MAT 15
15
The Tradition of the Elders
Mk. 7:1-23
1 Then Pharisees and scribes—religious leaders and experts in the Law—came to Jesus from Jerusalem with hostile intent, saying,
2 "Why do Your disciples violate and break the tradition of the elders that has been handed down? For they do not perform the ceremonial washing of their hands when they eat bread."
3 But, in response, He said to them, turning their accusation back on them, "Why do you also violate and transgress the commandment of God because of your human tradition?
4 For God said clearly in the Law, 'Honour your father and your mother,'* and 'The one who speaks evil of father or mother must be put to death.'*
5 But you say in your tradition, 'Whoever says to his father or his mother, "Whatever help or financial support you would have received from me is a gift consecrated to God—given to the temple instead,"
6 need not honour his father or provide for his parents.' So you have invalidated the word of God for the sake of preserving your human tradition.
7 You hypocrites! Isaiah rightly prophesied concerning you and your spiritual ancestors, saying,
8 'This people honours Me with their lips in outward profession,
but their hearts are distant and kept far away from Me in true devotion;
9 and they worship Me to no purpose and in vain,
teaching as authoritative doctrines the precepts and commandments of men rather than God's truth.'"
10 And calling the crowd to Himself to hear this important teaching, He said to them, "Hear this truth and understand its meaning:
11 It is not what goes into the mouth that defiles the man and makes him unclean before God, but what comes out of the mouth from the heart—this defiles the man and reveals his true spiritual condition."
12 Then the disciples came and said to Him with concern, "Do You know that the Pharisees were offended when they heard this saying that challenged their traditions?"
13 And in response, He said, "Every plant—every religious system and false teaching—that My heavenly Father has not planted will be uprooted and destroyed in judgment.
14 Leave them alone and do not worry about their opposition. They are blind guides leading the blind in spiritual darkness. And if the blind lead the blind, both will fall into a ditch of judgment and destruction."
15 And in response, Peter said to Him, "Explain this parable to us so we can understand its full meaning."
16 But He said with some disappointment, "Are you also still without understanding at this point in time after all My teaching?
17 Do you not understand that whatever goes into the mouth proceeds to the stomach and is expelled into the latrine and has no spiritual significance?
18 But the things which proceed from the mouth come from the heart—the centre of one's being—and these defile the man and reveal his true character.
19 For out of the heart come evil thoughts that lead to action, murders, adulteries, sexual immoralities of every kind, thefts, untrue testimonies and lies, slanders and malicious speech.
20 These are the things which defile the man and make him unclean before God. But to eat with ceremonially unwashed hands does not defile the man spiritually."
The Faith of the Canaanite Woman
Mk. 7:24-30
21 And departing from that place, Jesus withdrew to the district of Tyre and Sidon—Gentile territory outside Israel.
22 And behold, a Canaanite woman from that region—a Gentile by birth—came out and began to cry out persistently, saying, "Have mercy on me, Lord, Son of David; my daughter is miserably demon-possessed and tormented."
23 But He did not answer her a word, ignoring her initially to test her faith. And His disciples came to Him and were begging Him, saying, "Dismiss her, because she is crying out after us and making a disturbance."
24 But in response, He said, explaining His mission, "I was not sent except to the sheep who have been lost from the house of Israel—My primary mission is to the Jewish people."
25 But she came and knelt in reverence before Him with desperate faith, saying simply, "Lord, help me."
26 And in response, He said, testing her further, "It is not right to take the children's bread—the blessings intended for Israel—and throw it to the dogs—the Gentiles."
27 And she said with humble persistence and faith, "Yes, Lord, that is true, for even the dogs eat the crumbs which fall from their masters' table—even Gentiles can receive the overflow of Your mercy."
28 Then, in response, Jesus said to her with commendation, "O woman, great is your faith and perseverance. Let it be done for you as you desire and request." And her daughter was healed and delivered from that very hour.
Jesus Heals Many People
29 And departing from that place, Jesus went along the Sea of Galilee, and He went up on the mountain and was sitting there to teach and minister.
30 And large crowds came to Him, bringing with them the lame, blind, crippled, mute, and many others with various afflictions. And they put them down at His feet in faith, and He healed them all without exception,
31 so that the crowd wondered and marvelled, when they saw the mute speaking clearly, the crippled made well and whole, and the lame walking, and the blind seeing with restored sight. Therefore, they glorified the God of Israel for His mighty works.
The Feeding of the Four Thousand
Mk. 8:1-10
32 And Jesus called His disciples to Himself, and said with compassion, "I have compassion on the crowd and feel deeply for them, because they have already remained with Me three days and have nothing to eat; and I do not want to send them away hungry and weak, lest they faint on the way home."
33 And the disciples said to Him, "Where in this deserted place far from any town can we get so much bread to satisfy such a great crowd?"
34 And Jesus said to them, "How many loaves do you have in your possession?" And they answered, "Seven loaves, and a few small fish."
35 And when He had commanded the crowd to sit down on the ground in a relaxed posture in preparation for a meal,
36 He took the seven loaves and the fish, and after giving thanks to the Father, He broke them and began to give them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds continuously.
37 And they all ate and were satisfied and filled, and they picked up what was left over from the broken pieces, seven large baskets full—more than they started with.
38 Now those who ate were four thousand men, apart from women and children—the total was likely over twelve thousand people.
39 And having dismissed the crowds, He entered the boat and went to the region of Magadan on the western shore.
Notes
4 Quoted from Ex. 20:12
4 Quoted from Ex. 21:17
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MAT 15: AFINT
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Copyright © 2026 Michael Adeyemi Adegbola. This Scripture text is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License (CC BY-SA 4.0).
MAT 15
15
The Tradition of the Elders
Mk. 7:1-23
1 Then Pharisees and scribes—religious leaders and experts in the Law—came to Jesus from Jerusalem with hostile intent, saying,
2 "Why do Your disciples violate and break the tradition of the elders that has been handed down? For they do not perform the ceremonial washing of their hands when they eat bread."
3 But, in response, He said to them, turning their accusation back on them, "Why do you also violate and transgress the commandment of God because of your human tradition?
4 For God said clearly in the Law, 'Honour your father and your mother,'* and 'The one who speaks evil of father or mother must be put to death.'*
5 But you say in your tradition, 'Whoever says to his father or his mother, "Whatever help or financial support you would have received from me is a gift consecrated to God—given to the temple instead,"
6 need not honour his father or provide for his parents.' So you have invalidated the word of God for the sake of preserving your human tradition.
7 You hypocrites! Isaiah rightly prophesied concerning you and your spiritual ancestors, saying,
8 'This people honours Me with their lips in outward profession,
but their hearts are distant and kept far away from Me in true devotion;
9 and they worship Me to no purpose and in vain,
teaching as authoritative doctrines the precepts and commandments of men rather than God's truth.'"
10 And calling the crowd to Himself to hear this important teaching, He said to them, "Hear this truth and understand its meaning:
11 It is not what goes into the mouth that defiles the man and makes him unclean before God, but what comes out of the mouth from the heart—this defiles the man and reveals his true spiritual condition."
12 Then the disciples came and said to Him with concern, "Do You know that the Pharisees were offended when they heard this saying that challenged their traditions?"
13 And in response, He said, "Every plant—every religious system and false teaching—that My heavenly Father has not planted will be uprooted and destroyed in judgment.
14 Leave them alone and do not worry about their opposition. They are blind guides leading the blind in spiritual darkness. And if the blind lead the blind, both will fall into a ditch of judgment and destruction."
15 And in response, Peter said to Him, "Explain this parable to us so we can understand its full meaning."
16 But He said with some disappointment, "Are you also still without understanding at this point in time after all My teaching?
17 Do you not understand that whatever goes into the mouth proceeds to the stomach and is expelled into the latrine and has no spiritual significance?
18 But the things which proceed from the mouth come from the heart—the centre of one's being—and these defile the man and reveal his true character.
19 For out of the heart come evil thoughts that lead to action, murders, adulteries, sexual immoralities of every kind, thefts, untrue testimonies and lies, slanders and malicious speech.
20 These are the things which defile the man and make him unclean before God. But to eat with ceremonially unwashed hands does not defile the man spiritually."
The Faith of the Canaanite Woman
Mk. 7:24-30
21 And departing from that place, Jesus withdrew to the district of Tyre and Sidon—Gentile territory outside Israel.
22 And behold, a Canaanite woman from that region—a Gentile by birth—came out and began to cry out persistently, saying, "Have mercy on me, Lord, Son of David; my daughter is miserably demon-possessed and tormented."
23 But He did not answer her a word, ignoring her initially to test her faith. And His disciples came to Him and were begging Him, saying, "Dismiss her, because she is crying out after us and making a disturbance."
24 But in response, He said, explaining His mission, "I was not sent except to the sheep who have been lost from the house of Israel—My primary mission is to the Jewish people."
25 But she came and knelt in reverence before Him with desperate faith, saying simply, "Lord, help me."
26 And in response, He said, testing her further, "It is not right to take the children's bread—the blessings intended for Israel—and throw it to the dogs—the Gentiles."
27 And she said with humble persistence and faith, "Yes, Lord, that is true, for even the dogs eat the crumbs which fall from their masters' table—even Gentiles can receive the overflow of Your mercy."
28 Then, in response, Jesus said to her with commendation, "O woman, great is your faith and perseverance. Let it be done for you as you desire and request." And her daughter was healed and delivered from that very hour.
Jesus Heals Many People
29 And departing from that place, Jesus went along the Sea of Galilee, and He went up on the mountain and was sitting there to teach and minister.
30 And large crowds came to Him, bringing with them the lame, blind, crippled, mute, and many others with various afflictions. And they put them down at His feet in faith, and He healed them all without exception,
31 so that the crowd wondered and marvelled, when they saw the mute speaking clearly, the crippled made well and whole, and the lame walking, and the blind seeing with restored sight. Therefore, they glorified the God of Israel for His mighty works.
The Feeding of the Four Thousand
Mk. 8:1-10
32 And Jesus called His disciples to Himself, and said with compassion, "I have compassion on the crowd and feel deeply for them, because they have already remained with Me three days and have nothing to eat; and I do not want to send them away hungry and weak, lest they faint on the way home."
33 And the disciples said to Him, "Where in this deserted place far from any town can we get so much bread to satisfy such a great crowd?"
34 And Jesus said to them, "How many loaves do you have in your possession?" And they answered, "Seven loaves, and a few small fish."
35 And when He had commanded the crowd to sit down on the ground in a relaxed posture in preparation for a meal,
36 He took the seven loaves and the fish, and after giving thanks to the Father, He broke them and began to give them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds continuously.
37 And they all ate and were satisfied and filled, and they picked up what was left over from the broken pieces, seven large baskets full—more than they started with.
38 Now those who ate were four thousand men, apart from women and children—the total was likely over twelve thousand people.
39 And having dismissed the crowds, He entered the boat and went to the region of Magadan on the western shore.
Notes
4 Quoted from Ex. 20:12
4 Quoted from Ex. 21:17
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Copyright © 2026 Michael Adeyemi Adegbola. This Scripture text is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License (CC BY-SA 4.0).