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Matthew 15 · Grade 5

Mercy for Outsiders

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Read and Think

Matthew 15 deals with what truly makes a person clean before God. The religious leaders focused on outward washing rules handed down by tradition. Jesus showed that their traditions sometimes overruled God's Word, and He called them hypocrites who honored God with their lips while their hearts were far away.

Jesus taught the crowd that defilement comes from within. The real problem is not dirty hands but sinful hearts. This prepares us for the gospel: we need more than better habits; we need new hearts that only God can give. Jesus even said every plant His Father had not planted would be uprooted, and that the Pharisees were blind guides.

Then Jesus traveled to Gentile territory. A Canaanite woman, from a people long counted as Israel's enemies, called Him "son of David" and pleaded for her daughter. Jesus at first said He was sent to the lost sheep of Israel, but her humble, persistent faith shone, and He healed her daughter. Afterward He fed four thousand in a mostly Gentile region, a sign that the bread of the Kingdom is for all nations.

Show What You Know

  1. What did the Pharisees focus on, and what did Jesus focus on?

  2. Why did Jesus call the Pharisees hypocrites?

  3. How does this chapter show our need for new hearts?

  4. What was surprising about the Canaanite woman calling Jesus son of David?

  5. What does the feeding of the four thousand in Gentile territory suggest?

Crossword

625341

Across

  1. Jesus said the mother's ____ was great.
  2. The mother's ____ was sick.

Down

  1. The Pharisees complained the disciples did not wash these.
  2. She came to Jesus for help for her daughter.
  3. How many loaves fed four thousand people.
  4. What comes out of it can make a person unclean.

Think About It

  1. What kinds of outward religion can people focus on today instead of the heart?

  2. Who might be considered an outsider in your world? How does Jesus' welcome of the Canaanite woman shape how you treat them?

Memory Verse

“Then Jesus answered her, “Woman, great is your faith! Be it done to you even as you desire.” And her daughter was healed from that hour.”

Matthew 15:28 (WEB)

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Prayer

Dear God, thank You for this Bible story. Help me to . Amen.

Take It Home

For families: talk about these together.

  • Where are you tempted to look good outside while your thoughts stay unchanged?
  • How can you welcome people who are different from you?
  • What is one specific way you could live out this chapter this week?

Scripture: World English Bible, public domain, eBible.org. © 2026 The Daily Rooted. Free to print and copy for church and home use; not for resale. Original line art.