Matthew 15

The Tradition of the Elders

1 Then Pharisees and scribes came from Jerusalem to Jesus and asked,

2 "Why do Your disciples break the tradition of the elders? For they don't wash their hands when they eat!"
3 He answered them, "And why do you break God's commandment because of your tradition?

4 For God said:
Honor your father and your mother; and,
The one who speaks evil of father or mother
must be put to death.
5 But you say, 'Whoever tells his father or mother, "Whatever benefit you might have received from me is a gift [committed to the temple]"- 6 he does not have to honor his father.' In this way, you have revoked God's word because of your tradition.

7 Hypocrites! Isaiah prophesied correctly about you when he said:

8 These people honor Me with their lips,
but their heart is far from Me.

9 They worship Me in vain,
teaching as doctrines the commands of men."

Defilement Is from Within

10 Summoning the crowd, He told them, "Listen and understand:

11 It's not what goes into the mouth that defiles a man, but what comes out of the mouth, this defiles a man."

12 Then the disciples came up and told Him, "Do You know that the Pharisees took offense when they heard this statement?"
13 He replied, "Every plant that My heavenly Father didn't plant will be uprooted.

14 Leave them alone! They are blind guides. And if the blind guide the blind, both will fall into a pit."

15 Then Peter replied to Him, "Explain this parable to us."
16 "Are even you still lacking in understanding?" He asked. 17 "Don't you realize that whatever goes into the mouth passes into the stomach and is eliminated? 18 But what comes out of the mouth comes from the heart, and this defiles a man. 19 For from the heart come evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, sexual immoralities, thefts, false testimonies, blasphemies.

20 These are the things that defile a man, but eating with unwashed hands does not defile a man."

A Gentile Mother's Faith

21 When Jesus left there, He withdrew to the area of Tyre and Sidon.

22 Just then a Canaanite woman from that region came and kept crying out, "Have mercy on me, Lord, Son of David! My daughter is cruelly tormented by a demon."

23 Yet He did not say a word to her. So His disciples approached Him and urged Him, "Send her away because she cries out after us."

24 He replied, "I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel."

25 But she came, knelt before Him, and said, "Lord, help me!"

26 He answered, "It isn't right to take the children's bread and throw it to their dogs."

27 "Yes, Lord," she said, "yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters' table!"

28 Then Jesus replied to her, "Woman, your faith is great. Let it be done for you as you want." And from that moment her daughter was cured.

Healing Many People

29 Moving on from there, Jesus passed along the Sea of Galilee. He went up on a mountain and sat there, 30 and large crowds came to Him, having with them the lame, the blind, the deformed, those unable to speak, and many others. They put them at His feet, and He healed them.

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

Feeding 4,000

32 Now Jesus summoned His disciples and said, "I have compassion on the crowd, because they've already stayed with Me three days and have nothing to eat. I don't want to send them away hungry; otherwise they might collapse on the way."

33 The disciples said to Him, "Where could we get enough bread in this desolate place to fill such a crowd?"

34 "How many loaves do you have?" Jesus asked them.
"Seven," they said, "and a few small fish."
35 After commanding the crowd to sit down on the ground, 36 He took the seven loaves and the fish, and He gave thanks, broke them, and kept on giving them to the disciples, and the disciples [gave them] to the crowds. 37 They all ate and were filled. Then they collected the leftover pieces-seven large baskets full. 38 Now those who ate were 4,000 men, besides women and children.

39 After dismissing the crowds, He got into the boat and went to the region of Magadan.

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 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?t 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 “All of you praise met
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 that 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 that 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 Stay away from those Pharisees! They are like blind people leading other blind people, and all of them will fall into a ditch.”t

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 what I am talking about by now? 17 Don't you know that the food you put into your mouth goes into your stomach and then out of your body? 18 But the words that come out of your mouth come from your heart. And they are what make you unfit to worship God.t 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, that's true,” the woman said, “but even dogs 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 crippled 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 four thousand 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