Passage: Matthew 15:1-20 (RSV)


Matthew 15


1Then Pharisees and scribes came to Jesus from Jerusalem and said,
2"Why do your disciples transgress the tradition of the elders? For they do not wash their hands when they eat."
3He answered them, "And why do you transgress the commandment of God for the sake of your tradition?
4For God commanded, `Honor your father and your mother,' and, `He who speaks evil of father or mother, let him surely die.'
5But you say, `If any one tells his father or his mother, What you would have gained from me is given to God, he need not honor his father.'
6So, for the sake of your tradition, you have made void the word of God.
7You hypocrites! Well did Isaiah prophesy of you, when he said:
8`This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me;
9in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines the precepts of men.'"
10And he called the people to him and said to them, "Hear and understand:
11not what goes into the mouth defiles a man, but what comes out of the mouth, this defiles a man."
12Then the disciples came and said to him, "Do you know that the Pharisees were offended when they heard this saying?"
13He answered, "Every plant which my heavenly Father has not planted will be rooted up.
14Let them alone; they are blind guides. And if a blind man leads a blind man, both will fall into a pit."
15But Peter said to him, "Explain the parable to us."
16And he said, "Are you also still without understanding?
17Do you not see that whatever goes into the mouth passes into the stomach, and so passes on?
18But what comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart, and this defiles a man.
19For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, fornication, theft, false witness, slander.
20These are what defile a man; but to eat with unwashed hands does not defile a man."
21And Jesus went away from there and withdrew to the district of Tyre and Sidon.
22And behold, a Canaanite woman from that region came out and cried, "Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David; my daughter is severely possessed by a demon."
23But he did not answer her a word. And his disciples came and begged him, saying, "Send her away, for she is crying after us."
24He answered, "I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel."
25But she came and knelt before him, saying, "Lord, help me."
26And he answered, "It is not fair to take the children's bread and throw it to the dogs."
27She said, "Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters' table."
28Then Jesus answered her, "O woman, great is your faith! Be it done for you as you desire." And her daughter was healed instantly.
29And Jesus went on from there and passed along the Sea of Galilee. And he went up on the mountain, and sat down there.
30And great crowds came to him, bringing with them the lame, the maimed, the blind, the dumb, and many others, and they put them at his feet, and he healed them,
31so that the throng wondered, when they saw the dumb speaking, the maimed whole, the lame walking, and the blind seeing; and they glorified the God of Israel.
32Then Jesus called his disciples to him and said, "I have compassion on the crowd, because they have been with me now three days, and have nothing to eat; and I am unwilling to send them away hungry, lest they faint on the way."
33And the disciples said to him, "Where are we to get bread enough in the desert to feed so great a crowd?"
34And Jesus said to them, "How many loaves have you?" They said, "Seven, and a few small fish."
35And commanding the crowd to sit down on the ground,
36he took the seven loaves and the fish, and having given thanks he broke them and gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds.
37And they all ate and were satisfied; and they took up seven baskets full of the broken pieces left over.
38Those who ate were four thousand men, besides women and children.
39And sending away the crowds, he got into the boat and went to the region of Mag'adan.

Matthew 16


1And the Pharisees and Sad'ducees came, and to test him they asked him to show them a sign from heaven.
2He answered them, "When it is evening, you say, `It will be fair weather; for the sky is red.'
3And in the morning, `It will be stormy today, for the sky is red and threatening.' You know how to interpret the appearance of the sky, but you cannot interpret the signs of the times.
4An evil and adulterous generation seeks for a sign, but no sign shall be given to it except the sign of Jonah." So he left them and departed.
5When the disciples reached the other side, they had forgotten to bring any bread.
6Jesus said to them, "Take heed and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sad'ducees."
7And they discussed it among themselves, saying, "We brought no bread."
8But Jesus, aware of this, said, "O men of little faith, why do you discuss among yourselves the fact that you have no bread?
9Do you not yet perceive? Do you not remember the five loaves of the five thousand, and how many baskets you gathered?
10Or the seven loaves of the four thousand, and how many baskets you gathered?
11How is it that you fail to perceive that I did not speak about bread? Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sad'ducees."
12Then they understood that he did not tell them to beware of the leaven of bread, but of the teaching of the Pharisees and Sad'ducees.
13Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesare'a Philip'pi, he asked his disciples, "Who do men say that the Son of man is?"
14And they said, "Some say John the Baptist, others say Eli'jah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets."
15He said to them, "But who do you say that I am?"
16Simon Peter replied, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God."
17And Jesus answered him, "Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jona! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven.
18And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the powers of death shall not prevail against it.
19I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven."
20Then he strictly charged the disciples to tell no one that he was the Christ.
21From that time Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised.
22And Peter took him and began to rebuke him, saying, "God forbid, Lord! This shall never happen to you."
23But he turned and said to Peter, "Get behind me, Satan! You are a hindrance to me; for you are not on the side of God, but of men."
24Then Jesus told his disciples, "If any man would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.
25For whoever would save his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.
26For what will it profit a man, if he gains the whole world and forfeits his life? Or what shall a man give in return for his life?
27For the Son of man is to come with his angels in the glory of his Father, and then he will repay every man for what he has done.
28Truly, I say to you, there are some standing here who will not taste death before they see the Son of man coming in his kingdom."

Matthew 17


1And after six days Jesus took with him Peter and James and John his brother, and led them up a high mountain apart.
2And he was transfigured before them, and his face shone like the sun, and his garments became white as light.
3And behold, there appeared to them Moses and Eli'jah, talking with him.
4And Peter said to Jesus, "Lord, it is well that we are here; if you wish, I will make three booths here, one for you and one for Moses and one for Eli'jah."
5He was still speaking, when lo, a bright cloud overshadowed them, and a voice from the cloud said, "This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him."
6When the disciples heard this, they fell on their faces, and were filled with awe.
7But Jesus came and touched them, saying, "Rise, and have no fear."
8And when they lifted up their eyes, they saw no one but Jesus only.
9And as they were coming down the mountain, Jesus commanded them, "Tell no one the vision, until the Son of man is raised from the dead."
10And the disciples asked him, "Then why do the scribes say that first Eli'jah must come?"
11He replied, "Eli'jah does come, and he is to restore all things;
12but I tell you that Eli'jah has already come, and they did not know him, but did to him whatever they pleased. So also the Son of man will suffer at their hands."
13Then the disciples understood that he was speaking to them of John the Baptist.
14And when they came to the crowd, a man came up to him and kneeling before him said,
15"Lord, have mercy on my son, for he is an epileptic and he suffers terribly; for often he falls into the fire, and often into the water.
16And I brought him to your disciples, and they could not heal him."
17And Jesus answered, "O faithless and perverse generation, how long am I to be with you? How long am I to bear with you? Bring him here to me."
18And Jesus rebuked him, and the demon came out of him, and the boy was cured instantly.
19Then the disciples came to Jesus privately and said, "Why could we not cast it out?"
20He said to them, "Because of your little faith. For truly, I say to you, if you have faith as a grain of mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, `Move from here to there,' and it will move; and nothing will be impossible to you."
21
22As they were gathering in Galilee, Jesus said to them, "The Son of man is to be delivered into the hands of men,
23and they will kill him, and he will be raised on the third day." And they were greatly distressed.
24When they came to Caper'na-um, the collectors of the half-shekel tax went up to Peter and said, "Does not your teacher pay the tax?"
25He said, "Yes." And when he came home, Jesus spoke to him first, saying, "What do you think, Simon? From whom do kings of the earth take toll or tribute? From their sons or from others?"
26And when he said, "From others," Jesus said to him, "Then the sons are free.
27However, not to give offense to them, go to the sea and cast a hook, and take the first fish that comes up, and when you open its mouth you will find a shekel; take that and give it to them for me and for yourself."

Matthew 18


1At that time the disciples came to Jesus, saying, "Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?"
2And calling to him a child, he put him in the midst of them,
3and said, "Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.
4Whoever humbles himself like this child, he is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.
5"Whoever receives one such child in my name receives me;
6but whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a great millstone fastened round his neck and to be drowned in the depth of the sea.
7"Woe to the world for temptations to sin! For it is necessary that temptations come, but woe to the man by whom the temptation comes!
8And if your hand or your foot causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away; it is better for you to enter life maimed or lame than with two hands or two feet to be thrown into the eternal fire.
9And if your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out and throw it away; it is better for you to enter life with one eye than with two eyes to be thrown into the hell of fire.
10"See that you do not despise one of these little ones; for I tell you that in heaven their angels always behold the face of my Father who is in heaven.
11
12What do you think? If a man has a hundred sheep, and one of them has gone astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine on the mountains and go in search of the one that went astray?
13And if he finds it, truly, I say to you, he rejoices over it more than over the ninety-nine that never went astray.
14So it is not the will of my Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones should perish.
15"If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault, between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have gained your brother.
16But if he does not listen, take one or two others along with you, that every word may be confirmed by the evidence of two or three witnesses.
17If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church; and if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector.
18Truly, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.
19Again I say to you, if two of you agree on earth about anything they ask, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven.
20For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I in the midst of them."
21Then Peter came up and said to him, "Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? As many as seven times?"
22Jesus said to him, "I do not say to you seven times, but seventy times seven.
23"Therefore the kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who wished to settle accounts with his servants.
24When he began the reckoning, one was brought to him who owed him ten thousand talents;
25and as he could not pay, his lord ordered him to be sold, with his wife and children and all that he had, and payment to be made.
26So the servant fell on his knees, imploring him, `Lord, have patience with me, and I will pay you everything.'
27And out of pity for him the lord of that servant released him and forgave him the debt.
28But that same servant, as he went out, came upon one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii; and seizing him by the throat he said, `Pay what you owe.'
29So his fellow servant fell down and besought him, `Have patience with me, and I will pay you.'
30He refused and went and put him in prison till he should pay the debt.
31When his fellow servants saw what had taken place, they were greatly distressed, and they went and reported to their lord all that had taken place.
32Then his lord summoned him and said to him, `You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you besought me;
33and should not you have had mercy on your fellow servant, as I had mercy on you?'
34And in anger his lord delivered him to the jailers, till he should pay all his debt.
35So also my heavenly Father will do to every one of you, if you do not forgive your brother from your heart."

Matthew 19


1Now when Jesus had finished these sayings, he went away from Galilee and entered the region of Judea beyond the Jordan;
2and large crowds followed him, and he healed them there.
3And Pharisees came up to him and tested him by asking, "Is it lawful to divorce one's wife for any cause?"
4He answered, "Have you not read that he who made them from the beginning made them male and female,
5and said, `For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh'?
6So they are no longer two but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let not man put asunder."
7They said to him, "Why then did Moses command one to give a certificate of divorce, and to put her away?"
8He said to them, "For your hardness of heart Moses allowed you to divorce your wives, but from the beginning it was not so.
9And I say to you: whoever divorces his wife, except for unchastity, and marries another, commits adultery."
10The disciples said to him, "If such is the case of a man with his wife, it is not expedient to marry."
11But he said to them, "Not all men can receive this saying, but only those to whom it is given.
12For there are eunuchs who have been so from birth, and there are eunuchs who have been made eunuchs by men, and there are eunuchs who have made themselves eunuchs for the sake of the kingdom of heaven. He who is able to receive this, let him receive it."
13Then children were brought to him that he might lay his hands on them and pray. The disciples rebuked the people;
14but Jesus said, "Let the children come to me, and do not hinder them; for to such belongs the kingdom of heaven."
15And he laid his hands on them and went away.
16And behold, one came up to him, saying, "Teacher, what good deed must I do, to have eternal life?"
17And he said to him, "Why do you ask me about what is good? One there is who is good. If you would enter life, keep the commandments."
18He said to him, "Which?" And Jesus said, "You shall not kill, You shall not commit adultery, You shall not steal, You shall not bear false witness,
19Honor your father and mother, and, You shall love your neighbor as yourself."
20The young man said to him, "All these I have observed; what do I still lack?"
21Jesus said to him, "If you would be perfect, go, sell what you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me."
22When the young man heard this he went away sorrowful; for he had great possessions.
23And Jesus said to his disciples, "Truly, I say to you, it will be hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven.
24Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God."
25When the disciples heard this they were greatly astonished, saying, "Who then can be saved?"
26But Jesus looked at them and said to them, "With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible."
27Then Peter said in reply, "Lo, we have left everything and followed you. What then shall we have?"
28Jesus said to them, "Truly, I say to you, in the new world, when the Son of man shall sit on his glorious throne, you who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.
29And every one who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or lands, for my name's sake, will receive a hundredfold, and inherit eternal life.
30But many that are first will be last, and the last first.

Matthew 20


1"For the kingdom of heaven is like a householder who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard.
2After agreeing with the laborers for a denarius a day, he sent them into his vineyard.
3And going out about the third hour he saw others standing idle in the market place;
4and to them he said, `You go into the vineyard too, and whatever is right I will give you.' So they went.
5Going out again about the sixth hour and the ninth hour, he did the same.
6And about the eleventh hour he went out and found others standing; and he said to them, `Why do you stand here idle all day?'
7They said to him, `Because no one has hired us.' He said to them, `You go into the vineyard too.'
8And when evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his steward, `Call the laborers and pay them their wages, beginning with the last, up to the first.'
9And when those hired about the eleventh hour came, each of them received a denarius.
10Now when the first came, they thought they would receive more; but each of them also received a denarius.
11And on receiving it they grumbled at the householder,
12saying, `These last worked only one hour, and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the day and the scorching heat.'
13But he replied to one of them, `Friend, I am doing you no wrong; did you not agree with me for a denarius?
14Take what belongs to you, and go; I choose to give to this last as I give to you.
15Am I not allowed to do what I choose with what belongs to me? Or do you begrudge my generosity?'
16So the last will be first, and the first last."
17And as Jesus was going up to Jerusalem, he took the twelve disciples aside, and on the way he said to them,
18"Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem; and the Son of man will be delivered to the chief priests and scribes, and they will condemn him to death,
19and deliver him to the Gentiles to be mocked and scourged and crucified, and he will be raised on the third day."
20Then the mother of the sons of Zeb'edee came up to him, with her sons, and kneeling before him she asked him for something.
21And he said to her, "What do you want?" She said to him, "Command that these two sons of mine may sit, one at your right hand and one at your left, in your kingdom."
22But Jesus answered, "You do not know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I am to drink?" They said to him, "We are able."
23He said to them, "You will drink my cup, but to sit at my right hand and at my left is not mine to grant, but it is for those for whom it has been prepared by my Father."
24And when the ten heard it, they were indignant at the two brothers.
25But Jesus called them to him and said, "You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great men exercise authority over them.
26It shall not be so among you; but whoever would be great among you must be your servant,
27and whoever would be first among you must be your slave;
28even as the Son of man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many."
29And as they went out of Jericho, a great crowd followed him.
30And behold, two blind men sitting by the roadside, when they heard that Jesus was passing by, cried out, "Have mercy on us, Son of David!"
31The crowd rebuked them, telling them to be silent; but they cried out the more, "Lord, have mercy on us, Son of David!"
32And Jesus stopped and called them, saying, "What do you want me to do for you?"
33They said to him, "Lord, let our eyes be opened."
34And Jesus in pity touched their eyes, and immediately they received their sight and followed him.



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