Matthew 15

The Tradition of the Elders// Mark 7:1–13

¹Then some Pharisees and scribes came to Jesus from Jerusalem and asked, ²“Why do Your disciples break the tradition of the elders? They do not wash their hands before they eat.”

³Jesus replied, “And why do you break the command of God for the sake of your tradition? ⁴For God said, ‘Honor your father and mother’ and ‘Anyone who curses his father or mother must be put to death.’ ⁵But you say that if anyone says to his father or mother, ‘Whatever you would have received from me is a gift devoted to God,’ ⁶he need not honor his father or mother with it. Thus you nullify the word of God for the sake of your tradition. ⁷You hypocrites! Isaiah prophesied correctly about you:

• MT 15:4[QUOTES]Direct ← EX 20:12; 21:17; LEV 20:9
• MT 15:7[FULFILLS]He would expose hypocritical obedience to God's Word ← IS 29:13

⁸‘These people honor Me with their lips,

but their hearts are far from Me.

• MT 15:8[QUOTES]Direct ← IS 29:13

⁹They worship Me in vain;

they teach as doctrine the precepts of men.’”

What Defiles a Man// Mark 7:14–23

¹⁰Jesus called the crowd to Him and said, “Listen and understand. ¹¹A man is not defiled by what enters his mouth, but by what comes out of it.”

¹²Then the disciples came to Him and said, “Are You aware that the Pharisees were offended when they heard this?”

¹³But Jesus replied, “Every plant that My heavenly Father has not planted will be pulled up by its roots. ¹⁴Disregard them! They are blind guides. If a blind man leads a blind man, both will fall into a pit.”

¹⁵Peter said to Him, “Explain this parable to us.”

¹⁶“Do you still not understand?” Jesus asked. ¹⁷“Do you not yet realize that whatever enters the mouth goes into the stomach and then is eliminated? ¹⁸But the things that come out of the mouth come from the heart, and these things defile a man. ¹⁹For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, and slander. ²⁰These are what defile a man, but eating with unwashed hands does not defile him.”

• MT 15:18[HEART]What comes out of the mouth comes from the heart, and that is what defiles a person.
• MT 15:19[HEART]Evil thoughts, murder, adultery, theft and lies all start in the heart.

The Faith of the Canaanite Woman// Mark 7:24–30

²¹Leaving that place, Jesus withdrew to the district of Tyre and Sidon. ²²And a Canaanite woman from that region came to Him, crying out, “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on me! My daughter is miserably possessed by a demon.”

• MT 15:21[DEMONIC]Syrophoenician woman's daughter delivered from demon

²³But Jesus did not answer a word. So His disciples came and urged Him, “Send her away, for she keeps crying out after us.”

²⁴He answered, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.”

²⁵The woman came and knelt before Him. “Lord, help me!” she said.

²⁶But Jesus replied, “It is not right to take the children’s bread and toss it to the dogs.”

²⁷“Yes, Lord,” she said, “even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their master’s table.”

²⁸“O woman,” Jesus answered, “your faith is great! Let it be done for you as you desire.” And her daughter was healed from that very hour.

The Feeding of the Four Thousand// 2 Kings 4:42–44; Mark 8:1–10

²⁹Moving on from there, Jesus went along the Sea of Galilee. Then He went up on a mountain and sat down. ³⁰Large crowds came to Him, bringing the lame, the blind, the crippled, the mute, and many others, and laid them at His feet, and He healed them. ³¹The crowd was amazed when they saw the mute speaking, the crippled restored, the lame walking, and the blind seeing. And they glorified the God of Israel.

³²Then Jesus called His disciples to Him and said, “I have compassion for this crowd, because they have already been with Me three days and have nothing to eat. I do not want to send them away hungry, or they may faint along the way.”

• MT 15:32[MIRACLE]4,000 fed with 7 loaves and a few fish

³³The disciples replied, “Where in this desolate place could we find enough bread to feed such a large crowd?”

³⁴“How many loaves do you have?” Jesus asked.

“Seven,” they replied, “and a few small fish.”

³⁵And He instructed the crowd to sit down on the ground. ³⁶Taking the seven loaves and the fish, He gave thanks and broke them. Then He gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the people.

³⁷They all ate and were satisfied, and the disciples picked up seven basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over. ³⁸A total of four thousand men were fed, besides women and children.

³⁹After Jesus had dismissed the crowds, He got into the boat and went to the region of Magadan.