Matthew 15
15
The Tradition of the Elders
1Then Pharisees and scribes came to Jesus from Jerusalem and said, 2“Why do your disciples break the tradition of the elders? For they do not wash their hands before they eat.” 3He answered them, “And why do you break the commandment of God for the sake of your tradition? 4For God said,#15.4 Other ancient authorities read commanded, saying ‘Honor your father and your mother,’ and, ‘Whoever speaks evil of father or mother must surely die.’ 5But you say that whoever tells father or mother, ‘Whatever support you might have had from me is given to God,’#15.5 Or is an offering then that person need not honor the father.#15.5 Other ancient authorities add or the mother 6So, for the sake of your tradition, you make void the word#15.6 Other ancient authorities read law; others, commandment of God. 7You hypocrites! Isaiah prophesied rightly about you when he said:
8‘This people honors me with their lips,
but their hearts are far from me;
9in vain do they worship me,
teaching human precepts as doctrines.’ ”
Things That Defile
10Then he called the crowd to him and said to them, “Listen and understand: 11it is not what goes into the mouth that defiles a person, but it is what comes out of the mouth that defiles.” 12Then the disciples approached and said to him, “Do you know that the Pharisees took offense when they heard what you said?” 13He answered, “Every plant that my heavenly Father has not planted will be uprooted. 14Let them alone; they are blind guides of the blind.#15.14 Other ancient authorities lack of the blind And if one blind person guides another, both will fall into a pit.” 15But Peter said to him, “Explain this parable to us.” 16Then he said, “Are you also still without understanding? 17Do you not see that whatever goes into the mouth enters the stomach, and goes out into the sewer? 18But what comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart, and this is what defiles. 19For out of the heart come evil intentions, murder, adultery, fornication, theft, false witness, slander. 20These are what defile a person, but to eat with unwashed hands does not defile.”
The Canaanite Woman's Faith
21Jesus left that place and went away to the district of Tyre and Sidon. 22Just then a Canaanite woman from that region came out and started shouting, “Have mercy on me, Lord, Son of David; my daughter is tormented by a demon.” 23But he did not answer her at all. And his disciples came and urged him, saying, “Send her away, for she keeps shouting after us.” 24He answered, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” 25But she came and knelt before him, saying, “Lord, help me.” 26He answered, “It is not fair to take the children's food and throw it to the dogs.” 27She said, “Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters' table.” 28Then Jesus answered her, “Woman, great is your faith! Let it be done for you as you wish.” And her daughter was healed instantly.
Jesus Cures Many People
29After Jesus had left that place, he passed along the Sea of Galilee, and he went up the mountain, where he sat down. 30Great crowds came to him, bringing with them the lame, the maimed, the blind, the mute, and many others. They put them at his feet, and he cured them, 31so that the crowd was amazed when they saw the mute speaking, the maimed whole, the lame walking, and the blind seeing. And they praised the God of Israel.
Feeding the Four Thousand
32Then Jesus called his disciples to him and said, “I have compassion for the crowd, because they have been with me now for three days and have nothing to eat; and I do not want to send them away hungry, for they might faint on the way.” 33The disciples said to him, “Where are we to get enough bread in the desert to feed so great a crowd?” 34Jesus asked them, “How many loaves have you?” They said, “Seven, and a few small fish.” 35Then ordering the crowd to sit down on the ground, 36he took the seven loaves and the fish; and after giving thanks he broke them and gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds. 37And all of them ate and were filled; and they took up the broken pieces left over, seven baskets full. 38Those who had eaten were four thousand men, besides women and children. 39After sending away the crowds, he got into the boat and went to the region of Magadan.#15.39 Other ancient authorities read Magdala or Magdalan
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Matthew 15: NRSV
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New Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright © 1989 Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Matthew 15
15
Jesus Breaks Religious Traditions
1Then the Pharisees and religious scholars # 15:1 Or “scribes,” considered to be experts in interpreting Jewish laws. came from Jerusalem and asked Jesus this question: 2“Why do your disciples ignore the traditions of our elders? For example, they don’t ceremonially wash their hands before they eat bread.”
3Jesus answered, “And why do you ignore the commandment of God because of your traditions? 4For didn’t God say, ‘Honor your father and mother,’ and, ‘Whoever abuses or insults his father or mother must be put to death?’ # 15:4 See Ex. 20:12; 21:17; Lev. 20:9.
5“But you teach that it’s permissible to say to your parents when they are in financial need, ‘Whatever gift you would have received from me I can keep for myself, since I dedicated it as an offering to God.’ 6This doesn’t honor your father or mother. And you have elevated your tradition above the words of God. 7Frauds and hypocrites! Isaiah described you perfectly when he said:
8These people honor me only with their words,
for their hearts are so very distant from me.
9They pretend to worship me,
but their worship is nothing more
than the empty traditions of men.” # 15:9 See Isa. 29:13.
10Then Jesus turned to the crowd and said, “Come, listen and open your heart to understand. 11What truly contaminates a person is not what he puts into his mouth but what comes out of his mouth. That’s what makes people defiled.”
12Then his disciples approached him and said, “Don’t you know that what you just said offended the Pharisees?”
13Jesus replied, “Every plant that my heavenly Father didn’t plant is destined to be uprooted. 14Stay away from them, # 15:14 The Aramaic is “Let them remain blind! For they are nothing more than blind leaders of the blind.” for they’re nothing more than blind guides. Do you know what happens when a blind man pretends to guide another blind man? They both stumble into a ditch!”
15Peter spoke up and said, “Will you explain to us what you mean by your parable?”
16Jesus said, “Even after all that I’ve taught you, you still remain clueless? 17Is it hard to understand that whatever you eat enters the stomach only to pass out into the sewer? 18But what comes out of your mouth reveals the core of your heart. Words can pollute, not food. 19You will find living within an impure heart evil ideas, murderous thoughts, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, lies, and slander. # 15:19 Or “blasphemies.” 20That’s what pollutes a person. Eating with unwashed hands doesn’t defile anyone.”
A Lebanese Woman’s Faith
21Then Jesus left and went north into the non-Jewish region of Lebanon. # 15:21 Or “Tyre and Sidon,” both cities of Lebanon. 22He encountered there a Canaanite woman # 15:22 The Hebrew Matthew is “a Canaanite merchant woman.” Canaan included the region of modern-day Lebanon. Canaanite refers to a non-Jewish person who lived in that region. It was in this very region that an Old Testament woman named Jezebel established Baal worship. Now Jesus heals a woman and brings her into the true worship of God. who shouted out to him, “Lord, Son of David, show mercy to me! My daughter is horribly afflicted by a demon that torments her.” 23But Jesus never answered her. So his disciples said to him, “Why do you ignore this woman who is crying out to us?” # 15:23 As translated from Hebrew Matthew. The Greek is “The disciples kept begging Jesus to send her away.”
24Jesus said, “I’ve only been sent to the lost sheep of Israel.” 25But she came and bowed down before him and said, “Lord, help me!”
26Jesus responded, “It’s not right for a man to take bread from his children and throw it out to the dogs.” # 15:26 Jesus uses a figure of speech and describes the people of Israel as “children” who view the non-Jewish people as “dogs.”
27“You’re right, Lord,” she replied. “But even puppies get to eat the crumbs that fall from the prince’s table.”
28Then Jesus answered her, “Dear woman, your faith is strong! What you desire will be done for you.” And at that very moment, her daughter was instantly set free from demonic torment.
Jesus Heals Many Others
29After leaving Lebanon, Jesus went to Lake Galilee and climbed a hill nearby and sat down. 30Then huge crowds of people streamed up the hill, bringing with them the lame, blind, deformed, mute, and many others in need of healing. They laid them at Jesus’ feet and he healed them all.
31And the crowds marveled with amazement, astounded over the things they were witnessing with their own eyes! The lame were walking, the mute were speaking, the crippled were made well, and the blind could see. For three days everyone celebrated the miracles as they exalted and praised the God of Israel!
Jesus Feeds Thousands
32Jesus called his disciples to himself and said, “I care deeply about all these people, for they’ve already been with me for three days without food. I don’t want to send them away fasting or else they may be overcome by weakness on their journey home.”
33The disciples said to him, “Where in the world are we going to find enough food in this desolate place to feed this crowd?”
34“How many barley loaves do you have?” Jesus asked.
“Seven,” they replied, “and a few small fish.”
35So he gave the order, “Have the people sit down on the grass.” 36Then he took the seven loaves and the fish and gave thanks to God. He broke the bread and gave it to his disciples, who then distributed the food to the crowds. 37When everyone was full and satisfied, they gathered up the leftovers. And from what was once seven loaves and a few fish, they filled seven baskets! # 15:37 The Greek word used here implies a very large basket, possibly the size of a person. 38There were four thousand men who ate the food Jesus multiplied, and even more including the women and children!
39After dismissing the crowd, Jesus got into the boat and crossed over to the region of Magdala. # 15:39 Or “Magadan.” This was a place where fish were salted and preserved. Magdala means “tower.” Magdala was the town that Mary Magdalene came from. Perhaps during this visit is when they first met.
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