Read The Jewish Annotated New Testament Online
Authors: Amy-Jill Levine
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‘This people honors me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me;
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in vain do they worship me, teaching human precepts as doctrines.’”
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Then he called the crowd to him and said to them, “Listen and understand:
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it is not what goes into the mouth that defiles a person, but it is what comes out of the mouth that defiles.”
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Then the disciples approached and said to him, “Do you know that the Pharisees took offense when they heard what you said?”
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He answered, “Every plant that my heavenly Father has not planted will be uprooted.
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Let them alone; they are blind guides of the blind.
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And if one blind person guides another, both will fall into a pit.”
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But Peter said to him, “Explain this parable to us.”
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Then he said, “Are you also still without understanding?
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Do you not see that whatever goes into the mouth enters the stomach, and goes out into the sewer?
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But what comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart, and this is what defiles.
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For out of the heart come evil intentions, murder, adultery, fornication, theft, false witness, slander.
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These are what defile a person, but to eat with unwashed hands does not defile.”
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Jesus left that place and went away to the district of Tyre and Sidon.
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Just then a Canaanite woman from that region came out and started shouting, “Have mercy on me, Lord, Son of David; my daughter is tormented by a demon.”
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But he did not answer her at all. And his disciples came and urged him, saying, “Send her away, for she keeps shouting after us.”
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He answered, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.”
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But she came and knelt before him, saying, “Lord, help me.”
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He answered, “It is not fair to take the children’s food and throw it to the dogs.”
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She said, “Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters’ table.”
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Then Jesus answered her, “Woman, great is your faith! Let it be done for you as you wish.” And her daughter was healed instantly.
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After Jesus had left that place, he passed along the Sea of Galilee, and he went up the mountain, where he sat down.
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Great crowds came to him, bringing with them the lame, the maimed, the blind, the mute, and many others. They put them at his feet, and he cured them,
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so that the crowd was amazed when they saw the mute speaking, the maimed whole, the lame walking, and the blind seeing. And they praised the God of Israel.
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Then Jesus called his disciples to him and said, “I have compassion for the crowd, because they have been with me now for three days and have nothing to eat; and I do not want to send them away hungry, for they might faint on the way.”
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The disciples said to him, “Where are we to get enough bread in the desert to feed so great a crowd?”
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Jesus asked them, “How many loaves have you?” They said, “Seven, and a few small fish.”
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Then ordering the crowd to sit down on the ground,
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he took the seven loaves and the fish; and after giving thanks he broke them and gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds.
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And all of them ate and were filled; and they took up the broken pieces left over, seven baskets full.
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Those who had eaten were four thousand men, besides women and children.
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After sending away the crowds, he got into the boat and went to the region of Magadan.
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The Pharisees and Sadducees came, and to test Jesus
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they asked him to show them a sign from heaven.
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He answered them, “When it is evening, you say, ‘It will be fair weather, for the sky is red.’
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And in the morning, ‘It will be stormy today, for the sky is red and threatening.’ You know how to interpret the appearance of the sky, but you cannot interpret the signs of the times.
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An evil and adulterous generation asks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of Jonah.” Then he left them and went away.
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When the disciples reached the other side, they had forgotten to bring any bread.
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Jesus said to them, “Watch out, and beware of the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees.”
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They said to one another, “It is because we have brought no bread.”
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And becoming aware of it, Jesus said, “You of little faith, why are you talking about having no bread?
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Do you still not perceive? Do you not remember the five loaves for the five thousand, and how many baskets you gathered?
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Or the seven loaves for the four thousand, and how many baskets you gathered?
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How could you fail to perceive that I was not speaking about bread? Beware of the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees!”
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Then they understood that he had not told them to beware of the yeast of bread, but of the teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees.
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Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?”
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And they said, “Some say John the Baptist, but others Elijah, and still others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.”
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He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?”
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Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah,
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the Son of the living God.”
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And Jesus answered him, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father in heaven.
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And I tell you, you are Peter,
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and on this rock
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I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it.
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I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.”
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Then he sternly ordered the disciples not to tell anyone that he was
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the Messiah.
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PETER IN MATTHEW’S GOSPEL
Unlike Mark, one of its sources, Matthew’s Gospel presents a positive portrayal of the disciples (see, e.g., 13.16 in contrast to Mk 4.13). Only Matthew’s Gospel confirms Peter as the “rock of the church” to whom is given the “keys of the kingdom” (16.18–19). Peter is the leader of the disciples (16.19), is present at the Transfiguration (17.1–9), and, despite his fear, follows Jesus after his arrest (26.58). He is also the only disciple to attempt to walk on water with Jesus (14.28–30). Roman Catholic tradition identifies Peter as the first bishop of Rome, thereby making him the first pope (although the title was not officially used until almost two hundred years later).
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From that time on, Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and undergo great suffering at the hands of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised.
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And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him, saying, “God forbid it, Lord! This must never happen to you.”
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But he turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; for you are setting your mind not on divine things but on human things.”
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Then Jesus told his disciples, “If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.
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For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will find it.
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For what will it profit them if they gain the whole world but forfeit their life? Or what will they give in return for their life?
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“For the Son of Man is to come with his angels in the glory of his Father, and then he will repay everyone for what has been done.
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Truly I tell you, there are some standing here who will not taste death before they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom.”
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Six days later, Jesus took with him Peter and James and his brother John and led them up a high mountain, by themselves.
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And he was transfigured before them, and his face shone like the sun, and his clothes became dazzling white.
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Suddenly there appeared to them Moses and Elijah, talking with him.
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Then Peter said to Jesus, “Lord, it is good for us to be here; if you wish, I
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will make three dwellings
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here, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.”
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While he was still speaking, suddenly a bright cloud overshadowed them, and from the cloud a voice said, “This is my Son, the Beloved;
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with him I am well pleased; listen to him!”
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When the disciples heard this, they fell to the ground and were overcome by fear.
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But Jesus came and touched them, saying, “Get up and do not be afraid.”
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And when they looked up, they saw no one except Jesus himself alone.
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As they were coming down the mountain, Jesus ordered them, “Tell no one about the vision until after the Son of Man has been raised from the dead.”
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And the disciples asked him, “Why, then, do the scribes say that Elijah must come first?”
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He replied, “Elijah is indeed coming and will restore all things;
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but I tell you that Elijah has already come, and they did not recognize him, but they did to him whatever they pleased. So also the Son of Man is about to suffer at their hands.”
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Then the disciples understood that he was speaking to them about John the Baptist.