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Jesus Heals the Sick in Gennesaret

³⁴ And when they had crossed over, they came to land at Gennesaret.³⁵ And when the men of that place recognized him, they sent around to all that region and brought to him all who were sick ³⁶ and implored him that they might only touch the fringe of his garment. And as many as touched it were made well.

Traditions and Commandments

15 Then Pharisees and scribes came to Jesus from Jerusalem and said,² “Why do your disciples break the tradition of the elders? For they do not wash their hands when they eat.” ³ He answered them, “And why do you break the commandment of God for the sake of your tradition? ⁴ For God commanded, ‘Honor your father and your mother,’ and, ‘Whoever reviles father or mother must surely die.’ ⁵ But you say, ‘If anyone tells his father or his mother, “What you would have gained from me is given to God,”^{[a] 6} he need not honor his father.’ So for the sake of your tradition you have made void the word^[b] of God. ⁷ You hypocrites! Well did Isaiah prophesy of you, when he said:

What Defiles a Person

¹⁰ And he called the people to him and said to them, “Hear and understand:¹¹ it is not what goes into the mouth that defiles a person, but what comes out of the mouth; this defiles a person.” 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 that my heavenly Father has not planted will be rooted up. ¹⁴ Let them alone; they are blind guides.^[c] And if the blind lead the blind, 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 is expelled?^{[d] 18} But what comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart, and this defiles a person. ¹⁹ For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, slander. ²⁰ These are what defile a person. But to eat with unwashed hands does not defile anyone.”

Reflecting on God’s Word

Getting Started

• Take some time to read over Matthew 14:22-33 and pray. 
• Have you ever read or heard about this before? What stood out to you as we were talking about it? 
• What surprised you as we talked about it?
• As we talked about this part of God’s Word, and what Jesus teaches about building a faith that will last, what stood out to you the most? 

Diving In 

Read Matthew 7:24. How can you be more rooted in God’s Word? How would this help you to avoid the mistakes that the Pharisees made in Matthew 15?

Read Matt. 15:12. The Pharisees became offended by Jesus and His teaching. What are some things that easily offend you? Why is that? Based on God’s Word, is it good that you are offended by those things, or not? 

Read Matthew 15:3-9. The Pharisees elevated their own traditions above God’s commands. Jesus doesn’t say that their traditions are bad, but rather that they should be held lower than His Word. How can you avoid the Pharisees’ mistake, and always be sure to hold God’s Word above all else?

Read Matthew 15:10-11, 15-20. Jesus makes it clear that food doesn’t defile us, but rather what happens in our hearts. He also tells us that we can see what is in our hearts, by looking at our words. If you had to take an inventory of your conversations from the past couple of weeks, what does it tell you about your heart? How can you better focus your heart on the Lord? 

Read Matthew 15:11-14. Sadly, not everyone who claims to be a Christian actually has a saving relationship with Jesus. Read Matthew 7:13-14. How can you be sure that you are on the narrow path? Is there anything that you need to cut out of your life? What is God calling you to do?

Applying the Scripture

What are your biggest takeaways from this passage of God’s Word? 

• What practical step(s) do you need to implement in your life to apply what God has taught you in this passage of Scripture? 
• How would applying this affect your life and your relationship with the Lord? 
• Who can you ask to keep you accountable to applying this to your life?

Open with prayer.

Go around and give everyone a chance to share about how the past week has been. What’s one highlight? What’s one lowlight?

If your small group has talked about it before, feel free to use this time to hold people accountable to what they’ve asked to be held accountable for previously, and go through the “missional” part of this discussion guide.

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Prayer Time:

Pray for each other in your small group to be faithful take the step(s) that you shared above. Pray for each other and the interactions that they have with those who don’t know Jesus. Pray that God would soften the people’s hearts to what He has for them. Pray that God would give everyone opportunities to share the Gospel.

Staying Missional:

Share spiritual/missional conversations you’ve had where you live, work, and play:

Who did you have a conversation with that took a spiritual/missional turn this week?
What questions did you ask to discover where God is at work in their life, even if they are not aware?
How were you able to share your story of life change or how you have experienced Jesus?
How can you be intentional this week with people where you live, work, and play to have spiritual/missional conversations if the opportunity arises?
Who in your life do you think could be discipleable or open to spiritual/missional conversations?

What’s next?

Discuss the next step for your small group. When will we gather again and what purpose will it fulfill?