Matthew 15–16

Traditions and Commandments

15^eThen Pharisees and ^fscribes came to Jesus ^ffrom Jerusalem and said, ^2g“Why do your disciples break ^hthe tradition of the elders? ^jFor they do not wash their hands when they eat.” ³He answered them, “And why do you break the commandment of God for the sake of your tradition? ⁴For God commanded, ^k‘Honor your father and your mother,’ and, ^l‘Whoever reviles father or mother must surely die.’ ⁵But you say, ‘If anyone tells his father or his mother, “What you would have gained from me is given to God,”^{1 6}he need not honor his father.’ So for the sake of your tradition you have ^mmade void the word² of God. ⁷ⁿYou hypocrites! Well did Isaiah prophesy of you, when he said:

^8o“ ‘This people honors me with their lips,

but their heart is far from me;

⁹in vain do they worship me,

teaching as ^pdoctrines the commandments of men.’ ”

What Defiles a Person

¹⁰And he called the people to him and said to them, ^q“Hear and understand: ^11rit is not what goes into the mouth that defiles a person, but what comes out of the mouth; this defiles a person.” ¹²Then the disciples came and said to him, “Do you know that the Pharisees were ^soffended when they heard this saying?” ¹³He answered, ^t“Every plant that my heavenly Father has not planted ^uwill be rooted up. ¹⁴Let them alone; ^vthey are blind guides.³ And ^wif the blind lead the blind, both will fall into a pit.” ¹⁵But Peter said to him, ^x“Explain the parable to us.” ¹⁶And he said, ^y“Are you also still without understanding? ¹⁷Do you not see that ^zwhatever goes into the mouth passes into the stomach and is expelled?^{4 18}But ^awhat comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart, and this defiles a person. ¹⁹For out of the heart come ^bevil thoughts, ^cmurder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, ^dslander. ^20eThese are what defile a person. But ^fto eat with unwashed hands does not defile anyone.”

The Faith of a Canaanite Woman

^21gAnd Jesus went away from there and withdrew to the district of Tyre and Sidon. ²²And behold, ^ha Canaanite woman from that region came out and was crying, ⁱ“Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David; my daughter is severely oppressed by a demon.” ²³But he did not answer her a word. And his disciples came and begged him, saying, ^j“Send her away, for she is crying out after us.” ²⁴He answered, ^k“I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” ²⁵But she came and ^lknelt before him, saying, “Lord, help me.” ²⁶And he answered, “It is not right to take the children’s bread and ^mthrow it to the dogs.” ²⁷She said, “Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat ⁿthe crumbs that fall from their masters’ table.” ²⁸Then Jesus answered her, “O woman, ^ogreat is your faith! ^pLet it be done for you as you desire.” ^qAnd her daughter was ^phealed instantly.⁵

Jesus Heals Many

^29rJesus went on from there and walked ^sbeside the Sea of Galilee. And he ^twent up on the mountain and sat down there. ³⁰And great crowds came to him, bringing with them ^uthe lame, the blind, the crippled, the mute, and many others, and they put them at his feet, and he healed them, ^31vso that the crowd wondered, when they saw the mute speaking, ^wthe crippled healthy, the lame walking, and the blind seeing. And ^xthey glorified ^ythe God of Israel.

Jesus Feeds the Four Thousand

^32zThen Jesus called his disciples to him and said, ^a“I have compassion on the crowd because they have been with me now three days and have nothing to eat. And I am unwilling to send them away hungry, lest they faint on the way.” ³³And the disciples said to him, “Where are we to get enough bread in such a desolate place to feed so great a crowd?” ³⁴And Jesus said to them, “How many loaves do you have?” They said, ^b“Seven, and a few small fish.” ³⁵And directing the crowd to sit down on the ground, ³⁶he took the seven loaves and the fish, and ^chaving given thanks he broke them and gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds. ³⁷And ^dthey all ate and were satisfied. And they took up seven baskets full of the broken pieces left over. ³⁸Those who ate were four thousand men, besides women and children. ³⁹And after sending away the crowds, he got into the boat and went to the region of ^eMagadan.

The Pharisees and Sadducees Demand Signs

16^fAnd the Pharisees and Sadducees came, and ^gto test him ^hthey asked him to show them ⁱa sign from heaven. ²He answered them,^{1 j}“When it is evening, you say, ‘It will be fair weather, for the sky is red.’ ³And in the morning, ‘It will be stormy today, for the sky is red and threatening.’ ^kYou know how to interpret the appearance of the sky, but you cannot interpret ^lthe signs of the times. ^4mAn evil and adulterous generation seeks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of Jonah.” So ⁿhe left them and departed.

The Leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees

⁵When the disciples reached the other side, they had forgotten to bring any bread. ⁶Jesus said to them, “Watch and ^obeware of ^pthe leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees.” ⁷And they began discussing it among themselves, saying, “We brought no bread.” ⁸But ^qJesus, aware of this, said, ^r“O you of little faith, why are you discussing among yourselves the fact that you have no bread? ^9sDo you not yet perceive? Do you not remember ^tthe five loaves for the five thousand, and how many baskets you gathered? ¹⁰Or ^uthe seven loaves for the four thousand, and how many baskets you gathered? ¹¹How is it that you fail to understand that I did not speak about bread? ^oBeware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees.” ^12vThen they understood that he did not tell them to beware of the leaven of bread, but of ^wthe teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees.

Peter Confesses Jesus as the Christ

^13xNow when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” ¹⁴And they said, “Some say ^yJohn the Baptist, others say ^zElijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” ¹⁵He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” ¹⁶Simon Peter replied, ^a“You are ^bthe Christ, ^cthe Son of ^dthe living God.” ¹⁷And Jesus answered him, ^e“Blessed are you, ^fSimon Bar-Jonah! For ^gflesh and blood has not revealed this to you, ^hbut my Father who is in heaven. ¹⁸And I tell you, ⁱyou are Peter, and ^jon this rock² I will build my church, and ^kthe gates of ^lhell³ shall not prevail against it. ¹⁹I will give you ^mthe keys of the kingdom of heaven, and ⁿwhatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed⁴ in heaven.” ^20oThen he strictly charged the disciples to tell no one that he was the Christ.

Jesus Foretells His Death and Resurrection

^21pFrom that time Jesus began to show his disciples that ^qhe must go to Jerusalem and ^rsuffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on ^sthe third day be raised. ²²And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him, saying, “Far be it from you, Lord!⁵ This shall never happen to you.” ²³But he turned and said to Peter, ^t“Get behind me, Satan! You are ^ua hindrance⁶ to me. For you ^vare not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man.”

Take Up Your Cross and Follow Jesus

²⁴Then Jesus told his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, let him ^wdeny himself and ^xtake up his cross and follow me. ²⁵For ^xwhoever would save his life⁷ will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. ²⁶For ^ywhat will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or ^zwhat shall a man give in return for his soul? ^27aFor the Son of Man is going to come with ^bhis angels in the glory of his Father, and ^cthen he will repay each person according to what he has done. ²⁸Truly, I say to you, there are some standing here who will not ^dtaste death ^euntil they see the Son of Man ^fcoming in his kingdom.”