1 Some Pharisees and teachers of religious law now arrived from Jerusalem to see Jesus. They asked him, 2 “Why do your disciples disobey our age-old tradition? For they ignore our tradition of ceremonial hand washing before they eat.” 3 Jesus replied, “And why do you, by your traditions, violate the direct commandments of God? 4 For instance, God says, ‘Honor your father and mother,’ and ‘Anyone who speaks disrespectfully of father or mother must be put to death.’ 5 But you say it is all right for people to say to their parents, ‘Sorry, I can’t help you. For I have vowed to give to God what I would have given to you.’ 6 In this way, you say they don’t need to honor their parents. And so you cancel the word of God for the sake of your own tradition. 7 You hypocrites! Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you, for he wrote,
8 ‘These people honor me with their lips,
but their hearts are far from me.
9 Their worship is a farce,
for they teach man-made ideas as commands from God.’”
10 Then Jesus called to the crowd to come and hear. “Listen,” he said, “and try to understand. 11 It’s not what goes into your mouth that defiles you; you are defiled by the words that come out of your mouth.”
12 Then the disciples came to him and asked, “Do you realize you offended the Pharisees by what you just said?”
13 Jesus replied, “Every plant not planted by my heavenly Father will be uprooted, 14 so ignore them. They are blind guides leading the blind, and if one blind person guides another, they will both fall into a ditch.”
15 Then Peter said to Jesus, “Explain to us the parable that says people aren’t defiled by what they eat.”
16 “Don’t you understand yet?” Jesus asked. 17 “Anything you eat passes through the stomach and then goes into the sewer. 18 But the words you speak come from the heart—that’s what defiles you. 19 For from the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, all sexual immorality, theft, lying, and slander. 20 These are what defile you. Eating with unwashed hands will never defile you.”
God tends to teach me things in seasons I've noticed. Some seasons last months, and others may only last a few days. I suppose He teaches all of us that way: when the radio, the sermon, and the Bible seem to all be talking about the same topic...you know what I mean? Well, in the past three days, God has been working with me on my testimony. I remember thinking as a teenager that I sort of wished I'd been a drug dealer so that I could have a "cooler" testimony than the one I have. Yet, God is showing me now how powerful my testimony can be: I was a hypocrite.
As a teenager and college student, there were many times that my walk and my talk did not match! We can call that teenage rebellion, or we can call it what Jesus calls it: hypocrisy.
Ouch! I really don't like the sound of that. Yet, as I'm reading in Matthew, Jesus keeping talking about the Pharisees. If you've been reading in Matthew with me, wouldn't you agree? I'm thinking, Okay, Jesus, I get it -- you and the Pharisees didn't get along. But whenever the Bible repeats something, it is important. So, if Jesus continues to talk about the Pharisees, it must be really important. And it is: they are the best picture of hypocrisy we have! And Jesus hates their hypocrisy! Here, He also points out that they are focused on all the wrong things. In verse 9 He says, "Their worship is a farce, for they teach man-made ideas as commands from God." The Pharisees were making their ceremony more important than God, telling people they MUST do a ceremonial hand-washing before eating. But Jesus corrects them in saying, "It’s not what goes into your mouth that defiles you; you are defiled by the words that come out of your mouth.” Again, how many times can He say it to us, I am more concerned about the condition of your heart...
What makes me laugh is that the disciples come to Jesus to let Him know that He's offended the Pharisees in saying that and they ask Him, “Do you realize you offended the Pharisees by what you just said?” They are saying this to God! How quickly they forget who they are with! I would imagine much of what God says offends people even today. People are offended by the idea that God thinks He is the only way, or by what He commands that we do and not do (even though it's all for OUR benefit). But if we only knew who He really is, and His power compared to ours, we could certainly never say such things. Recall what the Lord said to Job when Job forgot to Whom he was speaking,
2 “Who is this that darkens my counsel
with words without knowledge?
3 Brace yourself like a man;
I will question you,
and you shall answer me.
4 “Where were you when I laid the earth’s foundation?
Tell me, if you understand.
5 Who marked off its dimensions? Surely you know!
Who stretched a measuring line across it?
6 On what were its footings set,
or who laid its cornerstone—
7 while the morning stars sang together
and all the angels shouted for joy?
8 “Who shut up the sea behind doors
when it burst forth from the womb,
9 when I made the clouds its garment
and wrapped it in thick darkness,
10 when I fixed limits for it
and set its doors and bars in place,
11 when I said, ‘This far you may come and no farther;
here is where your proud waves halt’?
12 “Have you ever given orders to the morning,
or shown the dawn its place,
13 that it might take the earth by the edges
and shake the wicked out of it?
14 The earth takes shape like clay under a seal;
its features stand out like those of a garment.
15 The wicked are denied their light,
and their upraised arm is broken.
16 “Have you journeyed to the springs of the sea
or walked in the recesses of the deep?
17 Have the gates of death been shown to you?
Have you seen the gates of the shadow of death?
18 Have you comprehended the vast expanses of the earth?
Tell me, if you know all this.
That is Who we have the privilege of talking to, of calling our God, a God who is infinitely powerful, yet also abounding in graciousness and compassion for us. Oh, how I need to be reminded of this EVERY day! I am not God.
Okay, tangent there. Back to Matthew. All that to say, may we not be as concerned about what the Pharisees, or anyone else thinks. But may we press on to do only what God has commanded us to do. Here in Matthew, Jesus is telling us that we need to be more concerned about what is coming OUT of our hearts (through our mouths) than what goes INTO our bodies (through our mouths). May our words not be those of "evil thoughts, murder, adultery, all sexual immorality, theft, lying, and slander" (vs. 19). Jesus says THOSE are what defile us. If my words and my actions include these things and I claim to be a follower of Christ, than I am a hypocrite. Hence, I am still a hypocrite many days, but the difference now compared to my past is that my heart is broken over my own hypocricy; whereas, I used to just take God's grace and continue in the same patterns.
I am currently stuck in agreement with Paul when he says in Romans 7:15, "I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do." Likewise, I can never seem to do what I want to do, which is whatever I know God commands me to do. I will never be perfect on this earth. But what God cares about his my heart. I am trusting that He sees my desire to do the will of my Father, despite my failed attempts many days.
May we bow before Him this morning, humbled with the knowledge of who He is and who we are not. Lord, we are ready to do your will this morning, especially in our speech today. We love you, Lord. May our lives today bring You glory and fame.
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