15Matthew 15

The Teaching of the Ancestors

1About this time some Pharisees and teachers of the Law of Moses came from Jerusalem. They asked Jesus,Select Matthew 15:1

2“Why don't your disciples obey what our ancestors taught us to do? They don't even wash their hands before they eat.”Select Matthew 15:2

3Jesus answered: Why do you disobey God and follow your own teaching?Select Matthew 15:3

4Didn't God command you to respect your father and mother? Didn't he tell you to put to death all who curse their parents?Select Matthew 15:4

5But you let people get by without helping their parents when they should. You let them say that what they have has been offered to God.Select Matthew 15:5

6Is this any way to show respect to your parents? You ignore God's commands in order to follow your own teaching.Select Matthew 15:6

7And you are nothing but show-offs! Isaiah the prophet was right when he wrote that God had said,Select Matthew 15:7

8“All of you praise me with your words, but you never really think about me.Select Matthew 15:8

9It is useless for you to worship me, when you teach rules made up by humans.”Select Matthew 15:9

What Really Makes People Unclean

10Jesus called the crowd together and said, “Pay attention and try to understand what I mean.Select Matthew 15:10

11The food you put into your mouth doesn't make you unclean and unfit to worship God. The bad words that come out of your mouth are what make you unclean.”Select Matthew 15:11

12Then his disciples came over to him and asked, “Do you know you insulted the Pharisees by what you said?”Select Matthew 15:12

13Jesus answered, “Every plant that my Father in heaven did not plant will be pulled up by the roots.Select Matthew 15:13

14Stay away from those Pharisees! They are like blind people leading other blind people, and all of them will fall into a ditch.”Select Matthew 15:14

15Peter replied, “What did you mean when you talked about the things that make people unclean?”Select Matthew 15:15

16Jesus then said: Don't any of you know by now what I am talking about?Select Matthew 15:16

17Don't you know that the food you put into your mouth goes into your stomach and then out of your body?Select Matthew 15:17

18But the words that come out of your mouth come from your heart. And they are what make you unfit to worship God.Select Matthew 15:18

19Out of your heart come evil thoughts, murder, unfaithfulness in marriage, vulgar deeds, stealing, telling lies, and insulting others.Select Matthew 15:19

20These are what make you unclean. Eating without washing your hands will not make you unfit to worship God.Select Matthew 15:20

A Woman's Faith

21Jesus left and went to the territory near the towns of Tyre and Sidon.Select Matthew 15:21

22Suddenly a Canaanite woman from there came out shouting, “Lord and Son of David, have pity on me! My daughter is full of demons.”Select Matthew 15:22

23Jesus did not say a word. But the woman kept following along and shouting, so his disciples came up and asked him to send her away.Select Matthew 15:23

24Jesus said, “I was sent only to the people of Israel! They are like a flock of lost sheep.”Select Matthew 15:24

25The woman came closer. Then she knelt down and begged, “Please help me, Lord!”Select Matthew 15:25

26Jesus replied, “It isn't right to take food away from children and feed it to dogs.”Select Matthew 15:26

27“Lord, this is true,” the woman said, “but even puppies get the crumbs that fall from their owner's table.”Select Matthew 15:27

28Jesus answered, “Dear woman, you really do have a lot of faith, and you will be given what you want.” At that moment her daughter was healed.Select Matthew 15:28

Jesus Heals Many People

29From there, Jesus went along Lake Galilee. Then he climbed a hill and sat down.Select Matthew 15:29

30Large crowds came and brought many people who were paralyzed or blind or lame or unable to talk. They placed them, and many others, in front of Jesus, and he healed them all.Select Matthew 15:30

31Everyone was amazed at what they saw and heard. People who had never spoken could now speak. The lame were healed, the paralyzed could walk, and the blind were able to see. Everyone was praising the God of Israel.Select Matthew 15:31

Jesus Feeds Four Thousand

32Jesus called his disciples together and told them, “I feel sorry for these people. They have been with me for three days, and they don't have anything to eat. I don't want to send them away hungry. They might faint on their way home.”Select Matthew 15:32

33His disciples said, “This place is like a desert. Where can we find enough food to feed such a crowd?”Select Matthew 15:33

34Jesus asked them how much food they had. They replied, “Seven small loaves of bread and a few little fish.”Select Matthew 15:34

35After Jesus had told the people to sit down,Select Matthew 15:35

36he took the seven loaves of bread and the fish and gave thanks. He then broke them and handed them to his disciples, who passed them around to the crowds.Select Matthew 15:36

37Everyone ate all they wanted, and the leftovers filled seven large baskets.Select Matthew 15:37

38There were 4,000 men who ate, not counting the women and children.Select Matthew 15:38

39After Jesus had sent the crowds away, he got into a boat and sailed across the lake. He came to shore near the town of Magadan.Select Matthew 15:39