Matthew 15
15
1Then some Pharisees and religious teachers from Jerusalem came to Jesus and asked him, 2“Why do your disciples break the tradition of our forefathers by not washing their hands before they eat a meal?”
3“Why do you break God's commandment because of your tradition?” Jesus replied. 4“For God said, ‘Honor your father and mother,’#15:4. Quoting Exodus 20:12 or Deuteronomy 5:16. and ‘Those who curse their father or mother should be put to death.’#15:4. Quoting Exodus 21:17 or Leviticus 20:9. 5But you say that if someone tells their father or mother, ‘Whatever you might have expected to get from me is now a gift to God,’ then 6they don't have to honor their father. In this way you've annulled God's word for the sake of your tradition. 7You hypocrites! How well Isaiah described you when he prophesied: 8‘These people say they honor me but in their minds they don't care about me.#15:8. Or “These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are a long way from me.” 9Their worship of me is pointless. What they teach are just man-made requirements.’”#15:9. Quoting Isaiah 29:13.
10He called the crowd over and told them, “Listen, and understand this: 11it's not what goes into you through your mouth that defiles you. It's what comes out of your mouth that defiles you.”
12Then Jesus' disciples came to him and said, “You do realize that the Pharisees were offended by what you said.”
13“Every plant my heavenly Father didn't plant will be uprooted,” Jesus replied. 14“Forget about them—they are blind guides.#15:14. Referring to the Pharisees. If a blind man leads another blind man, then they'll both fall into a ditch.”
15Then Peter asked, “Please tell us what you mean by this illustration.”#15:15. Referring to what Jesus said in verse 11.
16“Haven't you understood this yet?” replied Jesus. 17“Don't you see that whatever goes in through the mouth then passes through the stomach, and then leaves the body as waste?#15:17. Literally, “discharged into the sewer.” 18But what comes out through the mouth comes from the mind, and that's what defiles you. 19For what comes from the mind are evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, and blasphemy 20and those are what defile you. Eating with unwashed hands doesn't defile you.”
21Jesus left and went to the region of Tyre and Sidon. 22A Canaanite woman from that area came, shouting out, “Lord, son of David! Please have mercy on me, because my daughter is suffering badly because she's possessed by a demon!” 23But Jesus didn't reply at all. His disciples came to him and told him, “Tell her to stop following us. All her shouting is really annoying!”
24“I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel,” Jesus said to the woman. 25But the woman came and kneeled before him, and said, “Lord, please help me!”
26“It's not right to take the children's food and throw it to the dogs,#15:26. The word used for dogs indicates pet dogs, or puppies.” Jesus told her.
27“Yes, Lord, but even dogs are allowed to eat crumbs that fall from their master's table,” she replied.
28“You have great trust in me,” Jesus answered. “Your wish is granted!” And her daughter was healed immediately.
29Jesus returned, passing by the Sea of Galilee. He went into the mountains nearby where he sat down. 30Huge crowds came to him, bringing those who were lame, blind, crippled, dumb, and many others who were sick. They laid them on the ground at his feet, and he healed them. 31The crowd was astounded at what they saw happen: the deaf could speak, the crippled were healed, the lame could walk, and the blind could see. They praised the God of Israel.
32Jesus called his disciples over and told them, “I feel really sorry for all these people, because they've been with me now for three days, and they have nothing to eat. I don't want to send them away hungry, in case they faint on their way home.”
33“Where could we find enough bread here in this desert to feed such a huge crowd?” the disciples responded.
34“How many loaves of bread do you have?” Jesus asked.
“Seven, and a few small fish,” they replied.
35Jesus told the crowd to sit down on the ground. 36He took the seven loaves and the fish, and after blessing the food he broke it into pieces and gave it to the disciples, and the disciples gave it to the crowds. 37Everybody ate until they were full, and then they collected the leftovers, filling seven baskets. 38Four thousand men ate the food, not counting women and children. 39Then he sent the crowds away, got into a boat, and went to the Magadan region.
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Dr. Jonathan Gallagher. Released under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 Unported License. Version 4.3. For corrections send email to jonathangallagherfbv@gmail.com
Matthew 15
15
That which defiles
1Then some Pharisees and teachers of the law came to Jesus from Jerusalem and asked, 2‘Why do your disciples break the tradition of the elders? They don’t wash their hands before they eat!’
3Jesus replied, ‘And why do you break the command of God for the sake of your tradition? 4For God said, “Honour your father and mother”#15:4 Exodus 20:12; Deut. 5:16 and “Anyone who curses their father or mother is to be put to death.”#15:4 Exodus 21:17; Lev. 20:9 5But you say that if anyone declares that what might have been used to help their father or mother is “devoted to God,” 6they are not to “honour their father or mother” with it. Thus you nullify the word of God for the sake of your tradition. 7You hypocrites! Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you:
8 ‘ “These people honour me with their lips,
but their hearts are far from me.
9 They worship me in vain;
their teachings are merely human rules.” # 15:9
Isaiah 29:13
’
10Jesus called the crowd to him and said, ‘Listen and understand. 11What goes into someone’s mouth does not defile them, but what comes out of their mouth, that is what defiles them.’
12Then the disciples came to him and asked, ‘Do you know that the Pharisees were offended when they heard this?’
13He replied, ‘Every plant that my heavenly Father has not planted will be pulled up by the roots. 14Leave them; they are blind guides.#15:14 Some manuscripts blind guides of the blind If the blind lead the blind, both will fall into a pit.’
15Peter said, ‘Explain the parable to us.’
16 ‘Are you still so dull?’ Jesus asked them. 17‘Don’t you see that whatever enters the mouth goes into the stomach and then out of the body? 18But the things that come out of a person’s mouth come from the heart, and these defile them. 19For out of the heart come evil thoughts – murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander. 20These are what defile a person; but eating with unwashed hands does not defile them.’
The faith of a Canaanite woman
21Leaving that place, Jesus withdrew to the region of Tyre and Sidon. 22A Canaanite woman from that vicinity came to him, crying out, ‘Lord, Son of David, have mercy on me! My daughter is demon-possessed and suffering terribly.’
23Jesus did not answer a word. So his disciples came to him and urged him, ‘Send her away, for she keeps crying out after us.’
24He answered, ‘I was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel.’
25The woman came and knelt before him. ‘Lord, help me!’ she said.
26He replied, ‘It is not right to take the children’s bread and toss it to the dogs.’
27‘Yes it is, Lord,’ she said. ‘Even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their master’s table.’
28Then Jesus said to her, ‘Woman, you have great faith! Your request is granted.’ And her daughter was healed at that moment.
Jesus feeds the four thousand
29Jesus left there and went along the Sea of Galilee. Then he went up on a mountainside and sat down. 30Great crowds came to him, bringing the lame, the blind, the crippled, the mute and many others, and laid them at his feet; and he healed them. 31The people were amazed when they saw the mute speaking, the crippled made well, the lame walking and the blind seeing. And they praised the God of Israel.
32Jesus called his disciples to him and said, ‘I have compassion for these people; they have already been with me three days and have nothing to eat. I do not want to send them away hungry, or they may collapse on the way.’
33His disciples answered, ‘Where could we get enough bread in this remote place to feed such a crowd?’
34 ‘How many loaves do you have?’ Jesus asked.
‘Seven,’ they replied, ‘and a few small fish.’
35He told the crowd to sit down on the ground. 36Then he took the seven loaves and the fish, and when he had given thanks, he broke them and gave them to the disciples, and they in turn to the people. 37They all ate and were satisfied. Afterwards the disciples picked up seven basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over. 38The number of those who ate was four thousand men, besides women and children. 39After Jesus had sent the crowd away, he got into the boat and went to the vicinity of Magadan.
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