New International Reader s Version - NIrV - 1996
Matthew 15
1
Some Pharisees and some teachers of the law came from Jerusalem to see Jesus. They asked,
Reference
References Jerusalem
Mark 3:22
Resurrection
Acts 23:9
Matthew 5:20
Matthew 23:2
Luke 5:21
Luke 5:17
Luke 5:30
2
"Why don't your disciples obey what the elders teach? Your disciples don't wash their hands before they eat!"
Reference
3
Jesus replied, "And why don't you obey God's command? You would rather follow your own teachings!
Reference
4
God said, 'Honor your father and mother.'--(Exodus 20:12; Deuteronomy 5:16) He also said, 'If anyone calls down a curse on his father or mother, he will be put to death.'--(Exodus 21:17; Leviticus 20:9)
Reference
Curse
Exodus 21:17
Leviticus 20:9
Proverbs 20:20
Parallel theme
Proverbs 23:22
Matthew 19:19
Ephesians 6:1
References God
Exodus 20:12
Deuteronomy 5:16
Leviticus 19:3
Romans 3:31
5
But you allow people to say to their parents, 'Any help you might have received from us is a gift set apart for God.'
Reference
Parallel theme
Acts 5:29
6
So they do not need to honor their parents with their gift. You make the word of God useless in order to follow your own teachings.
Reference
7
"You pretenders! Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you. He said,
Reference
Parallel theme
Mark 7:6
9
Their worship doesn't mean anything to me. They teach nothing but human rules.' " --(Isaiah 29:13)
Reference
11
What goes into your mouth does not make you 'unclean.' It's what comes out of your mouth that makes you 'unclean.' "
Reference
12
Then the disciples came to him. They asked, "Do you know that the Pharisees were angry when they heard this?"
13
Jesus replied, "There are plants that my Father in heaven has not planted. They will be pulled up by the roots.
Reference
14
Leave them. The Pharisees are blind guides. If a blind person leads another who is blind, both of them will fall into a pit."
Reference
15
Peter said, "Explain this to us."
Reference
Parallel theme
Matthew 13:36
16
"Don't you understand yet?" Jesus asked them.
Reference
Parallel theme
Matthew 16:9
Mark 7:18
Mark 9:32
Matthew 15:10
Hebrews 5:12
Mark 6:52
Matthew 16:11
Luke 9:45
Luke 18:34
References Jesus
Matthew 13:51
17
"Don't you see? Everything that enters the mouth goes into the stomach. Then it goes out of the body.
Reference
18
But the things that come out of the mouth come from the heart. Those are the things that make you 'unclean.'
Reference
19
Evil thoughts come out of the heart. So do murder, adultery, and other sexual sins. And so do stealing, false witness, and telling lies about others.
Reference
20
Those are the things that make you 'unclean.' But eating without washing your hands does not make you 'unclean.' "
21
Jesus left Galilee and went to the area of Tyre and Sidon.
22
A woman from Canaan lived near Tyre and Sidon. She came to him and cried out, "Lord! Son of David! Have mercy on me! A demon controls my daughter. She is suffering terribly."
Reference
23
Jesus did not say a word. So his disciples came to him. They begged him, "Send her away. She keeps crying out after us."
Reference
Parallel theme
Matthew 14:15
25
Then the woman fell to her knees in front of him. "Lord! Help me!" she said.
Reference
Parallel theme
Mark 9:22
Genesis 32:26
Hosea 12:4
References Lord
Matthew 20:31
Worship
Matthew 14:33
Matthew 8:2
26
He replied, "It is not right to take the children's bread and throw it to their dogs."
Reference
Parallel theme
Matthew 7:6
Ephesians 2:12
Philippians 3:2
Revelation 22:15
Romans 9:4
Galatians 2:15
27
"Yes, Lord," she said. "But even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their owners' table."
Reference
Parallel theme
Ephesians 3:8
Luke 16:21
Romans 3:29
Matthew 5:45
Luke 18:13
References Lord
Romans 10:12
Matthew 8:8
Ezekiel 16:63
Truth
Romans 3:4
Genesis 32:10
28
Then Jesus answered, "Woman, you have great faith! You will be given what you are asking for." And her daughter was healed at that very moment.
Reference
Faith
Matthew 8:13
Mark 5:34
Matthew 9:22
Matthew 8:10
Job 13:15
Luke 17:5
Luke 7:50
Matthew 14:31
Parallel theme
Psalm 145:19
Job 23:10
29
Jesus left there. He walked along the Sea of Galilee. Then he went up on a mountainside and sat down.
Reference
30
Large crowds came to him. They brought blind people and those who could not walk. They also brought disabled people, those who could not speak, and many others. They laid them at his feet, and he healed them.
Reference
Parallel theme
Psalm 103:3
31
The people were amazed. Those who could not speak were speaking. The disabled were made well. Those not able to walk were walking. Those who were blind could see. So the people praised the God of Israel.
Reference
Glory
Matthew 9:8
Luke 7:16
Mark 2:12
Parallel theme
Matthew 18:8
Psalm 50:15
Mark 7:37
Mark 9:43
References God
Luke 18:43
Psalm 50:23
References Israel
Matthew 9:33
32
Then Jesus called for his disciples to come to him. He said, "I feel deep concern for these people. They have already been with me three days. They don't have anything to eat. I don't want to send them away hungry. If I do, they will become too weak on their way home."
Reference
33
His disciples answered him. "There is nothing here," they said. "Where could we get enough bread to feed this large crowd?"
Reference
34
"How many loaves do you have?" Jesus asked. "Seven," they replied, "and a few small fish."
36
He took the seven loaves and the fish and gave thanks. Then he broke them and gave them to the disciples. And the disciples passed them out to the people.
Reference
37
All of them ate and were satisfied. After that, the disciples picked up seven baskets of leftover pieces.
38
The number of men who ate was 4,000. Women and children also ate.
Chapter Summary
Matthew 15 begins with a confrontation between Jesus and the Pharisees and scribes, who criticize His disciples for eating without performing a traditional ceremonial handwashing, but Jesus responds by exposing how religious traditions can become dangerous when they are elevated above God's actual commands.
Jesus uses the example of honoring one's parents to demonstrate how a religious tradition could allow people to avoid a responsibility clearly established by God's law, revealing that outward religious behavior can become hypocritical when it is separated from genuine obedience and love.
Jesus then teaches that spiritual impurity comes from within the heart, not from food entering the body or from merely failing to observe a ceremonial washing ritual, because evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, and slander all originate within the person.
This teaching moves the focus of holiness from external appearances to inner character, showing that religious purity cannot be achieved simply by following visible customs while allowing the heart to remain corrupted by selfishness, hatred, dishonesty, and destructive desires.
Jesus then travels toward the region of Tyre and Sidon, where a Canaanite woman approaches Him because her daughter is suffering from demonic oppression, and despite the apparent obstacles she encounters, she continues to plead for mercy with extraordinary humility and persistence.
When Jesus tests her response through the image of children and household dogs, the woman responds with remarkable faith, acknowledging the priority of Israel while trusting that even the smallest portion of Jesus' mercy is enough, and Jesus praises her great faith before healing her daughter.
The story is especially significant because the woman comes from outside the traditional boundaries of Israel, demonstrating that faith and dependence upon Jesus are more important than ethnic or social status, while also anticipating the broader mission to the nations that becomes clearer later in Matthew.
Jesus then returns to the Sea of Galilee, where enormous crowds bring people suffering from many different physical conditions, and Jesus heals them, causing the people to glorify the God of Israel because of what they have witnessed.
Once again, Jesus sees the physical needs of a large crowd and refuses to send them away hungry, leading to the feeding of the four thousand, where seven loaves and a few fish become sufficient to satisfy the entire gathering with seven baskets of food remaining.
The second feeding reinforces the lesson that Jesus is able to provide abundantly even when His disciples see only scarcity, while the different geographical and cultural setting also contributes to the broader theme of God's provision extending beyond the narrow boundaries of the Jewish community.
The central message is that Matthew 15 contrasts external religion with genuine holiness, showing that God is concerned primarily with the condition of the human heart, while Jesus demonstrates that His mercy, authority, healing, and provision reach people who respond to Him with genuine faith and humility.
The chapter ultimately teaches that true faith is not measured by outward religious appearance or inherited tradition but by a transformed heart that recognizes its need for God, responds to Jesus with humility and persistence, and trusts His mercy even when circumstances appear to place His help beyond reach.
Jesus uses the example of honoring one's parents to demonstrate how a religious tradition could allow people to avoid a responsibility clearly established by God's law, revealing that outward religious behavior can become hypocritical when it is separated from genuine obedience and love.
Jesus then teaches that spiritual impurity comes from within the heart, not from food entering the body or from merely failing to observe a ceremonial washing ritual, because evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, and slander all originate within the person.
This teaching moves the focus of holiness from external appearances to inner character, showing that religious purity cannot be achieved simply by following visible customs while allowing the heart to remain corrupted by selfishness, hatred, dishonesty, and destructive desires.
Jesus then travels toward the region of Tyre and Sidon, where a Canaanite woman approaches Him because her daughter is suffering from demonic oppression, and despite the apparent obstacles she encounters, she continues to plead for mercy with extraordinary humility and persistence.
When Jesus tests her response through the image of children and household dogs, the woman responds with remarkable faith, acknowledging the priority of Israel while trusting that even the smallest portion of Jesus' mercy is enough, and Jesus praises her great faith before healing her daughter.
The story is especially significant because the woman comes from outside the traditional boundaries of Israel, demonstrating that faith and dependence upon Jesus are more important than ethnic or social status, while also anticipating the broader mission to the nations that becomes clearer later in Matthew.
Jesus then returns to the Sea of Galilee, where enormous crowds bring people suffering from many different physical conditions, and Jesus heals them, causing the people to glorify the God of Israel because of what they have witnessed.
Once again, Jesus sees the physical needs of a large crowd and refuses to send them away hungry, leading to the feeding of the four thousand, where seven loaves and a few fish become sufficient to satisfy the entire gathering with seven baskets of food remaining.
The second feeding reinforces the lesson that Jesus is able to provide abundantly even when His disciples see only scarcity, while the different geographical and cultural setting also contributes to the broader theme of God's provision extending beyond the narrow boundaries of the Jewish community.
The central message is that Matthew 15 contrasts external religion with genuine holiness, showing that God is concerned primarily with the condition of the human heart, while Jesus demonstrates that His mercy, authority, healing, and provision reach people who respond to Him with genuine faith and humility.
The chapter ultimately teaches that true faith is not measured by outward religious appearance or inherited tradition but by a transformed heart that recognizes its need for God, responds to Jesus with humility and persistence, and trusts His mercy even when circumstances appear to place His help beyond reach.