Tradition and Commandment

15 Then some Pharisees and scribes from Jerusalem came to Jesus and said, ² “Why do Your disciples violate the ^[a]tradition (religious laws) handed down by the [Jewish] elders? For Your disciples do not [ceremonially] wash their hands before they eat.” ³ He replied to them, “Why also do you violate the commandment of God for the sake of your tradition [handed down by the elders]? ⁴ For God said [through Moses], ‘Honor your father and mother,’ and, ‘He who speaks evil of or insults or treats improperly father or mother is to be put to death.’^{(A) 5} But you say, ‘If anyone says to his father or mother, “Whatever [money or resource that] I have that would help you is [already dedicated and] given to God,” ⁶ he is not to honor his father or his mother [by helping them with their need].’ So by this you have invalidated the word of God [depriving it of force and authority and making it of no effect] for the sake of your tradition [handed down by the elders]. ⁷ You hypocrites (play-actors, pretenders), rightly did Isaiah prophesy of you when he said,

¹⁰ After Jesus called the crowd to Him, He said, “Listen and understand this: ¹¹ It is not what goes into the mouth of a man that defiles and dishonors him, but what comes out of the mouth, this defiles and dishonors him.”

¹² Then the disciples came and said to Jesus, “Do You know that the Pharisees were offended when they heard you say this?” ¹³ He answered, “Every plant which My heavenly Father did not plant will be torn up by the roots.^{(C) 14} Leave them alone; they are blind guides ^[b][leading blind followers]. If a blind man leads a blind man, both will fall into a pit.”

The Heart of Man

¹⁵ Peter asked Him, “Explain this parable [about what defiles a person] to us.” ¹⁶ And He said, “Are you still so dull [and unable to put things together]? ¹⁷ Do you not understand that whatever goes into the mouth passes into the stomach, and is eliminated? ¹⁸ But whatever [word] comes out of the mouth comes from the heart, and this is what defiles and dishonors the man. ¹⁹ For out of the heart come evil thoughts and plans, murders, adulteries, sexual immoralities, thefts, false testimonies, slanders (verbal abuse, irreverent speech, blaspheming). ²⁰ These are the things which defile and dishonor the man; but eating with [ceremonially] unwashed hands does not defile the man.”

The Syrophoenician Woman

²¹ After leaving there, Jesus withdrew to the district of ^[c]Tyre and Sidon.^{(D) 22} And a ^[d]Canaanite woman from that district came out and began to cry out [urgently], saying, “Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David (Messiah); my daughter is cruelly possessed by a demon.” ²³ But He did not say a word in answer to her. And His disciples came and asked Him [repeatedly], “Send her away, because she keeps shouting out after us.” ²⁴ He answered, “I was commissioned by God and sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” ²⁵ But she came and began to kneel down before Him, saying, “Lord, help me!” ²⁶ And He replied, “It is not good (appropriate, fair) to take the ^[e]children’s bread and throw it to the ^[f]pet dogs.” ²⁷ She said, “Yes, Lord; but even the pet dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their [young] masters’ table.” ²⁸ Then Jesus answered her, “Woman, your faith [your personal trust and confidence in My power] is great; it will be done for you as you wish.” And her daughter was healed from that moment.

Healing Crowds

²⁹ Jesus went on from there and passed along by [the eastern shore of] the Sea of Galilee. Then He went up on the hillside and was sitting there. ³⁰ And great crowds came to Him, bringing with them the lame, crippled, blind, mute, and many others, and they put them down at His feet; and He healed them. ³¹ So the crowd was amazed when they saw the mute speaking, the crippled restored, the lame walking, and the blind seeing; and they praised and glorified the God of Israel.

Four Thousand Fed

³² Then Jesus called His disciples to Him, and said, “I feel compassion for the crowd, because they have been with Me now three days and have nothing [left] to eat; and I do not want to send them away hungry, because they might faint [from exhaustion] on the way [home].”^{(E) 33} The disciples said to Him, “Where are we to get enough bread in this isolated place to feed so large a crowd?” ³⁴ And Jesus asked them, “How many loaves [of bread] do you have?” They replied, “Seven, and a few small fish.” ³⁵ He directed the crowd to sit down on the ground, ³⁶ and He took the seven loaves and the fish; and when He had given thanks, He broke them and started giving them to the disciples, and the disciples [gave them] to the people. ³⁷ And they all ate and were satisfied, and they gathered up seven full baskets of the broken pieces that were left over. ³⁸ [Among] those who ate were 4,000 men, not counting women and children.

³⁹ Then Jesus sent the crowds away, got into the boat and went to the district of ^[g]Magadan.