Matthew 15
15
The Tradition of the Elders
1Then#Mk 7:1–23 Jesus was approached by Pharisees and scribes from Jerusalem, who asked,#Mk 3:22; Jn 1:19 2“Why do your disciples#Mt 10:1; 26:56; Mk 3:7; 16:20; Lk 6:13; Jn 12:16 break the tradition of the elders? For they don’t wash their hands when they eat.”#15:2 Lit eat bread = eat a meal#Lk 11:38; Gl 1:14; Col 2:8; Heb 11:2
3He answered them, “Why do you break God’s commandment because of your tradition? 4For God said:#15:4 Other mss read commanded, saying Honor your father and your mother;#15:4 Ex 20:12; Dt 5:16#Ex 20:12; Dt 5:16; Eph 6:2 and, Whoever speaks evil of father or mother must be put to death.#15:4 Ex 21:17; Lv 20:9#Ex 21:17; Lv 20:9 5But you say, ‘Whoever tells his father or mother, “Whatever benefit you might have received from me is a gift committed to the temple,” 6he does not have to honor his father.’#15:6 Other mss read then he does not have to honor his father or mother In this way, you have nullified the word of God#15:6 Other mss read commandment because of your tradition. 7Hypocrites! Isaiah prophesied correctly about you when he said:
8 This people # 15:8 Other mss add draw near to me with their mouths, and honors me with their lips,
but their heart is far from me.
9 They worship me in vain,
teaching as doctrines human commands.” # 15:8–9 Is 29:13 LXX #
Is 29:13; Ezk 33:31; Col 2:22; Ti 1:14
Defilement Is from Within
10Summoning the crowd, he told them, “Listen and understand: 11It’s not what goes into the mouth that defiles#Mt 15:18; Mk 7:15; Ac 21:28; Heb 9:13 a person, but what comes out of the mouth — this defiles a person.”#Ac 10:14–15; 1Tm 4:3
12Then the disciples came up and told him, “Do you know that the Pharisees took offense when they heard what you said?”
13He replied, “Every plant that my heavenly Father didn’t plant will be uprooted.#Is 60:21; 61:3; Jn 15:2; 1Co 3:9 14Leave them alone! They are blind guides.#15:14 Other mss add for the blind And if the blind guide the blind, both will fall into a pit.”#Mal 2:8; Mt 23:16,24; Lk 6:39
15Then Peter said, “Explain this parable to us.”#Mt 13:36; Mk 7:17
16 “Do you still lack understanding?” he#15:16 Other mss read Jesus asked. 17“Don’t you realize#15:17 Other mss add yet that whatever goes into the mouth passes into the stomach and is eliminated?#15:17 Lit and goes out into the toilet 18But what comes out of the mouth comes from the heart, and this defiles a person.#Mt 12:34; Jms 3:6 19For from the heart come evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, sexual immoralities, thefts, false testimonies,#Eph 4:31; Col 3:8; 1Tm 6:4 slander.#Ex 20:13–16; Gl 5:19–21; Jms 2:4 20These are the things that defile a person; but eating with unwashed hands does not defile a person.”#Mt 11:18; Mk 7:2,5; 1Co 6:9–10
A Gentile Mother’s Faith
21When Jesus left there,#Mk 7:24–30 he withdrew to the area of Tyre and Sidon.#Mt 11:21; Mk 7:24 22Just then a Canaanite woman from that region came and kept crying out,#15:22 Other mss read and cried out to him “Have mercy on me, Lord, Son of David! My daughter is severely tormented by a demon.”#Gn 10:15,19; Jdg 1:30–33; Mt 4:24; 9:27
23Jesus did not say a word to her. His disciples#Mt 10:1; 26:56; Mk 3:7; 16:20; Lk 6:13; Jn 12:16 approached him and urged him, “Send her away because she’s crying out after us.”
24He replied, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.”#Mt 10:6,23; Jn 4:22; Rm 15:8
25But she came, knelt before him, and said, “Lord, help me!”
26He answered, “It isn’t right to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs.”#Ex 22:31; 2Kg 9:10; Mt 8:2; Php 3:2
27“Yes, Lord,” she said, “yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters’ table.”
28Then Jesus replied to her, “Woman, your faith is great. Let it be done for you as you want.” And from that moment#15:28 Lit hour her daughter was healed.#Mt 9:22; 17:18; Jn 4:52–53
Healing Many People
29Moving on from there,#Mk 7:31–37 Jesus passed along the Sea of Galilee.#Mt 9:8; 18:8; Mk 9:43 He went up on a mountain and sat there, 30and large crowds came to him, including the lame, the blind, the crippled, those unable to speak, and many others. They put them at his feet, and he healed them. 31So the crowd was amazed when they saw those unable to speak talking, the crippled restored, the lame walking, and the blind seeing,#Is 29:23; Lk 1:68; Ac 13:17 and they gave glory to the God of Israel.
Feeding of the Four Thousand
32Jesus called his disciples and said,#Mt 14:14–21; Mk 8:1–10 “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.”
33The disciples said to him, “Where could we get enough bread in this desolate place#Mk 8:4; 2Co 11:26; Heb 11:38 to feed such a crowd?”
34 “How many loaves do you have?” Jesus asked them.
“Seven,” they said, “and a few small fish.”
35After commanding the crowd to sit down on the ground, 36he took the seven loaves and the fish, gave thanks, broke them, and gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds.#Mt 26:27; Lk 22:17; Jn 6:11,23; Ac 27:35; Rm 14:6; 1Co 10:30 37They all ate and were satisfied. They collected the leftover pieces — seven large baskets full. 38Now there were four thousand men who had eaten, besides women and children. 39After dismissing the crowds, he got into the boat and went to the region of Magadan.#15:39 Other mss read Magdala#Mk 3:9; 8:10
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Matthew 15: CSB
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© 2017 Holman Bible Publishers
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.
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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.