Matthew 15
15
What Makes People Unclean?
1Some Pharisees and teachers of the law came from Jerusalem to see Jesus. They complained, 2“Why don’t your disciples follow what the elders teach? They don’t wash their hands before they eat!”
3Jesus answered, “Why don’t you follow God’s commands instead of your own teachings? 4God said, ‘Honor your father and mother.’ God also said, ‘Anyone who asks for bad things to happen to their father or mother must be put to death.’ 5Suppose someone has money they could use to help their parents. You tell them they can say it’s ‘a gift set apart only for God.’ 6Then they don’t need to use that money to honor their father or mother. If the word of God clashes with your own teachings, you say it doesn’t apply. 7You hypocrites! Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you,
8“ ‘These people honor me with their mouths,
but their hearts are far away from me.
9It’s useless for them to worship me,
because they’re teaching only human rules.’ ”
10Jesus called the crowd to him and said, “Listen and understand. 11What goes into a person’s mouth doesn’t make them unclean. What comes out of their mouth does.”
12Then the disciples came to him and said, “Did you know that the Pharisees got angry when they heard that?”
13Jesus replied, “Every plant that my heavenly Father hasn’t planted will be pulled up by the roots. 14Don’t worry about the Pharisees. They’re blind guides. If one blind person leads another, they’ll both fall into a pit.”
15Peter asked, “But what did you mean by what you said?”
16“Don’t you understand yet?” Jesus replied. 17“Don’t you see? Everything that enters the mouth goes into the stomach, and from there it goes out of the body. 18But the things that come out of a person’s mouth come from the heart. Those are the things that make someone unclean. 19Out of a person’s heart come cruel thoughts, murder, adultery, other sexual sins, stealing, false testimony, and lies. 20Those are the things that make you unclean. But eating without washing your hands doesn’t make you unclean.”
The Faith of a Canaanite Woman
21Jesus left Galilee and went to the area of Tyre and Sidon. 22A Canaanite woman who lived near there came to him and cried out, “Lord! Son of David! Have mercy on me! A demon has been controlling my daughter and making her suffer terribly.”
23Jesus didn’t say a word. So his disciples came and begged him, “Tell her to go away! She keeps following us and crying out for help.”
24Jesus answered, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel.”
25Then the woman fell on her knees in front of him. “Lord! Help me!” she said.
26He replied, “It’s not right to take the children’s bread and throw it out to the dogs.”
27“That’s true, Lord,” she said, “but even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their owner’s table.”
28Then Jesus said to her, “Woman, you have great faith! You will receive what you’ve asked for.” And her daughter was healed at that moment.
Jesus Feeds Four Thousand
29Jesus left there and walked along the Sea of Galilee. Then he went up on a mountainside and sat down. 30Large crowds came to him, bringing people who were blind, who couldn’t walk, who were disabled, who couldn’t speak, and many others. They laid them at his feet, and he healed them. Those who couldn’t speak started speaking, those with disabilities were made well, those who couldn’t walk started walking, and those who were blind became able to see. 31The people were amazed when they saw all this, and they praised the God of Israel.
32Then Jesus called his disciples to him and said, “I’m concerned for these people because they’ve already been with me for three days and they’ve run out of food to eat. I don’t want to send them away hungry, because if I do, they may be too weak to make it back home.”
33His disciples answered, “Where could we get enough bread to feed this large crowd? We’re in the middle of nowhere.”
34“How many loaves do you have?” Jesus asked.
“Seven,” they replied, “and a few small fish.”
35Jesus told the crowd to sit down on the ground. 36Then he took the seven loaves and the fish, gave thanks, broke them, and gave them to the disciples. They passed them out to the people. 37Everyone ate as much as they wanted, and after that, the disciples picked up seven full baskets of leftover pieces. 38Just counting the men, they fed about 4,000 people, and there were many women and children as well. 39Jesus sent the crowd away, and then he got into the boat and went to the area near Magadan.
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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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