Matthew 15-16

English Standard Version

Traditions and Commandments

15 ^(A)Then Pharisees and ^(B)scribes came to Jesus ^(C)from Jerusalem and said, ^2 (D)“Why do your disciples break ^(E)the tradition of the elders? ^(F)For 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,”^{[a] 6} he need not honor his father.’ So for the sake of your tradition you have ^(I)made void the word^[b] of God. ^7 (J)You hypocrites! Well did Isaiah prophesy of you, when he said:

What Defiles a Person

¹⁰ And he called the people to him and said to them, ^(M)“Hear and understand: ^11 (N)it 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 ^(O)offended when they heard this saying?” ¹³ He answered, ^(P)“Every plant that my heavenly Father has not planted ^(Q)will be rooted up. ¹⁴ Let them alone; ^(R)they are blind guides.^[c] And ^(S)if the blind lead the blind, both will fall into a pit.” ¹⁵ But Peter said to him, ^(T)“Explain the parable to us.” ¹⁶ And he said, ^(U)“Are you also still without understanding? ¹⁷ Do you not see that ^(V)whatever goes into the mouth passes into the stomach and is expelled?^{[d] 18} But ^(W)what comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart, and this defiles a person. ¹⁹ For out of the heart come ^(X)evil thoughts, ^(Y)murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, ^(Z)slander. ^20 (AA)These are what defile a person. But ^(AB)to eat with unwashed hands does not defile anyone.”

The Faith of a Canaanite Woman

^21 (AC)And Jesus went away from there and withdrew to the district of Tyre and Sidon. ²² And behold, ^(AD)a Canaanite woman from that region came out and was crying, ^(AE)“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, ^(AF)“Send her away, for she is crying out after us.” ²⁴ He answered, ^(AG)“I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” ²⁵ But she came and ^(AH)knelt before him, saying, “Lord, help me.” ²⁶ And he answered, “It is not right to take the children's bread and ^(AI)throw it to the dogs.” ²⁷ She said, “Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat ^(AJ)the crumbs that fall from their masters' table.” ²⁸ Then Jesus answered her, “O woman, ^(AK)great is your faith! ^(AL)Be it done for you as you desire.” ^(AM)And her daughter was ^(AN)healed instantly.^[e]

Jesus Heals Many

^29 (AO)Jesus went on from there and walked ^(AP)beside the Sea of Galilee. And he ^(AQ)went up on the mountain and sat down there. ³⁰ And great crowds came to him, bringing with them ^(AR)the lame, the blind, the crippled, the mute, and many others, and they put them at his feet, and he healed them, ^31 (AS)so that the crowd wondered, when they saw the mute speaking, ^(AT)the crippled healthy, the lame walking, and the blind seeing. And ^(AU)they glorified ^(AV)the God of Israel.

Jesus Feeds the Four Thousand

^32 (AW)Then Jesus called his disciples to him and said, ^(AX)“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, ^(AY)“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 ^(AZ)having given thanks he broke them and gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds. ³⁷ And ^(BA)they 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 ^(BB)Magadan.

The Pharisees and Sadducees Demand Signs

16 ^(BC)And the Pharisees and Sadducees came, and ^(BD)to test him ^(BE)they asked him to show them ^(BF)a sign from heaven. ² He answered them,^{[f] (BG)}“When it is evening, you say, ‘It will be fair weather, for the sky is red.’ ³ And in the morning, ‘It will be stormy today, for the sky is red and threatening.’ ^(BH)You know how to interpret the appearance of the sky, but you cannot interpret ^(BI)the signs of the times. ^4 (BJ)An evil and adulterous generation seeks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of Jonah.” So ^(BK)he left them and departed.

The Leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees

⁵ When the disciples reached the other side, they had forgotten to bring any bread. ⁶ Jesus said to them, “Watch and ^(BL)beware of ^(BM)the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees.” ⁷ And they began discussing it among themselves, saying, “We brought no bread.” ⁸ But ^(BN)Jesus, aware of this, said, ^(BO)“O you of little faith, why are you discussing among yourselves the fact that you have no bread? ^9 (BP)Do you not yet perceive? Do you not remember ^(BQ)the five loaves for the five thousand, and how many baskets you gathered? ¹⁰ Or ^(BR)the seven loaves for the four thousand, and how many baskets you gathered? ¹¹ How is it that you fail to understand that I did not speak about bread? ^(BS)Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees.” ^12 (BT)Then they understood that he did not tell them to beware of the leaven of bread, but of ^(BU)the teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees.

Peter Confesses Jesus as the Christ

^13 (BV)Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” ¹⁴ And they said, “Some say ^(BW)John the Baptist, others say ^(BX)Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” ¹⁵ He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” ¹⁶ Simon Peter replied, ^(BY)“You are ^(BZ)the Christ, ^(CA)the Son of ^(CB)the living God.” ¹⁷ And Jesus answered him, ^(CC)“Blessed are you, ^(CD)Simon Bar-Jonah! For ^(CE)flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, ^(CF)but my Father who is in heaven. ¹⁸ And I tell you, ^(CG)you are Peter, and ^(CH)on this rock^[g] I will build my church, and ^(CI)the gates of ^(CJ)hell^[h] shall not prevail against it. ¹⁹ I will give you ^(CK)the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and ^(CL)whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed^[i] in heaven.” ^20 (CM)Then he strictly charged the disciples to tell no one that he was the Christ.

Jesus Foretells His Death and Resurrection

^21 (CN)From that time Jesus began to show his disciples that ^(CO)he must go to Jerusalem and ^(CP)suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on ^(CQ)the third day be raised. ²² And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him, saying, “Far be it from you, Lord!^[j] This shall never happen to you.” ²³ But he turned and said to Peter, ^(CR)“Get behind me, Satan! You are ^(CS)a hindrance^[k] to me. For you ^(CT)are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man.”

Take Up Your Cross and Follow Jesus

²⁴ Then Jesus told his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, let him ^(CU)deny himself and ^(CV)take up his cross and follow me. ²⁵ For ^(CW)whoever would save his life^[l] will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. ²⁶ For ^(CX)what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or ^(CY)what shall a man give in return for his soul? ^27 (CZ)For the Son of Man is going to come with ^(DA)his angels in the glory of his Father, and ^(DB)then he will repay each person according to what he has done. ²⁸ Truly, I say to you, there are some standing here who will not ^(DC)taste death ^(DD)until they see the Son of Man ^(DE)coming in his kingdom.”