Matthew 15
15
That Which Defiles
1Then some Pharisees and teachers of the law came to Jesus from Jerusalem and asked, 2“Why do your disciples break the tradition of the elders? They donʼt wash their hands before they eat!”
3Jesus replied, “And why do you break the command of God for the sake of your tradition? 4For God said, ‘Honor your father and mother’#15:4 Exodus 20:12; Deut. 5:16 and ‘Anyone who curses their father or mother is to be put to death.’#15:4 Exodus 21:17; Lev. 20:9 5But you say that if anyone declares that what might have been used to help their father or mother is ‘devoted to God,’ 6they are not to ‘honor their father or mother’ with it. Thus you nullify the word of God for the sake of your tradition. 7You hypocrites! Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you:
8 “ ‘These people honor me with their lips,
but their hearts are far from me.
9 They worship me in vain;
their teachings are merely human rules.’#15:9 Isaiah 29:13”
10Jesus called the crowd to him and said, “Listen and understand. 11What goes into someoneʼs mouth does not defile them, but what comes out of their mouth, that is what defiles them.”
12Then the disciples came to him and asked, “Do you know that the Pharisees were offended when they heard this?”
13He replied, “Every plant that my heavenly Father has not planted will be pulled up by the roots. 14Leave them; they are blind guides.#15:14 Some manuscripts blind guides of the blind If the blind lead the blind, both will fall into a pit.”
15Peter said, “Explain the parable to us.”
16 “Are you still so dull?” Jesus asked them. 17“Donʼt you see that whatever enters the mouth goes into the stomach and then out of the body? 18But the things that come out of a personʼs mouth come from the heart, and these defile them. 19For out of the heart come evil thoughts — murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander. 20These are what defile a person; but eating with unwashed hands does not defile them.”
The Faith of a Canaanite Woman
21Leaving that place, Jesus withdrew to the region of Tyre and Sidon. 22A Canaanite woman from that vicinity came to him, crying out, “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on me! My daughter is demon-possessed and suffering terribly.”
23Jesus did not answer a word. So his disciples came to him and urged him, “Send her away, for she keeps crying out after us.”
24He answered, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel.”
25The woman came and knelt before him. “Lord, help me!” she said.
26He replied, “It is not right to take the childrenʼs bread and toss it to the dogs.”
27“Yes it is, Lord,” she said. “Even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masterʼs table.”
28Then Jesus said to her, “Woman, you have great faith! Your request is granted.” And her daughter was healed at that moment.
Jesus Feeds the Four Thousand
29Jesus left there and went along the Sea of Galilee. Then he went up on a mountainside and sat down. 30Great crowds came to him, bringing the lame, the blind, the crippled, the mute and many others, and laid them at his feet; and he healed them. 31The people were amazed when they saw the mute speaking, the crippled made well, the lame walking and the blind seeing. And they praised the God of Israel.
32Jesus called his disciples to him and said, “I have compassion for these people; they have already been with me three days and have nothing to eat. I do not want to send them away hungry, or they may collapse on the way.”
33His disciples answered, “Where could we get enough bread in this remote place to feed such a crowd?”
34 “How many loaves do you have?” Jesus asked.
“Seven,” they replied, “and a few small fish.”
35He told the crowd to sit down on the ground. 36Then he took the seven loaves and the fish, and when he had given thanks, he broke them and gave them to the disciples, and they in turn to the people. 37They all ate and were satisfied. Afterward the disciples picked up seven basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over. 38The number of those who ate was four thousand men, besides women and children. 39After Jesus had sent the crowd away, he got into the boat and went to the vicinity of Magadan.
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The Books of the Bible™
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Matthew 15
15
1 Then the scribes and the Pharisees came to him from Jerusalem, saying:
2 "Why do your disciples transgress the tradition of the elders? For they do not wash their hands when they eat bread."
3 But responding, he said to them: "And why do you transgress the commandment of God for the sake of your tradition? For God said:
4 'Honor your father and mother,' and, 'Whoever will have cursed father or mother shall die a death.'
5 But you say: 'If anyone will have said to father or mother, "It is dedicated, so that whatever is from me will benefit you,"
6 then he shall not honor his father or his mother.' So have you nullified the commandment of God, for the sake of your tradition.
7 Hypocrites! How well did Isaiah prophesy about you, saying:
8 'This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me.
9 For in vain do they worship me, teaching the doctrines and commandments of men.' "
10 And having called the multitudes to him, he said to them: "Listen and understand.
11 A man is not defiled by what enters into the mouth, but by what proceeds from the mouth. This is what defiles a man."
12 Then his disciples drew near and said to him, "Do you know that the Pharisees, upon hearing this word, were offended?"
13 But in response he said: "Every plant which has not been planted by my heavenly Father shall be uprooted.
14 Leave them alone. They are blind, and they lead the blind. But if the blind are in charge of the blind, both will fall into the pit."
15 And responding, Peter said to him, "Explain this parable to us."
16 But he said: "Are you, even now, without understanding?
17 Do you not understand that everything that enters into the mouth goes into the gut, and is cast into the sewer?
18 But what proceeds from the mouth, goes forth from the heart, and those are the things that defile a man.
19 For from the heart go out evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false testimonies, blasphemies.
20 These are the things that defile a man. But to eat without washing hands does not defile a man."
21 And departing from there, Jesus withdrew into the areas of Tyre and Sidon.
22 And behold, a woman of Canaan, going out from those parts, cried out, saying to him: "Take pity on me, Lord, Son of David. My daughter is badly afflicted by a demon."
23 He did not say a word to her. And his disciples, drawing near, petitioned him, saying: "Dismiss her, for she is crying out after us."
24 And responding, he said, "I was not sent except to the sheep who have fallen away from the house of Israel."
25 But she approached and adored him, saying, "Lord, help me."
26 And responding, he said, "It is not good to take the bread of the children and cast it to the dogs."
27 But she said, "Yes, Lord, but the young dogs also eat from the crumbs that fall from the table of their masters."
28 Then Jesus, responding, said to her: "O woman, great is your faith. Let it be done for you just as you wish." And her daughter was healed from that very hour.
29 And when Jesus had passed from there, he arrived beside the sea of Galilee. And ascending onto a mountain, he sat down there.
30 And great multitudes came to him, having with them the mute, the blind, the lame, the disabled, and many others. And they cast them down at his feet, and he cured them,
31 so much so that the crowds wondered, seeing the mute speaking, the lame walking, the blind seeing. And they magnified the God of Israel.
32 And Jesus, calling together his disciples, said: "I have compassion on the crowds, because they have persevered with me now for three days, and they do not have anything to eat. And I am not willing to dismiss them, fasting, lest they faint along the way."
33 And the disciples said to him: "From where, then, in the desert, would we obtain enough bread to satisfy so a great multitude?"
34 And Jesus said to them, "How many loaves of bread do you have?" But they said, "Seven, and a few little fish."
35 And he instructed the crowds to recline upon the ground.
36 And taking the seven loaves and the fish, and giving thanks, he broke and gave to his disciples, and the disciples gave to the people.
37 And they all ate and were satisfied. And, from what was left over of the fragments, they took up seven full baskets.
38 But those who ate were four thousand men, plus children and women.
39 And having dismissed the crowd, he climbed into a boat. And he went into the coastal region of Magadan.
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