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Die Pharisäer und die Überlieferung

15 Da kamen die Schriftgelehrten und Pharisäer von Jerusalem zu Jesus und sprachen: Warum übertreten deine Jünger die Überlieferung[a] der Alten? Denn sie waschen ihre Hände nicht, wenn sie Brot essen.

Er aber antwortete und sprach zu ihnen: Und warum übertretet ihr das Gebot Gottes um eurer Überlieferung willen? Denn Gott hat geboten: „Ehre deinen Vater und deine Mutter!“ Und: „Wer Vater oder Mutter flucht, der soll des Todes.“ Ihr aber sagt: Wer zum Vater oder zur Mutter spricht: Ich habe zum Opfer[b] bestimmt, was dir von mir zugute kommen sollte; damit geschieht es, daß niemand hinfort seinen Vater und seine Mutter ehrt. Und so habt ihr das Gebot Gottes um eurer Überlieferung willen aufgehoben sterben. Ihr Heuchler! Treffend hat Jesaja von euch geweissagt, wenn er spricht:

Dieses Volk naht sich zu mir mit seinem Mund und ehrt mich mit den Lippen, aber ihr Herz ist fern von mir.

Vergeblich aber ehren sie mich, weil sie Lehren vortragen, die Menschengebote sind.“

Des Menschen Herz: Quelle der Verunreinigung

10 Und er rief die Volksmenge zu sich und sprach zu ihnen: Hört und versteht! 11 Nicht das, was zum Mund eingeht, verunreinigt den Menschen; sondern was aus dem Mund ausgeht, das verunreinigt den Menschen.

12 Da traten seine Jünger herzu und sprachen zu ihm: Weißt du, daß die Pharisäer Anstoß nahmen, als sie das hörten? 13 Er aber antwortete und sprach: Jede Pflanze, die nicht mein himmlischer Vater gepflanzt hat, wird ausgerissen werden. 14 Laßt sie; sie sind blinde Blindenleiter. Wenn aber ein Blinder den andern leitet, werden beide in die Grube fallen.

15 Da sprach Petrus zu ihm: Erkläre uns dieses Gleichnis! 16 Jesus aber sprach: Seid denn auch ihr noch unverständig? 17 Merkt ihr noch nicht, daß alles, was zum Mund eingeht, in den Bauch kommt und in den Abort geworfen wird? 18 Was aber aus dem Mund herauskommt, das kommt aus dem Herzen, und das verunreinigt den Menschen. 19 Denn aus dem Herzen kommen böse Gedanken, Mord[c], Ehebruch, Unzucht, Diebstahl, falsche Zeugnisse, Lästerungen. 20 Das ist's, was den Menschen verunreinigt; aber mit ungewaschenen Händen essen, das verunreinigt den Menschen nicht.

Die kananäische Frau

21 Und Jesus zog von dort weg und entwich in die Gegend von Tyrus und Sidon. 22 Und siehe, eine kananäische Frau kam aus jener Gegend, rief ihn an und sprach: Erbarme dich meiner, Herr, du Sohn Davids! Meine Tochter ist schlimm besessen! 23 Er aber antwortete ihr nicht ein Wort. Da traten seine Jünger herzu, baten ihn und sprachen: Fertige sie ab; denn sie schreit uns nach!

24 Er aber antwortete und sprach: Ich bin nur gesandt zu den verlorenen Schafen des Hauses Israel. 25 Sie aber kam, fiel vor ihm nieder und sprach: Herr, hilf mir! 26 Er aber antwortete und sprach: Es ist nicht recht, daß man das Brot der Kinder nimmt und es den Hunden[d] vorwirft! 27 Sie aber sprach: Ja, Herr! aber doch essen die Hunde von den Brosamen, die vom Tisch ihrer Herren fallen.

28 Da antwortete Jesus und sprach zu ihr: O Frau, dein Glaube ist groß; dir geschehe, wie du willst! Und ihre Tochter war geheilt von jener Stunde an.

Rückkehr an den galiläischen See, Zahlreiche Heilungen

29 Und Jesus zog weiter und kam an den galiläischen See; und er stieg auf den Berg und setzte sich dort. 30 Und es kamen große Volksmengen zu ihm, die hatten Lahme, Blinde, Stumme, Krüppel und viele andere bei sich; und sie legten sie zu Jesu Füßen, und er heilte sie, 31 so daß sich die Menge verwunderte, als sie sah, daß Stumme redeten, Krüppel gesund wurden, Lahme gingen und Blinde sehend wurden; und sie priesen den Gott Israels.

Speisung der Viertausend

32 Da rief Jesus seine Jünger zu sich und sprach: Mich jammert das Volk; denn sie verharren nun schon drei Tage bei mir und haben nichts zu essen; und ich will sie nicht hungrig entlassen, damit sie nicht auf dem Weg verschmachten. 33 Und seine Jünger sprachen zu ihm: Woher sollen wir in der Wüste so viele Brote nehmen, um eine so große Menge zu sättigen? 34 Und Jesus sprach zu ihnen: Wie viele Brote habt ihr? Sie sprachen: Sieben, und ein paar Fische.

35 Und er gebot dem Volk, sich auf die Erde zu lagern, 36 + nahm die sieben Brote und die Fische, dankte, brach sie und gab sie den Jüngern, die Jünger aber [gaben sie] dem Volk. 37 Und sie aßen alle und wurden satt und hoben auf, was an Brocken übrigblieb, sieben Körbe voll. 38 Die aber gegessen hatten, waren viertausend Männer, ohne Frauen und Kinder.

39 Und nachdem er die Volksmenge entlassen hatte, stieg er in das Schiff und kam in die Gegend von Magdala.

Footnotes

  1. Matthäus 15:2 Überlieferung, bei den Juden die mündlich überlieferten, im Talmud niedergelegten Vorschriften
  2. Matthäus 15:5 Opfer im Sinn von Gabe, s.Mt 2, 11; Eph 2, 8
  3. Matthäus 15:19 Mord bis Diebstahl: Mehrzahl, im Sinn von: alle Arten von...
  4. Matthäus 15:26 eig. Hündchen, s.a. V.27, abwertender Begriff für die unreinen Heiden s. 2P 2:22

15 Some Pharisees and scribes came from Jerusalem to ask Jesus a question.

Scribes and Pharisees: The law of Moses has always held that one must ritually wash his hands before eating. Why don’t Your disciples observe this tradition?

Jesus turned the Pharisees’ question back on them.

Jesus: Why do you violate God’s command because of your tradition? God said, “Honor your father and mother.[a] Anyone who curses his father or mother must be put to death.”[b] 5-6 But you say that one need no longer honor his parents so long as he says to them, “What you might have gained from me, I now give to the glory of God.” Haven’t you let your tradition trump the word of God? You hypocrites! Isaiah must have had you in mind when he prophesied,

    People honor Me with their lips,
        but their hearts are nowhere near Me.
    Because they elevate mere human ritual to the status of law,
        their worship of Me is a meaningless sham.[c]

10 (to the multitude) Hear and understand this: 11 What you put into your mouth cannot make you clean or unclean; it is what comes out of your mouth that can make you unclean.

12 Later the disciples came to Him.

Disciples: Do You realize the Pharisees were shocked by what You said?

Jesus: 13 Every plant planted by someone other than My heavenly Father will be plucked up by the roots. 14 So let them be. They are blind guides. What happens when one blind person leads another? Both of them fall into a ditch.

Peter: 15 Explain that riddle to us.

Jesus: 16 Do you still not see? 17 Don’t you understand that whatever you take in through your mouth makes its way to your stomach and eventually out of the bowels of your body? 18 But the things that come out of your mouth—your curses, your fears, your denunciations—these come from your heart, and it is the stirrings of your heart that can make you unclean. 19 For your heart harbors evil thoughts—fantasies of murder, adultery, and whoring; fantasies of stealing, lying, and slandering. 20 These make you unclean—not eating with a hand you’ve not ritually purified with a splash of water and a prayer.

21 Jesus left that place and withdrew to Tyre and Sidon. 22 A Canaanite woman—a non-Jew—came to Him.

Canaanite Woman (wailing): Lord, Son of David, have mercy on me! My daughter is possessed by a demon. Have mercy, Lord!

23 Jesus said nothing. And the woman continued to wail. His disciples came to Him.

Disciples: Do something—she keeps crying after us!

Jesus: 24 I was sent here only to gather up the lost sheep of Israel.

25 The woman came up to Jesus and knelt before Him.

Canaanite Woman: Lord, help me!

Jesus: 26 It is not right to waste the children’s bread by feeding dogs.

Canaanite Woman: 27 But, Lord, even dogs eat the crumbs that fall by the table as their master is eating.

28 Jesus—whose ancestors included Ruth and Rahab—spoke with kindness and insight.

Jesus: Woman, you have great faith. And your request is done.

And her daughter was healed, right then and from then on.

29 Jesus left and went to the Sea of Galilee. He went up on a mountaintop and sat down. 30 Crowds thronged to Him there, bringing the lame, the maimed, the blind, the crippled, the mute, and many other sick and broken people. They laid them at His feet, and He healed them. 31 The people saw the mute speaking, the lame walking, the maimed made whole, the crippled dancing, and the blind seeing; and the people were amazed, and they praised the God of Israel.

Jesus (to His disciples): 32 We must take pity on these people for they have touched My heart; they have been with Me for three days, and they don’t have any food. I don’t want to send them home this hungry—they might collapse on the way!

Disciples: 33 We’ll never find enough food for all these people, out here in the middle of nowhere!

Jesus: 34 How much bread do you have?

Disciples: Seven rounds of flatbread and a few small fish.

35 He told the crowd to sit down. 36 He took the bread and the fish, He gave thanks, and then He broke the bread and divided the fish. He gave the bread and fish to the disciples, the disciples distributed them to the people, 37 and everyone ate and was satisfied. When everyone had eaten, the disciples picked up seven baskets of crusts and broken pieces and crumbs.

38 There were 4,000 men there, not to mention all the women and children. 39 Then Jesus sent the crowd away. He got into the boat and went to Magadan.

That Which Defiles(A)

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

Jesus replied, “And why do you break the command of God for the sake of your tradition? 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) But you say that if anyone declares that what might have been used to help their father or mother is ‘devoted to God,’ they are not to ‘honor their father or mother’ with it. Thus you nullify the word of God for the sake of your tradition. You hypocrites! Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you:

“‘These people honor me with their lips,
    but their hearts are far from me.
They worship me in vain;
    their teachings are merely human rules.(E)[c](F)

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.

Footnotes

  1. Matthew 15:4 Exodus 20:12; Deut. 5:16
  2. Matthew 15:4 Exodus 21:17; Lev. 20:9
  3. Matthew 15:9 Isaiah 29:13
  4. Matthew 15:14 Some manuscripts blind guides of the blind