His Life Part 14

And there are gathered together unto him the Pharisees, and certain of the scribes, who had come from Jerusalem, and had seen that some of his disciples ate their bread with defiled, that is, unwashen, hands.

(For the Pharisees, and all the Jews, except they wash their hands diligently, eat not, holding the tradition of the elders; and when they come from the market-place, except they bathe themselves, they eat not; and many other things there are, which they have received to hold, was.h.i.+ngs of cups, and pots, and brasen vessels.) And the Pharisees and the scribes ask him, "Why walk not thy disciples according to the tradition of the elders, but eat their bread with defiled hands?"

And he said unto them, "Well did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written,

'This people honoreth me with their lips, But their heart is far from me.

But in vain do they wors.h.i.+p me, Teaching as their doctrines the precepts of men.'

"Ye leave the commandment of G.o.d, and hold fast the tradition of men."

And he said unto them, "Full well do ye reject the commandment of G.o.d, that ye may keep your tradition. For Moses said, 'Honor thy father and thy mother;' and, 'He that speaketh evil of father or mother, let him die the death;' but ye say, 'If a man shall say to his father or his mother, That wherewith thou mightest have been profited by me is Corban,' that is to say, Given to G.o.d; ye no longer suffer him to do aught for his father or his mother; making void the word of G.o.d by your tradition, which ye have delivered: and many such like things ye do."

And he called to him the mult.i.tude again, and said unto them, "Hear me all of you, and understand: there is nothing from without the man, that going into him can defile him; but the things which proceed out of the man are those that defile the man."

Then came the disciples, and said unto him, "Knowest thou that the Pharisees were offended, when they heard this saying?"

But he answered and said, "Every plant which my heavenly Father planted not, shall be rooted up. Let them alone: they are blind guides. And if the blind guide the blind, both shall fall into a pit."

And when he was entered into the house from the mult.i.tude, his disciples asked of him the parable.

And he saith unto them, "Are ye also even yet without understanding?

Perceive ye not, that whatsoever from without goeth into the man, it cannot defile him; because it goeth not into his heart, but into his belly, and goeth out into the draught?"

This he said, making all meats clean. And he said, "That which proceedeth out of the man, that defileth the man. For from within, out of the heart of men, evil thoughts proceed, fornications, thefts, murders, adulteries, covetings, wickedness, deceit, false witness, lasciviousness, an evil eye, railing, pride, foolishness: all these evil things proceed from within, and defile the man; but to eat with unwashen hands defileth not the man."

THE PLOT OF THE PHARISEES.

And it came to pa.s.s on a sabbath, that he entered into the synagogue and taught: and there was a man there, and his right hand was withered. And the scribes and the Pharisees watched him, whether he would heal on the sabbath; that they might find how to accuse him.

But he knew their thoughts; and he said to the man that had his hand withered, "Rise up, and stand forth in the midst."

And he arose and stood forth. And Jesus said unto them, "I ask you, Is it lawful on the sabbath to do good, or to do harm? to save a life or to destroy it? What man shall there be of you, that shall have one sheep, and if this fall into a pit on the sabbath day, will he not lay hold on it, and lift it out? How much then is a man of more value than a sheep! Wherefore it is lawful to do good on the sabbath day."

But they held their peace. And when he had looked round about on them with anger, being grieved at the hardening of their heart, he saith unto the man, "Stretch forth thy hand."

And he stretched it forth; and his hand was restored whole, as the other.

But they were filled with madness; and communed one with another what they might do to Jesus.

And the Pharisees went out, and straightway with the Herodians took counsel against him, how they might destroy him.

=HIS WITHDRAWAL WITH THE TWELVE=

THE MINISTRY BEYOND GALILEE

THE PHOENICIAN RETIREMENT AND THE GENTILE CURE.

And Jesus went out thence, and withdrew into the parts of Tyre and Sidon.

And he entered into a house, and would have no man know it; and he could not be hid. But straightway a woman, whose little daughter had an unclean spirit, having heard of him, came and fell down at his feet. Now the woman was a Greek, a Syrophoenician by race.

And she cried, saying, "Have mercy on me, O Lord, thou son of David; my daughter is grievously vexed with a demon."

But he answered her not a word. And his disciples came and besought him, saying, "Send her away, for she crieth after us."

But he answered and said, "I was not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel."

But she came and wors.h.i.+pped him, saying, "Lord help me."

And he said unto her, "Let the children first be filled: for it is not meet to take the children's bread and cast it to the dogs."

But she answered and saith unto him, "Yea, Lord; even the dogs under the table eat of the children's crumbs."

Then Jesus answered and said unto her, "O woman, great is thy faith: be it done unto thee as thou wilt. Go thy way; the demon is gone out of thy daughter."

And she went away unto her house, and found the child laid upon the bed, and the demon gone out.

MIRACLES AND MULt.i.tUDES AGAIN.

And again he went out from the borders of Tyre, and came through Sidon unto the sea of Galilee, through the midst of the borders of Decapolis.

And he went up into the mountain, and sat there. And there came unto him great mult.i.tudes, having with them the lame, blind, dumb, maimed, and many others, and they cast them down at his feet; and he healed them; insomuch that the mult.i.tude wondered, when they saw the dumb speaking, the maimed whole, and the lame walking, and the blind seeing; and they glorified the G.o.d of Israel.

And they bring unto him one that was deaf, and had an impediment in his speech; and they beseech him to lay his hand upon him. And he took him aside from the mult.i.tude privately, and put his fingers into his ears, and he spat, and touched his tongue; and looking up to heaven, he sighed, and saith unto him, "Ephphatha," that is, "Be opened."

And his ears were opened, and the bond of his tongue was loosed, and he spake plain. And he charged them that they should tell no man; but the more he charged them, so much the more a great deal they published it. And they were beyond measure astonished, saying, "He hath done all things well; he maketh even the deaf to hear, and the dumb to speak."

THE FOUR THOUSAND FED.

In those days, when there was again a great mult.i.tude, and they had nothing to eat, he called unto him his disciples, and saith unto them, "I have compa.s.sion on the mult.i.tude, because they continue with me now three days, and have nothing to eat; and if I send them away fasting to their home, they will faint on the way; and some of them are come from far."

And his disciples answered him, "Whence shall one be able to fill these men with bread here in a desert place?"

And he asked them, "How many loaves have ye?"

And they said, "Seven."

And he commandeth the mult.i.tude to sit down on the ground: and he took the seven loaves, and having given thanks, he brake, and gave to his disciples, to set before them; and they set them before the mult.i.tude.

And they had a few small fishes: and having blessed them, he commanded to set these also before them. And they ate and were filled: and they took up, of broken pieces that remained over, seven baskets. And they were about four thousand men, besides women and children.