Matthew Chapter 15 — Tradition and True Defilement

¹Then 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.”

³He answered them, “Why do you also disobey the commandment of God because of your tradition?

⁴For God commanded, ‘Honor your father and your mother,’✡Exodus 20:12; Deuteronomy 5:16 and, ‘He who speaks evil of father or mother, let him be put to death.’✡Exodus 21:17; Leviticus 20:9

⁵But 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,”

⁶he shall not honor his father or mother.’ You have made the commandment of God void because of your tradition.

⁷You hypocrites! Well did Isaiah prophesy of you, saying,

⁸‘These people draw near to me with their mouth,

⁹And they worship me in vain,

¹⁰He summoned the multitude, and said to them, “Hear, and understand.

¹¹That which enters into the mouth doesn’t defile the man; but that which proceeds out of the mouth, this defiles the man.”

¹²Then the disciples came and said to him, “Do you know that the Pharisees were offended when they heard this saying?”

¹³But he answered, “Every plant which my heavenly Father didn’t plant will be uprooted.

¹⁴Leave them alone. They are blind guides of the blind. If the blind guide the blind, both will fall into a pit.”

¹⁵Peter answered him, “Explain the parable to us.”

¹⁶So Jesus said, “Do you also still not understand?

¹⁷Don’t you understand that whatever goes into the mouth passes into the belly and then out of the body?

¹⁸But the things which proceed out of the mouth come out of the heart, and they defile the man.

¹⁹For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, sexual sins, thefts, false testimony, and blasphemies.

²⁰These are the things which defile the man; but to eat with unwashed hands doesn’t defile the man.”

²¹Jesus went out from there and withdrew into the region of Tyre and Sidon.

²²Behold, 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!”

²³But he answered her not a word.

²⁴But he answered, “I wasn’t sent to anyone but the lost sheep of the house of Israel.”

²⁵But she came and worshiped him, saying, “Lord, help me.”

²⁶But he answered, “It is not appropriate to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs.”

²⁷But she said, “Yes, Lord, but even the dogs eat the crumbs which fall from their masters’ table.”

²⁸Then 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.

²⁹Jesus departed from there and came near to the sea of Galilee; and he went up on the mountain and sat there.

³⁰Great 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,

³¹so 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.

³²Jesus 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.”

³³The disciples said to him, “Where could we get so many loaves in a deserted place as to satisfy so great a multitude?”

³⁴Jesus said to them, “How many loaves do you have?”

³⁵He commanded the multitude to sit down on the ground;

³⁶and 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.

³⁷They all ate and were filled. They took up seven baskets full of the broken pieces that were left over.

³⁸Those who ate were four thousand men, in addition to women and children.

³⁹Then he sent away the multitudes, got into the boat, and came into the borders of Magdala.