Matthew · 39 verses

Matthew 15

Every verse links to the people and places named in it, and to the passages readers connect it with.

The chapter

What happens here

Atlas's own reading, written from this chapter and nothing else, and published only once a person has approved it. Each scene names the verses it covers; the names inside it link to the people and places they name.

Seven loaves become seven basketfuls, and four thousand men eat besides women and children—a meal with its arithmetic still tidily visible at the end.

What enters, and what comes outvv. 1–20

Pharisees and scribes arrive from Jerusalem with a complaint about unwashed hands. Jesus answers by turning the accusation around: a tradition can become a neat device for setting aside the command of God. The crowd is then given a saying about mouths, hearts, and defilement, which Peter promptly treats as a parable. Jesus responds with the digestive itinerary—mouth, stomach, and then elimination—before listing the more serious things that come out of the heart.

The crumbs at the tablevv. 21–28

Jesus withdraws to the district of Tyre and Sidon, where a Canaanite woman begins pleading for her demon-possessed daughter. Silence, a request from the disciples to send her away, and a saying about children’s bread and dogs follow in quick succession. The woman accepts the image and finds the crumbs enough for an argument; Jesus answers with praise, and her daughter is healed from that hour.

Seven loaves, seven basketsvv. 29–39

At the Sea of Galilee, Jesus sits on a mountain while crowds bring the lame, blind, crippled, mute, and many others, and the healings leave the crowd glorifying the God of Israel. After three days, hunger becomes the next difficulty. Seven loaves and a few small fish are distributed through the disciples; everyone eats, seven basketfuls remain, and four thousand men are counted, besides women and children. Jesus then dismisses the crowds and goes by boat to Magadan.

The text

Read it

Berean Standard Bible, public domain. Names the Hebrew and Greek put in the verse link to the person, place or people they name; the address beside each verse is a link to that verse, which is what a reader copies and shares.

Matt 15:1Then some Pharisees and scribes came to Jesus from Jerusalem and asked,
Matt 15:2“Why do Your disciples break the tradition of the elders? They do not wash their hands before they eat.”
Matt 15:3Jesus replied, “And why do you break the command of God for the sake of your tradition?
Matt 15:4For God said, ‘Honor your father and mother’ and ‘Anyone who curses his father or mother must be put to death.’
Matt 15:5But you say that if anyone says to his father or mother, ‘Whatever you would have received from me is a gift devoted to God,’
Matt 15:6he need not honor his father or mother with it. Thus you nullify the word of God for the sake of your tradition.
Matt 15:7You hypocrites! Isaiah prophesied correctly about you:
Matt 15:8‘These people honor Me with their lips, but their hearts are far from Me.
Matt 15:9They worship Me in vain; they teach as doctrine the precepts of men.’”
Matt 15:10Jesus called the crowd to Him and said, “Listen and understand.
Matt 15:11A man is not defiled by what enters his mouth, but by what comes out of it.”
Matt 15:12Then the disciples came to Him and said, “Are You aware that the Pharisees were offended when they heard this?”
Matt 15:13But Jesus replied, “Every plant that My heavenly Father has not planted will be pulled up by its roots.
Matt 15:14Disregard them! They are blind guides. If a blind man leads a blind man, both will fall into a pit.”
Matt 15:15 Peter said to Him, “Explain this parable to us.”
Matt 15:16“Do you still not understand?” Jesus asked.
Matt 15:17“Do you not yet realize that whatever enters the mouth goes into the stomach and then is eliminated?
Matt 15:18But the things that come out of the mouth come from the heart, and these things defile a man.
Matt 15:19For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, and slander.
Matt 15:20These are what defile a man, but eating with unwashed hands does not defile him.”
Matt 15:21Leaving that place, Jesus withdrew to the district of Tyre and Sidon.
Matt 15:22And a Canaanite woman from that region came to Him, crying out, “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on me! My daughter is miserably possessed by a demon.”
Matt 15:23But Jesus did not answer a word. So His disciples came and urged Him, “Send her away, for she keeps crying out after us.”
Matt 15:24He answered, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.”
Matt 15:25The woman came and knelt before Him. “Lord, help me!” she said.
Matt 15:26But Jesus replied, “It is not right to take the children’s bread and toss it to the dogs.”
Matt 15:27“Yes, Lord,” she said, “even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their master’s table.”
Matt 15:28“O woman,” Jesus answered, “your faith is great! Let it be done for you as you desire.” And her daughter was healed from that very hour.
Matt 15:29Moving on from there, Jesus went along the Sea of Galilee. Then He went up on a mountain and sat down.
Matt 15:30Large 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.
Matt 15:31The 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 Israel.
Matt 15:32Then Jesus called His disciples 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.”
Matt 15:33The disciples replied, “Where in this desolate place could we find enough bread to feed such a large crowd?”
Matt 15:34“How many loaves do you have?” Jesus asked. “Seven,” they replied, “and a few small fish.”
Matt 15:35And He instructed the crowd to sit down on the ground.
Matt 15:36Taking the seven loaves and the fish, He gave thanks and broke them. Then He gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the people.
Matt 15:37They all ate and were satisfied, and the disciples picked up seven basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over.
Matt 15:38A total of four thousand men were fed, besides women and children.
Matt 15:39After Jesus had dismissed the crowds, He got into the boat and went to the region of Magadan.

01 — Also here

Who else the chapter reaches

Names written in the English are linked in the text above. These are the ones that are not: an entity the Hebrew or Greek names under a spelling the translation does not use, or one reached only by an assertion about a verse of this chapter.

Named in the Hebrew or Greek somewhere in this chapter, under a form the English renders differently — the registry's Ludim against the translation's Ludites — so there is no word in the sentence to hang the link on.

Reached by an assertion Atlas extracted from a verse of this chapter rather than by a name written in it — a pronoun, a title, or a participant the sentence carries without naming. This layer is model-read and measured at 88.6–90.3% precision, and it is kept separate from the names above for that reason.

02 — Read alongside

Where this is echoed

Readers' own connections, from OpenBible's crowd-voted cross-references — agreement about relevance, and not scholarly confidence. 408 passages were voted onto 38 verses of this chapter; the 16 shown lead on votes, and each is listed at the verse it was voted onto most strongly.

8 Isaiah 29:13Therefore the Lord said: “These people draw near to Me with their mouths and honor Me with their lips, but their hearts are far from Me. Their worship of Me is but rules taught by men.
8 Ezekiel 33:31So My people come to you as usual, sit before you, and hear your words; but they do not put them into practice. Although they express love with their mouths, their hearts pursue dishonest gain.
13 John 15:2He cuts off every branch in Me that bears no fruit, and every branch that does bear fruit, He prunes to make it even more fruitful.
11 Mark 7:15Nothing that enters a man from the outside can defile him; but the things that come out of a man, these are what defile him.”
19 Mark 7:21–23For from within the hearts of men come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery,
11 Matthew 15:18–20But the things that come out of the mouth come from the heart, and these things defile a man.
24 Matthew 10:5–6These twelve Jesus sent out with the following instructions: “Do not go onto the road of the Gentiles or enter any town of the Samaritans.
8 Acts 8:21You have no part or share in our ministry, because your heart is not right before God.
19 Galatians 5:19–21The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity, and debauchery;
8 1 Peter 3:10For, “Whoever would love life and see good days must keep his tongue from evil and his lips from deceitful speech.
13 Isaiah 60:21Then all your people will be righteous; they will possess the land forever; they are the branch of My planting, the work of My hands, so that I may be glorified.
19 Jeremiah 17:9The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?
8 Jeremiah 12:2You planted them, and they have taken root. They have grown and produced fruit. You are ever on their lips, but far from their hearts.
13 John 15:6If anyone does not remain in Me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers. Such branches are gathered up, thrown into the fire, and burned.
8 Proverbs 23:26My son, give me your heart, and let your eyes delight in my ways.
8 Hebrews 3:12See to it, brothers, that none of you has a wicked heart of unbelief that turns away from the living God.

Onward

Keep reading

Next chapterMatthew 1628 verses.Named herePhariseeEverything the graph connects to this name.BookMatthewAll 28 chapters.Every bookThe Bible66 books, 1,189 chapters.