Matthew Chapter 15
Showing all 39 verses for Matthew Chapter 15.
The People's Bible is written by people, for the people. Each verse below shows:
"Then came to Jesus scribes and Pharisees, which were of Jerusalem, saying, "
"Religious teachers and Pharisees travelled from Jerusalem to confront Jesus."
"Powerful people travelled a long way just to challenge me. Standing for what's true will sometimes draw serious, organised opposition - don't be surprised when it does."
"Why do thy disciples transgress the tradition of the elders? for they wash not their hands when they eat bread. "
"They asked why Jesus's disciples broke the tradition of the elders by not ritually washing their hands before eating."
"They came at me over a rule about handwashing, not about anything that actually harms someone. Watch out for rules that look religious but have nothing to do with how you actually treat people."
"But he answered and said unto them, Why do ye also transgress the commandment of God by your tradition? "
"Jesus responded by asking them why they themselves broke God's actual commandment for the sake of their own tradition."
"I turned the question back - who's really breaking the deeper command here? Always ask whether a rule you're following serves people and truth, or just tradition for its own sake."
"For God commanded, saying, Honour thy father and mother: and, He that curseth father or mother, let him die the death. "
"Jesus quoted God's command to honour your father and mother, and the serious penalty for cursing them."
"I reminded them of the real command: honour your parents. Don't let smaller rules distract you from the bigger, plainer duties of love and care towards those closest to you."
"But ye say, Whosoever shall say to his father or his mother, It is a gift, by whatsoever thou mightest be profited by me; "
"Jesus described how their tradition let someone declare their money "a gift dedicated to God" and use that to avoid supporting their own parents."
"They used a religious loophole to avoid caring for their own parents. Never let a technicality become an excuse to abandon your real responsibilities to people who depend on you."
"And honour not his father or his mother, he shall be free. Thus have ye made the commandment of God of none effect by your tradition. "
"By allowing this, they no longer honoured father or mother, and so made God's commandment worthless through their tradition."
"Their tradition didn't just bend the command, it wiped it out completely. Check regularly that the rules and habits you follow are actually serving the people you're meant to love, not replacing that love."
"Ye hypocrites, well did Esaias prophesy of you, saying, "
"Jesus called them hypocrites, saying the prophet Isaiah had accurately described people just like them."
"I called it what it was - hypocrisy, already described by the prophets long before I said it. Be honest with yourself about the gap between how you appear and what's actually true of you."
"This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me. "
"Isaiah said this people honours God with their lips, but their heart stays far away from him."
"Words of devotion mean nothing if your heart isn't actually in them. Check that what you say you value matches what's genuinely going on inside you."
"But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men. "
"Isaiah said their worship is worthless because they teach human rules as if they were God's commands."
"Worship built on human rules dressed up as divine ones is empty, however impressive it looks. Question where a rule you follow actually comes from before you treat it as sacred."
"And he called the multitude, and said unto them, Hear, and understand: "
"Jesus called the crowd over and told them to really listen and understand what he was about to say."
"I called everyone close and asked them to really listen, not just hear. Some truths need your full attention, not just a passing glance, to actually sink in and change you."
"Not that which goeth into the mouth defileth a man; but that which cometh out of the mouth, this defileth a man. "
"It's not what goes into a person's mouth that makes them unclean, but what comes out of their mouth."
"It's not what you eat that stains you, it's what comes out of you. Pay more attention to your words and how they land on others than to rules about what you consume."
"Then came his disciples, and said unto him, Knowest thou that the Pharisees were offended, after they heard this saying? "
"The disciples came and told Jesus that the Pharisees had been offended by what he'd just said."
"My friends were worried about who I'd upset. Speaking truth sometimes upsets people - that alone isn't a reason to take it back."
"But he answered and said, Every plant, which my heavenly Father hath not planted, shall be rooted up. "
"Jesus replied that every plant not planted by his heavenly Father would be pulled up by the roots."
"I wasn't going to soften the truth just because it offended people in power. Not everything that looks rooted and permanent actually has good foundations - time reveals which is which."
"Let them alone: they be blind leaders of the blind. And if the blind lead the blind, both shall fall into the ditch. "
"Jesus told the disciples to leave the Pharisees alone, calling them blind guides - and if a blind person leads another blind person, both will fall into a ditch."
"Don't follow a guide just because they're respected; check whether they can actually see where they're leading you."
"Then answered Peter and said unto him, Declare unto us this parable. "
"Peter asked Jesus to explain the meaning of what he'd just said."
"Peter asked me to explain what I meant, and I was glad to. Never be embarrassed to ask for something to be made clearer - understanding matters more than looking like you already get it."
"And Jesus said, Are ye also yet without understanding? "
"Jesus asked, somewhat surprised, whether even they still didn't understand."
"I expected my closest friends to understand this by now - and they still needed it explained. I'm patient with slow understanding, even in the people closest to me."
"Do not ye yet understand, that whatsoever entereth in at the mouth goeth into the belly, and is cast out into the draught? "
"Jesus explained that whatever a person eats simply passes through the body and out again."
"What you eat just passes through you - it has no bearing on who you really are. Don't confuse a biological process with a moral one."
"But those things which proceed out of the mouth come forth from the heart; and they defile the man. "
"But what comes out of a person's mouth originates in the heart, and that's what actually makes them impure."
"What you say comes from inside you and actually affects people - that's where I want you to pay attention, at the level of the heart, not just outward behaviour."
"For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies: "
"Out of the heart come evil thoughts, murders, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, lying under oath, and slander."
"These are the things that actually damage people and relationships. Judge your life by whether you're harming others through your thoughts and actions, not by whether you've followed every custom."
"These are the things which defile a man: but to eat with unwashen hands defileth not a man. "
"These are the things that truly defile a person - but eating with unwashed hands does not defile anyone."
"The thing they accused my disciples of was never the real issue at all. Make sure the standards you hold yourself and others to are actually about real harm, not empty custom."
"Then Jesus went thence, and departed into the coasts of Tyre and Sidon. "
"Jesus then left that area and travelled to the region of Tyre and Sidon."
"I went beyond the borders of my own people into foreign territory. Compassion and truth were never meant to stay within one group."
"And, behold, a woman of Canaan came out of the same coasts, and cried unto him, saying, Have mercy on me, O Lord, thou son of David; my daughter is grievously vexed with a devil. "
"A Canaanite woman from that region came out and cried to Jesus, calling him "Lord, Son of David," begging for mercy because her daughter was severely tormented by a demon."
"A mother from outside my own people recognised who I was and cried out for her child. Desperate love for someone you care about crosses every cultural and religious boundary."
"But he answered her not a word. And his disciples came and besought him, saying, Send her away; for she crieth after us. "
"Jesus didn't say a word to her, and his disciples urged him to send her away because she kept calling out after them."
"I stayed silent at first, and my friends just wanted her gone. Sometimes silence isn't rejection - it's worth staying present rather than giving up or pushing someone away."
"But he answered and said, I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel. "
"Jesus told her that his mission, as he understood it then, was specifically to the lost people of Israel."
"I explained my mission had a clear starting point - my own people first. Even a focused calling can still make room to respond when someone in genuine need reaches out to you."
"Then came she and worshipped him, saying, Lord, help me. "
"The woman came and knelt before Jesus, simply saying, "Lord, help me.""
"She didn't argue, she just knelt and asked for help, plainly. There's real strength in dropping the argument and simply asking honestly for what you need."
"But he answered and said, It is not meet to take the children’s bread, and to cast it to dogs. "
"Jesus told her it wasn't right to take the children's food and throw it to the dogs."
"I gave her a hard saying to see how she'd respond. Difficult moments aren't always the end of the story - sometimes they're an invitation to show what's really in you."
"And she said, Truth, Lord: yet the dogs eat of the crumbs which fall from their masters’ table. "
"She replied, "That's true, Lord - but even the dogs get to eat the crumbs that fall from their masters' table.""
"She took the image I gave her and turned it into the most humble, clever answer I'd heard. Even the smallest amount of what I offer is more than enough."
"Then Jesus answered and said unto her, O woman, great is thy faith: be it unto thee even as thou wilt. And her daughter was made whole from that very hour. "
"Jesus told her, "Woman, your faith is great - let it be done for you as you wish." And her daughter was healed at that exact moment."
"I called her faith great, in front of everyone, because it truly was. Where you come from was never the measure I used - persistent, humble trust is what I honour."
"And Jesus departed from thence, and came nigh unto the sea of Galilee; and went up into a mountain, and sat down there. "
"Jesus left that area, came near the Sea of Galilee, went up a mountain, and sat down there."
"I came back to sit among my own people again after reaching out beyond them. Reaching out to someone different from you doesn't mean leaving your own community behind."
"And great multitudes came unto him, having with them those that were lame, blind, dumb, maimed, and many others, and cast them down at Jesus’ feet; and he healed them: "
"Huge crowds came to him bringing the lame, blind, mute, and disabled, laying them at his feet, and he healed them."
"People brought me their most broken and hopeless situations, and I met them where they were, at their feet. Bring me the parts of your life that feel most broken - that's exactly where I choose to work."
"Insomuch that the multitude wondered, when they saw the dumb to speak, the maimed to be whole, the lame to walk, and the blind to see: and they glorified the God of Israel. "
"The crowd was amazed to see the mute speaking, the disabled whole, the lame walking, and the blind seeing, and they praised the God of Israel."
"The crowd saw complete restoration and gave the glory to God, not to me as a performer. When good things happen through you, let the credit point beyond yourself."
"Then Jesus called his disciples unto him, and said, I have compassion on the multitude, because they continue with me now three days, and have nothing to eat: and I will not send them away fasting, lest they faint in the way. "
"Jesus called his disciples and said he felt compassion for the crowd because they'd stayed with him three days and had nothing to eat, and he didn't want to send them away hungry in case they collapsed on the way."
"I noticed their hunger and their tiredness after three days, and I cared about that ordinary, physical need. I care about your practical, everyday struggles just as much as your bigger questions."
"And his disciples say unto him, Whence should we have so much bread in the wilderness, as to fill so great a multitude? "
"The disciples asked where they could possibly get enough bread in this remote place to feed such a huge crowd."
"They'd already seen me do this once, and still doubted it could happen again. It's easy to forget what's already carried you through before - try to remember your own history of being provided for."
"And Jesus saith unto them, How many loaves have ye? And they said, Seven, and a few little fishes. "
"Jesus asked how much bread they had. They said seven loaves and a few small fish."
"I asked exactly what they had - not what they wished they had. Be honest about your actual resources, however small; that honesty is the starting point for anything good."
"And he commanded the multitude to sit down on the ground. "
"Jesus told the crowd to sit down on the ground."
"I asked them to simply sit and wait. Sometimes being ready to receive something good just means settling down and being present, not striving."
"And he took the seven loaves and the fishes, and gave thanks, and brake them, and gave to his disciples, and the disciples to the multitude. "
"He took the seven loaves and the fish, gave thanks, broke them, and gave them to the disciples, who gave them to the crowd."
"I gave thanks again before there was any visible proof it would be enough - the same as before. Make gratitude a steady habit, especially before you see the results you're hoping for."
"And they did all eat, and were filled: and they took up of the broken meat that was left seven baskets full. "
"Everyone ate until full, and seven baskets of leftover food were gathered."
"Again there was more than enough left over. Don't assume generosity runs out - in my experience, it tends to multiply the more it's shared."
"And they that did eat were four thousand men, beside women and children. "
"About four thousand men had eaten, not counting the women and children also present."
"The real number fed that day was bigger than the count given. What I provide reaches further than the numbers alone suggest."
"And he sent away the multitude, and took ship, and came into the coasts of Magdala. "
"Jesus sent the crowd home, got into a boat, and travelled to the region of Magdala."
"After all that, we simply moved on to the next place. Even after the biggest moments in life, ordinary next steps still have to be taken."