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
Obey God’s Law
1Then some Pharisees and teachers of the law came to Jesus from Jerusalem. They asked him, 2“Why don’t your followers obey the unwritten laws which have been handed down to us? They 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 your own teachings? 4God said, ‘Honor your father and your mother,’ and ‘Anyone who says cruel things to his father or mother must be put to death.’ 5But you say a person can tell his father or mother, ‘I have something I could use to help you, but I have given it to God already.’ 6You teach that person not to honor his father or his mother. You rejected what God said for the sake of your own rules. 7You are hypocrites! Isaiah was right when he said 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.’ ”#Isaiah 29:13
10After Jesus called the crowd to him, he said, “Listen and understand what I am saying. 11It is not what people put into their mouths that makes them unclean. It is what comes out of their mouths that makes them unclean.”
12Then his followers came to him 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. And if a blind person leads a blind person, both will fall into a ditch.”
15Peter said, “Explain the example to us.”
16Jesus said, “Do you still not understand? 17Surely you know that all the food that enters the mouth goes into the stomach and then goes out of the body. 18But what people say with their mouths comes from the way they think; these are the things that make people unclean. 19Out of the mind come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual sins, stealing, lying, and speaking evil of others. 20These things make people unclean; eating with unwashed hands does not make them 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 and cried out, “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on me! My daughter has a demon, and she is suffering very much.”
23But Jesus did not answer the woman. So his 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 and 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 crumbs that fall from their masters’ table.”
28Then Jesus answered, “Woman, you have great faith! I will do what you asked.” And at that moment the woman’s daughter was healed.
Jesus Heals Many People
29After leaving there, Jesus went along the shore of Lake Galilee. He went up on a hill and sat there.
30Great crowds came to Jesus, bringing with them the lame, the blind, the crippled, those who could not speak, 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 before were now able to speak. The crippled were made strong. The lame could walk, and the blind could see. And they praised the God of Israel for this.
More than Four Thousand Fed
32Jesus called his followers to him and said, “I feel sorry for these people, because they have already been with me three days, and they have nothing to eat. I don’t want to send them away hungry. They might faint while going home.”
33His followers asked him, “How 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, “Seven, 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. Then he divided the food and gave it to his followers, and they gave it to the people. 37All the people ate and were satisfied. Then his followers filled seven baskets with the leftover pieces of food. 38There were about four thousand men there who ate, besides women and children. 39After sending the people home, Jesus got into the boat and went to the area of Magadan.
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The Holy Bible, New Century Version, Copyright © 2005 Thomas Nelson. All rights reserved.