Matthew 15

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.