Tradition and Commandment
1 Then some Pharisees and scribes from Jerusalem came to Jesus and said,
2 “Why do Your disciples violate thetradition (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 oforinsultsortreats improperly father or mother is to be put to death.’
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]givento 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,
8 ‘This people honorsMe with their lips,
But their heart is far away fromMe.
9 ‘But in vain do they worshipMe,
For they teach asdoctrines the precepts of men.’”
10 After Jesus called the crowd to Him, He said,“Listen and understandthis:
11 It is not what goes into the mouth of a man that defilesanddishonors him, but what comes out of the mouth, this defilesanddishonors him.”
12 Then the disciples came and said to Jesus, “Do You know that the Pharisees were offended when they heardyou saythis?”
13 He answered,“Every plant which My heavenly Father did not plant will be torn up by the roots.
14 Leave them alone; they are blind guides[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 defilesanddishonors the man.
19 For out of the heart come evil thoughtsandplans, murders, adulteries, sexual immoralities, thefts, false testimonies, slanders (verbal abuse, irreverent speech, blaspheming).
20 These are the things which defileanddishonor 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 ofTyre and Sidon.
22 And aCanaanite woman from that district came out andbeganto 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 Godandsent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.”
25 But she came andbeganto kneel down before Him, saying, “Lord, help me!”
26 And He replied,“It is not good (appropriate, fair) to take thechildren’s bread and throw it to thepet 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 praisedandglorified 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].”
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 ofMagadan.