Matthew 15:1-20

Traditions and Commandments

1 e Then Pharisees and f scribes came to Jesus f from Jerusalem and said, 2 g "Why do your disciples break h the tradition of the elders? j For 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 m made void the word 2 of God. 7 n You hypocrites! Well did Isaiah prophesy of you, when he said:

8 o "'This people honors me with their lips,
but their heart is far from me;
9 in vain do they worship me,
teaching as p doctrines the commandments of men.'"

What Defiles a Person

10 And he called the people to him and said to them, q "Hear and understand: 11 r it 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 s offended when they heard this saying?" 13 He answered, t "Every plant that my heavenly Father has not planted u will be rooted up. 14 Let them alone; v they are blind guides. 3 And w if 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 z whatever goes into the mouth passes into the stomach and is expelled? 4 18 But a what comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart, and this defiles a person. 19 For out of the heart come b evil thoughts, c murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, d slander. 20 e These are what defile a person. But f to eat with unwashed hands does not defile anyone."

  1. Cross References
    Matthew 15:1 - 20
    Then Pharisees and scribes came to Jesus from Jerusalem and said.
    Mark 7:1 - 23
    Now when the Pharisees gathered to him, with some of the scribes who had come from Jerusalem.
  2. Cross References
    Mark 3:22
    And the scribes who came down from Jerusalem were saying, "He is possessed by Beelzebul," and "by the prince of demons he casts out the demons.
  3. Cross References
    Mark 3:22
    And the scribes who came down from Jerusalem were saying, "He is possessed by Beelzebul," and "by the prince of demons he casts out the demons.
  4. Cross References
    Matthew 15:1 - 20
    Then Pharisees and scribes came to Jesus from Jerusalem and said.
    Mark 7:1 - 23
    Now when the Pharisees gathered to him, with some of the scribes who had come from Jerusalem.
  5. Cross References
    Matthew 9:11
    And when the Pharisees saw this, they said to his disciples, "Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?
  6. Cross References
    Galatians 1:14
    And I was advancing in Judaism beyond many of my own age among my people, so extremely zealous was I for the traditions of my fathers.
    Colossians 2:8
    See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ.
  7. Cross References
    Luke 11:38
    The Pharisee was astonished to see that he did not first wash before dinner.
  8. Cross References
    Exodus 20:12
    Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long in the land that the Lord your God is giving you.
  9. Cross References
    Exodus 21:17
    Whoever curses his father or his mother shall be put to death.
  10. Cross References
    Exodus 20:12
    Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long in the land that the Lord your God is giving you.
  11. Cross References
    Exodus 21:17
    Whoever curses his father or his mother shall be put to death.
  12. Cross References
    Galatians 3:17
    This is what I mean: the law, which came 430 years afterward, does not annul a covenant previously ratified by God, so as to make the promise void.
    Romans 2:23
    You who boast in the law dishonor God by breaking the law.
  13. Cross References
    Matthew 23:13
    But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you shut the kingdom of heaven in people's faces. For you neither enter yourselves nor allow those who would enter to go in.
  14. Cross References
    Isaiah 29:13
    And the Lord said: "Because this people draw near with their mouth and honor me with their lips, while their hearts are far from me, and their fear of me is a commandment taught by men.
    Ezekiel 33:31
    And they come to you as people come, and they sit before you as my people, and they hear what you say but they will not do it; for with lustful talk in their mouths they act; their heart is set on their gain.
  15. Cross References
    Isaiah 29:13
    And the Lord said: "Because this people draw near with their mouth and honor me with their lips, while their hearts are far from me, and their fear of me is a commandment taught by men.
  16. Cross References
    Colossians 2:22
    ( referring to things that all perish as they are used) - according to human precepts and teachings?
    Titus 1:14
    Not devoting themselves to Jewish myths and the commands of people who turn away from the truth.
  17. Cross References
    Matthew 13:51
    "Have you understood all these things?" They said to him, "Yes."
  18. Cross References
    Acts 10:14 - 15
    But Peter said, "By no means, Lord; for I have never eaten anything that is common or unclean.
  19. Cross References
    Matthew 13:57
    And they took offense at him. But Jesus said to them, "A prophet is not without honor except in his hometown and in his own household.
    Luke 7:23
    And blessed is the one who is not offended by me.
  20. Cross References
    Isaiah 60:21
    Your people shall all be righteous; they shall possess the land forever, the branch of my planting, the work of my hands, that I might be glorified.
    Isaiah 61:3
    To grant to those who mourn in Zion - to give them a beautiful headdress instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, the garment of praise instead of a faint spirit; that they may be called oaks of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that he may be glorified.
    John 15:1 - 2
    I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser.
    1 Corinthians 3:9
    For we are God's fellow workers. You are God's field, God's building.
  21. Cross References
    Jude 1:12
    These are hidden reefs at your love feasts, as they feast with you without fear, shepherds feeding themselves; waterless clouds, swept along by winds; fruitless trees in late autumn, twice dead, uprooted.
  22. Cross References
    Matthew 23:16
    "Woe to you, blind guides, who say, 'If anyone swears by the temple, it is nothing, but if anyone swears by the gold of the temple, he is bound by his oath.'
    Matthew 23:24
    You blind guides, straining out a gnat and swallowing a camel!
    Isaiah 56:10
    His watchmen are blind; they are all without knowledge; they are all silent dogs; they cannot bark, dreaming, lying down, loving to slumber.
    Malachi 2:8
    But you have turned aside from the way. You have caused many to stumble by your instruction. You have corrupted the covenant of Levi, says the Lord of hosts.
  23. Cross References
    Luke 6:39
    He also told them a parable: "Can a blind man lead a blind man? Will they not both fall into a pit?
  24. Cross References
    Matthew 13:36
    Then he left the crowds and went into the house. And his disciples came to him, saying, "Explain to us the parable of the weeds of the field.
  25. Cross References
    Matthew 16:9
    Do you not yet perceive? Do you not remember the five loaves for the five thousand, and how many baskets you gathered?
  26. Cross References
    1 Corinthians 6:13
    Food is meant for the stomach and the stomach for food" - and God will destroy both one and the other. The body is not meant for sexual immorality, but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body.
  27. Cross References
    Matthew 12:34
    You brood of vipers! How can you speak good, when you are evil? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.
    James 3:6
    And the tongue is a fire, a world of unrighteousness. The tongue is set among our members, staining the whole body, setting on fire the entire course of life, and set on fire by hell.
  28. Cross References
    James 2:4
    Have you not then made distinctions among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts?
  29. Cross References
    Matthew 5:22
    But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment; whoever insults his brother will be liable to the council; and whoever says, 'You fool!' will be liable to the hell of fire.
    Matthew 5:28
    But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart.
    Exodus 20:13 - 16
    You shall not murder.
  30. Cross References
    Ephesians 4:31
    Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice.
    Colossians 3:8
    But now you must put them all away: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and obscene talk from your mouth.
    1 Timothy 6:4
    He is puffed up with conceit and understands nothing. He has an unhealthy craving for controversy and for quarrels about words, which produce envy, dissension, slander, evil suspicions.
  31. Cross References
    1 Corinthians 6:9 - 10
    Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality.
  32. Cross References
    Mark 7:2
    They saw that some of his disciples ate with hands that were defiled, that is, unwashed.
    Mark 7:5
    And the Pharisees and the scribes asked him, "Why do your disciples not walk according to the tradition of the elders, but eat with defiled hands?
English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers.