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 Commentary on the Gospel of Saint Matthew, Chapter 15: 

In the fifteenth chapter of Matthew’s Gospel, Jesus uses an accusation against his disciples as an excuse to perform verbal surgery on the hearts of those listening to his teachings. Since the Jews’ return from the Babylonian Captivity, hundreds of religious stipulations and rules had been added to the Law in an attempt to ensure no danger of someone inadvertently breaking it. In Deuteronomy 4:2, however, the descendants of the 12 tribes of Israel had been instructed by Moses not to add anything to the Law nor to subtract from it: “You shall not add to the word which I command you, nor take from it; that you may keep the commandments of the LORD your God which I command you.” The scribes’ and Pharisees’ additions to the Law kept them from being the kind of witnesses to the world that God originally had intended. Jesus cuts through the built-up calluses of human traditions that obscure the spirit of the original Law to make the point that moral purity and the keeping of God’s word begins within the depths of a person’s heart. 

The Gospel of Saint Matthew, Chapter 15:

The Tradition of the Elders

1 Then Pharisees and scribes came to Jesus from Jerusalem and said, 2 “Why do your disciples transgress the tradition of the elders? For they do not wash their hands when they eat.” 3 He answered them, “And why do you transgress the commandment of God for the sake of your tradition? 4 For God commanded, ‘Honor your father and your mother,’ and, ‘He who speaks evil of father or mother, let him surely die.’ 5 But you say, ‘If any one tells his father or his mother, What you would have gained from me is given to God, he need not honor his father.’† 6 So, for the sake of your tradition, you have made void the word of God. 7 You hypocrites! Well did Isaiah prophesy of you, when he said:
8 ‘This people honors me with their lips,
but their heart is far from me;
9 in vain do they worship me,
teaching as doctrines the precepts of men.’ ”
 

Things That Defile a Man

10 And he called the people to him and said to them, “Hear and understand: 11 not what goes into the mouth defiles a man, but what comes out of the mouth, this defiles a man.” 12 Then the disciples came and said to him, “Do you know that the Pharisees were offended when they heard this saying?” 13 He answered, “Every plant which my heavenly Father has not planted will be rooted up. 14 Let them alone; they are blind guides. And if a blind man leads a blind man, both will fall into a pit.” 15 But Peter said to him, “Explain the parable to us.” 16 And he said, “Are you also still without understanding? 17 Do you not see that whatever goes into the mouth passes into the stomach, and so passes on? 18 But what comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart, and this defiles a man. 19 For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, fornication, theft, false witness, slander. 20 These are what defile a man; but to eat with unwashed hands does not defile a man.”
 

The Canaanite Woman’s Faith

21 And Jesus went away from there and withdrew to the district of Tyre and Sidon. 22 And behold, a Canaanite woman from that region came out and cried, “Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David; my daughter is severely possessed by a demon.” 23 But he did not answer her a word. And his disciples came and begged him, saying, “Send her away, for she is crying after us.” 24 He answered, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” 25 But she came and knelt before him, saying, “Lord, help me.” 26 And he answered, “It is not fair to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs.” 27 She said, “Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters’ table.” 28 Then Jesus answered her, “O woman, great is your faith! Let it be done for you as you desire.” And her daughter was healed instantly.
 

Jesus Heals Many People

29 And Jesus went on from there and passed along the Sea of Galilee. And he went up on the mountain, and sat down there. 30 And great crowds came to him, bringing with them the lame, the maimed, the blind, the mute, and many others, and they put them at his feet, and he healed them, 31 so that the throng wondered, when they saw the mute speaking, the maimed whole, the lame walking, and the blind seeing; and they glorified the God of Israel.
 

Feeding the Four Thousand

32 Then Jesus called his disciples to him and said, “I have compassion on the crowd, because they have been with me now three days, and have nothing to eat; and I am unwilling to send them away hungry, lest they faint on the way.” 33 And the disciples said to him, “Where are we to get bread enough in the desert to feed so great a crowd?” 34 And Jesus said to them, “How many loaves have you?” They said, “Seven, and a few small fish.” 35 And commanding the crowd to sit down on the ground, 36 he took the seven loaves and the fish, and having given thanks he broke them and gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds. 37 And they all ate and were satisfied; and they took up seven baskets full of the broken pieces left over. 38 Those who ate were four thousand men, besides women and children. 39 And sending away the crowds, he got into the boat and went to the region of Magadan.

*Daily Lectio Divina Question:

“You hypocrites”. Jesus is fairly blunt, isn’t he? Not “nice.” Do you allow yourself to feel the force of what Jesus says? to allow his words into your heart?

Bible Commentary provided by Scott Hahn and Mark Shea, Gospel of Matthew, ed. Jennifer Phelps, Catholic Scripture Study (Charlotte, NC: Catholic Scripture Study International, 2007), 139.

Revised Standard Version; Second Catholic Edition. (San Francisco: Ignatius Press, 2006).
Permission to use the RSV-2CE given for Bishop's Year of the Bible by Ignatius Press. Many thanks to Ignatius for this. If you're looking for a good Catholic edition of the Bible, look no further