Matthew 15

Debate Over Tradition

1 Then the scribes and Pharisees who were from Jerusalem came to Jesus, saying,2 Why do Your disciples transgress the tradition of the elders? For they do not wash their hands when they eat bread.3 He answered and said to them, Why do you also transgress the commandment of God because of your tradition? 4 For God commanded, saying, Honor your father and your mother; and, He who curses father or mother, let him be put to death. 5 But you say, Whoever says to his father or mother, Whatever profit you might have received from me is a gift to God6 then he need not honor his father or mother. Thus you have made the commandment of God of no effect by your tradition. 7 Hypocrites! Well did Isaiah prophesy about you, saying:8  These people draw near to Me with their mouth,And honor Me with their lips, But their heart is far from Me.9  And in vain they worship Me, Teaching as doctrines the commandments of men. 10 When He had called the multitude to Himself , He said to them, Hear and understand: 11 Not what goes into the mouth defiles a man; but what comes out of the mouth, this defiles a man.12 Then His disciples came and said to Him, Do You know that the Pharisees were offended when they heard this saying?13 But He answered and said, Every plant which My heavenly Father has not planted will be uprooted. 14 Let them alone. They are blind leaders of the blind. And if the blind leads the blind, both will fall into a ditch.15 Then Peter answered and said to Him, Explain this parable to us.16 So Jesus said, Are you also still without understanding? 17 Do you not yet understand that whatever enters the mouth goes into the stomach and is eliminated? 18 But those things which proceed out of the mouth come from the heart, and they defile a man. 19 For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies. 20 These are the things which defile a man, but to eat with unwashed hands does not defile a man.

Jesus Heals the Gentile Womans Daughter

21 Then Jesus went out from there and departed to the region of Tyre and Sidon.22 And behold, a woman of Canaan came from that region and cried out to Him, saying, Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David! My daughter is severely demon-possessed.23 But He answered her not a word. And His disciples came and urged Him, saying, Send her away, for she cries out after us.24 But He answered and said, I was not sent except to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.25 Then she came and worshiped Him, saying, Lord, help me!26 But He answered and said, It is not good to take the childrens bread and throw it to the little dogs.27 And she said, Yes, Lord, yet even the little dogs eat the crumbs which fall from their masters table.28 Then Jesus answered and said to her, O woman, great is your faith! Let it be to you as you desire. And her daughter was healed from that very hour.

Jesus Heals Many

29 Jesus departed from there, skirted the Sea of Galilee, and went up on the mountain and sat down there.30 Then great multitudes came to Him, having with them the lame, blind, mute, maimed, and many others; and they laid them down at Jesus feet, and He healed them.31 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.

Jesus Feeds 4,000

32 Now Jesus called His disciples to Himself and said, I have compassion on the multitude, because they have now continued with Me three days and have nothing to eat. And I do not want to send them away hungry, lest they faint on the way.33 Then His disciples said to Him, Where could we get enough bread in the wilderness to fill such a great multitude?34 Jesus said to them, How many loaves do you have? And they said, Seven, and a few little fish.35 So He commanded the multitude to sit down on the ground.36 And He took the seven loaves and the fish and gave thanks, broke them and gave them to His disciples; and the disciples gave to the multitude.37 So they all ate and were filled, and they took up seven large baskets full of the fragments that were left.38 Now those who ate were four thousand men, besides women and children.39 And He sent away the multitude, got into the boat, and came to the region of Magdala.

MATTHEW 15

The Teaching of //the Ancestors

(Mark 7.1-13)

1 About this time some Pharisees and teachers of the Law of Moses came from Jerusalem. They asked Jesus,

2 “Why don't your disciples obey what our ancestors taught us to do? They don't even wash their handst before they eat.”

3 Jesus answered:
Why do you disobey God and follow your own teaching? 4 t Didn't God command you to respect your father and mother? Didn't he tell you to put to death all who curse their parents? 5 But you let people get by without helping their parents when they should. You let them say that what they have has been offered to God.t 6 Is this any way to show respect to your parents? You ignore God's commands in order to follow your own teaching.

7 And you are nothing but show-offs! Isaiah the prophet was right when he wrote that God had said,

8  t “All of you praise me
with your words,
but you never really
think about me.

9 It is useless for you
to worship me,
when you teach rules
made up by humans.”

What Really Makes //People Unclean

(Mark 7.14-23)

11 The food you put into your mouth doesn't make you unclean and unfit to worship God. The bad words that come out of your mouth are what make you unclean.”

12 Then his disciples came over to him and asked, “Do you know you insulted the Pharisees by what you said?”
13 Jesus answered, “Every plant that my Father in heaven did not plant will be pulled up by the roots.

14 t Stay away from those Pharisees! They are like blind people leading other blind people, and all of them will fall into a ditch.”

15 Peter replied, “What did you mean when you talked about the things that make people unclean?”

16 Jesus then said:
Don't any of you know by now what I am talking about? 17 Don't you know that the food you put into your mouth goes into your stomach and then out of your body? 18 t But the words that come out of your mouth come from your heart. And they are what make you unfit to worship God. 19 Out of your heart come evil thoughts, murder, unfaithfulness in marriage, vulgar deeds, stealing, telling lies, and insulting others.

20 These are what make you unclean. Eating without washing your hands will not make you unfit to worship God.

A Woman's Faith

(Mark 7.24-30)

23 Jesus did not say a word. But the woman kept following along and shouting, so his disciples came up and asked him to send her away.

24 Jesus said, “I was sent only to the people of Israel! They are like a flock of lost sheep.”

25 The woman came closer. Then she knelt down and begged, “Please help me, Lord!”

26 Jesus replied, “It isn't right to take food away from children and feed it to dogs.”t

27 “Lord, this is true,” the woman said, “but even puppies get the crumbs that fall from their owner's table.”

28 Jesus answered, “Dear woman, you really do have a lot of faith, and you will be given what you want.” At that moment her daughter was healed.

Jesus Heals Many People

31 Everyone was amazed at what they saw and heard. People who had never spoken could now speak. The lame were healed, the paralyzed could walk, and the blind were able to see. Everyone was praising the God of Israel.

Jesus Feeds Four Thousand

(Mark 8.1-10)

32 Jesus called his disciples together and told them, “I feel sorry for these people. They have been with me for three days, and they don't have anything to eat. I don't want to send them away hungry. They might faint on their way home.”

33 His disciples said, “This place is like a desert. Where can we find enough food to feed such a crowd?”

34 Jesus asked them how much food they had. They replied, “Seven small loaves of breadt and a few little fish.”
35 After Jesus had told the people to sit down,

36 he took the seven loaves of bread and the fish and gave thanks. He then broke them and handed them to his disciples, who passed them around to the crowds.

37 Everyone ate all they wanted, and the leftovers filled seven large baskets.

38 There were 4,000 men who ate, not counting the women and children.
39 After Jesus had sent the crowds away, he got into a boat and sailed across the lake. He came to shore near the town of Magadan.t