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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Matthew 15: FBV
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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
The teaching of the ancestors
(Mark 7.1-13)
1About this time some Pharisees and teachers of the Law of Moses came from Jerusalem. They asked Jesus, 2“Why don't your disciples obey what our ancestors taught us to do? They don't even wash their hands#15.2 wash their hands: The Jewish people had strict laws about washing their hands before eating, especially if they had been out in public. before they eat.”
3Jesus answered:
Why do you disobey God and follow your own teaching? 4Didn't God command you to respect your father and mother? Didn't he tell you to put to death all who curse their parents?#Ex 20.12; Dt 5.16; Ex 21.17; Lv 20.9. 5But you let people get by without helping their parents when they should. You let them say that what they have has been offered to God.#15.5 has been offered to God: According to Jewish custom, when people said something was offered to God, it belonged to him and could not be used for anyone else, not even for their own parents. 6Is this any way to show respect to your parents? You ignore God's commands in order to follow your own teaching. 7And you are nothing but show-offs! Isaiah the prophet was right when he wrote that God had said,
8“All of you praise me#Is 29.13 (LXX).
with your words,
but you never really
think about me.
9It is useless for you
to worship me,
when you teach rules
made up by humans.”
What really makes people unclean
(Mark 7.14-23)
10Jesus called the crowd together and said, “Pay attention and try to understand what I mean. 11The food that you put into your mouth doesn't make you unclean and unfit to worship God. The bad words that come out of your mouth are what make you unclean.”
12Then his disciples came over to him and asked, “Do you know that you insulted the Pharisees by what you said?”
13Jesus answered, “Every plant that my Father in heaven did not plant will be pulled up by the roots. 14Stay away from those Pharisees! They are like blind people leading other blind people, and all of them will fall into a ditch.”#Lk 6.39.
15Peter replied, “What did you mean when you talked about the things that make people unclean?”
16Jesus then said:
Don't any of you know what I am talking about by now? 17Don't you know that the food you put into your mouth goes into your stomach and then out of your body? 18But the words that come out of your mouth come from your heart. And they are what make you unfit to worship God.#Mt 12.34. 19Out of your heart come evil thoughts, murder, unfaithfulness in marriage, vulgar deeds, stealing, telling lies, and insulting others. 20These are what make you unclean. Eating without washing your hands will not make you unfit to worship God.
A woman's faith
(Mark 7.24-30)
21Jesus left and went to the territory near the cities of Tyre and Sidon. 22Suddenly a Canaanite woman#15.22 Canaanite woman: This woman was not Jewish. from there came out shouting, “Lord and Son of David,#15.22 Son of David: See the note at 9.27. have pity on me! My daughter is full of demons.” 23Jesus did not say a word. But the woman kept following along and shouting, so his disciples came up and asked him to send her away.
24Jesus said, “I was sent only to the people of Israel! They are like a flock of lost sheep.”
25The woman came closer. Then she knelt down and begged, “Please help me, Lord!”
26Jesus replied, “It isn't right to take food away from children and feed it to dogs.”#15.26 feed it to dogs: The Jewish people sometimes referred to Gentiles as dogs.
27“Lord, that's true,” the woman said, “but even dogs get the crumbs that fall from their owner's table.”
28Jesus answered, “Dear woman, you really do have a lot of faith, and you will be given what you want.” At that moment her daughter was healed.
Jesus heals many people
29From there, Jesus went along Lake Galilee. Then he climbed a hill and sat down. 30Large crowds came and brought many people who were crippled or blind or lame or unable to talk. They placed them, and many others, in front of Jesus, and he healed them all. 31Everyone was amazed at what they saw and heard. People who had never spoken could now speak. The lame were healed, the crippled could walk, and the blind were able to see. Everyone was praising the God of Israel.
Jesus feeds four thousand
(Mark 8.1-10)
32Jesus called his disciples together and told them, “I feel sorry for these people. They have been with me for three days, and they don't have anything to eat. I don't want to send them away hungry. They might faint on their way home.”
33His disciples said, “This place is like a desert. Where can we find enough food to feed such a crowd?”
34Jesus asked them how much food they had. They replied, “Seven small loaves of bread#15.34 small loaves of bread: See the note at 14.17. and a few little fish.”
35After Jesus had told the people to sit down, 36he took the seven loaves of bread and the fish and gave thanks. He then broke them and handed them to his disciples, who passed them around to the crowds.
37Everyone ate all they wanted, and the leftovers filled seven large baskets.
38There were four thousand men who ate, not counting the women and children.
39After Jesus had sent the crowds away, he got into a boat and sailed across the lake. He came to shore near the town of Magadan.#15.39 Magadan: The location is unknown.
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© British and Foreign Bible Society 2012