The Gospel According to Matthew Chapter 15:1-39

 

 

Matthew 15:1 Then Pharisees and scribes came to Jesus from Jerusalem and said,

 

Matthew 15:2 "Why do your disciples break the tradition of the elders?  They do not wash (their) hands when they eat a meal."

 

Matthew 15:3 He said to them in reply, "And why do you break the commandment of God  for the sake of your tradition?

 

Matthew 15:4 For God said, 'Honor your father and your mother,' and 'Whoever curses father or mother shall die.'

 

Matthew 15:5 But you say, 'Whoever says to father or mother, "Any support you might have had from me is dedicated to God,"

 

Matthew 15:6 need not honor his father.' You have nullified the word of God for the sake of your tradition.

 

Matthew 15:7 Hypocrites, well did Isaiah prophesy about you when he said:

 

Matthew 15:8 'This people honors me with their lips,  but their hearts are far from me;

 

Matthew 15:9 in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines human precepts.'"

 

Matthew 15:10 He summoned the crowd and said to them, "Hear and understand.

 

Matthew 15:11 It is not what enters one's mouth that defiles that person; but what comes out of the mouth is what defiles one."

 

Matthew 15:12 Then his disciples approached and said to him, "Do you know that the Pharisees took offense when they heard what you said?"

 

Matthew 15:13 He said in reply,  "Every plant that my heavenly Father has not planted will be uprooted.

 

Matthew 15:14 Let them alone; they are blind guides (of the blind). If a blind person leads a blind person, both will fall into a pit."

 

Matthew 15:15 Then Peter 7 said to him in reply, "Explain (this) parable to us."

 

Matthew 15:16 He said to them, "Are even you still without understanding?

 

Matthew 15:17 Do you not realize that everything that enters the mouth passes into the stomach and is expelled into the latrine?

 

Matthew 15:18 But the things that come out of the mouth come from the heart, and they defile.

 

Matthew 15:19 For from the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, unchastity, theft, false witness, blasphemy.

 

Matthew 15:20 These are what defile a person, but to eat with unwashed hands does not defile."

 

Matthew 15:21 Then Jesus went from that place and withdrew to the region of Tyre and Sidon.

 

Matthew 15:22 And behold, a Canaanite woman of that district came and called out, "Have pity on me, Lord, Son of David! My daughter is tormented by a demon."

 

Matthew 15:23 But he did not say a word in answer to her. His disciples came and asked him, "Send her away, for she keeps calling out after us."

 

Matthew 15:24 He said in reply, "I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel."

 

Matthew 15:25 But the woman came and did him homage, saying, "Lord, help me."

 

Matthew 15:26 He said in reply, "It is not right to take the food of the children  and throw it to the dogs."

 

Matthew 15:27 She said, "Please, Lord, for even the dogs eat the scraps that fall from the table of their masters."

 

Matthew 15:28 Then Jesus said to her in reply, "O woman, great is your faith! Let it be done for you as you wish." And her daughter was healed from that hour.

 

Matthew 15:29 Moving on from there Jesus walked by the Sea of Galilee, went up on the mountain, and sat down there.

 

Matthew 15:30 Great crowds came to him, having with them the lame, the blind, the deformed, the mute, and many others. They placed them at his feet, and he cured them.

 

Matthew 15:31 The crowds were amazed when they saw the mute speaking, the deformed made whole, the lame walking, and the blind able to see, and they glorified the God of Israel.

 

Matthew 15:32 Jesus summoned his disciples and said, "My heart is moved with pity for the crowd, for they have been with me now for three days and have nothing to eat. I do not want to send them away hungry, for fear they may collapse on the way."

 

Matthew 15:33 The disciples said to him, "Where could we ever get enough bread in this deserted place to satisfy such a crowd?"

 

Matthew 15:34 Jesus said to them, "How many loaves do you have?" "Seven," they replied, "and a few fish."

 

Matthew 15:35 He ordered the crowd to sit down on the ground.

 

Matthew 15:36 Then he took the seven loaves and the fish, gave thanks, broke the loaves, and gave them to the disciples, who in turn gave them to the crowds.

 

Matthew 15:37 They all ate and were satisfied. They picked up the fragments left over - seven baskets full.

 

 

Matthew 15:38 Those who ate were four thousand men, not counting women and children.

 

Matthew 15:39 And when he had dismissed the crowds, he got into the boat and came to the district of Magadan.