Matthew:15
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Pharisees and scribes from Jerusalem came to Jesus .
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They questioned him : »
Why do your disciples go against the teaching of the fathers ?
They eat food with unwashed hands .«
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His answer to them was in the form of a question : »
Why do you go against the word of God in favor of your tradition ?
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God said ,
Honor your father and mother .
He who says evil of father or mother will be put to death .
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You teach that a man should tell his father or mother that what he has that could help them ,
is given to God .
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You say there is no need for him to give honor to his father .
You have invalidated the word of God because of your tradition !
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You hypocrites !
Isaiah
s prophecy was right about you .
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These people honor me with their lips ,
but their heart is far from me .
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But their worship is to no purpose ,
while they give as their teaching the rules of men .«
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He got the people together and said to them : »
Listen ,
and let my words be clear to you .
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That which comes out of the mouth makes a man unclean ,
not that which goes into the mouth .«
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The disciples told him the Pharisees were upset by what he said .
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In answer he replied : »
Every plant my Father in heaven has not planted in the earth will be pulled out by the roots .
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Let them be .
They are blind guides .
If a blind man guides another blind man ,
they will fall in a hole together .«
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Then Peter said to him : »
Make the story clear to us .«
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He replied : »
Are you ,
like them ,
without wisdom ?
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Do you not see ,
that which goes into the mouth ,
goes into the stomach and is sent out as waste ?
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That which comes out of the mouth ,
comes from the heart and makes a man unclean .
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Evil thoughts come from the heart !
Thoughts about murder ,
adultery ,
fornication ,
theft ,
lying ,
and slander come from the heart !
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These things make a man unclean .
Eating food with unwashed hands does not make a man unclean .«
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Jesus went away from there into the country of Tyre and Sidon .
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A woman of Canaan came crying and saying : »
Have pity on me ,
O Lord ,
Son of David ;
my daughter is greatly troubled with an unclean spirit .«
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He did not answer her .
His disciples said to him : »
Send her away ;
she keeps shouting at us .«
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He answered : »
I was sent only to the wandering sheep of the house of Israel .«
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She bowed down before him and asked for help .
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He said : »
It is not right to take the children
s bread and give it to the dogs .«
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She said : »
Yes ,
Lord ;
but even the dogs take the scraps from under their masters
table .«
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O woman ,«
Jesus replied , »
your faith is great !
Let your desire be done .«
And her daughter was made well from that hour .
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Jesus went from there to the Sea of Galilee .
He went up into the mountain and sat down .
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Many people came to him .
They brought those who were lame ,
crippled ,
blind ,
mute ,
and many other people .
They laid them down at his feet and he healed them .
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The people marveled as they saw the mute speak ,
the crippled and lame walk ,
and the blind see .
They glorified the God of Israel .
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Jesus called his disciples and said : »
I feel compassion for the people ,
because they have remained with me now three days and have nothing to eat .
I do not want to send them away hungry ,
for they might faint on the way .«
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The disciples replied : »
Where would we get so many loaves in this desolate place to satisfy such a large crowd ?«
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Jesus asked : »
How many loaves do you have ?«
They said : »
Seven ,
and a few small fish .«
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He told the people to sit down on the ground .
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He took the seven loaves and the fish and offered a prayer of thanksgiving .
Then he broke them and gave them to the disciples .
The disciples gave them to the people .
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They all ate and were satisfied .
When they picked up what was left over of the broken pieces ,
there were seven large baskets full .
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Four thousand men ,
besides women and children were fed .
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After dismissing the crowds ,
Jesus took a boat to the region of Magadan .