Matthew 15 :: New Living Translation (NLT)

Jesus Teaches about Inner Purity

(Mar 7:1–23 )

Mat 15:1Some Pharisees and teachers of religious law now arrived from Jerusalem to see Jesus. They asked him,

Mat 15:2“Why do your disciples disobey our age-old tradition? For they ignore our tradition of ceremonial hand washing before they eat.”

Mat 15:3

Mat 15:3Jesus replied, “And why do you, by your traditions, violate the direct commandments of God?

Mat 15:4

Mat 15:4For instance, God says, ‘Honor your father and mother,’[fn] and ‘Anyone who speaks disrespectfully of father or mother must be put to death.’[fn]

Mat 15:5

Mat 15:5But you say it is all right for people to say to their parents, ‘Sorry, I can’t help you. For I have vowed to give to God what I would have given to you.’

Mat 15:6

Mat 15:6In this way, you say they don’t need to honor their parents.[fn] And so you cancel the word of God for the sake of your own tradition.

Mat 15:7

Mat 15:7You hypocrites! Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you, for he wrote,

Mat 15:8

Mat 15:8‘These people honor me with their lips,
but their hearts are far from me.

Mat 15:9

Mat 15:9Their worship is a farce,
for they teach man-made ideas as commands from God.’[fn]”

Mat 15:10

Mat 15:10Then Jesus called to the crowd to come and hear. “Listen,” he said, “and try to understand.

Mat 15:11

Mat 15:11It’s not what goes into your mouth that defiles you; you are defiled by the words that come out of your mouth.”

Mat 15:12

Mat 15:12Then the disciples came to him and asked, “Do you realize you offended the Pharisees by what you just said?”

Mat 15:13

Mat 15:13Jesus replied, “Every plant not planted by my heavenly Father will be uprooted,

Mat 15:14

Mat 15:14so ignore them. They are blind guides leading the blind, and if one blind person guides another, they will both fall into a ditch.”

Mat 15:15

Mat 15:15Then Peter said to Jesus, “Explain to us the parable that says people aren’t defiled by what they eat.”

Mat 15:16

Mat 15:16“Don’t you understand yet?” Jesus asked.

Mat 15:17

Mat 15:17“Anything you eat passes through the stomach and then goes into the sewer.

Mat 15:18

Mat 15:18But the words you speak come from the heart—that’s what defiles you.

Mat 15:19

Mat 15:19For from the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, all sexual immorality, theft, lying, and slander.

Mat 15:20

Mat 15:20These are what defile you. Eating with unwashed hands will never defile you.”

The Faith of a Gentile Woman

(Mar 7:24–30 )

Mat 15:21

Mat 15:21Then Jesus left Galilee and went north to the region of Tyre and Sidon.

Mat 15:22

Mat 15:22A Gentile[fn] woman who lived there came to him, pleading, “Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David! For my daughter is possessed by a demon that torments her severely.”

Mat 15:23

Mat 15:23But Jesus gave her no reply, not even a word. Then his disciples urged him to send her away. “Tell her to go away,” they said. “She is bothering us with all her begging.”

Mat 15:24

Mat 15:24Then Jesus said to the woman, “I was sent only to help God’s lost sheep—the people of Israel.”

Mat 15:25

Mat 15:25But she came and worshiped him, pleading again, “Lord, help me!”

Mat 15:26

Mat 15:26Jesus responded, “It isn’t right to take food from the children and throw it to the dogs.”

Mat 15:27

Mat 15:27She replied, “That’s true, Lord, but even dogs are allowed to eat the scraps that fall beneath their masters’ table.”

Mat 15:28

Mat 15:28“Dear woman,” Jesus said to her, “your faith is great. Your request is granted.” And her daughter was instantly healed.

Jesus Heals Many People

(Mar 7:31–37 )

Mat 15:29

Mat 15:29Jesus returned to the Sea of Galilee and climbed a hill and sat down.

Mat 15:30

Mat 15:30A vast crowd brought to him people who were lame, blind, crippled, those who couldn’t speak, and many others. They laid them before Jesus, and he healed them all.

Mat 15:31

Mat 15:31The crowd was amazed! Those who hadn’t been able to speak were talking, the crippled were made well, the lame were walking, and the blind could see again! And they praised the God of Israel.

Jesus Feeds Four Thousand

(Mar 8:1–10 )

Mat 15:32

Mat 15:32Then Jesus called his disciples and told them, “I feel sorry for these people. They have been here with me for three days, and they have nothing left to eat. I don’t want to send them away hungry, or they will faint along the way.”

Mat 15:33

Mat 15:33The disciples replied, “Where would we get enough food here in the wilderness for such a huge crowd?”

Mat 15:34

Mat 15:34Jesus asked, “How much bread do you have?”
They replied, “Seven loaves, and a few small fish.”

Mat 15:35

Mat 15:35So Jesus told all the people to sit down on the ground.

Mat 15:36

Mat 15:36Then he took the seven loaves and the fish, thanked God for them, and broke them into pieces. He gave them to the disciples, who distributed the food to the crowd.

Mat 15:37

Mat 15:37They all ate as much as they wanted. Afterward, the disciples picked up seven large baskets of leftover food.

Mat 15:38

Mat 15:38There were 4,000 men who were fed that day, in addition to all the women and children.

Mat 15:39

Mat 15:39Then Jesus sent the people home, and he got into a boat and crossed over to the region of Magadan.