Matthew 15
Open in the reader1Then some Separated-Ones and scribes came to He-Who-Is-Saves from Foundation-of-Peace and asked,
2“Why do Your apprentices break the tradition of the elders? They do not wash their hands before they eat.”
3He-Who-Is-Saves replied, “And why do you break the command of God for the sake of your tradition?
4For God said, ‘Honor your father and mother’ and ‘Anyone who curses his father or mother must be put to death.’
5But you say that if anyone says to his father or mother, ‘Whatever you would have received from me is a gift devoted to God,’
6he need not honor his father or mother with it. Thus you nullify the word of God for the sake of your tradition.
7You hypocrites! Salvation-of-He-Who-Is prophesied correctly about you:
8‘These people honor Me with their lips, but their hearts are far from Me.
9They worship Me in vain; they teach as doctrine the precepts of men.’”
10He-Who-Is-Saves called the crowd to Him and said, “Listen and understand.
11A man is not defiled by what enters his mouth, but by what comes out of it.”
12Then the apprentices came to Him and said, “Are You aware that the Separated-Ones were offended when they heard this?”
13But He-Who-Is-Saves replied, “Every plant that My heavenly Father has not planted will be pulled up by its roots.
14Disregard them! They are blind guides. If a blind man leads a blind man, both will fall into a pit.”
15Stone said to Him, “Explain this parable to us.”
16“Do you still not understand?” He-Who-Is-Saves asked.
17“Do you not yet realize that whatever enters the mouth goes into the stomach and then is eliminated?
18But the things that come out of the mouth come from the heart, and these things defile a man.
19For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, and slander.
20These are what defile a man, but eating with unwashed hands does not defile him.”
21Leaving that place, He-Who-Is-Saves withdrew to the district of The-Rock and Sidon.
22And a Canaanite woman from that region came to Him, crying out, “Lord, Son of Beloved, have mercy on me! My daughter is miserably possessed by a demon.”
23But He-Who-Is-Saves did not answer a word. So His apprentices came and urged Him, “Send her away, for she keeps crying out after us.”
24He answered, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of He-Strives-with-God.”
25The woman came and knelt before Him. “Lord, help me!” she said.
26But He-Who-Is-Saves replied, “It is not right to take the children’s bread and toss it to the dogs.”
27“Yes, Lord,” she said, “even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their master’s table.”
28“O woman,” He-Who-Is-Saves answered, “your faith is great! Let it be done for you as you desire.” And her daughter was healed from that very hour.
29Moving on from there, He-Who-Is-Saves went along the Sea of The-Circuit. Then He went up on a mountain and sat down.
30Large crowds came to Him, bringing the lame, the blind, the crippled, the mute, and many others, and laid them at His feet, and He healed them.
31The crowd was amazed when they saw the mute speaking, the crippled restored, the lame walking, and the blind seeing. And they glorified the God of He-Strives-with-God.
32Then He-Who-Is-Saves called His apprentices to Him and said, “I have compassion for this crowd, because they have already been with Me three days and have nothing to eat. I do not want to send them away hungry, or they may faint along the way.”
33The apprentices replied, “Where in this desolate place could we find enough bread to feed such a large crowd?”
34“How many loaves do you have?” He-Who-Is-Saves asked. “Seven,” they replied, “and a few small fish.”
35And He instructed the crowd to sit down on the ground.
36Taking the seven loaves and the fish, He gave thanks and broke them. Then He gave them to the apprentices, and the apprentices gave them to the people.
37They all ate and were satisfied, and the disciples picked up seven basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over.
38A total of four thousand men were fed, besides women and children.
39After He-Who-Is-Saves had dismissed the crowds, He got into the boat and went to the region of Magadan.