Day 290: Matthew 15 - 17

Chapter 15

The Things that Defile 

1: Then 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 before they eat." 

3: He answered them, "And why do you break the commandment of God for the sake of your tradition? 

4: For God said, "Honor your father and your mother,' and, "Whoever speaks evil of father or mother must surely die.' 

5: But you say that whoever tells father or mother, "Whatever support you might have had from me is given to God,' then that person need not honor the father.

6: So, for the sake of your tradition, you make void the word of God. 

7: You hypocrites! Isaiah prophesied rightly about you when he said: 

8: "This people honors me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me; 

9: in vain do they worship me, teaching human precepts as doctrines.' "

10: Then he called the crowd to him and said to them, "Listen and understand: 

11: it is not what goes into the mouth that defiles a person, but it is what comes out of the mouth that defiles." 

12: Then the disciples approached and said to him, "Do you know that the Pharisees took offense when they heard what you said?" 

13: He answered, "Every plant that my heavenly Father has not planted will be uprooted.

14: Let them alone; they are blind guides of the blind. And if one blind person guides another, both will fall into a pit." 

15: But Peter said to him, "Explain this parable to us." 

16: Then he said, "Are you also still without understanding? 

17: Do you not see that whatever goes into the mouth enters the stomach, and goes out into the sewer? 

18: But what comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart, and this is what defiles. 

19: For out of the heart come evil intentions, murder, adultery, fornication, theft, false witness, slander. 

20: These are what defile a person, but to eat with unwashed hands does not defile."

The Canaanite Woman's Faith 

21: Jesus left that place and went away to the district of Tyre and Sidon. 

22: Just then a Canaanite woman from that region came out and started shouting, "Have mercy on me, Lord, Son of David; my daughter is tormented by a demon." 

23: But he did not answer her at all. And his disciples came and urged him, saying, "Send her away, for she keeps shouting after us." 

24: He answered, "I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel." 

25: But she came and knelt before him, saying, "Lord, help me." 

26: He answered, "It is not fair to take the children's food and throw it to the dogs." 

27: She said, "Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters' table." 

28: Then Jesus answered her, "Woman, great is your faith! Let it be done for you as you wish." And her daughter was healed instantly.

Jesus Heals Many people  

29: After Jesus had left that place, he passed along the Sea of Galilee, and he went up the mountain, where he sat down. 

30: Great crowds came to him, bringing with them the lame, the maimed, the blind, the mute, and many others. They put them at his feet, and he cured them, 

31: so that the crowd was amazed when they saw the mute speaking, the maimed whole, the lame walking, and the blind seeing. And they praised the God of Israel.

The Feeding of the Four Thousand 

32: Then Jesus called his disciples to him and said, "I have compassion for the crowd, because they have been 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." 

33: The disciples said to him, "Where are we to get enough bread in the desert to feed so great a crowd?" 

34: Jesus asked them, "How many loaves have you?" They said, "Seven, and a few small fish." 

35: Then ordering the crowd to sit down on the ground, 

36: he took the seven loaves and the fish; and after giving thanks he broke them and gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds. 

37: And all of them ate and were filled; and they took up the broken pieces left over, seven baskets full.

 38: Those who had eaten were four thousand men, besides women and children. 

39: After sending away the crowds, he got into the boat and went to the region of Magadan.

Chapter 16

The Demand for a Sign

1: The Pharisees and Sadducees came, and to test Jesus they 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 stormy today, for the sky is red and threatening.' You know how to interpret the appearance of the sky, but you cannot interpret the signs of the times. 

4: An evil and adulterous generation asks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of Jonah." Then he left them and went away.

The Leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees

5: When the disciples reached the other side, they had forgotten to bring any bread. 

6: Jesus said to them, "Watch out, and beware of the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees." 

7: They said to one another, "It is because we have brought no bread." 

8: And becoming aware of it, Jesus said, "You of little faith, why are you talking about having no bread? 

9: Do you still not perceive? Do you not remember the five loaves for the five thousand, and how many baskets you gathered? 

10: Or the seven loaves for the four thousand, and how many baskets you gathered?

11: How could you fail to perceive that I was not speaking about bread? Beware of the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees!" 

12: Then they understood that he had not told them to beware of the yeast of bread, but of the teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees.

Peter's Confession

13: Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, "Who do people say that the Son of Man is?" 

14: And they said, "Some say John the Baptist, but others Elijah, and still others Jeremiah or one of the prophets." 

15: He said to them, "But who do you say that I am?" 

16: Simon Peter answered, "You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God." 

17: And Jesus answered him, "Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father in heaven. 

18: And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it. 

19: I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven." 

20: Then he sternly ordered the disciples not to tell anyone that he was the Messiah.

Jesus Foretells His Death

21: From that time on, Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and undergo great suffering at the hands of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised. 

22: And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him, saying, "God forbid it, Lord! This must never happen to you." 

23: But he turned and said to Peter, "Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; for you are setting your mind not on divine things but on human things."

24: Then Jesus told his disciples, "If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. 

25: For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will find it. 

26: For what will it profit them if they gain the whole world but forfeit their life? Or what will they give in return for their life? 

27: "For the Son of Man is to come with his angels in the glory of his Father, and then he will repay everyone for what has been done. 

28: Truly I tell you, there are some standing here who will not taste death before they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom."

Chapter 17

The Transfiguration

1: Six days later, Jesus took with him Peter and James and his brother John and led them up a high mountain, by themselves. 

2: And he was transfigured before them, and his face shone like the sun, and his clothes became dazzling white. 

3: Suddenly there appeared to them Moses and Elijah, talking with him. 

4: Then Peter said to Jesus, "Lord, it is good for us to be here; if you wish, I will make three dwellings here, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah." 

5: While he was still speaking, suddenly a bright cloud overshadowed them, and from the cloud a voice said, "This is my Son, the Beloved; with him I am well pleased; listen to him!" 

6: When the disciples heard this, they fell to the ground and were overcome by fear. 

7: But Jesus came and touched them, saying, "Get up and do not be afraid." 

8: And when they looked up, they saw no one except Jesus himself alone. 

9: As they were coming down the mountain, Jesus ordered them, "Tell no one about the vision until after the Son of Man has been raised from the dead." 

10: And the disciples asked him, "Why, then, do the scribes say that Elijah must come first?" 

11: He replied, "Elijah is indeed coming and will restore all things; 

12: but I tell you that Elijah has already come, and they did not recognize him, but they did to him whatever they pleased. So also the Son of Man is about to suffer at their hands." 

13: Then the disciples understood that he was speaking to them about John the Baptist.

Jesus Heals a Boy with an Unclean Spirit

14: When they came to the crowd, a man came to him, knelt before him, 

15: and said, "Lord, have mercy on my son, for he is an epileptic and he suffers terribly; he often falls into the fire and often into the water. 

16: And I brought him to your disciples, but they could not cure him." 

17: Jesus answered, "You faithless and perverse generation, how much longer must I be with you? How much longer must I put up with you? Bring him here to me." 

18: And Jesus rebuked the demon, and it came out of him, and the boy was cured instantly. 

19: Then the disciples came to Jesus privately and said, "Why could we not cast it out?" 

20: He said to them, "Because of your little faith. For truly I tell you, if you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, "Move from here to there,' and it will move;

21: and nothing will be impossible for you." 

Jesus Again Foretells His Death

22: As they were gathering in Galilee, Jesus said to them, "The Son of Man is going to be betrayed into human hands, 

23: and they will kill him, and on the third day he will be raised." And they were greatly distressed.

Payment of the Tribute Money

24: When they reached Capernaum, the collectors of the temple tax came to Peter and said, "Does your teacher not pay the temple tax?" 

25: He said, "Yes, he does." And when he came home, Jesus spoke of it first, asking, "What do you think, Simon? From whom do kings of the earth take toll or tribute? From their children or from others?" 

26: When Peter said, "From others," Jesus said to him, "Then the children are free. 

27: However, so that we do not give offense to them, go to the sea and cast a hook; take the first fish that comes up; and when you open its mouth, you will find a coin; take that and give it to them for you and me."