Jesus Challenges the Tradition of the Elders

(Mark 7:1-23)

1Then some Pharisees and scribes came from Jerusalem to Jesus and asked, 2“Why do your disciples disregard the tradition of the elders? They don’t wash their hands when they eat.”a

3But he answered them, “Why do you also disregard the commandment of God because of your tradition? 4Because God said,b ‘You are to honor your father and your mother,’c and, ‘Whoever curses father or mother must certainly be put to death.’d 5But you say, ‘Whoever tells his father or his mother, “Whatever support you might have received from me has been given to God,”e 6does not have to honor his father.’f Because of your tradition, then, you have disregardedg the authority of God’s word.h 7You hypocrites! How well did Isaiah prophesy of you when he said,

8‘These people honor me with their lips,

but their hearts are far from me.

9Their worship of me is empty,

because they teach human rules as doctrines.’”i

10Then calling out to the crowd, he addressed them, “Listen and understand! 11It is not what goes into the mouth that makes a person unclean. It is what comes out of the mouth that makes a person unclean.”

12Then the disciples came and asked him, “Do you realize that the Pharisees were offended when they heard this statement?”

13He replied, “Every plant that my heavenly Father did not plant will be pulled up by the roots. 14Leave them alone. They are blind guides of the blind.j If one blind person leads another blind person, both will fall into a ditch.”

15Then Peter told him, “Explain to us thisk parable.”

16Jesusl said, “Are you still so ignorant? 17Don’t you know that everything that goes into the mouth passes into the stomach and then is expelled as waste? 18But the things that come out of the mouth come from the heart, and it is those things that make a person unclean. 19It is out of the heart that evil thoughts come, as well as murder, adultery, sexual immorality, stealing, false testimony, and slander.m 20These are the things that make a person unclean. But eating with unwashed hands doesn’t make a person unclean.”

A Canaanite Woman’s Faith

(Mark 7:24-30)

21Then Jesus left that place and went to the region of Tyre and Sidon. 22Suddenly, a Canaanite woman from that territory came near and began to shout, “Have mercy on me, Lord, Son of David! My daughter is severely demon-possessed!” 23But he didn’t answer her at all.n

Then his disciples came up and kept urging him, “Send her away, because she keeps on screaming as she followso us.”

24But he replied, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the nationp of Israel.”

25Then she came and fell down before him, saying, “Lord, help me!”

26He replied, “It’s not rightq to take the children’s bread and throw it to the puppies.”

27She said, “Yes, Lord. But even the puppies eat the crumbs that fall from their masters’ tables.”

28Then Jesus answered her, “Lady,r your faith is great! What you want is granted.” That very hour her daughter was healed.

Jesus Heals Many People

29Jesus left there and went along the Sea of Galilee. Then he went up on a hillside and sat down. 30Large crowds came to him, bringing with them the lame, the blind, the crippled, those unable to talk, and many others. They placed them at his feet, and he healed them. 31As a result, the crowd was amazed to see those who were unable to talk speaking, the crippled healed, the lame walking, and the blind seeing. So they praised the God of Israel.

Jesus Feeds More than Four Thousand People

(Mark 8:1-10)

32Then Jesus called his disciples and said, “I have compassion for the crowd because they have already been with me for three days and have nothing to eat. I don’t want to send them away without food, or they may faint on the road.”

33The disciples asked him, “Where in the wilderness are we to get enough bread to feed such a crowd?”

34Jesus asked them, “How many loaves of bread do you have?”

They said, “Seven, and a few small fish.”

35Ordering the crowd to sit down on the ground, 36he took the seven loaves and the fish and gave thanks. Then he broke them in pieces and kept giving them to his disciples, and the disciples gave thems to the crowds. 37All of them ate until they were filled, then the disciplest picked up what was left of the broken pieces—seven baskets full. 38Now those who had eaten were four thousand men, besides women and children. 39After he sent the crowds away, he got into a boat and went to the region of Magadan.u