Matthew 15
15
Defilement Comes from Within
1Then #Mark 7:1; John 1:19; Acts 25:7the scribes and Pharisees who were from Jerusalem came to Jesus, saying, 2#Mark 7:5“Why do Your disciples transgress the tradition of the elders? For they do not wash their hands when they eat bread.”
3He answered and said to them, “Why do you also transgress the commandment of God because of your tradition? 4For God commanded, saying, #Ex. 20:1, 12; Lev. 19:3; (Deut. 5:16); Prov. 23:22; (Eph. 6:2, 3)‘Honor your father and your mother’; and, #Ex. 21:17; Lev. 20:9; Deut. 27:16; Prov. 20:20; 30:17‘He who curses father or mother, let him be put to death.’ 5But you say, ‘Whoever says to his father or mother, #Mark 7:11, 12“Whatever profit you might have received from me is a gift to God”— 6then he need not honor his father or mother.’ Thus you have made the commandment of God of no effect by your tradition. 7#Mark 7:6Hypocrites! Well did Isaiah prophesy about you, saying:
8‘These#Ps. 78:36; Is. 29:13; Ezek. 33:31 people draw near to Me with their mouth,
And honor Me with their lips,
But their heart is far from Me.
9And in vain they worship Me,
#Is. 29:13; (Col. 2:18–22); Titus 1:14Teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’ ”
10#Mark 7:14When He had called the multitude to Himself, He said to them, “Hear and understand: 11#(Acts 10:15; Rom. 14:14, 17, 20; 1 Tim. 4:4; Titus 1:15)Not what goes into the mouth defiles a man; but what comes out of the mouth, this defiles a man.”
12Then His disciples came and said to Him, “Do You know that the Pharisees were offended when they heard this saying?”
13But He answered and said, #(Is. 60:21; 61:3; John 15:2; 1 Cor. 3:12, 13)“Every plant which My heavenly Father has not planted will be uprooted. 14Let them alone. #Is. 9:16; Mal. 2:8; Matt. 23:16, 24; Luke 6:39; Rom. 2:19They are blind leaders of the blind. And if the blind leads the blind, both will fall into a ditch.”
15#Mark 7:17Then Peter answered and said to Him, “Explain this parable to us.”
16So Jesus said, #Matt. 16:9; Mark 7:18“Are you also still without understanding? 17Do you not yet understand that #(1 Cor. 6:13)whatever enters the mouth goes into the stomach and is eliminated? 18But #(Matt. 12:34); Mark 7:20; (James 3:6)those things which proceed out of the mouth come from the heart, and they defile a man. 19#Gen. 6:5; 8:21; Prov. 6:14; Jer. 17:9; Mark 7:21; (Rom. 1:29–32; Gal. 5:19–21)For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies. 20These are the things which defile a man, but to eat with unwashed hands does not defile a man.”
A Gentile Shows Her Faith
21#Mark 7:24–30Then Jesus went out from there and departed to the region of Tyre and Sidon. 22And behold, a woman of Canaan came from that region and cried out to Him, saying, “Have mercy on me, O Lord, #Matt. 1:1; 22:41, 42Son of David! My daughter is severely demon-possessed.”
23But He answered her not a word.
And His disciples came and urged Him, saying, “Send her away, for she cries out after us.”
24But He answered and said, #Matt. 10:5, 6; (Rom. 15:8)“I was not sent except to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.”
25Then she came and worshiped Him, saying, “Lord, help me!”
26But He answered and said, “It is not good to take the children’s bread and throw it to the little #Matt. 7:6; Phil. 3:2dogs.”
27And she said, “Yes, Lord, yet even the little dogs eat the crumbs which fall from their masters’ table.”
28Then Jesus answered and said to her, “O woman, #Luke 7:9great is your faith! Let it be to you as you desire.” And her daughter was healed from that very hour.
Jesus Heals Great Multitudes
29#Matt. 15:29–31; Mark 7:31–37Jesus departed from there, #Matt. 4:18skirted the Sea of Galilee, and went up on the mountain and sat down there. 30#Is. 35:5, 6; Matt. 11:5; Luke 7:22Then great multitudes came to Him, having with them the lame, blind, mute, maimed, and many others; and they laid them down at Jesus’ #Mark 7:25; Luke 7:38; 8:41; 10:39feet, and He healed them. 31So the multitude marveled when they saw the mute speaking, the maimed made whole, the lame walking, and the blind seeing; and they #Luke 5:25, 26; 19:37, 38glorified the God of Israel.
Feeding the Four Thousand
32#Mark 8:1–10Now 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#2 Kin. 4:43Then His disciples said to Him, “Where could we get enough bread in the wilderness to fill such a great multitude?”
34Jesus said to them, “How many loaves do you have?”
And they said, “Seven, and a few little fish.”
35So He commanded the multitude to sit down on the ground. 36And #Matt. 14:19; 26:27; Luke 22:17, 19; John 6:11, 23; Acts 27:35; (Rom. 14:6)He took the seven loaves and the fish and #1 Sam. 9:13; Luke 22:19gave thanks, broke them and gave them to His disciples; and the disciples gave to the multitude. 37So they all ate and were filled, and they took up seven large baskets full of the fragments that were left. 38Now those who ate were four thousand men, besides women and children. 39#Mark 8:10And He sent away the multitude, got into the boat, and came to the region of Magdala.
Currently Selected:
Matthew 15: NKJV
Highlight
Share
Copy
Want to have your highlights saved across all your devices? Sign up or sign in
The Holy Bible, New King James Version, Copyright © 1982 Thomas Nelson. All rights reserved.
Matthew 15
15
The Teaching of the Ancestors
(Mk 7.1–13)
1Then some Pharisees and teachers of the Law came from Jerusalem to Jesus and asked him, 2“Why is it that your disciples disobey the teaching handed down by our ancestors? They don't wash their hands in the proper way before they eat!”
3Jesus answered, “And why do you disobey God's command and follow your own teaching? 4#Ex 20.12; 21.17; Deut 5.16; Lev 20.9For God said, ‘Respect your father and your mother,’ and ‘Whoever curses his father or his mother is to be put to death.’ 5But you teach that if a person has something he could use to help his father or mother, but says, ‘This belongs to God,’ 6he does not need to honour his father.#15.6 his father; some manuscripts have his father or mother. In this way you disregard God's command, in order to follow your own teaching. 7You hypocrites! How right Isaiah was when he prophesied about you!
8 #
Is 29.13 (LXX) ‘These people, says God, honour me with their words,
but their heart is really far away from me.
9 It is no use for them to worship me,
because they teach human rules as though they were my laws!’ ”
The Things that Make a Person Unclean
(Mk 7.14–23)
10Then Jesus called the crowd to him and said to them, “Listen and understand! 11It is not what goes into a person's mouth that makes him ritually unclean; rather, what comes out of it makes him unclean.”
12Then the disciples came to him and said, “Do you know that the Pharisees had their feelings hurt by what you said?”
13 “Every plant which my Father in heaven did not plant will be pulled up,” answered Jesus. 14#Lk 6.39“Don't worry about them! They are blind leaders of the blind; and when one blind man leads another, both fall into a ditch.”
15Peter spoke up, “Explain this saying to us.”
16Jesus said to them, “You are still no more intelligent than the others. 17Don't you understand? Anything that goes into a person's mouth goes into his stomach and then on out of his body. 18#Mt 12.34But the things that come out of the mouth come from the heart, and these are the things that make a person ritually unclean. 19For from his heart come the evil ideas which lead him to kill, commit adultery, and do other immoral things; to rob, lie, and slander others. 20These are the things that make a person unclean. But to eat without washing your hands as they say you should — this doesn't make a person unclean.”
A Woman's Faith
(Mk 7.24–30)
21Jesus left that place and went off to the territory near the cities of Tyre and Sidon. 22A Canaanite woman who lived in that region came to him. “Son of David!” she cried out. “Have mercy on me, sir! My daughter has a demon and is in a terrible condition.”
23But Jesus did not say a word to her. His disciples came to him and begged him, “Send her away! She is following us and making all this noise!”
24Then Jesus replied, “I have been sent only to the lost sheep of the people of Israel.”
25At this the woman came and fell at his feet. “Help me, sir!” she said.
26Jesus answered, “It isn't right to take the children's food and throw it to the dogs.”
27“That's true, sir,” she answered; “but even the dogs eat the leftovers that fall from their masters' table.”
28So Jesus answered her, “You are a woman of great faith! What you want will be done for you.” And at that very moment her daughter was healed.
Jesus Heals Many People
29Jesus left there and went along by Lake Galilee. He climbed a hill and sat down. 30Large crowds came to him, bringing with them the lame, the blind, the crippled, the dumb, and many other sick people, whom they placed at Jesus' feet; and he healed them. 31The people were amazed as they saw the dumb speaking, the crippled made whole, the lame walking, and the blind seeing; and they praised the God of Israel.
Jesus Feeds Another Great Crowd
(Mk 8.1–10)
32Jesus called his disciples to him and said, “I feel sorry for these people, because they have been with me for three days and now have nothing to eat. I don't want to send them away without feeding them, for they might faint on their way home.”
33The disciples asked him, “Where will we find enough food in this desert to feed this crowd?”
34 “How much bread have you?” Jesus asked.
“Seven loaves,” they answered, “and a few small fish.”
35So Jesus ordered the crowd to sit down on the ground. 36Then he took the seven loaves and the fish, gave thanks to God, broke them, and gave them to the disciples; and the disciples gave them to the people. 37They all ate and had enough. Then the disciples took up seven baskets full of pieces left over. 38The number of men who ate was 4,000, not counting the women and children.
39Then Jesus sent the people away, got into a boat, and went to the territory of Magadan.
Currently Selected:
:
Highlight
Share
Copy
Want to have your highlights saved across all your devices? Sign up or sign in
Good News Bible. Scripture taken from the Good News Bible (r) (Today's English Version Second Edition, UK/British Edition). Copyright © 1992 British & Foreign Bible Society. Used by permission.