Matthew 15
15
Obey God’s Law Not Men’s
1Then some Pharisees and teachers of the law came to Jesus from Jerusalem. They asked him, 2“Why do your followers not obey the rules given to us by the great people who lived before us? Your followers don’t wash their hands before they eat!”
3Jesus answered, “And why do you refuse to obey God’s command so that you can follow those rules you have? 4God said, ‘Honor your father and mother.’# Quotation from Exodus 20:12; Deuteronomy 5:16. And God also said, ‘Anyone who says cruel things to his father or mother must be put to death.’# Quotation from Exodus 21:17. 5But you say that a person can tell his father or mother, ‘I have something I could use to help you. But I will not use it for you. I will give it to God.’ 6You teach that person not to honor his father. You teach that it is not important to do what God said. You think that it is more important to follow the rules you have. 7You are hypocrites! Isaiah was right when he spoke about you:
8‘These people show honor to me with words.
But their hearts are far from me.
9Their worship of me is worthless.
The things they teach are nothing
but human rules they have memorized.’” Isaiah 29:13
10Jesus called the crowd to him. He said, “Listen and understand what I am saying. 11It is not what a person puts into his mouth that makes him unclean. It is what comes out of his mouth that makes him unclean.”
12Then his followers came to Jesus and asked, “Do you know that the Pharisees are angry because of what you said?”
13Jesus answered, “Every plant that my Father in heaven has not planted himself will be pulled up by the roots. 14Stay away from the Pharisees. They are blind leaders.# Some Greek copies continue, “of blind people.” And if a blind man leads another blind man, then both men will fall into a ditch.”
15Peter said, “Explain the story to us.”
16Jesus said, “You still have trouble understanding? 17Surely you know that all the food that enters the mouth goes into the stomach. Then that food goes out of the body. 18But what a person says with his mouth comes from the way he thinks. And these are the things that make him unclean. 19Out of the mind come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, stealing, lying, and saying bad things against other people. 20These things make a person unclean. But eating with unwashed hands does not make him unclean.”
Jesus Helps a Non-Jewish Woman
21Jesus left that place and went to the area of Tyre and Sidon. 22A Canaanite woman from that area came to Jesus. The woman cried out, “Lord, Son of David, please help me! My daughter has a demon, and she is suffering very much.”
23But Jesus did not answer the woman. So the followers came to Jesus and begged him, “Tell the woman to go away. She is following us and shouting.”
24Jesus answered, “God sent me only to the lost sheep, the people of Israel.”
25Then the woman came to Jesus again. She bowed before him and said, “Lord, help me!”
26Jesus answered, “It is not right to take the children’s bread and give it to the dogs.”
27The woman said, “Yes, Lord, but even the dogs eat the pieces of food that fall from their masters’ table.”
28Then Jesus answered, “Woman, you have great faith! I will do what you asked me to do.” And at that moment the woman’s daughter was healed.
Jesus Heals Many People
29Then Jesus left that place and went to the shore of Lake Galilee. He went up on a hill and sat there.
30Great crowds came to Jesus. They brought their sick with them: the lame, the blind, the crippled, the dumb and many others. They put them at Jesus’ feet, and he healed them. 31The crowd was amazed when they saw that people who could not speak were able to speak again. The crippled were made strong again. Those who could not walk were able to walk again. The blind were able to see again. And they praised the God of Israel for this.
More Than 4,000 People Fed
32Jesus called his followers to him and said, “I feel sorry for these people. They have been with me three days, and now they have nothing to eat. I don’t want to send them away hungry. They might faint while going home.”
33His followers asked him, “Where can we get enough bread to feed all these people? We are far away from any town.”
34Jesus asked, “How many loaves of bread do you have?”
They answered, “We have seven loaves and a few small fish.”
35Jesus told the people to sit on the ground. 36He took the seven loaves of bread and the fish and gave thanks to God for the food. Then Jesus divided the food and gave it to his followers. They gave the food to the people. 37All the people ate and were satisfied. After this, the followers filled seven baskets with the pieces of food that were not eaten. 38There were about 4,000 men there who ate, besides women and children. 39After they ate, Jesus told the people to go home. He got into the boat and went to the area of Magadan.
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Matthew 15
15
Tradition and Commandment
1Then some Pharisees and scribes from Jerusalem came to Jesus and said, 2“Why do Your disciples violate the #I.e. the oral commentary on the Law, later codified as the Mishnah.tradition (religious laws) handed down by the [Jewish] elders? For Your disciples do not [ceremonially] wash their hands before they eat.” 3He replied to them, “Why also do you violate the commandment of God for the sake of your tradition [handed down by the elders]? 4For God said [through Moses], ‘Honor your father and mother,’ and, ‘He who speaks evil of or insults or treats improperly father or mother is to be put to death.’ 5But you say, ‘If anyone says to his father or mother, “Whatever [money or resource that] I have that would help you is [already dedicated and] given to God,” 6he is not to honor his father or his mother [by helping them with their need].’ So by this you have invalidated the word of God [depriving it of force and authority and making it of no effect] for the sake of your tradition [handed down by the elders]. 7You hypocrites (play-actors, pretenders), rightly did Isaiah prophesy of you when he said,
8 ‘This people honors Me with their lips,
But their heart is far away from Me.
9 But in vain do they worship Me,
For they teach as doctrines the precepts of men.’ ”
10After Jesus called the crowd to Him, He said, “Listen and understand this: 11It is not what goes into the mouth of a man that defiles and dishonors him, but what comes out of the mouth, this defiles and dishonors him.”
12Then the disciples came and said to Jesus, “Do You know that the Pharisees were offended when they heard you say this?” 13He answered, “Every plant which My heavenly Father did not plant will be torn up by the roots. 14Leave them alone; they are blind guides #Later mss add of the blind.[leading blind followers]. If a blind man leads a blind man, both will fall into a pit.”
The Heart of Man
15Peter asked Him, “Explain this parable [about what defiles a person] to us.” 16And He said, “Are you still so dull [and unable to put things together]? 17Do you not understand that whatever goes into the mouth passes into the stomach, and is eliminated? 18But whatever [word] comes out of the mouth comes from the heart, and this is what defiles and dishonors the man. 19For out of the heart come evil thoughts and plans, murders, adulteries, sexual immoralities, thefts, false testimonies, slanders (verbal abuse, irreverent speech, blaspheming). 20These are the things which defile and dishonor the man; but eating with [ceremonially] unwashed hands does not defile the man.”
The Syrophoenician Woman
21After leaving there, Jesus withdrew to the district of #Tyre and Sidon were located along the Gentile coastal region of Phoenicia. Tyre was 35 miles and Sidon 60 miles north of Galilee.Tyre and Sidon. 22And a #The Canaanites were ancient, pagan enemies of Israel.Canaanite woman from that district came out and began to cry out [urgently], saying, “Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David (Messiah); my daughter is cruelly possessed by a demon.” 23But He did not say a word in answer to her. And His disciples came and asked Him [repeatedly], “Send her away, because she keeps shouting out after us.” 24He answered, “I was commissioned by God and sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” 25But she came and began to kneel down before Him, saying, “Lord, help me!” 26And He replied, “It is not good (appropriate, fair) to take the #A reference for the Jewish people.children’s bread and throw it to the #Jews used kuon (dog) as a derogatory term referring to Gentiles. This dog (kuon) was a despised, filthy, homeless street scavenger. When speaking with this woman, Jesus uses a word for “dog” (kunarion) that refers to a household pet. The use of the word kunariois by both Jesus and the woman reflects the tenderness and spiritual depth of this exchange. More importantly, it foreshadows the fact that Gentile believers would not be spiritually homeless, but would also be welcomed into God’s household as His children. The gracious response of the woman recorded in v 27 confirms that on some level she understands this.pet dogs.” 27She said, “Yes, Lord; but even the pet dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their [young] masters’ table.” 28Then Jesus answered her, “Woman, your faith [your personal trust and confidence in My power] is great; it will be done for you as you wish.” And her daughter was healed from that moment.
Healing Crowds
29Jesus went on from there and passed along by [the eastern shore of] the Sea of Galilee. Then He went up on the hillside and was sitting there. 30And great crowds came to Him, bringing with them the lame, crippled, blind, mute, and many others, and they put them down at His feet; and He healed them. 31So the crowd was amazed when they saw the mute speaking, the crippled restored, the lame walking, and the blind seeing; and they praised and glorified the God of Israel.
Four Thousand Fed
32Then Jesus called His disciples to Him, and said, “I feel compassion for the crowd, because they have been with Me now three days and have nothing [left] to eat; and I do not want to send them away hungry, because they might faint [from exhaustion] on the way [home].” 33The disciples said to Him, “Where are we to get enough bread in this isolated place to feed so large a crowd?” 34And Jesus asked them, “How many loaves [of bread] do you have?” They replied, “Seven, and a few small fish.” 35He directed the crowd to sit down on the ground, 36and He took the seven loaves and the fish; and when He had given thanks, He broke them and started giving them to the disciples, and the disciples [gave them] to the people. 37And they all ate and were satisfied, and they gathered up seven full baskets of the broken pieces that were left over. 38[Among] those who ate were 4,000 men, not counting women and children.
39Then Jesus sent the crowds away, got into the boat and went to the district of #A small town on the western shore of the Sea of Galilee, between Tiberias and Capernaum.Magadan.
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