That Which Defiles^(A)

15 Then some Pharisees and teachers of the law came to Jesus from Jerusalem and asked, ² “Why do your disciples break the tradition of the elders? They don’t wash their hands before they eat!”^(B)

³ Jesus replied, “And why do you break the command of God for the sake of your tradition? ⁴ For God said, ‘Honor your father and mother’^[a](C) and ‘Anyone who curses their father or mother is to be put to death.’^{[b](D) 5} But you say that if anyone declares that what might have been used to help their father or mother is ‘devoted to God,’ ⁶ they are not to ‘honor their father or mother’ with it. Thus you nullify the word of God for the sake of your tradition. ⁷ You hypocrites! Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you:

¹⁰ Jesus called the crowd to him and said, “Listen and understand. ¹¹ What goes into someone’s mouth does not defile them,^(G) but what comes out of their mouth, that is what defiles them.”^(H)

¹² Then the disciples came to him and asked, “Do you know that the Pharisees were offended when they heard this?”

¹³ He replied, “Every plant that my heavenly Father has not planted^(I) will be pulled up by the roots. ¹⁴ Leave them; they are blind guides.^[d](J) If the blind lead the blind, both will fall into a pit.”^(K)

¹⁵ Peter said, “Explain the parable to us.”^(L)

¹⁶ “Are you still so dull?”^(M) Jesus asked them. ¹⁷ “Don’t you see that whatever enters the mouth goes into the stomach and then out of the body? ¹⁸ But the things that come out of a person’s mouth come from the heart,^(N) and these defile them. ¹⁹ For out of the heart come evil thoughts—murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander.^{(O) 20} These are what defile a person;^(P) but eating with unwashed hands does not defile them.”

The Faith of a Canaanite Woman^(Q)

²¹ Leaving that place, Jesus withdrew to the region of Tyre and Sidon.^{(R) 22} A Canaanite woman from that vicinity came to him, crying out, “Lord, Son of David,^(S) have mercy on me! My daughter is demon-possessed and suffering terribly.”^(T)

²³ Jesus did not answer a word. So his disciples came to him and urged him, “Send her away, for she keeps crying out after us.”

²⁴ He answered, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel.”^(U)

²⁵ The woman came and knelt before him.^(V) “Lord, help me!” she said.

²⁶ He replied, “It is not right to take the children’s bread and toss it to the dogs.”

²⁷ “Yes it is, Lord,” she said. “Even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their master’s table.”

²⁸ Then Jesus said to her, “Woman, you have great faith!^(W) Your request is granted.” And her daughter was healed at that moment.

Jesus Feeds the Four Thousand^(X)(Y)(Z)

²⁹ Jesus left there and went along the Sea of Galilee. Then he went up on a mountainside and sat down. ³⁰ Great crowds came to him, bringing the lame, the blind, the crippled, the mute and many others, and laid them at his feet; and he healed them.^{(AA) 31} The people were amazed when they saw the mute speaking, the crippled made well, the lame walking and the blind seeing. And they praised the God of Israel.^(AB)

³² Jesus called his disciples to him and said, “I have compassion for these people;^(AC) they have already been with me three days and have nothing to eat. I do not want to send them away hungry, or they may collapse on the way.”

³³ His disciples answered, “Where could we get enough bread in this remote place to feed such a crowd?”

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

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

³⁵ He told the crowd to sit down on the ground. ³⁶ Then he took the seven loaves and the fish, and when he had given thanks, he broke them^(AD) and gave them to the disciples, and they in turn to the people. ³⁷ They all ate and were satisfied. Afterward the disciples picked up seven basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over.^{(AE) 38} The number of those who ate was four thousand men, besides women and children. ³⁹ After Jesus had sent the crowd away, he got into the boat and went to the vicinity of Magadan.

The Demand for a Sign^(AF)

16 The Pharisees and Sadducees^(AG) came to Jesus and tested him by asking him to show them a sign from heaven.^(AH)

² He replied, “When evening comes, you say, ‘It will be fair weather, for the sky is red,’ ³ and in the morning, ‘Today it will be stormy, for the sky is red and overcast.’ You know how to interpret the appearance of the sky, but you cannot interpret the signs of the times.^{[e](AI) 4} A wicked and adulterous generation looks for a sign, but none will be given it except the sign of Jonah.”^(AJ) Jesus then left them and went away.

The Yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees

⁵ When they went across the lake, the disciples forgot to take bread. ⁶ “Be careful,” Jesus said to them. “Be on your guard against the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees.”^(AK)

⁷ They discussed this among themselves and said, “It is because we didn’t bring any bread.”

⁸ Aware of their discussion, Jesus asked, “You of little faith,^(AL) why are you talking among yourselves about having no bread? ⁹ Do you still not understand? Don’t you remember the five loaves for the five thousand, and how many basketfuls you gathered?^{(AM) 10} Or the seven loaves for the four thousand, and how many basketfuls you gathered?^{(AN) 11} How is it you don’t understand that I was not talking to you about bread? But be on your guard against the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees.” ¹² Then they understood that he was not telling them to guard against the yeast used in bread, but against the teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees.^(AO)

Peter Declares That Jesus Is the Messiah^(AP)

¹³ When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say the Son of Man is?”

¹⁴ They replied, “Some say John the Baptist;^(AQ) others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets.”^(AR)

¹⁵ “But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?”

¹⁶ Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.”^(AS)

¹⁷ Jesus replied, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood,^(AT) but by my Father in heaven.^{(AU) 18} And I tell you that you are Peter,^[f](AV) and on this rock I will build my church,^(AW) and the gates of Hades^[g] will not overcome it. ¹⁹ I will give you the keys^(AX) of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be^[h] bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be^[i] loosed in heaven.”^{(AY) 20} Then he ordered his disciples not to tell anyone^(AZ) that he was the Messiah.

Jesus Predicts His Death^(BA)

²¹ From that time on Jesus began to explain to his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem^(BB) and suffer many things^(BC) at the hands of the elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the law,^(BD) and that he must be killed^(BE) and on the third day^(BF) be raised to life.^(BG)

²² Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. “Never, Lord!” he said. “This shall never happen to you!”

²³ Jesus turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan!^(BH) You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the concerns of God, but merely human concerns.”

²⁴ Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.^{(BI) 25} For whoever wants to save their life^[j] will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it.^{(BJ) 26} What good will it be for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul? ²⁷ For the Son of Man^(BK) is going to come^(BL) in his Father’s glory with his angels, and then he will reward each person according to what they have done.^(BM)

²⁸ “Truly I tell you, some who are standing here will not taste death before they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom.”

22 ¹ “Brothers and fathers,^(A) listen now to my defense.”

² When they heard him speak to them in Aramaic,^(B) they became very quiet.

Then Paul said: ³ “I am a Jew,^(C) born in Tarsus^(D) of Cilicia,^(E) but brought up in this city. I studied under^(F) Gamaliel^(G) and was thoroughly trained in the law of our ancestors.^(H) I was just as zealous^(I) for God as any of you are today. ⁴ I persecuted^(J) the followers of this Way^(K) to their death, arresting both men and women and throwing them into prison,^{(L) 5} as the high priest and all the Council^(M) can themselves testify. I even obtained letters from them to their associates^(N) in Damascus,^(O) and went there to bring these people as prisoners to Jerusalem to be punished.

⁶ “About noon as I came near Damascus, suddenly a bright light from heaven flashed around me.^{(P) 7} I fell to the ground and heard a voice say to me, ‘Saul! Saul! Why do you persecute me?’

⁸ “‘Who are you, Lord?’ I asked.

“ ‘I am Jesus of Nazareth,^(Q) whom you are persecuting,’ he replied. ⁹ My companions saw the light,^(R) but they did not understand the voice^(S) of him who was speaking to me.

¹⁰ “‘What shall I do, Lord?’ I asked.

“ ‘Get up,’ the Lord said, ‘and go into Damascus. There you will be told all that you have been assigned to do.’^{(T) 11} My companions led me by the hand into Damascus, because the brilliance of the light had blinded me.^(U)

¹² “A man named Ananias came to see me.^(V) He was a devout observer of the law and highly respected by all the Jews living there.^{(W) 13} He stood beside me and said, ‘Brother Saul, receive your sight!’ And at that very moment I was able to see him.

¹⁴ “Then he said: ‘The God of our ancestors^(X) has chosen you to know his will and to see^(Y) the Righteous One^(Z) and to hear words from his mouth. ¹⁵ You will be his witness^(AA) to all people of what you have seen^(AB) and heard. ¹⁶ And now what are you waiting for? Get up, be baptized^(AC) and wash your sins away,^(AD) calling on his name.’^(AE)

¹⁷ “When I returned to Jerusalem^(AF) and was praying at the temple, I fell into a trance^{(AG) 18} and saw the Lord speaking to me. ‘Quick!’ he said. ‘Leave Jerusalem immediately, because the people here will not accept your testimony about me.’

¹⁹ “‘Lord,’ I replied, ‘these people know that I went from one synagogue to another to imprison^(AH) and beat^(AI) those who believe in you. ²⁰ And when the blood of your martyr^[a] Stephen was shed, I stood there giving my approval and guarding the clothes of those who were killing him.’^(AJ)

²¹ “Then the Lord said to me, ‘Go; I will send you far away to the Gentiles.’ ”^(AK)

Paul the Roman Citizen

²² The crowd listened to Paul until he said this. Then they raised their voices and shouted, “Rid the earth of him!^(AL) He’s not fit to live!”^(AM)

²³ As they were shouting and throwing off their cloaks^(AN) and flinging dust into the air,^{(AO) 24} the commander ordered that Paul be taken into the barracks.^(AP) He directed^(AQ) that he be flogged and interrogated in order to find out why the people were shouting at him like this. ²⁵ As they stretched him out to flog him, Paul said to the centurion standing there, “Is it legal for you to flog a Roman citizen who hasn’t even been found guilty?”^(AR)

²⁶ When the centurion heard this, he went to the commander and reported it. “What are you going to do?” he asked. “This man is a Roman citizen.”

²⁷ The commander went to Paul and asked, “Tell me, are you a Roman citizen?”

“Yes, I am,” he answered.

²⁸ Then the commander said, “I had to pay a lot of money for my citizenship.”

“But I was born a citizen,” Paul replied.

²⁹ Those who were about to interrogate him^(AS) withdrew immediately. The commander himself was alarmed when he realized that he had put Paul, a Roman citizen,^(AT) in chains.^(AU)

Paul Before the Sanhedrin

³⁰ The commander wanted to find out exactly why Paul was being accused by the Jews.^(AV) So the next day he released him^(AW) and ordered the chief priests and all the members of the Sanhedrin^(AX) to assemble. Then he brought Paul and had him stand before them.

23 Paul looked straight at the Sanhedrin^(AY) and said, “My brothers,^(AZ) I have fulfilled my duty to God in all good conscience^(BA) to this day.” ² At this the high priest Ananias^(BB) ordered those standing near Paul to strike him on the mouth.^{(BC) 3} Then Paul said to him, “God will strike you, you whitewashed wall!^(BD) You sit there to judge me according to the law, yet you yourself violate the law by commanding that I be struck!”^(BE)

⁴ Those who were standing near Paul said, “How dare you insult God’s high priest!”

⁵ Paul replied, “Brothers, I did not realize that he was the high priest; for it is written: ‘Do not speak evil about the ruler of your people.’^[b]”^(BF)

⁶ Then Paul, knowing that some of them were Sadducees^(BG) and the others Pharisees, called out in the Sanhedrin, “My brothers,^(BH) I am a Pharisee,^(BI) descended from Pharisees. I stand on trial because of the hope of the resurrection of the dead.”^{(BJ) 7} When he said this, a dispute broke out between the Pharisees and the Sadducees, and the assembly was divided. ⁸ (The Sadducees say that there is no resurrection,^(BK) and that there are neither angels nor spirits, but the Pharisees believe all these things.)

⁹ There was a great uproar, and some of the teachers of the law who were Pharisees^(BL) stood up and argued vigorously. “We find nothing wrong with this man,”^(BM) they said. “What if a spirit or an angel has spoken to him?”^{(BN) 10} The dispute became so violent that the commander was afraid Paul would be torn to pieces by them. He ordered the troops to go down and take him away from them by force and bring him into the barracks.^(BO)

¹¹ The following night the Lord stood near Paul and said, “Take courage!^(BP) As you have testified about me in Jerusalem, so you must also testify in Rome.”^(BQ)

The Plot to Kill Paul

¹² The next morning some Jews formed a conspiracy^(BR) and bound themselves with an oath not to eat or drink until they had killed Paul.^{(BS) 13} More than forty men were involved in this plot. ¹⁴ They went to the chief priests and the elders and said, “We have taken a solemn oath not to eat anything until we have killed Paul.^{(BT) 15} Now then, you and the Sanhedrin^(BU) petition the commander to bring him before you on the pretext of wanting more accurate information about his case. We are ready to kill him before he gets here.”

¹⁶ But when the son of Paul’s sister heard of this plot, he went into the barracks^(BV) and told Paul.

¹⁷ Then Paul called one of the centurions and said, “Take this young man to the commander; he has something to tell him.” ¹⁸ So he took him to the commander.

The centurion said, “Paul, the prisoner,^(BW) sent for me and asked me to bring this young man to you because he has something to tell you.”

¹⁹ The commander took the young man by the hand, drew him aside and asked, “What is it you want to tell me?”

²⁰ He said: “Some Jews have agreed to ask you to bring Paul before the Sanhedrin^(BX) tomorrow on the pretext of wanting more accurate information about him.^{(BY) 21} Don’t give in to them, because more than forty^(BZ) of them are waiting in ambush for him. They have taken an oath not to eat or drink until they have killed him.^(CA) They are ready now, waiting for your consent to their request.”

²² The commander dismissed the young man with this warning: “Don’t tell anyone that you have reported this to me.”

Paul Transferred to Caesarea

²³ Then he called two of his centurions and ordered them, “Get ready a detachment of two hundred soldiers, seventy horsemen and two hundred spearmen^[c] to go to Caesarea^(CB) at nine tonight.^{(CC) 24} Provide horses for Paul so that he may be taken safely to Governor Felix.”^(CD)

²⁵ He wrote a letter as follows:

³¹ So the soldiers, carrying out their orders, took Paul with them during the night and brought him as far as Antipatris. ³² The next day they let the cavalry^(CP) go on with him, while they returned to the barracks.^{(CQ) 33} When the cavalry^(CR) arrived in Caesarea,^(CS) they delivered the letter to the governor^(CT) and handed Paul over to him. ³⁴ The governor read the letter and asked what province he was from. Learning that he was from Cilicia,^{(CU) 35} he said, “I will hear your case when your accusers^(CV) get here.” Then he ordered that Paul be kept under guard^(CW) in Herod’s palace.

Paul’s Trial Before Felix

24 Five days later the high priest Ananias^(CX) went down to Caesarea with some of the elders and a lawyer named Tertullus, and they brought their charges^(CY) against Paul before the governor.^{(CZ) 2} When Paul was called in, Tertullus presented his case before Felix: “We have enjoyed a long period of peace under you, and your foresight has brought about reforms in this nation. ³ Everywhere and in every way, most excellent^(DA) Felix, we acknowledge this with profound gratitude. ⁴ But in order not to weary you further, I would request that you be kind enough to hear us briefly.

⁵ “We have found this man to be a troublemaker, stirring up riots^(DB) among the Jews^(DC) all over the world. He is a ringleader of the Nazarene^(DD) sect^{(DE) 6} and even tried to desecrate the temple;^(DF) so we seized him. ^{[7] [d] 8} By examining him yourself you will be able to learn the truth about all these charges we are bringing against him.”

⁹ The other Jews joined in the accusation,^(DG) asserting that these things were true.

¹⁰ When the governor^(DH) motioned for him to speak, Paul replied: “I know that for a number of years you have been a judge over this nation; so I gladly make my defense. ¹¹ You can easily verify that no more than twelve days^(DI) ago I went up to Jerusalem to worship. ¹² My accusers did not find me arguing with anyone at the temple,^(DJ) or stirring up a crowd^(DK) in the synagogues or anywhere else in the city. ¹³ And they cannot prove to you the charges they are now making against me.^{(DL) 14} However, I admit that I worship the God of our ancestors^(DM) as a follower of the Way,^(DN) which they call a sect.^(DO) I believe everything that is in accordance with the Law and that is written in the Prophets,^{(DP) 15} and I have the same hope in God as these men themselves have, that there will be a resurrection^(DQ) of both the righteous and the wicked.^{(DR) 16} So I strive always to keep my conscience clear^(DS) before God and man.

¹⁷ “After an absence of several years, I came to Jerusalem to bring my people gifts for the poor^(DT) and to present offerings. ¹⁸ I was ceremonially clean^(DU) when they found me in the temple courts doing this. There was no crowd with me, nor was I involved in any disturbance.^{(DV) 19} But there are some Jews from the province of Asia,^(DW) who ought to be here before you and bring charges if they have anything against me.^{(DX) 20} Or these who are here should state what crime they found in me when I stood before the Sanhedrin— ²¹ unless it was this one thing I shouted as I stood in their presence: ‘It is concerning the resurrection of the dead that I am on trial before you today.’”^(DY)

²² Then Felix, who was well acquainted with the Way,^(DZ) adjourned the proceedings. “When Lysias the commander comes,” he said, “I will decide your case.” ²³ He ordered the centurion to keep Paul under guard^(EA) but to give him some freedom^(EB) and permit his friends to take care of his needs.^(EC)

²⁴ Several days later Felix came with his wife Drusilla, who was Jewish. He sent for Paul and listened to him as he spoke about faith in Christ Jesus.^{(ED) 25} As Paul talked about righteousness, self-control^(EE) and the judgment^(EF) to come, Felix was afraid^(EG) and said, “That’s enough for now! You may leave. When I find it convenient, I will send for you.” ²⁶ At the same time he was hoping that Paul would offer him a bribe, so he sent for him frequently and talked with him.

²⁷ When two years had passed, Felix was succeeded by Porcius Festus,^(EH) but because Felix wanted to grant a favor to the Jews,^(EI) he left Paul in prison.^(EJ)