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Matthew

About this book
Chapter 15

1 Then Pharisees and experts in the law came from Jerusalem to Jesus and said, 2 “Why do your disciples disobey the tradition of the elders? For they don’t wash their hands when they eat.” 3 He answered them, “And why do you disobey the commandment of God because of your tradition? 4 For God said, ‘Honor your father and mother’ and ‘Whoever insults his father or mother must be put to death.’ 5 But you say, ‘If someone tells his father or mother, “Whatever help you would have received from me is given to God,” 6 he does not need to honor his father.’ You have nullified the word of God on account of your tradition. 7 Hypocrites! Isaiah prophesied correctly about you when he said,⁠ 8 “‘This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me, 9 and they worship me in vain, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’” 10 Then he called the crowd to him and said, “Listen and understand. 11 What defiles a person is not what goes into the mouth; it is what comes out of the mouth that defiles a person.”⁠ 12 Then the disciples came to him and said, “Do you know that when the Pharisees heard this saying they were offended?” 13 And he replied, “Every plant that my heavenly Father did not plant will be uprooted.⁠ 14 Leave them! They are blind guides. If someone who is blind leads another who is blind, both will fall into a pit.”⁠ 15 But Peter said to him, “Explain this parable to us.” 16 Jesus said, “Even after all this, are you still so foolish? 17 Don’t you understand that whatever goes into the mouth enters the stomach and then passes out into the sewer? 18 But the things that come out of the mouth come from the heart, and these things defile a person. 19 For out of the heart come evil ideas, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander. 20 These are the things that defile a person; it is not eating with unwashed hands that defiles a person.” 21 After going out from there, Jesus went to the region of Tyre and Sidon. 22 A Canaanite woman from that area came and cried out, “Have mercy on me, Lord, Son of David! My daughter is horribly demon-possessed!” 23 But he did not answer her a word. Then his disciples came and begged him, “Send her away because she keeps on crying out after us.” 24 So he answered, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.”⁠ 25 But she came and bowed down before him and said, “Lord, help me!” 26 “It is not right to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs,” he said.⁠ 27 “Yes, Lord,” she replied, “but even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters’ table.”⁠ 28 Then Jesus answered her, “Woman, your faith is great! Let what you want be done for you.” And her daughter was healed from that hour. 29 When he left there, Jesus went along the Sea of Galilee. Then he went up a mountain, where he sat down. 30 Then large crowds came to him bringing with them the lame, blind, crippled, mute, and many others. They laid them at his feet, and he healed them. 31 As a result, the crowd was amazed when they saw the mute speaking, the crippled healthy, the lame walking, and the blind seeing, and they praised the God of Israel.⁠ 32 Then Jesus called his disciples and said, “I have compassion on the crowd because they have already been here with me three days and they have nothing to eat. I don’t want to send them away hungry since they may faint on the way.” 33 The disciples said to him, “Where can we get enough bread in this desolate place to satisfy so great a crowd?” 34 Jesus said to them, “How many loaves do you have?” They replied, “Seven—and a few small fish.” 35 After instructing the crowd to sit down on the ground, 36 he took the seven loaves and the fish, and after giving thanks, he broke them and began giving them to the disciples, who then gave them to the crowds. 37 They all ate and were satisfied, and they picked up the broken pieces left over, seven baskets full. 38 Not counting children and women, there were 4,000 men who ate. 39 After sending away the crowd, he got into the boat and went to the region of Magadan.

Texts in conversation

Compare Matthew 15:27 and Gospel of Philip 11:80

New Testament · Nag Hammadi

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Summary

Matthew's image of dogs eating crumbs reappears in the Gospel of Philip as a way to describe access to the bridal chamber. The shared table offers something to outsiders, but Philip keeps a distinction between receiving its crumbs and entering the room.

Passages

Matthew 15:27

New Testament
23 But he did not answer her a word. Then his disciples came and begged him, “Send her away because she keeps on crying out after us.” 24 So he answered, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” 25 But she came and bowed down before him and said, “Lord, help me!” 26 “It is not right to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs,” he said. 27 “Yes, Lord,” she replied, “but even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters’ table.” 28 Then Jesus answered her, “Woman, your faith is great! Let what you want be done for you.” And her daughter was healed from that hour.
70–90 CE (scholarly estimate) Read in Matthew

Gospel of Philip 11:80

Nag Hammadi
She must be seen only by her father, and her mother, and the friend of the bridegroom, and the sons of the bridegroom. These are the ones who are allowed to enter the bridal chamber on a daily basis. However, the others are allowed only to desire to hear her voice and to relish her ointment. They are also allowed to feed on the crumbs that fall from the table, like dogs. Bridegrooms and brides belong in the bridal chamber. No one can see the bridegroom together with the bride unless [he become] these. When Abraham [...] for him to see what he was to see, [he] circumcised the flesh of his foreskin, [instructing] us that we must destroy the flesh.
180–250 CE (scholarly estimate) Read in the Gospel of Philip

References

“... 122a. [No one can] know when [the man] (p. 82) and his wife unite with one another, except them alone. For the marriage of this world is a mystery for those who have taken a wife. If the marriage of defilement is so secret, how much more is the undefiled marriage a true mystery! It is not fleshly, but pure. It has nothing to do with desire, but with the will. It does not belong to the darkness or the night, but to the day and the light. 122b. If a marriage has become (openly) exposed, it has become harlotry. And the bride has played the harlot not only if she has received the seed of another man, but even if she has left her bedchamber and been seen. She ought to show herself only to her father, her mother, the friend of the bridegroom and the children of the bridegroom. 122c. To these it is permitted to enter every day into the wedding hall. But as for the others, let them desire at least to hear her (the bride's) voice and enjoy (the fragrance of) her ointment. And let them feed on the crumbs that fall from the table, like the dogs. 122d. Bridegrooms and brides belong to the bridal chamber. No one can see the bridegroom and the bride, unless [he] become such a one. [...] 78. Cf. Jn. 3:29. 79. Cf. Mk. 2:19 par. 80. Cf. Mt. 25:1-12. 81. Cf. Mk. 7:24-30 par. ...”
Hans-Martin Schenke, “The Gospel of Philip,” in New Testament Apocrypha, Volume 1: Gospels and Related Writings, ed. Wilhelm Schneemelcher and R. McL. Wilson (Cambridge: James Clarke, 1991), 204, 208.

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