Matthew 15
15
God’s Law and Human Traditions
(Mk. 7:1–23)
1Then some Pharisees and teachers of the law came to Jesus. They came from Jerusalem and asked him, 2“Why do your followers not obey the traditions we have from our great leaders who lived long ago? Your followers don’t wash their hands before they eat!”
3Jesus answered, “And why do you refuse to obey God’s command so that you can follow those traditions you have? 4God said, ‘You must respect your father and mother.’#Quote from Ex. 20:12; Deut. 5:16. And God also said, ‘Whoever says anything bad to their father or mother must be killed.’#Quote from Ex. 21:17. 5But you teach that a person can say to their father or mother, ‘I have something I could use to help you. But I will not use it for you. I will give it to God.’ 6You are teaching them not to respect their father. So you are teaching that it is not important to do what God said. You think it is more important to follow those traditions you have. 7You are hypocrites! Isaiah was right when he spoke for God about you:
8‘These people honor me with their words,
but I am not really important to them.
9Their worship of me is worthless.
The things they teach are only human rules.’” Isaiah 29:13
10Jesus called the people to him. He said, “Listen and understand what I am saying. 11It is not what people put in their mouth that makes them wrong.#15:11 wrong Literally, “unclean” or “not pure,” meaning unacceptable to God. Also in verse 18. It is what comes out of their mouth that makes them wrong.”
12Then the followers came to Jesus and asked, “Do you know that the Pharisees are upset about what you said?”
13Jesus answered, “Every plant that my Father in heaven has not planted will be pulled up by the roots. 14Stay away from the Pharisees. They lead the people, but they are like blind men leading other blind men. And if a blind man leads another blind man, both of them will fall into a ditch.”
15Peter said, “Explain to us what you said earlier to the people.”
16Jesus said, “Do you still have trouble understanding? 17Surely you know that all the food that enters the mouth goes into the stomach. Then it goes out of the body. 18But the bad things people say with their mouth come from the way they think. And that’s what can make people wrong. 19All these bad things begin in the mind: evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual sins, stealing, lying, and insulting people. 20These are the things that make people wrong. Eating without washing their hands will never make people unacceptable to God.”
Jesus Helps a Non-Jewish Woman
(Mk. 7:24–30)
21Jesus went from there to the area of Tyre and Sidon. 22A Canaanite woman from that area came out and began shouting, “Lord, Son of David, please help me! My daughter has a demon inside her, and she is suffering very much.”
23But Jesus did not answer her. So the followers came to him and said, “Tell her to go away. She keeps crying out and will not leave us alone.”
24Jesus answered, “God sent me only to the lost people#15:24 people Literally, “sheep.” of Israel.”
25Then the woman came over to Jesus and bowed before him. She said, “Lord, help me!”
26He answered her with this saying: “It is not right to take the children’s bread and give it to the dogs.”
27The woman said, “Yes, Lord, but even the dogs eat the pieces of food that fall from their master’s table.”
28Then Jesus answered, “Woman, you have great faith! You will get what you asked for.” And right then the woman’s daughter was healed.
Jesus Heals Many People
29Then Jesus went from there to the shore of Lake Galilee. He went up on a hill and sat down.
30A large crowd of people came to him. They brought many other sick people and put them before him. There were people who could not walk, people who were blind, crippled, or deaf, and many others. Jesus healed them all. 31People were amazed when they saw that those who could not speak were now able to speak. Crippled people were made strong. Those who could not walk were now able to walk. The blind were able to see. Everyone thanked the God of Israel for this.
Jesus Feeds More Than 4000
(Mk. 8:1–10)
32Jesus called his followers to him and said, “I feel sorry for these people. They have been with me three days, and now they have nothing to eat. I don’t want to send them away hungry. They might faint while going home.”
33The followers asked Jesus, “Where can we get enough bread to feed all these people? We are a long way from any town.”
34Jesus asked, “How many loaves of bread do you have?”
They answered, “We have seven loaves of bread and a few small fish.”
35Jesus told the people to sit on the ground. 36He took the seven loaves of bread and the fish. Then he gave thanks to God for the food. He broke the bread into pieces, which he gave to the followers, and they gave the food to the people. 37All the people ate until they were full. After this, the followers filled seven baskets with the pieces of food that were not eaten. 38There were about 4000 men there who ate. There were also some women and children. 39After they all ate, Jesus told the people they could go home. He got into the boat and went to the area of Magadan.
Currently Selected:
Matthew 15: ERV
Highlight
Share
Copy
Want to have your highlights saved across all your devices? Sign up or sign in
© 1987, 2004 Bible League International
Matthew 15
15
Obey God’s Law
1Then some Pharisees and teachers of the law came to Jesus from Jerusalem. They asked him, 2“Why don’t your followers obey the unwritten laws which have been handed down to us? They don’t wash their hands before they eat.”
3Jesus answered, “And why do you refuse to obey God’s command so that you can follow your own teachings? 4God said, ‘Honor your father and your mother,’ and ‘Anyone who says cruel things to his father or mother must be put to death.’ 5But you say a person can tell his father or mother, ‘I have something I could use to help you, but I have given it to God already.’ 6You teach that person not to honor his father or his mother. You rejected what God said for the sake of your own rules. 7You are hypocrites! Isaiah was right when he said about you:
8‘These people show honor to me with words,
but their hearts are far from me.
9Their worship of me is worthless.
The things they teach are nothing but human rules.’ ”#Isaiah 29:13
10After Jesus called the crowd to him, he said, “Listen and understand what I am saying. 11It is not what people put into their mouths that makes them unclean. It is what comes out of their mouths that makes them unclean.”
12Then his followers came to him and asked, “Do you know that the Pharisees are angry because of what you said?”
13Jesus answered, “Every plant that my Father in heaven has not planted himself will be pulled up by the roots. 14Stay away from the Pharisees; they are blind leaders. And if a blind person leads a blind person, both will fall into a ditch.”
15Peter said, “Explain the example to us.”
16Jesus said, “Do you still not understand? 17Surely you know that all the food that enters the mouth goes into the stomach and then goes out of the body. 18But what people say with their mouths comes from the way they think; these are the things that make people unclean. 19Out of the mind come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual sins, stealing, lying, and speaking evil of others. 20These things make people unclean; eating with unwashed hands does not make them unclean.”
Jesus Helps a Non-Jewish Woman
21Jesus left that place and went to the area of Tyre and Sidon. 22A Canaanite woman from that area came to Jesus and cried out, “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on me! My daughter has a demon, and she is suffering very much.”
23But Jesus did not answer the woman. So his followers came to Jesus and begged him, “Tell the woman to go away. She is following us and shouting.”
24Jesus answered, “God sent me only to the lost sheep, the people of Israel.”
25Then the woman came to Jesus again and bowed before him and said, “Lord, help me!”
26Jesus answered, “It is not right to take the children’s bread and give it to the dogs.”
27The woman said, “Yes, Lord, but even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters’ table.”
28Then Jesus answered, “Woman, you have great faith! I will do what you asked.” And at that moment the woman’s daughter was healed.
Jesus Heals Many People
29After leaving there, Jesus went along the shore of Lake Galilee. He went up on a hill and sat there.
30Great crowds came to Jesus, bringing with them the lame, the blind, the crippled, those who could not speak, and many others. They put them at Jesus’ feet, and he healed them. 31The crowd was amazed when they saw that people who could not speak before were now able to speak. The crippled were made strong. The lame could walk, and the blind could see. And they praised the God of Israel for this.
More than Four Thousand Fed
32Jesus called his followers to him and said, “I feel sorry for these people, because they have already been with me three days, and they have nothing to eat. I don’t want to send them away hungry. They might faint while going home.”
33His followers asked him, “How can we get enough bread to feed all these people? We are far away from any town.”
34Jesus asked, “How many loaves of bread do you have?”
They answered, “Seven, and a few small fish.”
35Jesus told the people to sit on the ground. 36He took the seven loaves of bread and the fish and gave thanks to God. Then he divided the food and gave it to his followers, and they gave it to the people. 37All the people ate and were satisfied. Then his followers filled seven baskets with the leftover pieces of food. 38There were about four thousand men there who ate, besides women and children. 39After sending the people home, Jesus got into the boat and went to the area of Magadan.
Currently Selected:
:
Highlight
Share
Copy
Want to have your highlights saved across all your devices? Sign up or sign in
The Holy Bible, New Century Version, Copyright © 2005 Thomas Nelson. All rights reserved.