Add parallel Print Page Options

Religious Leaders Quiz Yeshua

15 Then some Pharisees and Torah scholars came to Yeshua from Jerusalem. They said, “Why do Your disciples transgress the tradition of the elders? For they do not do the ritual handwashing when they eat bread.”

And answering, He said to them, “Why do you also transgress the commandment of God for the sake of your tradition? For God said, ‘Honor your father and mother’[a] and ‘He who speaks evil of father or mother must be put to death.’ [b] But you say, ‘Whoever tells his father or mother, “Whatever you might have gained from me is a gift to God,” [c] he need not honor his father.’ On account of your tradition, you made void the word of God. Hypocrites! Rightly did Isaiah prophesy about you, saying,

‘This people honors Me with their lips,
but their heart is far from Me.
And in vain they worship Me,
    teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’”[d]

10 Then Yeshua called the crowd and said to them, “Hear and understand. 11 It’s not what goes into the mouth that makes the man unholy; but what comes out of the mouth, this makes the man unholy.”[e]

12 Then the disciples came and said to Him, “Do You know that the Pharisees took offense when they heard this saying?”

13 But He replied, “Every plant that My heavenly Father has not planted will be uprooted. 14 Leave them alone; they are blind guides of the blind. And if a blind man leads a blind man, both will fall into a pit.”

15 Then Peter answered and said to Him, “Explain this parable to us.”

16 “Are you also still lacking understanding?” Yeshua said. 17 “Don’t you grasp that whatever goes into the mouth passes into the stomach and then is ejected into the sewer? 18 But the things that proceed out of the mouth come forth from the heart, and those things make the man unholy. 19 For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, and slander. [f] 20 These are the things that make the man unholy; but to eat with unwashed hands does not make the man unholy.”

A Reward for a Humble Woman

21 Now Yeshua left from there and went away to the region of Tyre and Sidon. 22 And behold, a Canaanite woman from that district came out and started shouting, “Have mercy on me, O Master, Ben-David! My daughter is severely tormented by a demon.”

23 But He did not answer her a word. And when His disciples came, they were urging Him, saying, “Send her away, because she keeps shouting at us.”

24 But He responded, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.”

25 So she came and got down on her knees before Him, saying, “Master, help me!”

26 And answering, He said, “It’s not right to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs.”

27 But she said, “Yes, Master, but even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters’ table.”

28 Then answering, Yeshua said to her, “O woman, great is your faith! Let it be done for you as you wish.” And her daughter was healed in that very hour.

29 After Yeshua left there, He went along the Sea of Galilee. Then He went up on a mountainside and was sitting there. 30 And large crowds came to Him, bringing with them the lame, blind, disabled, mute, and many others. And they laid them at His feet, and He healed them. 31 So the crowd marveled when they saw the mute speaking, the disabled made whole, the lame walking, and the blind seeing.[g] And they praised the God of Israel.

Feeding More Hungry Followers

32 Yeshua called His disciples and said, “I have compassion for the crowd, because they’ve stayed with Me for three days now and have nothing to eat. I don’t want to send them away hungry, because they might pass out on the way.”

33 The disciples said to Him, “Where in this wasteland is enough bread to satisfy such a large crowd?”

34 Yeshua said to them, “How many loaves do you have?”

“Seven,” they said, “and a few small fish.”

35 After directing the crowd to recline on the ground, 36 He took the seven loaves and the fish; and after giving thanks, He broke them. And He began giving them to the disciples, and the disciples to the crowds. 37 And they all ate and were satisfied. And they picked up the broken pieces left over—seven baskets full. 38 And those who ate were four thousand men, besides women and children. 39 And after sending away the crowds, Yeshua got into the boat and went to the region of Magadan.

That Which Defiles(A)

15 Then some Pharisees and teachers of the law came to Jesus from Jerusalem and asked, “Why do your disciples break the tradition of the elders? They don’t wash their hands before they eat!”(B)

Jesus replied, “And why do you break the command of God for the sake of your tradition? For God said, ‘Honor your father and mother’[a](C) and ‘Anyone who curses their father or mother is to be put to death.’[b](D) But you say that if anyone declares that what might have been used to help their father or mother is ‘devoted to God,’ they are not to ‘honor their father or mother’ with it. Thus you nullify the word of God for the sake of your tradition. You hypocrites! Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you:

“‘These people honor me with their lips,
    but their hearts are far from me.
They worship me in vain;
    their teachings are merely human rules.(E)[c](F)

10 Jesus called the crowd to him and said, “Listen and understand. 11 What goes into someone’s mouth does not defile them,(G) but what comes out of their mouth, that is what defiles them.”(H)

12 Then the disciples came to him and asked, “Do you know that the Pharisees were offended when they heard this?”

13 He replied, “Every plant that my heavenly Father has not planted(I) will be pulled up by the roots. 14 Leave them; they are blind guides.[d](J) If the blind lead the blind, both will fall into a pit.”(K)

15 Peter said, “Explain the parable to us.”(L)

16 “Are you still so dull?”(M) Jesus asked them. 17 “Don’t you see that whatever enters the mouth goes into the stomach and then out of the body? 18 But the things that come out of a person’s mouth come from the heart,(N) and these defile them. 19 For out of the heart come evil thoughts—murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander.(O) 20 These are what defile a person;(P) but eating with unwashed hands does not defile them.”

The Faith of a Canaanite Woman(Q)

21 Leaving that place, Jesus withdrew to the region of Tyre and Sidon.(R) 22 A Canaanite woman from that vicinity came to him, crying out, “Lord, Son of David,(S) have mercy on me! My daughter is demon-possessed and suffering terribly.”(T)

23 Jesus did not answer a word. So his disciples came to him and urged him, “Send her away, for she keeps crying out after us.”

24 He answered, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel.”(U)

25 The woman came and knelt before him.(V) “Lord, help me!” she said.

26 He replied, “It is not right to take the children’s bread and toss it to the dogs.”

27 “Yes it is, Lord,” she said. “Even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their master’s table.”

28 Then Jesus said to her, “Woman, you have great faith!(W) Your request is granted.” And her daughter was healed at that moment.

Jesus Feeds the Four Thousand(X)(Y)(Z)

29 Jesus left there and went along the Sea of Galilee. Then he went up on a mountainside and sat down. 30 Great 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.(AA) 31 The people were amazed when they saw the mute speaking, the crippled made well, the lame walking and the blind seeing. And they praised the God of Israel.(AB)

32 Jesus called his disciples to him and said, “I have compassion for these people;(AC) 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 collapse on the way.”

33 His disciples answered, “Where could we get enough bread in this remote place to feed such a crowd?”

34 “How many loaves do you have?” Jesus asked.

“Seven,” they replied, “and a few small fish.”

35 He told the crowd to sit down on the ground. 36 Then he took the seven loaves and the fish, and when he had given thanks, he broke them(AD) and gave them to the disciples, and they in turn to the people. 37 They all ate and were satisfied. Afterward the disciples picked up seven basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over.(AE) 38 The number of those who ate was four thousand men, besides women and children. 39 After Jesus had sent the crowd away, he got into the boat and went to the vicinity of Magadan.

Footnotes

  1. Matthew 15:4 Exodus 20:12; Deut. 5:16
  2. Matthew 15:4 Exodus 21:17; Lev. 20:9
  3. Matthew 15:9 Isaiah 29:13
  4. Matthew 15:14 Some manuscripts blind guides of the blind