Matthew 15

¹Matthew 15:1. Then some Pharisees and scribes came to Jesus from Jerusalem and asked,²Matthew 15:2. “Why do Your disciples break the tradition of the elders? They do not wash their hands before they eat.”³Matthew 15:3. Jesus replied, “And why do you break the command of God for the sake of your tradition?⁴Matthew 15:4. For God said, ‘Honor your father and mother’ and ‘Anyone who curses his father or mother must be put to death.’⁵Matthew 15:5. But you say that if anyone says to his father or mother, ‘Whatever you would have received from me is a gift devoted to God,’⁶Matthew 15:6. he need not honor his father or mother with it. Thus you nullify the word of God for the sake of your tradition.⁷Matthew 15:7. You hypocrites! Isaiah prophesied correctly about you:⁸Matthew 15:8. ‘These people honor Me with their lips, but their hearts are far from Me.⁹Matthew 15:9. They worship Me in vain; they teach as doctrine the precepts of men.’”

¹⁰Matthew 15:10. Jesus called the crowd to Him and said, “Listen and understand.¹¹Matthew 15:11. A man is not defiled by what enters his mouth, but by what comes out of it.”¹²Matthew 15:12. Then the disciples came to Him and said, “Are You aware that the Pharisees were offended when they heard this?”¹³Matthew 15:13. But Jesus replied, “Every plant that My heavenly Father has not planted will be pulled up by its roots.¹⁴Matthew 15:14. Disregard them! They are blind guides. If a blind man leads a blind man, both will fall into a pit.”¹⁵Matthew 15:15. Peter said to Him, “Explain this parable to us.”¹⁶Matthew 15:16. “Do you still not understand?” Jesus asked.¹⁷Matthew 15:17. “Do you not yet realize that whatever enters the mouth goes into the stomach and then is eliminated?¹⁸Matthew 15:18. But the things that come out of the mouth come from the heart, and these things defile a man.¹⁹Matthew 15:19. For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, and slander.²⁰Matthew 15:20. These are what defile a man, but eating with unwashed hands does not defile him.”

²¹Matthew 15:21. Leaving that place, Jesus withdrew to the district of Tyre and Sidon.²²Matthew 15:22. 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.”²³Matthew 15:23. But Jesus did not answer a word. So His disciples came and urged Him, “Send her away, for she keeps crying out after us.”²⁴Matthew 15:24. He answered, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.”²⁵Matthew 15:25. The woman came and knelt before Him. “Lord, help me!” she said.²⁶Matthew 15:26. But Jesus replied, “It is not right to take the children’s bread and toss it to the dogs.”²⁷Matthew 15:27. “Yes, Lord,” she said, “even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their master’s table.”²⁸Matthew 15:28. “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.

²⁹Matthew 15:29. Moving on from there, Jesus went along the Sea of Galilee. Then He went up on a mountain and sat down.³⁰Matthew 15:30. 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.³¹Matthew 15:31. 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.

³²Matthew 15:32. 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.”³³Matthew 15:33. The disciples replied, “Where in this desolate place could we find enough bread to feed such a large crowd?”³⁴Matthew 15:34. “How many loaves do you have?” Jesus asked. “Seven,” they replied, “and a few small fish.”³⁵Matthew 15:35. And He instructed the crowd to sit down on the ground.³⁶Matthew 15:36. 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.³⁷Matthew 15:37. They all ate and were satisfied, and the disciples picked up seven basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over.³⁸Matthew 15:38. A total of four thousand men were fed, besides women and children.³⁹Matthew 15:39. After Jesus had dismissed the crowds, He got into the boat and went to the region of Magadan.