Read the Gospels in 40 Days
Chapter 15
The Tradition of the Elders.[a] 1 (A)Then Pharisees and scribes came to Jesus from Jerusalem and said, 2 (B)“Why do your disciples break the tradition of the elders?[b] They do not wash [their] hands when they eat a meal.” 3 He said to them in reply, “And why do you break the commandment of God[c] for the sake of your tradition? 4 (C)For God said, ‘Honor your father and your mother,’ and ‘Whoever curses father or mother shall die.’ 5 [d]But you say, ‘Whoever says to father or mother, “Any support you might have had from me is dedicated to God,” 6 need not honor his father.’ You have nullified the word of God for the sake of your tradition. 7 Hypocrites, well did Isaiah prophesy about you when he said:
8 (D)‘This people honors me with their lips,[e]
but their hearts are far from me;
9 (E)in vain do they worship me,
teaching as doctrines human precepts.’”
10 (F)He summoned the crowd and said to them, “Hear and understand. 11 It is not what enters one’s mouth that defiles that person; but what comes out of the mouth is what defiles one.” 12 Then his disciples approached and said to him, “Do you know that the Pharisees took offense when they heard what you said?” 13 He said in reply,[f] “Every plant that my heavenly Father has not planted will be uprooted. 14 (G)Let them alone; they are blind guides (of the blind). If a blind person leads a blind person, both will fall into a pit.” 15 Then Peter[g] said to him in reply, “Explain [this] parable to us.” 16 He said to them, “Are even you still without understanding? 17 Do you not realize that everything that enters the mouth passes into the stomach and is expelled into the latrine? 18 (H)But the things that come out of the mouth come from the heart, and they defile. 19 [h]For from the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, unchastity, theft, false witness, blasphemy. 20 These are what defile a person, but to eat with unwashed hands does not defile.”
The Canaanite Woman’s Faith.[i] 21 (I)Then Jesus went from that place and withdrew to the region of Tyre and Sidon. 22 And behold, a Canaanite woman of that district came and called out, “Have pity on me, Lord, Son of David! My daughter is tormented by a demon.” 23 But he did not say a word in answer to her. His disciples came and asked him, “Send her away, for she keeps calling out after us.” 24 [j]He said in reply, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” 25 (J)But the woman came and did him homage, saying, “Lord, help me.” 26 He said in reply, “It is not right to take the food of the children[k] and throw it to the dogs.” 27 She said, “Please, Lord, for even the dogs eat the scraps that fall from the table of their masters.” 28 (K)Then Jesus said to her in reply, “O woman, great is your faith![l] Let it be done for you as you wish.” And her daughter was healed from that hour.
The Healing of Many People. 29 Moving on from there Jesus walked by the Sea of Galilee, went up on the mountain, and sat down there. 30 (L)Great crowds came to him, having with them the lame, the blind, the deformed, the mute, and many others. They placed them at his feet, and he cured them. 31 The crowds were amazed when they saw the mute speaking, the deformed made whole, the lame walking, and the blind able to see, and they glorified the God of Israel.
The Feeding of the Four Thousand.[m] 32 (M)Jesus summoned his disciples and said, “My heart is moved with pity for the crowd, for they have been with me now for three days and have nothing to eat. I do not want to send them away hungry, for fear they may collapse on the way.” 33 The disciples said to him, “Where could we ever get enough bread in this deserted place to satisfy such a crowd?” 34 Jesus said to them, “How many loaves do you have?” “Seven,” they replied, “and a few fish.” 35 He ordered the crowd to sit down on the ground. 36 Then he took the seven loaves and the fish, gave thanks,[n] broke the loaves, and gave them to the disciples, who in turn gave them to the crowds. 37 (N)They all ate and were satisfied. They picked up the fragments left over—seven baskets full. 38 Those who ate were four thousand men, not counting women and children. 39 And when he had dismissed the crowds, he got into the boat and came to the district of Magadan.
Chapter 16
The Demand for a Sign. 1 [o](O)The Pharisees and Sadducees came and, to test him, asked him to show them a sign from heaven. 2 [p]He said to them in reply, “[In the evening you say, ‘Tomorrow will be fair, for the sky is red’; 3 (P)and, in the morning, ‘Today will be stormy, for the sky is red and threatening.’ You know how to judge the appearance of the sky, but you cannot judge the signs of the times.] 4 (Q)An evil and unfaithful generation seeks a sign, but no sign will be given it except the sign of Jonah.”[q] Then he left them and went away.
The Leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees. 5 (R)In coming to the other side of the sea,[r] the disciples had forgotten to bring bread. 6 (S)Jesus said to them, “Look out, and beware of the leaven[s] of the Pharisees and Sadducees.” 7 [t]They concluded among themselves, saying, “It is because we have brought no bread.” 8 When Jesus became aware of this he said, “You of little faith, why do you conclude among yourselves that it is because you have no bread? 9 (T)Do you not yet understand, and do you not remember the five loaves for the five thousand, and how many wicker baskets you took up? 10 (U)Or the seven loaves for the four thousand, and how many baskets you took up? 11 How do you not comprehend that I was not speaking to you about bread? Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees.” 12 Then they understood[u] that he was not telling them to beware of the leaven of bread, but of the teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees.
Peter’s Confession About Jesus.[v] 13 (V)When Jesus went into the region of Caesarea Philippi[w] he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” 14 (W)They replied, “Some say John the Baptist,[x] others Elijah, still others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” 15 He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” 16 [y](X)Simon Peter said in reply, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” 17 Jesus said to him in reply, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah. For flesh and blood[z] has not revealed this to you, but my heavenly Father. 18 (Y)And so I say to you, you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church,[aa] and the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it. 19 (Z)I will give you the keys to the kingdom of heaven.[ab] Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.” 20 [ac](AA)Then he strictly ordered his disciples to tell no one that he was the Messiah.
The First Prediction of the Passion.[ad] 21 (AB)From that time on, Jesus began to show his disciples that he[ae] must go to Jerusalem and suffer greatly from the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed and on the third day be raised.(AC) 22 [af]Then Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him, “God forbid, Lord! No such thing shall ever happen to you.” 23 (AD)He turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are an obstacle to me. You are thinking not as God does, but as human beings do.”
The Conditions of Discipleship.[ag] 24 (AE)Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself,[ah] take up his cross, and follow me. 25 (AF)For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.[ai] 26 What profit would there be for one to gain the whole world and forfeit his life? Or what can one give in exchange for his life? 27 [aj](AG)For the Son of Man will come with his angels in his Father’s glory, and then he will repay everyone according to his conduct. 28 [ak]Amen, I say to you, there are some standing here who will not taste death until they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom.”
Scripture texts, prefaces, introductions, footnotes and cross references used in this work are taken from the New American Bible, revised edition © 2010, 1991, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc., Washington, DC All Rights Reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.