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.”

That Which Defiles^(A)

7 The Pharisees and some of the teachers of the law who had come from Jerusalem gathered around Jesus ² and saw some of his disciples eating food with hands that were defiled,^(B) that is, unwashed. ³ (The Pharisees and all the Jews do not eat unless they give their hands a ceremonial washing, holding to the tradition of the elders.^{(C) 4} When they come from the marketplace they do not eat unless they wash. And they observe many other traditions, such as the washing of cups, pitchers and kettles.^[a])^(D)

⁵ So the Pharisees and teachers of the law asked Jesus, “Why don’t your disciples live according to the tradition of the elders^(E) instead of eating their food with defiled hands?”

⁶ He replied, “Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you hypocrites; as it is written:

⁸ You have let go of the commands of God and are holding on to human traditions.”^(G)

⁹ And he continued, “You have a fine way of setting aside the commands of God in order to observe^[c] your own traditions!^{(H) 10} For Moses said, ‘Honor your father and mother,’^[d](I) and, ‘Anyone who curses their father or mother is to be put to death.’^{[e](J) 11} But you say^(K) that if anyone declares that what might have been used to help their father or mother is Corban (that is, devoted to God)— ¹² then you no longer let them do anything for their father or mother. ¹³ Thus you nullify the word of God^(L) by your tradition^(M) that you have handed down. And you do many things like that.”

¹⁴ Again Jesus called the crowd to him and said, “Listen to me, everyone, and understand this. ¹⁵ Nothing outside a person can defile them by going into them. Rather, it is what comes out of a person that defiles them.” ^[16] [f]

¹⁷ After he had left the crowd and entered the house, his disciples asked him^(N) about this parable. ¹⁸ “Are you so dull?” he asked. “Don’t you see that nothing that enters a person from the outside can defile them? ¹⁹ For it doesn’t go into their heart but into their stomach, and then out of the body.” (In saying this, Jesus declared all foods^(O) clean.)^(P)

²⁰ He went on: “What comes out of a person is what defiles them. ²¹ For it is from within, out of a person’s heart, that evil thoughts come—sexual immorality, theft, murder, ²² adultery, greed,^(Q) malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance and folly. ²³ All these evils come from inside and defile a person.”

Jesus Honors a Syrophoenician Woman’s Faith^(R)

²⁴ Jesus left that place and went to the vicinity of Tyre.^[g](S) He entered a house and did not want anyone to know it; yet he could not keep his presence secret. ²⁵ In fact, as soon as she heard about him, a woman whose little daughter was possessed by an impure spirit^(T) came and fell at his feet. ²⁶ The woman was a Greek, born in Syrian Phoenicia. She begged Jesus to drive the demon out of her daughter.

²⁷ “First let the children eat all they want,” he told her, “for it is not right to take the children’s bread and toss it to the dogs.”

²⁸ “Lord,” she replied, “even the dogs under the table eat the children’s crumbs.”

²⁹ Then he told her, “For such a reply, you may go; the demon has left your daughter.”

³⁰ She went home and found her child lying on the bed, and the demon gone.

Jesus Heals a Deaf and Mute Man^(U)

³¹ Then Jesus left the vicinity of Tyre^(V) and went through Sidon, down to the Sea of Galilee^(W) and into the region of the Decapolis.^{[h](X) 32} There some people brought to him a man who was deaf and could hardly talk,^(Y) and they begged Jesus to place his hand on^(Z) him.

³³ After he took him aside, away from the crowd, Jesus put his fingers into the man’s ears. Then he spit^(AA) and touched the man’s tongue. ³⁴ He looked up to heaven^(AB) and with a deep sigh^(AC) said to him, “Ephphatha!” (which means “Be opened!”). ³⁵ At this, the man’s ears were opened, his tongue was loosened and he began to speak plainly.^(AD)

³⁶ Jesus commanded them not to tell anyone.^(AE) But the more he did so, the more they kept talking about it. ³⁷ People were overwhelmed with amazement. “He has done everything well,” they said. “He even makes the deaf hear and the mute speak.”

Jesus Feeds the Four Thousand^(AF)(AG)(AH)

8 During those days another large crowd gathered. Since they had nothing to eat, Jesus called his disciples to him and said, ² “I have compassion for these people;^(AI) they have already been with me three days and have nothing to eat. ³ If I send them home hungry, they will collapse on the way, because some of them have come a long distance.”

⁴ His disciples answered, “But where in this remote place can anyone get enough bread to feed them?”

⁵ “How many loaves do you have?” Jesus asked.

“Seven,” they replied.

⁶ He told the crowd to sit down on the ground. When he had taken the seven loaves and given thanks, he broke them and gave them to his disciples to distribute to the people, and they did so. ⁷ They had a few small fish as well; he gave thanks for them also and told the disciples to distribute them.^{(AJ) 8} The people ate and were satisfied. Afterward the disciples picked up seven basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over.^{(AK) 9} About four thousand were present. After he had sent them away, ¹⁰ he got into the boat with his disciples and went to the region of Dalmanutha.

¹¹ The Pharisees came and began to question Jesus. To test him, they asked him for a sign from heaven.^{(AL) 12} He sighed deeply^(AM) and said, “Why does this generation ask for a sign? Truly I tell you, no sign will be given to it.” ¹³ Then he left them, got back into the boat and crossed to the other side.

The Yeast of the Pharisees and Herod

¹⁴ The disciples had forgotten to bring bread, except for one loaf they had with them in the boat. ¹⁵ “Be careful,” Jesus warned them. “Watch out for the yeast^(AN) of the Pharisees^(AO) and that of Herod.”^(AP)

¹⁶ They discussed this with one another and said, “It is because we have no bread.”

¹⁷ Aware of their discussion, Jesus asked them: “Why are you talking about having no bread? Do you still not see or understand? Are your hearts hardened?^{(AQ) 18} Do you have eyes but fail to see, and ears but fail to hear? And don’t you remember? ¹⁹ When I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how many basketfuls of pieces did you pick up?”

“Twelve,”^(AR) they replied.

²⁰ “And when I broke the seven loaves for the four thousand, how many basketfuls of pieces did you pick up?”

They answered, “Seven.”^(AS)

²¹ He said to them, “Do you still not understand?”^(AT)

Jesus Heals a Blind Man at Bethsaida

²² They came to Bethsaida,^(AU) and some people brought a blind man^(AV) and begged Jesus to touch him. ²³ He took the blind man by the hand and led him outside the village. When he had spit^(AW) on the man’s eyes and put his hands on^(AX) him, Jesus asked, “Do you see anything?”

²⁴ He looked up and said, “I see people; they look like trees walking around.”

²⁵ Once more Jesus put his hands on the man’s eyes. Then his eyes were opened, his sight was restored, and he saw everything clearly. ²⁶ Jesus sent him home, saying, “Don’t even go into^[i] the village.”

Peter Declares That Jesus Is the Messiah^(AY)

²⁷ Jesus and his disciples went on to the villages around Caesarea Philippi. On the way he asked them, “Who do people say I am?”

²⁸ They replied, “Some say John the Baptist;^(AZ) others say Elijah;^(BA) and still others, one of the prophets.”

²⁹ “But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?”

Peter answered, “You are the Messiah.”^(BB)

³⁰ Jesus warned them not to tell anyone about him.^(BC)

Jesus Predicts His Death^(BD)

³¹ He then began to teach them that the Son of Man^(BE) must suffer many things^(BF) and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the law,^(BG) and that he must be killed^(BH) and after three days^(BI) rise again.^{(BJ) 32} He spoke plainly^(BK) about this, and Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him.

³³ But when Jesus turned and looked at his disciples, he rebuked Peter. “Get behind me, Satan!”^(BL) he said. “You do not have in mind the concerns of God, but merely human concerns.”

The Way of the Cross

³⁴ Then he called the crowd to him along with his disciples and said: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.^{(BM) 35} For whoever wants to save their life^[j] will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me and for the gospel will save it.^{(BN) 36} What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? ³⁷ Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul? ³⁸ If anyone is ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man^(BO) will be ashamed of them^(BP) when he comes^(BQ) in his Father’s glory with the holy angels.”