The In-Dept Study of the Bible
Matthew 15
1 Then Pharisees and scribes came to
Jesus from Jerusalem, saying,
2 “Why do your disciples disobey the
tradition of the elders? For they don’t wash
their hands when they eat bread.”
3 He answered them, “Why do you also
disobey the commandment of Godbecause
of your tradition?
4 For God commanded, ‘Honor your father and
your mother,’* and, ‘He who speaks evil of
father or mother, let him be put to death.’*
5 But you say, ‘Whoever may tell his father
or his mother, “Whatever help you
might otherwise have gotten from me is a
gift devoted to God,”
6 he shall not honor his father or mother.’
You have made the commandment of God
void because of your tradition.
7 You hypocrites! Well did Isaiah
prophesy of you, saying,
8 ‘These people draw near to me with their
mouth, and honor me with their lips;
but their heart is far from me.
9 And they worship me in vain,
teaching as doctrine rules made by
men.’ ”*
10 He summoned the multitude, and said
to them, “Hear, and understand.
11 That which enters into the mouth
doesn’t defile the man; but that
which proceeds out of the mouth,
this defiles the man.”
12 Then the disciples came and said to
him, “Do you know thatthe Pharisees were
offended when they heard this saying?”
13 But he answered, “Every plant which
my heavenly Father didn’t plant will be
uprooted.
14 Leave them alone. They are blind
guides of the blind. If the blind guide the
blind, both will fall into a pit.”
15 Peter answered him, “Explain the
parable to us.”
16 So Jesus said, “Do you also still not
understand?
17 Don’t you understand that whatever
goes into the mouth passes into the belly
and then out of the body?
18 But the things which proceed out of
the mouth come out of the heart, and they
defile the man.
19 For out of the heart come evil
thoughts, murders, adulteries, sexual sins,
thefts, false testimony, and blasphemies.
20 These are the things which defile the
man; but to eat with unwashed hands
doesn’t defile the man.”
21 Jesus went out from there and withdrew
into the region of Tyre and Sidon.
22 Behold, a Canaanite woman came
out from those borders and cried, saying,
“Have mercy on me, Lord, you son of
David! My daughter is severely possessed
by a demon!”
23 But he answered her not a word.
His disciples came and begged him,
saying, “Send her away; for she cries after us.”
24 But he answered, “I wasn’t sent to
anyone but the lost sheep of the house of
Israel.”
25 But she came and worshiped him,
saying, “Lord, help me.”
26 But he answered, “Itisnot appropriate
to take the children’s bread and throw it to
the dogs.”
27 But she said, “Yes, Lord, but even the
dogs eat the crumbs which fall from their
masters’ table.”
28 Then Jesus answered her, “Woman,
great is your faith! Be it done to you even
as you desire.” And her daughter was
healed from that hour.
29 Jesus departed from there and came
near to the sea of Galilee; and he went up
on the mountain and sat there.
30 Great multitudes came to him, having
with them the lame, blind, mute, maimed,
and many others, and they put them down
at his feet. He healed them,
31 so that the multitude wondered when
they saw the mute speaking, the injured
healed, the lame walking, and the blind
seeing—and they glorified the God of Israel.
32 Jesus summoned his disciples and
said, “I have compassion on the multitude,
because they have continued with me now
three days and have nothing to eat. I don’t
want to send them away fasting, or they
might faint on the way.”
33 The disciples said to him, “Where
could we get so many loaves in a deserted
place as to satisfy so great a multitude?”
34 Jesus said to them, “How many loaves
do you have?” They said, “Seven, and a
few small fish.”
35 He commanded the multitude to sit
down on the ground;
36 and he took the seven loaves and the
fish. He gave thanks and broke them, and
gave to the disciples, and the disciples to
the multitudes.
37 They all ate and were filled. They took
up seven baskets full of the broken pieces
that were left over.
38 Those who ate were four thousand
men, in addition to women and children.
39 Then he sent away the multitudes, got
into the boat, and came into the borders of
Magdala.