Tradition and Commandment

1Then some Pharisees and scribes *came to Jesus from Jerusalem and said, 2“Why do Your disciples break the tradition of the elders? For they do not wash their hands when they eat bread.” 3And He answered and said to them, “Why do you yourselves also break the commandment of God for the sake of your tradition? 4For God said, ‘HONOR YOUR FATHER AND MOTHER,’ and, ‘THE ONE WHO SPEAKS EVIL OF FATHER OR MOTHER IS TO [a]BE PUT TO DEATH.’ 5But you say, ‘Whoever says to his father or mother, “Whatever I have that would help you has been [b]given to God,” 6he is not to [c]honor his father or mother.’ And by this you have invalidated the word of God for the sake of your tradition. 7You hypocrites, rightly did Isaiah prophesy about you, by saying:

8‘THIS PEOPLE HONORS ME WITH THEIR LIPS,

BUT THEIR HEART IS FAR AWAY FROM ME.

9‘AND IN VAIN DO THEY WORSHIP ME,

TEACHING AS DOCTRINES THE COMMANDMENTS OF MEN.’”

10After Jesus called the crowd to Him, He said to them, “Hear and understand! 11It is not what enters the mouth that defiles the person, but what comes out of the mouth, this defiles the person.”

12Then the disciples came and *said to Him, “Do You know that the Pharisees were [d]offended when they heard this statement?” 13But He answered and said, “Every plant which My heavenly Father did not plant will be uprooted. 14Leave them alone; they are blind guides [e]of blind people. And if a person who is blind guides another who is blind, both will fall into a pit.”

The Heart of Man

15Peter [f]said to Him, “Explain the parable to us.” 16[g]Jesus said, “Are you also still lacking in understanding? 17Do you not understand that everything that goes into the mouth passes into the stomach, and is [h]eliminated? 18But the things that come out of the mouth come from the heart, and those things defile the person. 19For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murders, acts of adultery, other immoral sexual acts, thefts, false testimonies, and [i]slanderous statements. 20These are the things that defile the person; but to eat with unwashed hands does not defile the person.”

The Faith of a Canaanite Woman

21Jesus went away from there, and withdrew into the region of Tyre and Sidon. 22And a Canaanite woman from that region came out and began to cry out, saying, “Have mercy on me, Lord, Son of David; my daughter is severely demon-possessed.” 23But He did not answer her with even a word. And His disciples came up and urged Him, saying, “Send her away, because she keeps shouting [j]at us!” 24But He answered and said, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” 25But she came and began [k]to bow down before Him, saying, “Lord, help me!” 26Yet He answered and said, “It is not [l]good to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs.” 27And she said, “Yes, Lord; but please help, for even the dogs feed on the crumbs that fall from their masters’ table.” 28Then Jesus said to her, “O woman, your faith is great; it shall be done for you as you desire.” And her daughter was healed [m]at once.

Healing Crowds

29Departing from there, Jesus went along the Sea of Galilee, and after going up on the mountain, He was sitting there. 30And [n]large crowds came to Him bringing with them those who were limping, had impaired limbs, were blind, or were unable to speak, and many others, and they laid them down at His feet; and He healed them. 31So the crowd was astonished as they saw those who were unable to speak talking, those with impaired limbs [o]restored, those who were limping walking around, and those who were blind seeing; and they glorified the God of Israel.

Four Thousand Men Fed

32Now Jesus called His disciples to Him and said, “I feel compassion for the [p]people, because they [q]have remained with Me now for three days and have nothing to eat; and I do not want to send them away hungry, for they might faint on the way.” 33The disciples *said to Him, “Where would we get so many loaves in this desolate place to satisfy such a large crowd?” 34And Jesus *said to them, “How many loaves do you have?” And they said, “Seven, and a few small fish.” 35And He directed the [r]people to [s]sit down on the ground; 36and He took the seven loaves and the fish; and after giving thanks, He broke them and started giving them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds. 37And they all ate and were satisfied, and they picked up what was left over of the broken pieces, seven large baskets full. 38And those who ate were four thousand men, besides women and children.

39And sending away the crowds, Jesus got into the boat and came to the region of Magadan.