bend it toward our own ideas, or to use it as a tool rather than receive it as a gift.

Guard our hearts from pride.
Guard us from turning truth into tradition
and obedience into self-righteousness.

Teach us to read Your word with reverence,
to see Christ where You have revealed Him,
and to submit ourselves to what You have spoken.

May Your grace reach deeper than our habits,
deeper than our defenses,
and deeper than our fears.

And may our lives reflect not just knowledge of Your law,
but the transforming mercy found in Jesus Christ our Lord.

To Your glory alone.
Amen.

Before we close this episode, we want to share something very simple and very personal.

The following song was made up and sung by our Gracie when she could barely speak. She created the words herself and sang it from her heart. It’s hard to understand in places, and it’s certainly not theologically precise - but that’s actually part of why it feels so fitting here.

In Matthew 15, Jesus reminds us that what truly matters is not polished words, tradition, or perfect expression, but the heart. This little song isn’t about getting everything right; it’s about love, trust, and a heart turned toward Jesus.

So we’ll let it stand just as it is - imperfect, sincere, and honest - a small reminder that faith begins in the heart even before it can be explained.

>>>> Grace sings “I love you Jesus” >>>>