Matthew 15:13-33

13 "Every plant which my Father in heaven did not plant will be pulled up," answered Jesus.
14 "Don't worry about them! They are blind leaders of the blind; and when one blind man leads another, both fall into a ditch." 1
15 Peter spoke up, "Explain this saying to us."
16 Jesus said to them, "You are still no more intelligent than the others.
17 Don't you understand? Anything that goes into your mouth goes into your stomach and then on out of your body.
18 But the things that come out of the mouth come from the heart, and these are the things that make you ritually unclean. 2
19 For from your heart come the evil ideas which lead you to kill, commit adultery, and do other immoral things; to rob, lie, and slander others.
20 These are the things that make you unclean. But to eat without washing your hands as they say you should - this doesn't make you unclean."
21 Jesus left that place and went off to the territory near the cities of Tyre and Sidon.
22 A Canaanite woman who lived in that region came to him. "Son of David!" she cried out. "Have mercy on me, sir! My daughter has a demon and is in a terrible condition."
23 But Jesus did not say a word to her. His disciples came to him and begged him, "Send her away! She is following us and making all this noise!"
24 Then Jesus replied, "I have been sent only to the lost sheep of the people of Israel."
25 At this the woman came and fell at his feet. "Help me, sir!" she said.
26 Jesus answered, "It isn't right to take the children's food and throw it to the dogs."
27 "That's true, sir," she answered, "but even the dogs eat the leftovers that fall from their masters' table."
28 So Jesus answered her, "You are a woman of great faith! What you want will be done for you." And at that very moment her daughter was healed.
29 Jesus left there and went along by Lake Galilee. He climbed a hill and sat down.
30 Large crowds came to him, bringing with them the lame, the blind, the crippled, the dumb, and many other sick people, whom they placed at Jesus' feet; and he healed them.
31 The people were amazed as they saw the dumb speaking, the crippled made whole, the lame walking, and the blind seeing; and they praised the God of Israel.
32 Jesus called his disciples to him and said, "I feel sorry for these people, because they have been with me for three days and now have nothing to eat. I don't want to send them away without feeding them, for they might faint on their way home."
33 The disciples asked him, "Where will we find enough food in this desert to feed this crowd?"

Cross References 2

  • 1. 15.14Luke 6.39.
  • 2. 15.18Matthew 12.34.
Scripture taken from the Good News Translation - Second Edition, Copyright 1992 by American Bible Society. Used by Permission.