MatthewChapter 15

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¹Then some Pharisees and scribes came to Jesus from Jerusalem. They asked him, ²"Why do your disciples break the rules handed down by the elders? They don't wash their hands before they eat." ³Jesus answered, "And why do you break God's command to keep your own rules? ⁴God said, 'Honor your father and mother.' He also said, 'Anyone who curses his father or mother must be put to death.' ⁵But you say something else. You say a person can tell his father or mother, 'What I would have given to help you is a gift set apart for God.' ⁶Then he does not have to honor his father or mother with it. So you cancel God's word to keep your own rules. ⁷You hypocrites! Isaiah was right when he spoke about you. He said, ⁸'These people honor me with their lips,
but their hearts are far from me. ⁹Their worship of me is for nothing.
They teach human rules as if they were God's teaching.'" ¹⁰Jesus called the crowd to him. He said, "Listen and understand. ¹¹What goes into a person's mouth does not make him unclean. It is what comes out of his mouth that makes him unclean." ¹²Then the disciples came to him. They said, "Do you know that the Pharisees were offended when they heard this?" ¹³Jesus answered, "Every plant that my Father in heaven did not plant will be pulled up by its roots. ¹⁴Leave them alone! They are blind guides. If a blind man leads a blind man, both will fall into a pit." ¹⁵Peter said to him, "Tell us what this parable means." ¹⁶"Do you still not understand?" Jesus asked. ¹⁷"Don't you see yet? Whatever goes into the mouth goes into the stomach. Then it passes out of the body. ¹⁸But the things that come out of the mouth come from the heart. These things make a person unclean. ¹⁹Out of the heart come evil thoughts and murder. Out of it come adultery and sexual sin. Out of it come stealing, lying about others in court, and saying hurtful lies about people. ²⁰These are what make a person unclean. But eating with unwashed hands does not make him unclean." ²¹Jesus left that place. He went away to the area of Tyre and Sidon. ²²A Canaanite woman from that area came to him. She cried out, "Lord, Son of David, have mercy on me! A demon has hold of my daughter. She is suffering terribly." ²³But Jesus did not say a word to her. So his disciples came and begged him, "Send her away. She keeps crying out after us." ²⁴He answered, "I was sent only to the lost sheep of the people of Israel." ²⁵The woman came and knelt in front of him. "Lord, help me!" she said. ²⁶But Jesus answered, "It is not right to take the children's bread and throw it to the dogs." ²⁷"Yes, Lord," she said. "But even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their master's table." ²⁸"Woman," Jesus answered, "your faith is great! You will get what you want." And her daughter was healed at that very moment. ²⁹Jesus left there and went along the Sea of Galilee. Then he went up on a mountain and sat down. ³⁰Large crowds came to him. They brought people who could not walk. They brought the blind, the crippled, those who could not speak, and many others. They laid them at his feet, and he healed them. ³¹The crowd was amazed. People who could not speak were talking. The crippled were made well. The lame were walking, and the blind could see. And the people praised the God of Israel. ³²Then Jesus called his disciples to him. He said, "I feel deep pity for this crowd. They have been with me three days already, and they have nothing to eat. I don't want to send them away hungry. They might faint on the way." ³³The disciples answered, "We're out in a lonely place. Where could we find enough bread to feed such a big crowd?" ³⁴"How many loaves do you have?" Jesus asked. "Seven," they answered, "and a few small fish." ³⁵He told the crowd to sit down on the ground. ³⁶He took 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. ³⁷They all ate as much as they wanted. Then the disciples picked up seven baskets full of leftover pieces. ³⁸Four thousand men in all were fed. Women and children were fed too. ³⁹Jesus sent the crowds away. Then he got into the boat and went to the area of Magadan.