HelpFinder Bible - Flipbook - Page 1246
MAT T H EW 1 5
24 Meanwhile, the disciples were in trouble far
away from land, for a strong wind had risen, and
they were fighting heavy waves. 25 About three
o’clock in the morning* Jesus came toward them,
walking on the water. 26 When the disciples saw
him walking on the water, they were terrified. In
their fear, they cried out, “It’s a ghost!”
27 But Jesus spoke to them at once. “Don’t be
afraid,” he said. “Take courage. I am here!*”
28 Then Peter called to him, “Lord, if it’s
really you, tell me to come to you, walking on
the water.”
29 “Yes, come,” Jesus said.
So Peter went over the side of the boat and
walked on the water toward Jesus. 30 But when
he saw the strong* wind and the waves, he was
terrified and began to sink. “Save me, Lord!” he
shouted.
31 Jesus immediately reached out and grabbed
him. “You have so little faith,” Jesus said. “Why
did you doubt me?”
32 When they climbed back into the boat, the
wind stopped. 33 Then the disciples worshiped
him. “You really are the Son of God!” they
exclaimed.
34 After they had crossed the lake, they
landed at Gennesaret. 35 When the people recognized Jesus, the news of his arrival spread
quickly throughout the whole area, and soon
people were bringing all their sick to be healed.
36 They begged him to let the sick touch at least
the fringe of his robe, and all who touched him
were healed.
Jesus Teaches about Inner Purity
Some Pharisees and teachers of religious
law now arrived from Jerusalem to see
Jesus. They asked him, 2 “Why do your disciples
disobey our age-old tradition? For they ignore
15
• Salvation
MAT T H E W 1 4 :2 3 -3 3
The portrait of Peter that comes to life in
the pages of the New Testament reveals
a man of considerable courage and selfreliance. He was a man’s man, prepared
at a moment’s notice to pick up a sword
or, in this case, jump into a stormy sea.
But in this incident, he came face-to-face
with his limitations. Walking on water
was one thing Peter couldn’t do on his
own. Feeling himself slipping beneath the
waves, he cried out, “Save me, Lord!”
and found himself upheld by Jesus’ hand.
This is an effective picture of salvation.
We have to face our inability to save
ourselves and pray, “Save me, Lord!”
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our tradition of ceremonial hand washing before they eat.”
3 Jesus replied, “And why do you, by your
traditions, violate the direct commandments
of God? 4 For instance, God says, ‘Honor your
father and mother,’* and ‘Anyone who speaks
disrespectfully of father or mother must be
put to death.’* 5 But you say it is all right for
people to say to their parents, ‘Sorry, I can’t
help you. For I have vowed to give to God what
I would have given to you.’ 6 In this way, you
say they don’t need to honor their parents.*
And so you cancel the word of God for the sake
of your own tradition. 7 You hypocrites! Isaiah
was right when he prophesied about you, for
he wrote,
8
9
‘These people honor me with their lips,
but their hearts are far from me.
Their worship is a farce,
for they teach man-made ideas as
commands from God.’*”
10 Then Jesus called to the crowd to come and
hear. “Listen,” he said, “and try to understand.
11 It’s not what goes into your mouth that defiles
you; you are defiled by the words that come out
of your mouth.”
12 Then the disciples came to him and asked,
“Do you realize you offended the Pharisees by
what you just said?”
13 Jesus replied, “Every plant not planted by
my heavenly Father will be uprooted, 14 so ignore them. They are blind guides leading the
blind, and if one blind person guides another,
they will both fall into a ditch.”
15 Then Peter said to Jesus, “Explain to us the
parable that says people aren’t defiled by what
they eat.”
16 “Don’t you understand yet?” Jesus asked.
17 “Anything you eat passes through the stomach and then goes into the sewer. 18 But the
words you speak come from the heart—that’s
what defiles you. 19 For from the heart come
evil thoughts, murder, adultery, all sexual immorality, theft, lying, and slander. 20 These are
what defile you. Eating with unwashed hands
will never defile you.”
The Faith of a Gentile Woman
21 Then Jesus left Galilee and went north to the
region of Tyre and Sidon. 22 A Gentile* woman
who lived there came to him, pleading, “Have
mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David! For my
daughter is possessed by a demon that torments
her severely.”
23 But Jesus gave her no reply, not even a
14:25 Greek In the fourth watch of the night. 14:27 Or The
‘I Am’ is here; Greek reads I am. See Exod 3:14. 14:30 Some
manuscripts do not include strong. 15:4a Exod 20:12;
Deut 5:16. 15:4b Exod 21:17 (Greek version); Lev 20:9
(Greek version). 15:6 Greek their father; other manuscripts
read their father or their mother. 15:8-9 Isa 29:13 (Greek
version). 15:22 Greek Canaanite.