Beginning
The Tradition of the Elders(A)
15 Then scribes and Pharisees who were from Jerusalem came to Jesus, saying, 2 “Why do Your disciples violate the tradition of the elders? For they do not wash their hands when they eat bread.”
3 But He answered them, “Why do you also violate the commandment of God by your tradition? 4 For God commanded, ‘Honor your father and mother,’[a] and, ‘He who speaks evil of father or mother, let him be put to death.’[b] 5 But you say, ‘Whoever shall say to his father or his mother, “What you would have profited from me is a gift to God,” 6 will be free from honoring his father or his mother.’ So you have made the commandment of God of no effect by your tradition. 7 You hypocrites, Isaiah well prophesied of you, saying:
8 ‘These people draw near to Me with their mouth, and honor Me with their lips,
but their heart is far from Me.
9 In vain they do worship Me,
teaching as doctrines the precepts of men.’[c]”
10 He called the crowds and said to them, “Hear and understand: 11 That which goes into the mouth does not defile a man, but that which comes out of the mouth, this defiles a man.”
12 Then His disciples came and said to Him, “Do You know that the Pharisees were offended after they heard this saying?”
13 But He answered, “Every plant which My heavenly Father has not planted will be uprooted. 14 Leave them alone. They are blind leaders of the blind. And if the blind lead the blind, both will fall into the ditch.”
15 Then Peter said to Him, “Explain this parable to us.”
16 Jesus said, “Are you also still without understanding? 17 Do you not yet understand that whatever enters at the mouth goes into the stomach and is cast out into the sewer? 18 But those things which proceed out of the mouth come from the heart, and they defile the man. 19 For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, sexual immorality, thefts, false witness, and blasphemies. 20 These are the things which defile a man. But to eat with unwashed hands does not defile a man.”
The Faith of the Canaanite Woman(B)
21 Then Jesus went from there and departed into the regions of Tyre and Sidon. 22 There, a woman of Canaan came out of the same regions and cried out to Him, saying, “Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David. My daughter is severely possessed by a demon.”
23 But He did not answer her a word. And His disciples came and begged Him, saying, “Send her away, for she cries out after us.”
24 But He answered, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.”
25 Then she came and worshipped Him, saying, “Lord, help me.”
26 But He answered, “It is not fair to take the children’s bread and to throw it to dogs.”
27 She said, “Yes, Lord, yet even dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters’ table.”
28 Then Jesus answered her, “O woman, great is your faith. Let it be done for you as you desire.” And her daughter was healed instantly.
The Healing of Many People
29 Jesus departed from there, and passed by the Sea of Galilee, and went up on a mountain and sat down there. 30 Great crowds came to Him, having with them those who were lame, blind, mute, maimed, and many others, and placed them down at Jesus’ feet, and He healed them, 31 so that the crowds wondered when they saw the mute speak, the maimed made whole, the lame walk, and the blind see. And they glorified the God of Israel.
The Feeding of the Four Thousand(C)
32 Then Jesus called His disciples to Him and said, “I have compassion on the crowd, because they have remained with Me now for three days and have nothing to eat. I will not send them away hungry, lest they faint on the way.”
33 His disciples said to Him, “Where will we get enough bread in the wilderness to feed such a great crowd?”
34 Jesus said to them, “How many loaves do you have?”
And they said, “Seven and a few little fish.”
35 He commanded the crowd to sit down on the ground. 36 He took the seven loaves and the fish, gave thanks, broke them, and gave them to His disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowd. 37 They all ate and were filled. And they collected seven baskets full of the broken pieces that were left. 38 Those who ate were four thousand men, besides women and children. 39 He sent the crowd away, and got into the boat, and went to the region of Magdala.
The Demand for a Sign(D)
16 The Pharisees and Sadducees came and, testing Him, asked Him to show them a sign from heaven.
2 He answered them, “When it is evening, you say, ‘It will be fair weather, for the sky is red,’ 3 and in the morning, ‘It will be foul weather today, for the sky is red and overcast.’ O you hypocrites, you can discern the face of the sky, but you cannot discern the signs of the times. 4 A wicked and adulterous generation seeks for a sign, but no sign shall be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah.” So He left them and departed.
The Yeast of Pharisees and Sadducees(E)
5 But when His disciples reached the other side, they had forgotten to take bread. 6 Then Jesus said to them, “Take heed and beware of the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees.”
7 They reasoned among themselves, saying, “It is because we have taken no bread.”
8 But when Jesus perceived it, He said to them, “O you of little faith, why reason among yourselves, that it is because you have brought no bread? 9 Do you not yet understand or remember the five loaves of the five thousand and how many baskets you collected? 10 Or the seven loaves of the four thousand and how many baskets you collected? 11 How is it that you do not understand that I spoke to you not concerning bread, but that you should beware of the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees?” 12 Then they understood that He did not tell them to beware of the yeast of bread, but of the teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees.
Peter’s Declaration About Jesus(F)
13 When Jesus came into the region of Caesarea Philippi, He asked His disciples, “Who do men say that I, the Son of Man, am?”
14 They said, “Some say that You are John the Baptist, others say Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.”
15 He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?”
16 Simon Peter replied, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”
17 Jesus answered him, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven. 18 And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it. 19 I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.” 20 Then He commanded His disciples to tell no one that He was Jesus the Christ.
Jesus Foretells His Death and Resurrection(G)
21 From that time on, Jesus began to show His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised on the third day.
22 Then Peter took Him and began rebuking Him, saying, “Far be it from You, Lord! This shall not happen to You.”
23 But He turned and said to Peter, “Get behind Me, Satan! You are an offense to Me, for you are not mindful of the things that are of God, but those that are of men.”
24 Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone will come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. 25 For whoever would save his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for My sake will find it. 26 For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses his own soul? Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul? 27 For the Son of Man shall come with His angels in the glory of His Father, and then He will repay every man according to his works. 28 Truly I say to you, there are some standing here who shall not taste death before they see the Son of Man coming in His kingdom.”
The Transfiguration(H)
17 After six days Jesus took Peter, James, and John his brother and brought them up to a high mountain alone, 2 and was transfigured before them. His face shone as the sun, and His garments became white as the light. 3 Suddenly Moses and Elijah appeared to them, talking with Him.
4 Then Peter said to Jesus, “Lord, it is good for us to be here. If You wish, let us make three tabernacles here: one for You, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.”
5 While he was still speaking, suddenly a bright cloud overshadowed them, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is My beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased. Listen to Him.”
6 When the disciples heard this, they fell on their faces and were filled with awe. 7 But Jesus came and touched them and said, “Rise, and do not be afraid.” 8 When they lifted up their eyes, they saw no one but Jesus only.
9 As they came down the mountain, Jesus commanded them, “Tell the vision to no one until the Son of Man is risen from the dead.”
10 His disciples asked Him, “Why then do the scribes say that Elijah must come first?”
11 Jesus answered, “Elijah truly does first come and will restore all things. 12 But I tell you that Elijah has already come, and they did not know him, but did to him whatever they pleased. Likewise, the Son of Man will also suffer at their hands.” 13 Then the disciples understood that He was speaking to them of John the Baptist.
The Healing of a Boy with a Demon(I)
14 When they came to the crowd, a man came to Him and knelt before Him, saying, 15 “Lord, have mercy on my son, for he is an epileptic and suffers terribly. He often falls into the fire and often into the water. 16 I brought him to Your disciples, but they could not heal him.”
17 Then Jesus answered, “O faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you? How long shall I bear with you? Bring him here to Me.” 18 Jesus rebuked the demon, and he came out of him. And the child was healed instantly.
19 Then the disciples came to Jesus privately and said, “Why could we not cast him out?”
20 Jesus said to them, “Because of your unbelief. For truly I say to you, if you have faith as a grain of mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. And nothing will be impossible for you. 21 But this kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting.”
Jesus Again Foretells His Death and Resurrection(J)
22 While they were staying in Galilee, Jesus said to them, “The Son of Man is about to be betrayed into the hands of men, 23 and they will kill Him, and He will be raised on the third day.” And they were extremely sorrowful.
Payment of the Temple Tax
24 When they came to Capernaum, those who collected tax money came to Peter and said, “Does your Teacher not pay the tax[d]?”
25 He said, “Yes.”
And when he came home, Jesus stopped him, saying, “What do you think, Simon? From whom do the kings of the earth take custom or taxes? From their own sons or from strangers?”
26 Peter said to Him, “From strangers.”
Jesus said to him, “Then the sons are free. 27 However, lest we offend them, go to the sea and cast a hook, and take the first fish that comes up. And when you open its mouth, you will find a coin. Take it and give it to them for you and Me.”
The Holy Bible, Modern English Version. Copyright © 2014 by Military Bible Association. Published and distributed by Charisma House.