Traditions and Commandments

1 ^eThen Pharisees and ^fscribes came to Jesus ^ffrom Jerusalem and said, 2 ^g“Why do your disciples break ^hthe tradition of the elders? ^jFor they do not wash their hands when they eat.” 3 He answered them, “And why do you break the commandment of God for the sake of your tradition? 4 For God commanded, ^k‘Honor your father and your mother,’ and, ^l‘Whoever reviles father or mother must surely die.’ 5 But you say, ‘If anyone tells his father or his mother, “What you would have gained from me is given to God,”¹ 6 he need not honor his father.’ So for the sake of your tradition you have ^mmade void the word² of God. 7 ⁿYou hypocrites! Well did Isaiah prophesy of you, when he said:

What Defiles a Person

10 And he called the people to him and said to them, ^q“Hear and understand: 11 ^rit is not what goes into the mouth that defiles a person, but what comes out of the mouth; this defiles a person.” 12 Then the disciples came and said to him, “Do you know that the Pharisees were ^soffended when they heard this saying?” 13 He answered, ^t“Every plant that my heavenly Father has not planted ^uwill be rooted up. 14 Let them alone; ^vthey are blind guides.³ And ^wif the blind lead the blind, both will fall into a pit.” 15 But Peter said to him, ^x“Explain the parable to us.” 16 And he said, ^y“Are you also still without understanding? 17 Do you not see that ^zwhatever goes into the mouth passes into the stomach and is expelled?⁴ 18 But ^awhat comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart, and this defiles a person. 19 For out of the heart come ^bevil thoughts, ^cmurder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, ^dslander. 20 ^eThese are what defile a person. But ^fto eat with unwashed hands does not defile anyone.”

The Faith of a Canaanite Woman

21 ^gAnd Jesus went away from there and withdrew to the district of Tyre and Sidon. 22 And behold, ^ha Canaanite woman from that region came out and was crying, ⁱ“Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David; my daughter is severely oppressed by a demon.” 23 But he did not answer her a word. And his disciples came and begged him, saying, ^j“Send her away, for she is crying out after us.” 24 He answered, ^k“I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” 25 But she came and ^lknelt before him, saying, “Lord, help me.” 26 And he answered, “It is not right to take the children’s bread and ^mthrow it to the dogs.” 27 She said, “Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat ⁿthe crumbs that fall from their masters’ table.” 28 Then Jesus answered her, “O woman, ^ogreat is your faith! ^pBe it done for you as you desire.” ^qAnd her daughter was ^phealed instantly.⁵

Jesus Heals Many

29 ^rJesus went on from there and walked ^sbeside the Sea of Galilee. And he ^twent up on the mountain and sat down there. 30 And great crowds came to him, bringing with them ^uthe lame, the blind, the crippled, the mute, and many others, and they put them at his feet, and he healed them, 31 ^vso that the crowd wondered, when they saw the mute speaking, ^wthe crippled healthy, the lame walking, and the blind seeing. And ^xthey glorified ^ythe God of Israel.

Jesus Feeds the Four Thousand

32 ^zThen Jesus called his disciples to him and said, ^a“I have compassion on the crowd because they have been with me now three days and have nothing to eat. And I am unwilling to send them away hungry, lest they faint on the way.” 33 And the disciples said to him, “Where are we to get enough bread in such a desolate place to feed so great a crowd?” 34 And Jesus said to them, “How many loaves do you have?” They said, ^b“Seven, and a few small fish.” 35 And directing the crowd to sit down on the ground, 36 he took the seven loaves and the fish, and ^chaving given thanks he broke them and gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds. 37 And ^dthey all ate and were satisfied. And they took up seven baskets full of the broken pieces left over. 38 Those who ate were four thousand men, besides women and children. 39 And after sending away the crowds, he got into the boat and went to the region of ^eMagadan.

The Pharisees and Sadducees Demand Signs

1 ^fAnd the Pharisees and Sadducees came, and ^gto test him ^hthey asked him to show them ⁱa sign from heaven. 2 He answered them,^{6 j}“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.’ ^kYou know how to interpret the appearance of the sky, but you cannot interpret ^lthe signs of the times. 4 ^mAn evil and adulterous generation seeks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of Jonah.” So ⁿhe left them and departed.

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 and ^obeware of ^pthe leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees.” 7 And they began discussing it among themselves, saying, “We brought no bread.” 8 But ^qJesus, aware of this, said, ^r“O you of little faith, why are you discussing among yourselves the fact that you have no bread? 9 ^sDo you not yet perceive? Do you not remember ^tthe five loaves for the five thousand, and how many baskets you gathered? 10 Or ^uthe seven loaves for the four thousand, and how many baskets you gathered? 11 How is it that you fail to understand that I did not speak about bread? ^oBeware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees.” 12 ^vThen they understood that he did not tell them to beware of the leaven of bread, but of ^wthe teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees.

Peter Confesses Jesus as the Christ

13 ^xNow 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 ^yJohn the Baptist, others say ^zElijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” 15 He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” 16 Simon Peter replied, ^a“You are ^bthe Christ, ^cthe Son of ^dthe living God.” 17 And Jesus answered him, ^e“Blessed are you, ^fSimon Bar-Jonah! For ^gflesh and blood has not revealed this to you, ^hbut my Father who is in heaven. 18 And I tell you, ⁱyou are Peter, and ^jon this rock⁷ I will build my church, and ^kthe gates of ^lhell⁸ shall not prevail against it. 19 I will give you ^mthe keys of the kingdom of heaven, and ⁿwhatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed⁹ in heaven.” 20 ^oThen he strictly charged the disciples to tell no one that he was the Christ.

Jesus Foretells His Death and Resurrection

21 ^pFrom that time Jesus began to show his disciples that ^qhe must go to Jerusalem and ^rsuffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on ^sthe third day be raised. 22 And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him, saying, “Far be it from you, Lord!¹⁰ This shall never happen to you.” 23 But he turned and said to Peter, ^t“Get behind me, Satan! You are ^ua hindrance¹¹ to me. For you ^vare not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man.”

Take Up Your Cross and Follow Jesus

24 Then Jesus told his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, let him ^wdeny himself and ^xtake up his cross and follow me. 25 For ^xwhoever would save his life¹² will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. 26 For ^ywhat will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or ^zwhat shall a man give in return for his soul? 27 ^aFor the Son of Man is going to come with ^bhis angels in the glory of his Father, and ^cthen he will repay each person according to what he has done. 28 Truly, I say to you, there are some standing here who will not ^dtaste death ^euntil they see the Son of Man ^fcoming in his kingdom.”

I Cry Out Day and Night Before You

A Song. A Psalm of ^zthe Sons of Korah. To the choirmaster: according to ^aMahalath Leannoth. A Maskil¹ of ^bHeman the Ezrahite.