Matthew 15 in plain modern English. New Ground English Translation.
Time Period
~AD 28-30, during Jesus' later Galilean ministry
Location
Galilee, extending to the regions of Tyre and Sidon, and the vicinity of the Sea of Galilee
Audience
Pharisees and scribes from Jerusalem, Jesus' disciples, Jewish crowds, and Gentiles such as the Canaanite woman
Situation
Pharisees and teachers of the law confront Jesus about his disciples disregarding the tradition of ritual handwashing before eating. Jesus rebukes their hypocrisy, teaches that true defilement comes from the heart rather than unclean food, performs healings, commends the faith of a Canaanite woman, and miraculously feeds four thousand people.
Key Background
First-century Pharisees strictly observed oral traditions ('traditions of the elders') that expanded on Mosaic Law, including ceremonial washings to symbolize purity. Jesus challenges this legalism, declaring all foods clean and shifting focus to internal moral purity. The chapter also previews Gentile inclusion in salvation through the Canaanite woman's faith and echoes earlier miracles like feeding the five thousand, affirming Jesus' messianic identity.
Then some and came to Jesus from and asked,
"Why do your break the down by They don't do the before they eat."
Jesus answered them, "And why do you break for the sake of your tradition?
God said, your father and mother,' and 'Anyone who to their father or mother must be put to death.'
But you say that if someone tells their father or mother, 'Whatever I might have used to help you is now to God,'
then they don't need to honor their father at all. So you've out for the sake of your tradition.
nailed it when he spoke about you:
"These people honor me with their words, but their are completely distant from me.
Their means nothing — they just teach as if they were God's commands."
Then Jesus called the over and said, "Listen to this and it:
It's not what goes into someone's mouth that makes them It's what comes out of their mouth — that's what makes them
Then the students came to him and said, "Do you realize the Pharisees were when they heard that?"
Jesus answered, "Every that my didn't will be pulled up by the roots.
Ignore them. They're people trying to lead other people. And if a person leads another person, they'll both end up in a ditch."
Peter spoke up and said, "Explain that to us."
Jesus said, "Are you still not it either?
Don't you understand? Whatever goes into the mouth passes through the stomach and then gets from the
But what comes out of the mouth comes from the — and that's what actually makes someone unclean.
Because out of the heart come murder, adultery, theft, lying, and
These are the things that make someone unclean. But with That doesn't make anyone unclean."
Jesus left that area and to the region around and
A from that region came out and kept crying, "Have on me, of My daughter is being by a — it's terrible!"
But Jesus a to His students came and urged him, — she keeps shouting after us."
Jesus replied, "I was only to the of the of
But she came and "Lord, help me!" she said.
He answered, "It's not right to take the children's food and throw it to the
She said, "That's true, Lord. But even the dogs eat the that fall from their
Then Jesus answered her, "Woman, your is What you want will be done for you." And her daughter was from that very moment.
Jesus left there and went along the of He went up on a hillside and down.
Huge crowds came to him, bringing people who were lame, blind, crippled, unable to speak, and many others. They them at and he healed them.
The crowd was when they saw people who couldn't speak now talking, crippled people restored, lame people walking, and blind people seeing. And they praised the of
Jesus called his students to him and said, "My out to this crowd. They've been with me for three days now and have nothing left to eat. I don't want to send them away hungry — they might collapse on the way home."
His students said, "Where would we get enough bread to feed a crowd this size out here in the of
Jesus asked, "How much bread do you have?" They said, and a few
He told the crowd to sit down on the ground.
Then he took the seven loaves and the fish, them, and them to his students, who distributed them to the crowd.
Everyone ate and was And when they picked up the leftover pieces, there were
The number who ate was not counting women and children.
After sending the crowds away, Jesus got into a boat and went to the region of