the Second Week of Advent
Click here to join the effort!
Read the Bible
Christian Standard Bible ®
Matthew 15
The Tradition of the Elders
1 Then(C1) Jesus was approached by Pharisees and scribes from Jerusalem, who asked,(C2) 2 “Why do your disciples(C1) break the tradition of the elders? For they don’t wash their hands when they eat.”(F1)(C2)
3 He answered them, “Why do you break God’s commandment because of your tradition?4 For God said:5 But you say, ‘Whoever tells his father or mother, “Whatever benefit you might have received from me is a gift committed to the temple,”6 he does not have to honor his father.’7 Hypocrites! Isaiah prophesied correctly about you when he said: 8 This people9 They worship me in vain,
10 Summoning the crowd, he told them, “Listen and understand:11 It’s not what goes into the mouth that defiles
12 Then the disciples came up and told him, “Do you know that the Pharisees took offense when they heard what you said?” 13 He replied, “Every plant that my heavenly Father didn’t plant will be uprooted.14 Leave them alone! They are blind guides.
15 Then Peter said, “Explain this parable to us.”(C1) 16 “Do you still lack understanding?”17 “Don’t you realize18 But what comes out of the mouth comes from the heart, and this defiles a person.19 For from the heart come evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, sexual immoralities, thefts, false testimonies,20 These are the things that defile a person; but eating with unwashed hands does not defile a person.”
21 When Jesus left there,(C1) he withdrew to the area of Tyre and Sidon.(C2) 22 Just then a Canaanite woman from that region came and kept crying out,(F1) “Have mercy on me, Lord, Son of David! My daughter is severely tormented by a demon.”(C1) 23 Jesus did not say a word to her. His disciples(C1) approached him and urged him, “Send her away because she’s crying out after us.” 24 He replied, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.”
25 But she came, knelt before him, and said, “Lord, help me!” 26 He answered, “It isn’t right to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs.”
27 “Yes, Lord,” she said, “yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters’ table.” 28 Then Jesus replied to her, “Woman, your faith is great. Let it be done for you as you want.”
29 Moving on from there,(C1) Jesus passed along the Sea of Galilee.(C2) He went up on a mountain and sat there, 30 and large crowds came to him, including the lame, the blind, the crippled, those unable to speak, and many others. They put them at his feet, and he healed them. 31 So the crowd was amazed when they saw those unable to speak talking, the crippled restored, the lame walking, and the blind seeing,(C1) and they gave glory to the God of Israel. 32 Jesus called his disciples and said,(C1) “I have compassion on the crowd, because they’ve already stayed with me three days and have nothing to eat. I don’t want to send them away hungry, otherwise they might collapse on the way.”
33 The disciples said to him, “Where could we get enough bread in this desolate place(C1) to feed such a crowd?” 34 “How many loaves do you have?”
“Seven,” they said, “and a few small fish.” 35 After commanding the crowd to sit down on the ground, 36 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.(C1) 37 They all ate and were satisfied. They collected the leftover pieces—seven large baskets full. 38 Now there were four thousand men who had eaten, besides women and children. 39 After dismissing the crowds, he got into the boat and went to the region of Magadan.(F1)(C1)Defilement Is from Within
A Gentile Mother’s Faith
Healing Many People
Feeding of the Four Thousand
Christian Standard Bible ®
Copyright © 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2009 by Holman Bible Publishers, Nashville Tennessee. All rights reserved.
