Matthew / Tradition, Purity, and the Canaanite Woman's Faith

Tradition, Purity, and the Canaanite Woman's Faith

Matthew 15:1-28

Chapter 15

¹ Then the Pharisees and scribes came to Jesus from Jerusalem, saying, ² "Why do your disciples transgress the tradition of the elders? For they do not wash their hands when they eat bread." ³ But he answered and said to them, "Why do you also transgress the commandment of God for the sake of your tradition?" ⁴ For God said, "Honor your father and your mother," and, "The one who speaks evil of his father or his mother shall end by death." ⁵ But you say, "Whoever says to his father or his mother, 'Whatever you might have been benefited by me is a gift,'" ⁶ "He will certainly not honor his father." And you have nullified the word of God through your tradition. ⁷ Hypocrites, Isaiah well prophesied about you, saying: ⁸ This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me. ⁹ But in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men. ¹⁰ Calling the crowd to him, he said to them: "Hear and understand." ¹¹ It is not what enters the mouth that defiles a person, but what comes out of the mouth—this defiles a person. ¹² Then the disciples approached him and said, "Do you know that the Pharisees were offended when they heard this word?" ¹³ But he answered and said, "Every plant that my heavenly Father did not plant will be uprooted." ¹⁴ Leave them alone. They are blind guides of the blind. But if a blind man guides a blind man, both will fall into a pit. ¹⁵ Peter answered him, "Explain the parable to us." ¹⁶ He said, "Are even you still without understanding?" ¹⁷ Do you not yet understand that everything that enters the mouth goes into the stomach and is expelled into the latrine? ¹⁸ But the things that come out of the mouth come from the heart, and those defile a person. ¹⁹ For from the heart come evil reasonings, murders, adulteries, sexual immoralities, thefts, false testimonies, blasphemies. ²⁰ These are the things that defile a person, but to eat with unwashed hands does not defile a person. ²¹ Leaving there, Jesus withdrew to the region of Tyre and Sidon. ²² And a Canaanite woman from those borders came out and cried out, saying, "Have mercy on me, Lord, son of David; my daughter is badly demonized." ²³ But he did not answer her a word. His disciples approached and asked him, "Send her away, because she keeps crying out after us." ²⁴ But he answered, "I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel." ²⁵ But she came and worshiped him, saying, "Lord, help me." ²⁶ But he answered and said, "It is not good to take the children's bread and throw it to the little dogs." ²⁷ But she said, "Yes, Lord, for even the little dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters' table." ²⁸ Then Jesus answered her, "Woman, great is your faith; be it done for you as you wish." And her daughter was healed from that hour.