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Matthew 15
New Testament for Everyone
Matthew 15
New Testament for Everyone
Discussions of clean and unclean
15 At that time some Pharisees and scribes came from Jerusalem to Jesus. They had a question for him.
2 “Why,” they said, “do your disciples go against the tradition of the elders? They don’t wash their hands when they eat their food!”
3 “Why,” Jesus replied, “do you go against the command of God because of your tradition? 4 What God said was ‘Honor your father and mother’ and ‘If anyone speaks evil of father or mother, they must certainly die.’ 5 But you say, ‘If anyone says to father or mother, “What you might have gained from me is given to God,” 6 they don’t need to honor their father anymore.’ As a result, you make God’s word null and void because of your tradition.
7 “You play-actors! Isaiah had the right words for you in his prophecy:
8 This people gives me honor with their lips,
their heart, however, holds me at arm’s length.
9 The worship which they offer me is vain,
because they teach, as law, mere human precepts.”
The parable of clean and unclean
10 Then Jesus called the crowd, and said to them, “Listen and understand. 11 What makes someone unclean isn’t what goes into the mouth. It’s what comes out of the mouth that makes someone unclean.”
12 Then the disciples came to Jesus.
“Do you know,” they said, “that the Pharisees were horrified when they heard what you said?”
13 “Every plant that my heavenly father hasn’t planted,” replied Jesus, “will be plucked up by the roots. 14 Let them be. They are blind guides. But if one blind person guides another, both of them will fall into a pit.”
15 Peter spoke up. “Explain the riddle to us,” he said.
16 “Are you still slow on the uptake as well?” replied Jesus. 17 “Don’t you understand that whatever goes into the mouth travels on into the stomach and goes out into the drain? 18 But what comes out of the mouth begins in the heart, and that’s what makes someone unclean. 19 Out of the heart, you see, come evil plots, murder, adultery, fornication, theft, false witness, and blasphemy. 20 These are the things that make someone unclean. But eating with unwashed hands doesn’t make a person unclean.”
The Canaanite woman
21 Jesus left that place and went off to the district of Tyre and Sidon. 22 A Canaanite woman from those parts came out and shouted, “Have pity on me, Lord, son of David! My daughter is demon-possessed! She’s in a bad way!” 23 Jesus, however, said nothing at all to her.
His disciples came up.
“Please send her away,” they asked. “She’s shouting after us.”
24 “I was only sent,” replied Jesus, “to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.”
25 The woman, however, came and threw herself down at his feet.
“Master,” she said, “please help me!”
26 “It isn’t right,” replied Jesus, “to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs.”
27 “I know, Master,” she said. “But even the dogs eat the scraps that fall from their master’s table.”
28 “You’ve got great faith, haven’t you, my friend!” replied Jesus. “All right; let it be as you wish.”
And her daughter was healed from that moment.
The feeding of the four thousand
29 Jesus went away from there, and arrived beside the sea of Galilee. He went up the mountain and sat down. 30 Large crowds came to him, with their lame, blind, crippled, mute and many others. They laid them at his feet, and he healed them. 31 When the crowd saw the mute speaking, the crippled made whole, the lame walking, and the blind seeing, they were astonished, and they gave praise to the God of Israel.
32 Jesus called his disciples, and said, “I am really sorry for the crowd. They’ve been around me now for three days and they haven’t got anything to eat. I don’t want to send them away hungry; they might faint on the way home.”
33 The disciples said to him, “Where could we get enough bread to feed a crowd this size, out here in the country?”
34 “How many loaves have you got?” asked Jesus.
“Seven,” they replied, “and a few fish.”
35 Jesus told the crowd to sit down on the ground. 36 Then he took the seven loaves and the fish, gave thanks, broke them, and gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds. 37 They all ate and were satisfied. And they picked up seven baskets full of what was left of the broken pieces. 38 There were four thousand men who had eaten, besides the women and children.
39 Jesus sent the crowds away. Then he got into the boat and went over to the Magadan coast.
Matthew 15
New International Version
Matthew 15
New International Version
That Which Defiles(A)
15 Then some Pharisees and teachers of the law came to Jesus from Jerusalem and asked, 2 “Why do your disciples break the tradition of the elders? They don’t wash their hands before they eat!”(B)
3 Jesus replied, “And why do you break the command of God for the sake of your tradition? 4 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) 5 But you say that if anyone declares that what might have been used to help their father or mother is ‘devoted to God,’ 6 they are not to ‘honor their father or mother’ with it. Thus you nullify the word of God for the sake of your tradition. 7 You hypocrites! Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you:
8 “‘These people honor me with their lips,
but their hearts are far from me.
9 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
- Matthew 15:4 Exodus 20:12; Deut. 5:16
- Matthew 15:4 Exodus 21:17; Lev. 20:9
- Matthew 15:9 Isaiah 29:13
- Matthew 15:14 Some manuscripts blind guides of the blind
New Testament for Everyone (NTFE) 
Scripture quotations from The New Testament for Everyone are copyright © Nicholas Thomas Wright 2011, 2018, 2019.
New International Version (NIV) 
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