1En dag kom nogle farisæere og skriftlærde fra Jerusalem for at få en samtale med Jesus. (Mark 7,1)2„Hvorfor overtræder dine disciple de regler, vores forfædre har pålagt os?” begyndte de. „De vasker jo ikke hænder på den foreskrevne måde, før de spiser!”3Jesus svarede: „Og hvorfor overtræder I Guds befalinger for at kunne følge jeres egne traditioner?4Gud har jo sagt: ‚Du skal ære din far og din mor!’ og: ‚Den, der forbander sin far eller mor, skal dø!’[1] (2.Mos 20,12)5Men I hævder, at hvis blot man siger til sin far eller mor: ‚Det, du skulle have haft, vil jeg i stedet give som gave til templet,’6så behøver man ikke at ære sine forældre. På den måde ophæver I Guds ord til fordel for jeres egne traditioner.7I er nogle hyklere! Det er sådan nogle som jer, Gud har talt om i profeten Esajas’ bog:8‚Dette folk ærer mig i det ydre, men deres hjerte er fjernt fra mig.9Det er forgæves, de dyrker mig, når deres lære blot er menneskebud.’[2]” (Es 29,13)
Hvad gør et menneske urent i Guds øjne?
10Så kaldte Jesus folk sammen og sagde: „Hør nu efter og prøv at forstå, hvad jeg siger: (Mark 7,14)11Det er ikke det, som kommer ind gennem munden, der gør et menneske urent i Guds øjne, men det er det, som kommer ud gennem munden!”12Derefter kom disciplene hen til Jesus og sagde: „Ved du, at farisæerne følte sig stødt over det, du sagde lige før?”13Jesus svarede: „Alle de planter, som min Far ikke har plantet, bliver rykket op med rode.14Lad dem bare være. De er blinde vejledere for blinde. Når en blind leder en blind, falder de begge i grøften.”15Peter bad nu Jesus forklare, hvad han mente med den billedtale, han lige havde brugt.16„I har åbenbart stadig svært ved at forstå billederne,” sagde Jesus.17„Så hør her: Al den mad, der kommer ind gennem munden, fortsætter ned i maven og forsvinder ud igen.18Det, der gør et menneske urent, er det, der udgår fra menneskets indre,19dvs. de onde tanker, som fører til mord,[3] utroskab, seksuel synd, tyveri, løgn og sladder.20Det er den slags ting, der gør mennesket urent—ikke at man spiser uden at have vasket hænderne ifølge bestemte ritualer.”
En ikke-jødisk kvindes tro
21Jesus og disciplene forlod nu den del af landet og trak sig tilbage til egnene omkring Tyrus og Sidon. (Mark 7,24)22En ikke-jødisk kvinde, som boede på den egn, kom til Jesus og råbte bønfaldende: „Vær barmhjertig mod mig, Herre, du Davids Søn! Min datter har en dæmon i sig, og den plager hende ustandselig.”23Jesus svarede hende ikke lige med det samme. Disciplene gik hen til ham og sagde: „Bed hende om at gå. Det vækker opsigt, at hun råber efter os.”24Så vendte Jesus sig mod kvinden og sagde: „Jeg er kun udsendt for at hjælpe jøderne.”25Men hun trådte nærmere og faldt på knæ foran ham: „Herre, hjælp mig dog!”26Jesus svarede: „Det kan ikke være rigtigt at tage børnenes mad og give den til hundehvalpene.”27„Det er sandt, Herre,” sagde hun, „og dog løber hvalpene hen og spiser de krummer, som falder ned fra deres herres bord.”28„Du har stor tro!” udbrød Jesus. „Du skal få det, du har bedt om!” I samme øjeblik var hendes datter helbredt.
Mange helbredelser blandt ikke-jøder
29Jesus vendte derefter tilbage til området øst for Galilæasøen, hvor han gik op på en bakke og satte sig ned for at undervise. (Mark 7,31)30Store folkeskarer kom til ham. Blandt dem var mange lamme, blinde, stumme og andre handicappede. Og Jesus helbredte dem alle!31Det var et fantastisk syn. Mennesker som før var stumme, kunne nu tale. Handicappede blev helbredt, lamme gik omkring, blinde kunne se. Folkeskaren blev slået af forundring og lovpriste Israels Gud.
Bespisningen af de 4000 ikke-jøder
32Jesus kaldte nu disciplene hen til sig. „Jeg har ondt af alle de mennesker,” sagde han. „Nu har de været sammen med mig her i tre dage, og de har ikke mere at spise. Jeg vil ikke sende dem af sted uden at give dem noget, for så kan de falde om af udmattelse på vejen hjem.” (Mark 8,1)33„Men vi kan da umuligt skaffe brød nok her i ødemarken,” indvendte disciplene.34„Hvor mange brød har I?” spurgte Jesus. „Syv brød og nogle småfisk,” svarede de.35Så fik han folk til at sætte sig på jorden.36Derefter tog han de syv brød og fiskene, takkede Gud, brækkede dem i stykker og gav stykkerne til disciplene, der så delte mad ud til folkeskaren.37-38Alle spiste og blev mætte. 4000 mænd, foruden kvinder og børn, havde fået noget at spise, og da resterne blev samlet ind efter måltidet, var der nok til at fylde syv kurve.39Så sendte Jesus folk hjem, hvorefter han og disciplene gik om bord i en båd og sejlede til området omkring Magadan.[4]
1Then Pharisees and scribes came to Jesus from Jerusalem and said, (Mark 3,22; Mark 7,1)2“Why do your disciples break the tradition of the elders? For they do not wash their hands when they eat.” (Matt 9,11; Luk 11,38; Gal 1,14; Kol 2,8)3He answered them, “And why do you break the commandment of God for the sake of your tradition?4For God commanded, ‘Honor your father and your mother,’ and, ‘Whoever reviles father or mother must surely die.’ (2.Mos 20,12; 2.Mos 21,17)5But you say, ‘If anyone tells his father or his mother, “What you would have gained from me is given to God,”[1]6he need not honor his father.’ So for the sake of your tradition you have made void the word[2] of God. (Rom 2,23; Gal 3,17)7You hypocrites! Well did Isaiah prophesy of you, when he said: (Matt 23,13)8“‘This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me; (Es 29,13; Ez 33,31)9in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’” (Kol 2,22; Titus 1,14)
What Defiles a Person
10And he called the people to him and said to them, “Hear and understand: (Matt 13,51)11it is not what goes into the mouth that defiles a person, but what comes out of the mouth; this defiles a person.” (Ap G 10,14)12Then the disciples came and said to him, “Do you know that the Pharisees were offended when they heard this saying?” (Matt 13,57; Luk 7,23)13He answered, “Every plant that my heavenly Father has not planted will be rooted up. (Es 60,21; Es 61,3; Joh 15,1; 1.Kor 3,9; Judas 1,12)14Let them alone; they are blind guides.[3] And if the blind lead the blind, both will fall into a pit.” (Es 56,10; Mal 2,8; Matt 23,16; Matt 23,24; Luk 6,39)15But Peter said to him, “Explain the parable to us.” (Matt 13,36)16And he said, “Are you also still without understanding? (Matt 16,9)17Do you not see that whatever goes into the mouth passes into the stomach and is expelled?[4] (1.Kor 6,13)18But what comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart, and this defiles a person. (Matt 12,34; Jak 3,6)19For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, slander. (2.Mos 20,13; Matt 5,22; Matt 5,28; Ef 4,31; Kol 3,8; 1.Tim 6,4; Jak 2,4)20These are what defile a person. But to eat with unwashed hands does not defile anyone.” (Mark 7,2; Mark 7,5; 1.Kor 6,9)
The Faith of a Canaanite Woman
21And Jesus went away from there and withdrew to the district of Tyre and Sidon. (Mark 7,24)22And behold, a Canaanite woman from that region came out and was crying, “Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David; my daughter is severely oppressed by a demon.” (1.Mos 10,15; 1.Mos 10,19; Dom 1,30; Matt 9,27)23But he did not answer her a word. And his disciples came and begged him, saying, “Send her away, for she is crying out after us.” (Matt 14,15)24He answered, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” (Matt 10,5; Rom 15,8)25But she came and knelt before him, saying, “Lord, help me.” (Matt 8,2)26And he answered, “It is not right to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs.” (Matt 7,6)27She said, “Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters’ table.” (Luk 16,21)28Then Jesus answered her, “O woman, great is your faith! Be it done for you as you desire.” And her daughter was healed instantly.[5] (Matt 8,13; Matt 9,2; Matt 9,22; Matt 17,18; Joh 4,52)
Jesus Heals Many
29Jesus went on from there and walked beside the Sea of Galilee. And he went up on the mountain and sat down there. (Matt 4,18; Matt 5,1; Mark 7,31; Joh 6,1)30And great crowds came to him, bringing with them the lame, the blind, the crippled, the mute, and many others, and they put them at his feet, and he healed them, (Matt 11,5)31so that the crowd wondered, when they saw the mute speaking, the crippled healthy, the lame walking, and the blind seeing. And they glorified the God of Israel. (Es 29,23; Matt 9,8; Matt 9,33; Matt 18,8; Mark 9,43; Luk 1,68; Ap G 13,17)
Jesus Feeds the Four Thousand
32Then 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.” (Matt 9,36; Matt 14,14; Mark 8,1)33And the disciples said to him, “Where are we to get enough bread in such a desolate place to feed so great a crowd?”34And Jesus said to them, “How many loaves do you have?” They said, “Seven, and a few small fish.” (Matt 16,10)35And directing the crowd to sit down on the ground,36he 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. (Matt 26,27; Mark 14,23; Luk 22,17; Luk 22,19; Joh 6,11; Joh 6,23; Ap G 27,35; Rom 14,6; 1.Kor 10,30; 1.Kor 11,24; 1.Kor 14,16; 1.Tim 4,3)37And they all ate and were satisfied. And they took up seven baskets full of the broken pieces left over. (2.Kong 4,42)38Those who ate were four thousand men, besides women and children.39And after sending away the crowds, he got into the boat and went to the region of Magadan. (Mark 8,10)