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| 15 | Matthew |
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| 1 |
THEN JESUS WAS APPROACHED by a group of Pharisees and lawyers from Jerusalem, with the question: | The Tradition of the Elders Mt.15.1-20 (Capernaum) -[ Mt.15.1-20 → ] - Mk.7.1-23 |
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'Why do your disciples break the old-established tradition? They do not wash their hands before meals.' | |
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He answered them: 'And what of you? Why do you break God's commandment in the interest of your tradition? | |
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For God said, "Honour your father and mother", and, "The man who curses his father or mother must suffer death." | - Honour your father and your mother Mt.15.4 - Ex.20.12, Dt.5.16, Ex.21.17 |
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But you say, "If a man says to his father or mother, 'Anything of mine which might have been used for your benefit is set apart for God', | |
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then he must not honour his father or his mother." You have made God's law null and void out of respect for your tradition. | |
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What hypocrisy! Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you: | |
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"This people pays me lip-service, but their heart is far from me; | - This people honours me with their lips Mt.15.8-9 - Is.29.13 |
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their worship of me is in vain, for they teach as doctrines the commandments of men." ' | |
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He called the crowd and said to them, 'Listen to me, and understand this: | |
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a man is not defiled by what goes into his mouth, but by what comes out of it.'
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| 12 |
Then the disciples came to him and said, 'Do you know that the Pharisees have taken great offence at what you have been saying?' | |
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His answer was: 'Any plant that is not of my heavenly Father's planting will be rooted up. | |
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Leave them alone; they are blind guides , and if one blind man guides another they will both fall into the ditch.'
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| 15 |
Then Peter said, 'Tell us what that parable means.' | |
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Jesus answered, 'Are you still as dull as the rest? | |
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Do you not see that whatever goes in by the mouth passes into the stomach and so is discharged into the drain? | |
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But what comes out of the mouth has its origins in the heart; and that is what defiles a man. | |
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Wicked thoughts, murder, adultery, fornication, theft, perjury, slander—these all proceed from the heart; | |
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and these are the things that defile a man; but to eat without first washing his hands, that cannot defile him.'
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| 21 |
JESUS THEN LEFT that place and withdrew to the region of Tyre and Sidon. | The Canaanite Woman's Faith Mt.15.21-28 (Phoenecia) -[ Mt.15.21-28 → ] - Mk.7.24-30 |
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And a Canaanite woman from those parts came crying out, 'Sir! have pity on me. Son of David; my daughter is tormented by a devil.' | |
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But he said not a word in reply. His disciples came and urged him: 'Send her away; see how she comes shouting after us.' | |
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Jesus replied, 'I was sent to the lost sheep of the house of Israel, and to them alone.' | |
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But the woman came and fell at his feet and cried, 'Help me, sir.' | |
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To this Jesus replied, 'It is not right to take the children's bread and throw it to the dogs.' | |
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'True, sir,' she answered; 'and yet the dogs eat the scraps that fall from their masters' table.' | |
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Hearing this Jesus replied, 'Woman, what faith you have! Be it as you wish!' And from that moment her daughter was restored to health.
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| 29 |
After leaving that region Jesus took the road by the Sea of Galilee and went up to the hills. When he was seated there, | The Healing of Many People Mt.15.29-31 (Decapolis) - |
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crowds flocked to him, bringing with them the lame, blind, dumb, and crippled, and many other sufferers; they threw them down at his feet, and he healed them. | |
| 31 |
Great was the amazement of the people when they saw the dumb speaking, the crippled strong, the lame walking, and sight restored to the blind; and they gave praise to the God of Israel.
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| 32 |
Jesus called his disciples and said to them, 'I feel sorry for all these people; they have been with me now for three days and have nothing to eat. I do not want to send them away unfed; they might turn faint on the way.' | The Feeding of the Four Thousand Mt.15.32-39 (Gennesaret) -[ Mt.15.32-39 → ] - Mk.8.1-10 |
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The disciples replied, 'Where in this lonely place can we find bread enough to feed such a crowd?' | |
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'How many loaves have you?' Jesus asked. 'Seven,' they replied; 'and there are a few small fishes.' | |
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So he ordered the people to sit down on the ground; | |
| 36 |
then he took the seven loaves and the fishes, and after giving thanks to God he broke them and gave to the disciples, and the disciples gave to the people. | |
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They all ate to their hearts' content; and the scraps left over, which they picked up, were enough to fill seven baskets. | |
| 38 |
Four thousand men shared in this meal, to say nothing of women and children. | |
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He then dismissed the crowds, got into a boat, and went to the neighbourhood of Magadan.
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