Matthew 15

Tradition and Worship

1 Then [some] Pharisees and scribes came to Jesus from Jerusalem [and] asked, 2 “Why {do} Your disciples break the tradition of the elders? They do not wash their hands before they eat.” 3 [Jesus] replied, “And why {do} you break the command of God for the sake of your tradition? 4 For God said: ‘Honor [your] father and mother’ ▼

▼Exodus 20:12; Deuteronomy 5:16

and ‘Anyone who curses [his] father or mother must be put to death.’ ▼

▼Exodus 21:17; Leviticus 20:9

5 But you say that if anyone says to [his] father or mother, ‘ [The help] you would have received from me has been given to God,’ 6 he need not honor his father or mother [with it] . Thus you nullify the word of God for the sake of your tradition. 7 You hypocrites! Isaiah prophesied correctly about you: 8 ‘These people honor Me with their lips, but their hearts are far from Me. 9 They worship Me in vain; they teach [as] doctrine [the] precepts of men.’” ▼

▼Isaiah 29:13

What Defiles a Man

10 [Jesus] called the crowd [to Him] [and] said, “Listen and understand. 11 A man is not defiled by what enters [his] mouth, but by what comes out of [it] .” 12 Then the disciples came to Him [and] said, “Are You aware that the Pharisees were offended when they heard this?” 13 But [Jesus] replied, “Every plant that My Heavenly Father has not planted will be pulled up by its roots. 14 Disregard them! They are blind guides. ▼

▼Or blind guides of the blind

If [a] blind [man] leads [a] blind [man] , both will fall into a pit.” 15 Peter said to Him, “Explain this parable to us.” 16 “Do you still not understand?” [Jesus] asked. 17 “vvv Do you not yet realize that whatever enters the mouth goes into the stomach and then is eliminated? 18 But the things that come out of the mouth come from the heart, and these things defile a man. 19 For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, [and] slander. 20 These are what defile a man, but eating with unwashed hands does not defile [him] .”

The Faith of the Canaanite Woman

21 Leaving that place, Jesus withdrew to the district of Tyre and Sidon. 22 And a Canaanite woman from that region came [to Him] , crying out, “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on me! My daughter {is} miserably possessed by a demon.” 23 But [Jesus] did not answer a word. So His disciples came [and] urged Him, “Send her away, for she keeps crying out after us.” 24 He answered, “vvv I was sent only to the lost sheep of [the] house of Israel.” 25 [The woman] came [and] knelt before him. “Lord, help me!” she said. 26 But [Jesus] replied, “It is not right to take the children’s bread and toss [it] to the dogs.” 27 “Yes, Lord,” she said, “ - even the dogs ▼

▼Or puppies

eat the crumbs that fall from their master’s table.” 28 “O woman,” Jesus answered, “your faith is great! Let it be done for you as you desire.” And her daughter was healed from that very hour.

The Feeding of the Four Thousand

29 Moving on from there, Jesus went along the Sea of Galilee. Then He went up on a mountain [and] sat down. 30 Large 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. 31 The crowd was amazed when they saw [the] mute speaking, [the] crippled restored, [the] lame walking, and [the] blind seeing. And they glorified the God of Israel. 32 Then Jesus called His disciples [to Him] [and] said, “I have compassion for [this] crowd, because 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 faint along the way.” 33 The disciples replied, “Where in this desolate place could we [find] enough bread to feed such a large crowd?” 34 “How many loaves do you have?” Jesus asked. “Seven,” they replied, “and a few small fish.” 35 And He directed the crowd to sit down on the ground. 36 Taking the seven loaves and the fish, He gave thanks [and] broke [them] . Then He gave [them] to [the] disciples, and the disciples [gave them] to the people. 37 They all ate and were satisfied, and [the disciples] picked up seven basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over. 38 A total of four thousand men were fed, in addition to women and children. 39 After [Jesus] had dismissed the crowds, He got into the boat and went to the region of Magadan.