Matthew 15–16

15TH CHAPTER

Jesus Challenges the Pharisees’ Traditions—Mark 7:1–23

¹Then some Pharisees and experts in Moses’ Teachings came from Jerusalem to Jesus. They asked, ²“Why do your disciples break the traditions of our ancestors? They do not wash their hands before they eat.” 

³He answered them, “Why do you break the commandment of God because of your traditions? ⁴For example, God said, ‘Honor your father and your mother’ and ‘Whoever curses father or mother must be put to death.’ ⁵But you say that whoever tells his father or mother, ‘I have given to God whatever support you might have received from me,’ ⁶does not have to honor his father. Because of your traditions you have destroyed the authority of God’s word. 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. 

⁹Their worship of me is pointless, 

because their teachings are rules made by humans.’ ” 

¹⁰Then he called the crowd and said to them, “Listen and try to understand! ¹¹What goes into a person’s mouth doesn’t make him unclean.^aIt’s what comes out of the mouth that makes a person unclean.” 

¹²Then the disciples came and said to him, “Do you realize that when the Pharisees heard your statement they were offended?” 

¹³He answered, “Any plant that my heavenly Father did not plant will be uprooted. ¹⁴Leave them alone! They are blind leaders. When one blind person leads another, both will fall into the same pit.” 

¹⁵Peter said to him, “Explain this illustration to us.” 

¹⁶Jesus said, “Don’t you understand yet? ¹⁷Don’t you know that whatever goes into the mouth goes into the stomach and then into a toilet? ¹⁸But whatever goes out of the mouth comes from within, and that’s what makes a person unclean. ¹⁹Evil thoughts, murder, adultery, ⸤other⸥ sexual sins, stealing, lying, and cursing come from within. ²⁰These are the things that make a person unclean. But eating without washing one’s hands doesn’t make a person unclean.” 

The Faith of a Canaanite Woman—Mark 7:24–30

²¹Jesus left that place and went to the region of Tyre and Sidon. 

²²A Canaanite woman from that territory came ⸤to him⸥ and began to shout, “Have mercy on me, Lord, Son of David! My daughter is tormented by a demon.” 

²³But he did not answer her at all. Then his disciples came to him and urged him, “Send her away. She keeps shouting behind us.” 

²⁴Jesus responded, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the nation of Israel.” 

²⁵She came to him, bowed down, and said, “Lord, help me!” 

²⁶Jesus replied, “It’s not right to take the children’s food and throw it to the dogs.” 

²⁷She said, “You’re right, Lord. But even the dogs eat scraps that fall from their masters’ tables.” 

²⁸Then Jesus answered her, “Woman, you have strong faith! What you wanted will be done for you.” At that moment her daughter was cured. 

²⁹Jesus moved on from there and went along the Sea of Galilee. Then he went up a mountain and sat there. 

³⁰A large crowd came to him, bringing with them the lame, blind, disabled, those unable to talk, and many others. They laid them at his feet, and he cured them. ³¹The crowd was amazed to see mute people talking, the disabled cured, the lame walking, and the blind seeing. So they praised the God of Israel. 

Jesus Feeds More Than Four Thousand—Mark 8:1–10

³²Jesus called his disciples and said, “I feel sorry for the people. They have been with me three days now and have nothing to eat. I don’t want to send them away hungry, or they may become exhausted on their way home.” 

³³His disciples asked him, “Where could we get enough bread to feed such a crowd in this place where no one lives?” 

³⁴Jesus asked them, “How many loaves of bread do you have?” 

They answered, “Seven, and a few small fish.” 

³⁵He ordered the crowd to sit down on the ground. ³⁶He took the seven loaves and the fish and gave thanks to God. Then he broke the bread and gave it to the disciples, and they gave the bread and fish to the people. 

³⁷All of them ate as much as they wanted. The disciples picked up the leftover pieces and filled seven large baskets. ³⁸Four thousand men had eaten. (This number does not include the women and children who had eaten.) 

³⁹After he sent the people on their way, Jesus stepped into the boat and came to the territory of Magadan. 

16TH CHAPTER

The Pharisees Ask for a Sign from Heaven—Mark 8:11–13a

¹The Pharisees and Sadducees came to test Jesus. So they asked him to show them a miraculous sign from heaven. 

²He responded to them, “In the evening you say that the weather will be fine because the sky is red. ³And in the morning you say that there will be a storm today because the sky is red and overcast. You can forecast the weather by judging the appearance of the sky, but you cannot interpret the signs of the times. 

⁴“Evil and unfaithful people look for a miraculous sign. But the only sign they will be given is that of Jonah.” 

Then he left them standing there and went away. 

The Yeast of the Pharisees—Mark 8:13b–21

⁵The disciples had forgotten to take any bread along when they went to the other side of the Sea of Galilee. 

⁶Jesus said to them, “Be careful! Watch out for the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees!” 

⁷The disciples had been discussing among themselves that they had not taken any bread along. 

⁸Jesus knew about their conversation and asked, “Why are you discussing among yourselves that you don’t have any bread? You have so little faith! ⁹Don’t you understand yet? Don’t you remember the five loaves for the five thousand and how many baskets you filled? ¹⁰Don’t you remember the seven loaves for the four thousand and how many large baskets you filled? ¹¹Why don’t you understand that I wasn’t talking to you about bread? Watch out for the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees!” 

¹²Then they understood that he didn’t say to watch out for the yeast in bread, but to watch out for the teachings of the Pharisees and Sadducees. 

Peter Declares His Belief about Jesus—Mark 8:27–30; Luke 9:18–21

¹³When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say the Son of Man is?” 

¹⁴They answered, “Some say you are John the Baptizer, others Elijah, still others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” 

¹⁵He asked them, “But who do you say I am?” 

¹⁶Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God!” 

¹⁷Jesus replied, “Simon, son of Jonah, you are blessed! No human revealed this to you, but my Father in heaven revealed it to you. ¹⁸You are Peter, and I can guarantee that on this rock^aI will build my church. And the gates of hell will not overpower it. ¹⁹I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven. Whatever you imprison, God will imprison. And whatever you set free, God will set free.” 

²⁰Then he strictly ordered the disciples not to tell anyone that he was the Messiah. 

Jesus Foretells That He Will Die and Come Back to Life—Mark 8:31–33; Luke 9:22

²¹From that time on Jesus began to inform his disciples that he had to go to Jerusalem. There he would have to suffer a lot because of the leaders, the chief priests, and the experts in Moses’ Teachings. He would be killed, but on the third day he would be brought back to life. 

²²Peter took him aside and objected to this. He said, “Heaven forbid, Lord! This must never happen to you!” 

²³But Jesus turned and said to Peter, “Get out of my way, Satan! You are tempting me to sin. You aren’t thinking the way God thinks but the way humans think.” 

What It Means to Follow Jesus—Mark 8:34–9:1; Luke 9:23–27

²⁴Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Those who want to come with me must say no to the things they want, pick up their crosses, and follow me. ²⁵Those who want to save their lives will lose them. But those who lose their lives for me will find them. ²⁶What good will it do for people to win the whole world and lose their lives? Or what will a person give in exchange for life? ²⁷The Son of Man will come with his angels in his Father’s glory. Then he will pay back each person based on what that person has done. ²⁸I can guarantee this truth: Some people who are standing here will not die until they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom.”