Mat 15, Mat 24 | ESV | STEP | Then Pharisees and scribes came to Jesus from Jerusalem and said ,

1 ^aThen Pharisees and ^bscribes came to Jesus ^cfrom Jerusalem and said, 2 ^d“Why do your disciples break ^ethe tradition of the elders? ^fFor they do not wash their hands when they eat.” 3 He answered them, “And why do you break the commandment of God for the sake of your tradition? 4 For God commanded, ^g‘Honor your father and your mother,’ and, ^h‘Whoever reviles father or mother must surely die.’ 5 But you say, ‘If anyone tells his father or his mother, “What you would have gained from me is given to God,” ^{▼▼Or is an offering} 6 he need not honor his father.’ So for the sake of your tradition you have ^jmade void the word ^{▼▼Some manuscripts law} of God. 7 ^lYou hypocrites! Well did Isaiah prophesy of you, when he said:

8 ^m“‘This people honors me with their lips,
but their heart is far from me;
9 in vain do they worship me,
teaching as ⁿdoctrines the commandments of men.’”

What Defiles a Person

10 And he called the people to him and said to them, ^o“Hear and understand: 11 ^pit is not what goes into the mouth that defiles a person, but what comes out of the mouth; this defiles a person.” 12 Then the disciples came and said to him, “Do you know that the Pharisees were ^qoffended when they heard this saying?” 13 He answered, ^r“Every plant that my heavenly Father has not planted ^swill be rooted up. 14 Let them alone; ^tthey are blind guides. ^{▼▼Some manuscripts add of the blind} And ^vif the blind lead the blind, both will fall into a pit.” 15 But Peter said to him, ^w“Explain the parable to us.” 16 And he said, ^x“Are you also still without understanding? 17 Do you not see that ^ywhatever goes into the mouth passes into the stomach and is expelled? ^{▼▼Greek is expelled into the latrine} 18 But ^aawhat comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart, and this defiles a person. 19 For out of the heart come ^abevil thoughts, ^acmurder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, ^adslander. 20 ^aeThese are what defile a person. But ^afto eat with unwashed hands does not defile anyone.”

The Faith of a Canaanite Woman

21 ^agAnd Jesus went away from there and withdrew to the district of Tyre and Sidon. 22 And behold, ^aha Canaanite woman from that region came out and was crying, ^ai“Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David; my daughter is severely oppressed by a demon.” 23 But he did not answer her a word. And his disciples came and begged him, saying, ^aj“Send her away, for she is crying out after us.” 24 He answered, ^ak“I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” 25 But she came and ^alknelt before him, saying, “Lord, help me.” 26 And he answered, “It is not right to take the children’s bread and ^amthrow it to the dogs.” 27 She said, “Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat ^anthe crumbs that fall from their masters’ table.” 28 Then Jesus answered her, “O woman, ^aogreat is your faith! ^apBe it done for you as you desire.” ^aqAnd her daughter was ^arhealed instantly. ^{▼▼Greek from that hour}

Jesus Heals Many

29 ^atJesus went on from there and walked ^aubeside the Sea of Galilee. And he ^avwent up on the mountain and sat down there. 30 And great crowds came to him, bringing with them ^awthe lame, the blind, the crippled, the mute, and many others, and they put them at his feet, and he healed them, 31 ^axso that the crowd wondered, when they saw the mute speaking, ^aythe crippled healthy, the lame walking, and the blind seeing. And ^azthey glorified ^bathe God of Israel.

Jesus Feeds the Four Thousand

32 ^bbThen Jesus called his disciples to him and said, ^bc“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.” 33 And the disciples said to him, “Where are we to get enough bread in such a desolate place to feed so great a crowd?” 34 And Jesus said to them, “How many loaves do you have?” They said, ^bd“Seven, and a few small fish.” 35 And directing the crowd to sit down on the ground, 36 he took the seven loaves and the fish, and ^behaving given thanks he broke them and gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds. 37 And ^bfthey all ate and were satisfied. And they took up seven baskets full of the broken pieces left over. 38 Those who ate were four thousand men, besides women and children. 39 And after sending away the crowds, he got into the boat and went to the region of ^bgMagadan.

Matthew 24

Jesus Foretells Destruction of the Temple

1 ^bhJesus left the temple and was going away, when his disciples came to point out to him the buildings of the temple. 2 But he answered them, “You see all these, do you not? Truly, I say to you, ^bithere will not be left here one stone upon another that will not be thrown down.”

Signs of the End of the Age

3 As he sat on ^bjthe Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him ^bkprivately, saying, “Tell us, ^blwhen will these things be, and what will be the sign of your ^bmcoming and of ^bnthe end of the age?” 4 And Jesus answered them, ^bo“See that no one leads you astray. 5 For ^bpmany will come in my name, saying, ‘I am ^bqthe Christ,’ and they will lead many astray. 6 And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you ^brare not alarmed, for this ^bsmust take place, but the end is not yet. 7 For ^btnation will rise against nation, and ^bukingdom against kingdom, and there will be ^bvfamines and earthquakes in various places. 8 All these are but the beginning of ^bwthe birth pains.

9 “Then ^bxthey will deliver you up ^byto tribulation and ^bzput you to death, and ^cayou will be hated by all nations for my name’s sake. 10 And then many will fall away ^{▼▼Or stumble} and ^ccbetray one another and hate one another. 11 And many ^cdfalse prophets will arise ^ceand lead many astray. 12 And because lawlessness will be increased, ^cfthe love of many will grow cold. 13 ^cgBut the one who endures to the end will be saved. 14 And this gospel of the kingdom ^chwill be proclaimed throughout the whole world ^cias a testimony ^cjto all nations, and ^ckthen the end will come.

The Abomination of Desolation

15 “So when you see the abomination of desolation ^clspoken of by the prophet Daniel, standing in ^cmthe holy place ( ^cnlet the reader understand), 16 then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. 17 ^coLet the one who is on ^cpthe housetop not go down to take what is in his house, 18 and let the one who is in the field not turn back to take his cloak. 19 And ^cqalas for women who are pregnant and for those who are nursing infants in those days! 20 Pray that your flight may not be in winter or on a Sabbath. 21 For then there will be ^crgreat tribulation, ^cssuch as has not been from the beginning of the world until now, no, and never will be. 22 And if those days had not been cut short, no human being would be saved. But for ^ctthe sake of the elect those days will be cut short. 23 ^cuThen if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Christ!’ or ‘There he is!’ do not believe it. 24 For ^cvfalse christs and ^cwfalse prophets will arise and ^cxperform great signs and wonders, ^cyso as to lead astray, if possible, even the elect. 25 See, ^czI have told you beforehand. 26 So, if they say to you, ‘Look, ^dahe is in the wilderness,’ do not go out. If they say, ‘Look, he is in the inner rooms,’ do not believe it. 27 ^dbFor as the lightning comes from the east and shines as far as the west, so will be ^dcthe coming of the Son of Man. 28 ^ddWherever the corpse is, there the vultures will gather.

The Coming of the Son of Man

29 “Immediately after ^dethe tribulation of those days ^dfthe sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and ^dgthe stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. 30 Then ^dhwill appear in heaven ^dithe sign of the Son of Man, and then ^djall the tribes of the earth will mourn, and ^dkthey will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven ^dlwith power and great glory. 31 And ^dmhe will send out his angels with a loud ^dntrumpet call, and they will ^dogather ^dphis elect from ^dqthe four winds, ^drfrom one end of heaven to the other.

The Lesson of the Fig Tree

32 “From the fig tree learn its lesson: as soon as its branch becomes tender and puts out its leaves, you know that summer is near. 33 So also, when you see all these things, you know that he is near, ^dsat the very gates. 34 ^dtTruly, I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things take place. 35 ^duHeaven and earth will pass away, but ^dvmy words will not pass away.

No One Knows That Day and Hour

36 “But concerning that day and hour ^dwno one knows, not even the angels of heaven, ^dxnor the Son, ^{▼▼Some manuscripts omit nor the Son} ^dzbut the Father only. 37 ^eaFor as were the days of Noah, ^ebso will be the coming of the Son of Man. 38 ^ecFor as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, ^edmarrying and giving in marriage, until ^eethe day when Noah entered the ark, 39 and they were unaware until the flood came and swept them all away, ^efso will be the coming of the Son of Man. 40 Then two men will be in the field; one will be taken and one left. 41 ^egTwo women will be grinding ^ehat the mill; one will be taken and one left. 42 Therefore, ^eistay awake, for you do not know on what day ^ejyour Lord is coming. 43 ^ekBut know this, that if the master of the house had known in what part of the night ^elthe thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and would not have let his house be broken into. 44 Therefore you also must be ^emready, for ^enthe Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.

45 “Who then is ^eothe faithful and ^epwise servant, ^{▼▼Greek bondservant; also verses 46, 48, 50} whom his master has set over his household, to give them their food at the proper time? 46 ^erBlessed is that servant whom his master will find so doing when he comes. 47 Truly, I say to you, ^eshe will set him over all his possessions. 48 But if that wicked servant says to himself, ‘My master ^etis delayed,’ 49 and begins to beat his fellow servants ^{▼▼Greek bondservants} and eats and drinks with ^evdrunkards, 50 the master of that servant will come ^ewon a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he does not know 51 and will cut him in pieces and put him with the hypocrites. In that place ^exthere will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.