Matthew 15
15
What Makes People “Unclean”?
1Some Pharisees and some teachers of the law came from Jerusalem to see Jesus. They asked, 2“Why don’t your disciples obey what the elders teach? Your disciples don’t wash their hands before they eat!”
3Jesus replied, “And why don’t you obey God’s command? You would rather follow your own teachings! 4God said, ‘Honor your father and mother.’ (Exodus 20:12; Deuteronomy 5:16) He also said, ‘Anyone who asks for bad things to happen to their father or mother must be put to death.’ (Exodus 21:17; Leviticus 20:9) 5But suppose people have something that might be used to help their parents. You allow them to say it is instead ‘a gift set apart for God.’ 6So they do not need to honor their father or mother with their gift. You make the word of God useless in order to follow your own teachings. 7You pretenders! Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you. He said,
8“ ‘These people honor me by what they say.
But their hearts are far away from me.
9Their worship doesn’t mean anything to me.
They teach nothing but human rules.’ ” (Isaiah 29:13)
10Jesus called the crowd to him. He said, “Listen and understand. 11What goes into someone’s mouth does not make them ‘unclean.’ It’s what comes out of their mouth that makes them ‘unclean.’ ”
12Then the disciples came to him. They asked, “Do you know that the Pharisees were angry when they heard this?”
13Jesus replied, “They are plants that my Father in heaven has not planted. They will be pulled up by the roots. 14Leave the Pharisees. They are blind guides. If one blind person leads another blind person, both of them will fall into a pit.”
15Peter said, “Explain this to us.”
16“Don’t you understand yet?” Jesus asked them. 17“Don’t you see? Everything that enters the mouth goes into the stomach. Then 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.’ 19Evil thoughts come out of a person’s heart. So do murder, adultery, and other sexual sins. And so do stealing, false witness, and telling lies about others. 20Those are the things that make you ‘unclean.’ But eating without washing your hands does not make you ‘unclean.’ ”
The Faith of a Woman From Canaan
21Jesus left Galilee and went to the area of Tyre and Sidon. 22A woman from Canaan lived near Tyre and Sidon. She came to him and cried out, “Lord! Son of David! Have mercy on me! A demon controls my daughter. She is suffering terribly.”
23Jesus did not say a word. So his disciples came to him. They begged him, “Send her away. She keeps crying out after us.”
24Jesus answered, “I was sent only to the people of Israel. They are like lost sheep.”
25Then the woman fell to her knees in front of him. “Lord! Help me!” she said.
26He replied, “It is not right to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs.”
27“Yes it is, Lord,” she said. “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 be given what you are asking for.” And her daughter was healed at that moment.
Jesus Feeds Four Thousand
29Jesus left there. He walked along the Sea of Galilee. Then he went up on a mountainside and sat down. 30Large crowds came to him. They brought blind people and those who could not walk. They also brought disabled people, those who could not speak, and many others. They laid them at his feet, and he healed them. 31The people were amazed. Those who could not speak were speaking. The disabled were made well. Those not able to walk were walking. Those who were blind could see. So the people praised the God of Israel.
32Then Jesus called for his disciples to come to him. He said, “I feel deep concern for these people. They have already been with me three days. They don’t have anything to eat. I don’t want to send them away hungry. If I do, they will become too weak on their way home.”
33His disciples answered him. “There is nothing here,” they said. “Where could we get enough bread to feed this large crowd?”
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. 36He took the seven loaves and the fish and gave thanks. Then he broke them and gave them to the disciples. And the disciples passed them out to the people. 37All of them ate and were satisfied. After that, the disciples picked up seven baskets of leftover pieces. 38The number of men who ate was 4,000. Women and children also ate. 39After Jesus had sent the crowd away, he got into the boat. He went to the area near Magadan.
Currently Selected:
Matthew 15: NIrV
Highlight
Share
Copy
Want to have your highlights saved across all your devices? Sign up or sign in
Holy Bible, New International Reader’s Version®, NIrV®
Copyright © 1995, 1996, 1998, 2014 by Biblica, Inc.®
Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Matthew 15
15
Matthew 15
1¶ Then certain scribes and Pharisees of Jerusalem came unto Jesus, saying,
2Why do thy disciples transgress the tradition of the elders? For they do not wash their hands when they eat bread.
3But he answered and said unto them, Why do ye also transgress the commandment of God by your tradition?
4For God commanded, saying, Honour thy father and mother, and, He that curses father or mother, let him die without recourse.
5But ye say, Whosoever shall say to his father or his mother, Whatever I might have helped thee with is already my offering unto God,
6and now has no need to honour his father or his mother with succour. Thus ye have made the commandment of God of no effect by your tradition.
7 Ye hypocrites, well did Isaiah prophesy of you, saying,
8This people draws nigh unto me with their mouth and honours me with their lips, but their heart is far from me.
9But in vain do they worship me, teaching doctrines and commandments of men.
10¶ And calling the multitude unto him, he said unto them, Hear and understand:
11not that which goes into the mouth defiles the man; but that which comes out of the mouth, this defiles the man.
12Then his disciples came and said unto him, Knowest thou that the Pharisees were offended when they heard this word?
13But he answered and said, Every plant which my heavenly Father has not planted shall be rooted up.
14Let them alone; they are blind leaders of the blind. And if the blind lead the blind, both shall fall into a pit.
15Then Peter answered and said unto him, Declare unto us this parable.
16And Jesus said, Are ye also yet without understanding?
17Do not ye yet understand that whatever enters in at the mouth goes into the belly and is cast out into the draught?
18But those things which proceed out of the mouth come forth from the heart, and they defile the man.
19For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies:
20these are the things which defile the man, but to eat with unwashed hands does not defile the man.
21¶ Then Jesus left there and departed into the parts of Tyre and Sidon.
22And, behold, a woman of Canaan having come out of the same borders cried unto him, saying, Lord, Son of David, have mercy on me; my daughter is sick, possessed by a demon.
23But he answered her not a word. And his disciples came and besought him, saying, Send her away, for she cries out after us.
24But he answered and said, I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel.
25Then she came and worshipped him, saying, Lord, help me.
26But he answered and said, It is not good to take the children’s bread and to cast it to the little dogs.
27And she said, Yes, Lord, yet the little dogs eat of the crumbs which fall from their masters’ table.
28Then Jesus answered and said unto her, O woman, great is thy faith; be it unto thee even as thou desire. And her daughter was made whole from that very hour.
29¶ And Jesus left there and came nigh unto the sea of Galilee and went up into the mountain and sat down there.
30And many people came unto him, having with them those that were lame, blind, dumb, maimed, and many other sick and cast them down at Jesus’ feet; and he healed them,
31insomuch that the multitude wondered when they saw the dumb to speak, the maimed to be whole, the lame to walk, and the blind to see, and they glorified the God of Israel.
32Then Jesus called his disciples unto him and said, I have mercy on the multitude because they persevere with me now three days and have nothing to eat, and I desire not to send them away fasting lest they faint in the way.
33Then his disciples say unto him, From where do we have so much bread in the wilderness as to satisfy so great a multitude?
34And Jesus said unto them, How many loaves have ye? And they said, Seven and a few little fishes.
35And he commanded the multitude to sit down on the ground.
36And he took the seven loaves and the fishes and gave thanks and broke them and gave to his disciples, and the disciples to the multitude.
37And they all ate and were filled, and they took up of the broken food that was left seven baskets full.
38And those that ate were four thousand men besides women and children.
39And he sent away the multitude and took ship and came into the borders of Magdala.
Currently Selected:
:
Highlight
Share
Copy
Want to have your highlights saved across all your devices? Sign up or sign in
The Jubilee Bible 2000 (JUB) by Ransom Press International