Matthew 15:1-20

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 be put to death.’ ⁵But you say, ‘Whoever says to his father or mother, “Whatever I have that would help you has been given to God,” ⁶he is not to 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 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 of blind people. And if a person who is blind guides another who is blind, both will fall into a pit.”

The Heart of Mankind

¹⁵Peter said to Him, “Explain the parable to us.” ¹⁶Jesus 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 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 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