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
Defilement Comes from Within
1Then #Mark 7:1; John 1:19; Acts 25:7the scribes and Pharisees who were from Jerusalem came to Jesus, saying, 2#Mark 7:5“Why do Your disciples transgress the tradition of the elders? For they do not wash their hands when they eat bread.”
3He answered and said to them, “Why do you also transgress the commandment of God because of your tradition? 4For God commanded, saying, #Ex. 20:1, 12; Lev. 19:3; (Deut. 5:16); Prov. 23:22; (Eph. 6:2, 3)‘Honor your father and your mother’; and, #Ex. 21:17; Lev. 20:9; Deut. 27:16; Prov. 20:20; 30:17‘He who curses father or mother, let him be put to death.’ 5But you say, ‘Whoever says to his father or mother, #Mark 7:11, 12“Whatever profit you might have received from me is a gift to God”— 6then he need not honor his father or mother.’ Thus you have made the commandment of God of no effect by your tradition. 7#Mark 7:6Hypocrites! Well did Isaiah prophesy about you, saying:
8‘These#Ps. 78:36; Is. 29:13; Ezek. 33:31 people draw near to Me with their mouth,
And honor Me with their lips,
But their heart is far from Me.
9And in vain they worship Me,
#Is. 29:13; (Col. 2:18–22); Titus 1:14Teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’ ”
10#Mark 7:14When He had called the multitude to Himself, He said to them, “Hear and understand: 11#(Acts 10:15; Rom. 14:14, 17, 20; 1 Tim. 4:4; Titus 1:15)Not what goes into the mouth defiles a man; but what comes out of the mouth, this defiles a man.”
12Then His disciples came and said to Him, “Do You know that the Pharisees were offended when they heard this saying?”
13But He answered and said, #(Is. 60:21; 61:3; John 15:2; 1 Cor. 3:12, 13)“Every plant which My heavenly Father has not planted will be uprooted. 14Let them alone. #Is. 9:16; Mal. 2:8; Matt. 23:16, 24; Luke 6:39; Rom. 2:19They are blind leaders of the blind. And if the blind leads the blind, both will fall into a ditch.”
15#Mark 7:17Then Peter answered and said to Him, “Explain this parable to us.”
16So Jesus said, #Matt. 16:9; Mark 7:18“Are you also still without understanding? 17Do you not yet understand that #(1 Cor. 6:13)whatever enters the mouth goes into the stomach and is eliminated? 18But #(Matt. 12:34); Mark 7:20; (James 3:6)those things which proceed out of the mouth come from the heart, and they defile a man. 19#Gen. 6:5; 8:21; Prov. 6:14; Jer. 17:9; Mark 7:21; (Rom. 1:29–32; Gal. 5:19–21)For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies. 20These are the things which defile a man, but to eat with unwashed hands does not defile a man.”
A Gentile Shows Her Faith
21#Mark 7:24–30Then Jesus went out from there and departed to the region of Tyre and Sidon. 22And behold, a woman of Canaan came from that region and cried out to Him, saying, “Have mercy on me, O Lord, #Matt. 1:1; 22:41, 42Son of David! My daughter is severely demon-possessed.”
23But He answered her not a word.
And His disciples came and urged Him, saying, “Send her away, for she cries out after us.”
24But He answered and said, #Matt. 10:5, 6; (Rom. 15:8)“I was not sent except to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.”
25Then she came and worshiped Him, saying, “Lord, help me!”
26But He answered and said, “It is not good to take the children’s bread and throw it to the little #Matt. 7:6; Phil. 3:2dogs.”
27And she said, “Yes, Lord, yet even the little dogs eat the crumbs which fall from their masters’ table.”
28Then Jesus answered and said to her, “O woman, #Luke 7:9great is your faith! Let it be to you as you desire.” And her daughter was healed from that very hour.
Jesus Heals Great Multitudes
29#Matt. 15:29–31; Mark 7:31–37Jesus departed from there, #Matt. 4:18skirted the Sea of Galilee, and went up on the mountain and sat down there. 30#Is. 35:5, 6; Matt. 11:5; Luke 7:22Then great multitudes came to Him, having with them the lame, blind, mute, maimed, and many others; and they laid them down at Jesus’ #Mark 7:25; Luke 7:38; 8:41; 10:39feet, and He healed them. 31So the multitude marveled when they saw the mute speaking, the maimed made whole, the lame walking, and the blind seeing; and they #Luke 5:25, 26; 19:37, 38glorified the God of Israel.
Feeding the Four Thousand
32#Mark 8:1–10Now Jesus called His disciples to Himself and said, “I have compassion on the multitude, because they have now continued with Me three days and have nothing to eat. And I do not want to send them away hungry, lest they faint on the way.”
33#2 Kin. 4:43Then His disciples said to Him, “Where could we get enough bread in the wilderness to fill such a great multitude?”
34Jesus said to them, “How many loaves do you have?”
And they said, “Seven, and a few little fish.”
35So He commanded the multitude to sit down on the ground. 36And #Matt. 14:19; 26:27; Luke 22:17, 19; John 6:11, 23; Acts 27:35; (Rom. 14:6)He took the seven loaves and the fish and #1 Sam. 9:13; Luke 22:19gave thanks, broke them and gave them to His disciples; and the disciples gave to the multitude. 37So they all ate and were filled, and they took up seven large baskets full of the fragments that were left. 38Now those who ate were four thousand men, besides women and children. 39#Mark 8:10And He sent away the multitude, got into the boat, and came to the region of Magdala.
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The Holy Bible, New King James Version, Copyright © 1982 Thomas Nelson. All rights reserved.