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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Matthew 15: NKJV
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The Holy Bible, New King James Version, Copyright © 1982 Thomas Nelson. All rights reserved.
Matthew 15
15
Jesus Teaches about Inner Purity
1Some Pharisees and teachers of religious law now arrived from Jerusalem to see Jesus. They asked him, 2“Why do your disciples disobey our age-old tradition? For they ignore our tradition of ceremonial hand washing before they eat.”
3Jesus replied, “And why do you, by your traditions, violate the direct commandments of God? 4For instance, God says, ‘Honor your father and mother,’#15:4a Exod 20:12; Deut 5:16. and ‘Anyone who speaks disrespectfully of father or mother must be put to death.’#15:4b Exod 21:17 (Greek version); Lev 20:9 (Greek version). 5But you say it is all right for people to say to their parents, ‘Sorry, I can’t help you. For I have vowed to give to God what I would have given to you.’ 6In this way, you say they don’t need to honor their parents.#15:6 Greek their father; other manuscripts read their father or their mother. And so you cancel the word of God for the sake of your own tradition. 7You hypocrites! Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you, for he wrote,
8 ‘These people honor me with their lips,
but their hearts are far from me.
9 Their worship is a farce,
for they teach man-made ideas as commands from God.’ # 15:8-9 Isa 29:13 (Greek version). ”
10Then Jesus called to the crowd to come and hear. “Listen,” he said, “and try to understand. 11It’s not what goes into your mouth that defiles you; you are defiled by the words that come out of your mouth.”
12Then the disciples came to him and asked, “Do you realize you offended the Pharisees by what you just said?”
13Jesus replied, “Every plant not planted by my heavenly Father will be uprooted, 14so ignore them. They are blind guides leading the blind, and if one blind person guides another, they will both fall into a ditch.”
15Then Peter said to Jesus, “Explain to us the parable that says people aren’t defiled by what they eat.”
16 “Don’t you understand yet?” Jesus asked. 17“Anything you eat passes through the stomach and then goes into the sewer. 18But the words you speak come from the heart—that’s what defiles you. 19For from the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, all sexual immorality, theft, lying, and slander. 20These are what defile you. Eating with unwashed hands will never defile you.”
The Faith of a Gentile Woman
21Then Jesus left Galilee and went north to the region of Tyre and Sidon. 22A Gentile#15:22 Greek Canaanite. woman who lived there came to him, pleading, “Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David! For my daughter is possessed by a demon that torments her severely.”
23But Jesus gave her no reply, not even a word. Then his disciples urged him to send her away. “Tell her to go away,” they said. “She is bothering us with all her begging.”
24Then Jesus said to the woman, “I was sent only to help God’s lost sheep—the people of Israel.”
25But she came and worshiped him, pleading again, “Lord, help me!”
26Jesus responded, “It isn’t right to take food from the children and throw it to the dogs.”
27She replied, “That’s true, Lord, but even dogs are allowed to eat the scraps that fall beneath their masters’ table.”
28 “Dear woman,” Jesus said to her, “your faith is great. Your request is granted.” And her daughter was instantly healed.
Jesus Heals Many People
29Jesus returned to the Sea of Galilee and climbed a hill and sat down. 30A vast crowd brought to him people who were lame, blind, crippled, those who couldn’t speak, and many others. They laid them before Jesus, and he healed them all. 31The crowd was amazed! Those who hadn’t been able to speak were talking, the crippled were made well, the lame were walking, and the blind could see again! And they praised the God of Israel.
Jesus Feeds Four Thousand
32Then Jesus called his disciples and told them, “I feel sorry for these people. They have been here with me for three days, and they have nothing left to eat. I don’t want to send them away hungry, or they will faint along the way.”
33The disciples replied, “Where would we get enough food here in the wilderness for such a huge crowd?”
34Jesus asked, “How much bread do you have?”
They replied, “Seven loaves, and a few small fish.”
35So Jesus told all the people to sit down on the ground. 36Then he took the seven loaves and the fish, thanked God for them, and broke them into pieces. He gave them to the disciples, who distributed the food to the crowd.
37They all ate as much as they wanted. Afterward, the disciples picked up seven large baskets of leftover food. 38There were 4,000 men who were fed that day, in addition to all the women and children. 39Then Jesus sent the people home, and he got into a boat and crossed over to the region of Magadan.
Holy Bible, New Living Translation copyright 1996, 2004, 2007, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation.
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