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Matthew 15

Jesus exposes the heart’s defilement and shows his authority and compassion through a foreign woman’s plea, healings, and shared bread.

Pharisees and scribes from Jerusalem challenge Jesus because his disciples eat without the elders’ handwashing ritual. Jesus confronts traditions that override God’s commands and teaches the crowd and his disciples that defilement comes from the heart. Near Tyre and Sidon, a Canaanite woman pleads for her daughter’s healing, and Jesus praises her faith after a hard exchange. Back near the sea of Galilee, he heals crowds and feeds four thousand men, besides women and children, with seven loaves and a few fish.

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1Then Pharisees and scribes came to Jesus from Jerusalem, saying,
2“Why do your disciples disobey the tradition of the elders? For they don’t wash their hands when they eat bread.”
3He answered them, “Why do you also disobey the commandment of God because of your tradition?
4For God commanded, ‘Honor your father and your mother,’ and, ‘He who speaks evil of father or mother, let him be put to death.’
5But you say, ‘Whoever may tell his father or his mother, “Whatever help you might otherwise have gotten from me is a gift devoted to God,”
6he shall not honor his father or mother.’ You have made the commandment of God void because of your tradition.
7You hypocrites! Well did Isaiah prophesy of you, saying,
8‘These people draw near to me with their mouth, and honor me with their lips; but their heart is far from me.
9And they worship me in vain, teaching as doctrine rules made by men.’”
10He summoned the multitude, and said to them, “Hear, and understand.
11That which enters into the mouth doesn’t defile the man; but that which proceeds out of the mouth, this defiles the man.”
12Then the disciples came and said to him, “Do you know that the Pharisees were offended when they heard this saying?”
13But he answered, “Every plant which my heavenly Father didn’t plant will be uprooted.
14Leave them alone. They are blind guides of the blind. If the blind guide the blind, both will fall into a pit.”
15Peter answered him, “Explain the parable to us.”
16So Jesus said, “Do you also still not understand?
17Don’t you understand that whatever goes into the mouth passes into the belly and then out of the body?
18But the things which proceed out of the mouth come out of the heart, and they defile the man.
19For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, sexual sins, thefts, false testimony, and blasphemies.
20These are the things which defile the man; but to eat with unwashed hands doesn’t defile the man.”
21Jesus went out from there and withdrew into the region of Tyre and Sidon.
22Behold, a Canaanite woman came out from those borders and cried, saying, “Have mercy on me, Lord, you son of David! My daughter is severely possessed by a demon!”
23But he answered her not a word. His disciples came and begged him, saying, “Send her away; for she cries after us.”
24But he answered, “I wasn’t sent to anyone but the lost sheep of the house of Israel.”
25But she came and worshiped him, saying, “Lord, help me.”
26But he answered, “It is not appropriate to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs.”
27But she said, “Yes, Lord, but even the dogs eat the crumbs which fall from their masters’ table.”
28Then Jesus answered her, “Woman, great is your faith! Be it done to you even as you desire.” And her daughter was healed from that hour.
29Jesus departed from there and came near to the sea of Galilee; and he went up on the mountain and sat there.
30Great multitudes came to him, having with them the lame, blind, mute, maimed, and many others, and they put them down at his feet. He healed them,
31so that the multitude wondered when they saw the mute speaking, the injured healed, the lame walking, and the blind seeing—and they glorified the God of Israel.
32Jesus summoned his disciples and said, “I have compassion on the multitude, because they have continued with me now three days and have nothing to eat. I don’t want to send them away fasting, or they might faint on the way.”
33The disciples said to him, “Where could we get so many loaves in a deserted place as to satisfy so great a multitude?”
34Jesus said to them, “How many loaves do you have?” They said, “Seven, and a few small fish.”
35He commanded the multitude to sit down on the ground;
36and he took the seven loaves and the fish. He gave thanks and broke them, and gave to the disciples, and the disciples to the multitudes.
37They all ate and were filled. They took up seven baskets full of the broken pieces that were left over.
39Then he sent away the multitudes, got into the boat, and came into the borders of Magdala.
World English BibleRead in NIV in Psalmlog →Highlighted verses are the most connected.
Key verses
Matthew 15:19Jesus names the evils that arise from the heart, locating the source of defilement within the person.
Matthew 15:14The image of blind guides warns that the Pharisees’ failure to understand endangers those who follow them.
Matthew 15:7Jesus introduces Isaiah’s rebuke to expose the gap between the leaders’ outward worship and their disregard for God’s commands.
Where this chapter reaches

Jesus quotes Isaiah’s rebuke of people whose lips honor God while their hearts remain distant, applying it to teachers who elevate human rules. Mark records parallel accounts of the dispute over defilement, the foreign mother’s plea, and the feeding of four thousand.

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Notice

After reading the whole chapter

What does Jesus’ example of neglected parents reveal about the traditions you trust?

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What stands out to you about the Canaanite woman’s words during her exchange with Jesus?

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Questions people ask about Matthew 15

Why does Jesus compare the Canaanite woman to a dog?

Jesus uses a household image of children’s bread and dogs to describe the priority of his mission to Israel. The comparison is harsh, and Matthew does not explain Jesus’ motive for using it. The woman answers within the image, asking for crumbs; Jesus then praises her faith and heals her daughter.

Does Matthew 15 say washing your hands is wrong?

The dispute concerns the elders’ tradition about washing before eating, rather than a command about hygiene. Jesus says eating with unwashed hands does not defile a person. He identifies the heart as the source of the evil thoughts and actions that defile, while condemning traditions that cancel God’s commands.

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Cross-reference data from OpenBible.info (CC BY). Scripture from the World English Bible (public domain). Arc diagram after Chris Harrison and Christoph Römhild (2007).