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M ATTHEW 16
page 877
word. Then his disciples urged him to send her
away. “Tell her to go away,” they said. “She is
bothering us with all her begging.”
24 Then Jesus said to the woman, “I was sent
only to help God’s lost sheep—the people of
Israel.”
25 But she came and worshiped him, pleading
again, “Lord, help me!”
26 Jesus responded, “It isn’t right to take food
from the children and throw it to the dogs.”
27 She replied, “That’s true, Lord, but even
dogs are allowed to eat the scraps that fall beneath their masters’ table.”
28 “Dear woman,” Jesus said to her, “your
faith is great. Your request is granted.” And her
daughter was instantly healed.
Jesus Heals Many People
29 Jesus returned to the Sea of Galilee and
climbed a hill and sat down. 30 A vast crowd
brought to him people who were lame, blind,
crippled, those who couldn’t speak, and many
others. They laid them before Jesus, and he
healed them all. 31 The crowd was amazed!
Those who hadn’t been able to speak were talking, the crippled were made well, the lame were
walking, and the blind could see again! And
they praised the God of Israel.
Jesus Feeds Four Thousand
32 Then Jesus called his disciples and told them,
“I feel sorry for these people. They have been
here with me for three days, and they have nothing left to eat. I don’t want to send them away
hungry, or they will faint along the way.”
33 The disciples replied, “Where would we get
enough food here in the wilderness for such a
huge crowd?”
34 Jesus asked, “How much bread do you
have?”
They replied, “Seven loaves, and a few small
fish.”
35 So Jesus told all the people to sit down on
the ground. 36 Then he took the seven loaves and
the fish, thanked God for them, and broke them
into pieces. He gave them to the disciples, who
distributed the food to the crowd.
37 They all ate as much as they wanted. Afterward, the disciples picked up seven large baskets of leftover food. 38 There were 4,000 men
who were fed that day, in addition to all the
women and children. 39 Then Jesus sent the
people home, and he got into a boat and crossed
over to the region of Magadan.
Leaders Demand a Miraculous Sign
One day the Pharisees and Sadducees
came to test Jesus, demanding that he
show them a miraculous sign from heaven to
prove his authority.
16
16:2-3 Several manuscripts do not include any of the words in
16:2-3 after He replied. 16:4 Greek the sign of Jonah.
2 He replied, “You know the saying, ‘Red sky
at night means fair weather tomorrow; 3 red sky
in the morning means foul weather all day.’ You
know how to interpret the weather signs in the
sky, but you don’t know how to interpret the
signs of the times!* 4 Only an evil, adulterous
generation would demand a miraculous sign,
but the only sign I will give them is the sign of
the prophet Jonah.*” Then Jesus left them and
went away.
Yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees
5 Later, after they crossed to the other side of the
lake, the disciples discovered they had forgotten to bring any bread. 6 “Watch out!” Jesus
warned them. “Beware of the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees.”
7 At this they began to argue with each other
because they hadn’t brought any bread. 8 Jesus
knew what they were saying, so he said, “You
have so little faith! Why are you arguing with
• Sexuality
M ATTHE W 15:19
If lust grows unchecked in the heart,
it is easier to fall into the act of sexual
immorality. To guard against adultery,
first guard against lust and thoughts of
adultery. Be careful of those things that
plant the seeds of lust and adultery, such
as pornography or suggestive books,
movies, or TV shows. If you don’t want
evil fruit, don’t plant the seeds of evil.
Jesus said that when we look at someone
with lust, we have planted the seeds for
an adulterous relationship (5:28). We can
appreciate beauty in another, but that is
much different from fantasizing about a
sexual relationship.
• Abuse
M ATTHE W 15:30-31
Jesus healed physical handicaps, but
he also healed broken lives. Damaged
emotions, shredded self-worth, deep
scars from physical or sexual abuse,
the pain of loneliness and rejection—all
of these can be healed through Jesus’
transforming power. When we give ourselves over to him, he makes us new
on the inside, washing us clean with his
mercy and forgiveness. There still may be
scars in this life, but when we join him for
eternity, even those scars will disappear
forever.