The Tradition of the Elders

1Thena Jesus was approached by Pharisees and scribes from Jerusalem, who asked,b 2“Why do your disciplesa break the tradition of the elders? For they don’t wash their hands when they eat.”a b

3He answered them, “Why do you break God’s commandment because of your tradition? 4For God said:A Honor your father and your mother;a b and, Whoever speaks evil of father or mother must be put to death.c d 5But you say, ‘Whoever tells his father or mother, “Whatever benefit you might have received from me is a gift committed to the temple,” 6he does not have to honor his father.’A In this way, you have nullified the word of GodB because of your tradition. 7Hypocrites! Isaiah prophesied correctly about you when he said:

8This peopleA honors me with their lips,

but their heart is far from me.

9They worship me in vain,

teaching as doctrines human commands.”a b

Defilement Is from Within

10Summoning the crowd, he told them, “Listen and understand: 11It’s not what goes into the mouth that defilesa a person, but what comes out of the mouth — this defiles a person.”b

12Then the disciples came up and told him, “Do you know that the Pharisees took offense when they heard what you said? ”

13He replied, “Every plant that my heavenly Father didn’t plant will be uprooted.a 14Leave them alone! They are blind guides.A And if the blind guide the blind, both will fall into a pit.”a

15Then Peter said, “Explain this parable to us.”a

16“Do you still lack understanding? ” heA asked. 17“Don’t you realizeA that whatever goes into the mouth passes into the stomach and is eliminated?B 18But what comes out of the mouth comes from the heart, and this defiles a person.a 19For from the heart come evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, sexual immoralities, thefts, false testimonies,a slander.b 20These are the things that defile a person; but eating with unwashed hands does not defile a person.”a

A Gentile Mother’s Faith

21When Jesus left there,a he withdrew to the area of Tyre and Sidon.b 22Just then a Canaanite woman from that region came and kept crying out,A “Have mercy on me, Lord, Son of David! My daughter is severely tormented by a demon.”a

23Jesus did not say a word to her. His disciplesa approached him and urged him, “Send her away because she’s crying out after us.”

24He replied, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.”a

25But she came, knelt before him, and said, “Lord, help me! ”

26He answered, “It isn’t right to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs.”a

27“Yes, Lord,” she said, “yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters’ table.”

28Then Jesus replied to her, “Woman, your faith is great. Let it be done for you as you want.” And from that momentA her daughter was healed.a

Healing Many People

29Moving on from there,a Jesus passed along the Sea of Galilee.b He went up on a mountain and sat there, 30and large crowds came to him, including the lame, the blind, the crippled, those unable to speak, and many others. They put them at his feet, and he healed them. 31So the crowd was amazed when they saw those unable to speak talking, the crippled restored, the lame walking, and the blind seeing,a and they gave glory to the God of Israel.

Feeding of the Four Thousand

32Jesus called his disciples and said,a “I have compassion on the crowd, because they’ve already stayed with me three days and have nothing to eat. I don’t want to send them away hungry, otherwise they might collapse on the way.”

33The disciples said to him, “Where could we get enough bread in this desolate placea to feed such a crowd? ”

34“How many loaves do you have? ” Jesus asked them.

“Seven,” they said, “and a few small fish.”

35After commanding the crowd to sit down on the ground, 36he took the seven loaves and the fish, gave thanks, broke them, and gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds.a 37They all ate and were satisfied. They collected the leftover pieces — seven large baskets full. 38Now there were four thousand men who had eaten, besides women and children. 39After dismissing the crowds, he got into the boat and went to the region of Magadan.a a