Thematic Bible
Matthew 15:1 (show verse)
Then Pharisees and experts in the law came from Jerusalem to Jesus and said,
Matthew 15:2 (show verse)
"Why do your disciples disobey the tradition of the elders? For they don't wash their hands when they eat."
Matthew 15:3 (show verse)
He answered them, "And why do you disobey the commandment of God because of your tradition?
Matthew 15:4 (show verse)
For God said, 'Honor your father and mother' and 'Whoever insults his father or mother must be put to death.'
Matthew 15:5 (show verse)
But you say, 'If someone tells his father or mother, "Whatever help you would have received from me is given to God,"
Matthew 15:6 (show verse)
he does not need to honor his father.' You have nullified the word of God on account of your tradition.
Matthew 15:7 (show verse)
Hypocrites! Isaiah prophesied correctly about you when he said,
Matthew 15:8 (show verse)
This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me,
Matthew 15:9 (show verse)
and they worship me in vain, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.'"
Matthew 15:10 (show verse)
Then he called the crowd to him and said, "Listen and understand.
Matthew 15:11 (show verse)
What defiles a person is not what goes into the mouth; it is what comes out of the mouth that defiles a person."
Matthew 15:12 (show verse)
Then the disciples came to him and said, "Do you know that when the Pharisees heard this saying they were offended?"
Matthew 15:13 (show verse)
And he replied, "Every plant that my heavenly Father did not plant will be uprooted.
Matthew 15:14 (show verse)
Leave them! They are blind guides. If someone who is blind leads another who is blind, both will fall into a pit."
Matthew 15:15 (show verse)
But Peter said to him, "Explain this parable to us."
Matthew 15:16 (show verse)
Jesus said, "Even after all this, are you still so foolish?
Matthew 15:17 (show verse)
Don't you understand that whatever goes into the mouth enters the stomach and then passes out into the sewer?
Matthew 15:18 (show verse)
But the things that come out of the mouth come from the heart, and these things defile a person.
Matthew 15:19 (show verse)
For out of the heart come evil ideas, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander.
Matthew 15:20 (show verse)
These are the things that defile a person; it is not eating with unwashed hands that defiles a person."
Matthew 15:21 (show verse)
After going out from there, Jesus went to the region of Tyre and Sidon.
Matthew 15:22 (show verse)
A Canaanite woman from that area came and cried out, "Have mercy on me, Lord, Son of David! My daughter is horribly demon-possessed!"
Matthew 15:23 (show verse)
But he did not answer her a word. Then his disciples came and begged him, "Send her away, because she keeps on crying out after us."
Matthew 15:24 (show verse)
So he answered, "I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel."
Matthew 15:25 (show verse)
But she came and bowed down before him and said, "Lord, help me!"
Matthew 15:26 (show verse)
"It is not right to take the children's bread and throw it to the dogs," he said.
Matthew 15:27 (show verse)
"Yes, Lord," she replied, "but even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters' table."
Matthew 15:28 (show verse)
Then Jesus answered her, "Woman, your faith is great! Let what you want be done for you." And her daughter was healed from that hour.
Matthew 15:29 (show verse)
When he left there, Jesus went along the Sea of Galilee. Then he went up a mountain, where he sat down.
Matthew 15:30 (show verse)
Then large crowds came to him bringing with them the lame, blind, crippled, mute, and many others. They laid them at his feet, and he healed them.
Matthew 15:31 (show verse)
As a result, the crowd was amazed when they saw the mute speaking, the crippled healthy, the lame walking, and the blind seeing, and they praised the God of Israel.
Matthew 15:32 (show verse)
Then Jesus called the disciples and said, "I have compassion on the crowd, because they have already been here with me three days and they have nothing to eat. I don't want to send them away hungry since they may faint on the way."
Matthew 15:33 (show verse)
The disciples said to him, "Where can we get enough bread in this desolate place to satisfy so great a crowd?"
Matthew 15:34 (show verse)
Jesus said to them, "How many loaves do you have?" They replied, "Seven -- and a few small fish."
Matthew 15:35 (show verse)
After instructing the crowd to sit down on the ground,
Matthew 15:36 (show verse)
he took the seven loaves and the fish, and after giving thanks, he broke them and began giving them to the disciples, who then gave them to the crowds.
Matthew 15:37 (show verse)
They all ate and were satisfied, and they picked up the broken pieces left over, seven baskets full.
Matthew 15:38 (show verse)
Not counting children and women, there were four thousand men who ate.
Matthew 15:39 (show verse)
After sending away the crowd, he got into the boat and went to the region of Magadan.