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. 38Those who ate were four thousand men, in addition to women and children. 39Then he sent away the multitudes, got into the boat, and came into the borders of Magdala.
Parables are fictitious, true-to-life stories that illustrate a truth by making comparisons. Jesus explained His use of parables in Matthew 13 as having a two-fold purpose (vv. 11-17). Having just rejected the generation of Israel whose leaders had rejected Him (Matt 12:38-42), Jesus taught in parables in order to reveal to receptive individuals how His rule (the kingdom of heaven) would be conducted during this time between His rejection and return. At the same time, speaking in parables served to conceal that revelation from those whose rejection of the kingdom was a fulfillment of Isaiah 6:9, "'...You will keep on hearing, but will not understand; you will keep on seeing, but will not perceive...'" (Matt 13:14). Even when the enemies of Jesus later "understood that He was speaking about them" (Matt 21:45), they refused to repent and believe in Him.
Like proverbs, parables are vivid, memorable presentations of the need to make a critical decision. In His early ministry, Jesus tended to use parabolic sayings, which are short statements, such as "Let them alone. They are blind leaders of the blind. And if the blind leads the blind, both will fall into a ditch" (Matt 15:15, NKJV). A similitude is a parable that has been expanded into a generalization, such as the parable of the ninety-nine sheep (Luke 15:4-6). Some parables present a general truth by an example story, or typical-case, such as that of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:30-37), or the rich man and Lazarus (Luke 16:19-31). Symbolic parables, like that of the prodigal son (Luke 15), and the wheat and the tares (Matt 13), teach about relationships by describing things from everyday life. To interpret a parable, look in the immediate context for the problem the parable was given to solve. Identify the central truth of the parable and determine which elements simply add realism to the comparison. The central truth will never contradict the clear teaching of Scripture elsewhere.