Lockman - Bible questions and answers

		Matt 15:1 Then some Pharisees and scribes from Jerusalem came to Jesus and said,
		Matt 15:2 "Why do Your disciples violate the tradition (religious laws) handed down by the [Jewish] elders? For Your disciples do not [ceremonially] wash their hands before they eat."
		Matt 15:3 He replied to them, "Why also do you violate the commandment of God for the sake of your tradition [handed down by the elders]?
		Matt 15:4 "For God said [through Moses], 'HONOR YOUR FATHER AND MOTHER,' and, 'HE WHO SPEAKS EVIL OF or INSULTS or TREATS IMPROPERLY FATHER OR MOTHER IS TO BE PUT TO DEATH.' [Ex 20:12; 21:17; Lev 20:9; Deut 5:16]
		Matt 15:5 "But you say, 'If anyone says to his father or mother, "Whatever [money or resource that] I have that would help you is [already dedicated and] given to God,"
		Matt 15:6 he is not to honor his father or his mother [by helping them with their need].' So by this you have invalidated the word of God [depriving it of force and authority and making it of no effect] for the sake of your tradition [handed down by the elders].
		Matt 15:7 "You hypocrites (play-actors, pretenders), rightly did Isaiah prophesy of you when he said,
		Matt 15:8 'THIS PEOPLE HONORS ME WITH THEIR LIPS, BUT THEIR HEART IS FAR AWAY FROM ME.
		Matt 15:9 'BUT IN VAIN DO THEY WORSHIP ME, FOR THEY TEACH AS DOCTRINES THE PRECEPTS OF MEN.'" [Is 29:13]
		Matt 15:10 ¶ After Jesus called the crowd to Him, He said, "Listen and understand this:
		Matt 15:11 It is not what goes into the mouth of a man that defiles and dishonors him, but what comes out of the mouth, this defiles and dishonors him."
		Matt 15:12 ¶ Then the disciples came and said to Jesus, "Do You know that the Pharisees were offended when they heard you say this?"
		Matt 15:13 He answered, "Every plant which My heavenly Father did not plant will be torn up by the roots. [Is 60:21]
		Matt 15:14 "Leave them alone; they are blind guides [leading blind followers]. If a blind man leads a blind man, both will fall into a pit."
		Matt 15:15 ¶ Peter asked Him, "Explain this parable [about what defiles a person] to us."
		Matt 15:16 And He said, "Are you still so dull [and unable to put things together]?
		Matt 15:17 "Do you not understand that whatever goes into the mouth passes into the stomach, and is eliminated?
		Matt 15:18 "But whatever [word] comes out of the mouth comes from the heart, and this is what defiles and dishonors the man.
		Matt 15:19 "For out of the heart come evil thoughts and plans, murders, adulteries, sexual immoralities, thefts, false testimonies, slanders (verbal abuse, irreverent speech, blaspheming).
		Matt 15:20 "These are the things which defile and dishonor the man; but eating with [ceremonially] unwashed hands does not defile the man."
		Matt 15:21 ¶ After leaving there, Jesus withdrew to the district of Tyre and Sidon. [Mark 7:24-30]
		Matt 15:22 And a Canaanite woman from that district came out and began to cry out [urgently], saying, "Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David (Messiah); my daughter is cruelly possessed by a demon."
		Matt 15:23 But He did not say a word in answer to her. And His disciples came and asked Him [repeatedly], "Send her away, because she keeps shouting out after us."
		Matt 15:24 He answered, "I was commissioned by God and sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel."
		Matt 15:25 But she came and began to kneel down before Him, saying, "Lord, help me!"
		Matt 15:26 And He replied, "It is not good (appropriate, fair) to take the children's bread and throw it to the pet dogs."
		Matt 15:27 She said, "Yes, Lord; but even the pet dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their [young] masters' table."
		Matt 15:28 Then Jesus answered her, "Woman, your faith [your personal trust and confidence in My power] is great; it will be done for you as you wish." And her daughter was healed from that moment.
		Matt 15:29 ¶ Jesus went on from there and passed along by [the eastern shore of] the Sea of Galilee. Then He went up on the hillside and was sitting there.
		Matt 15:30 And great crowds came to Him, bringing with them the lame, crippled, blind, mute, and many others, and they put them down at His feet; and He healed them.
		Matt 15:31 So the crowd was amazed when they saw the mute speaking, the crippled restored, the lame walking, and the blind seeing; and they praised and glorified the God of Israel.
		Matt 15:32 ¶ Then Jesus called His disciples to Him, and said, "I feel compassion for the crowd, because they have been with Me now three days and have nothing [left] to eat; and I do not want to send them away hungry, because they might faint [from exhaustion] on the way [home]." [Mark 8:1-21]
		Matt 15:33 The disciples said to Him, "Where are we to get enough bread in this isolated place to feed so large a crowd?"
		Matt 15:34 And Jesus asked them, "How many loaves [of bread] do you have?" They replied, "Seven, and a few small fish."
		Matt 15:35 He directed the crowd to sit down on the ground,
		Matt 15:36 and He took the seven loaves and the fish; and when He had given thanks, He broke them and started giving them to the disciples, and the disciples [gave them] to the people.
		Matt 15:37 And they all ate and were satisfied, and they gathered up seven full baskets of the broken pieces that were left over.
		Matt 15:38 [Among] those who ate were 4,000 men, not counting women and children.
		Matt 15:39 ¶ Then Jesus sent the crowds away, got into the boat and went to the district of Magadan.

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