Daily Bible Reading (Friday, January 19th)

18

Matthew 15 (ESV)

 

Traditions and Commandments

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

“‘This people honors me with their lips,
    but their heart is far from me;
in vain do they worship me,
    teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’”

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.”

The Faith of a Canaanite Woman

21 And Jesus went away from there and withdrew to the district of Tyre and Sidon.22 And 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.” 23 But 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.” 24 He answered, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” 25 But she came and knelt before him, saying, “Lord, help me.” 26 And he answered, “It is not right to take the children's bread and throw it to the dogs.” 27 She said, “Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters' table.” 28 Then Jesus answered her, “O woman, great is your faith! Be it done for you as you desire.”And her daughter was healed instantly.[e]

Jesus Heals Many

29 Jesus went on from there and walked beside the Sea of Galilee. And he went up on the mountain and sat down there. 30 And 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, 31 so 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.

Jesus Feeds the Four Thousand

32 Then 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.” 33 And the disciples said to him, “Where are we to get enough bread in such a desolate place to feed so great a crowd?” 34 And Jesus said to them, “How many loaves do you have?” They said, “Seven, and a few small fish.” 35 And directing the crowd to sit down on the ground, 36 he 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. 37 And they all ate and were satisfied. And they took up seven baskets full of the broken pieces left over. 38 Those who ate were four thousand men, besides women and children. 39 And after sending away the crowds, he got into the boat and went to the region of Magadan.

Footnotes:

  1. Matthew 15:5 Or is an offering
  2. Matthew 15:6 Some manuscripts law
  3. Matthew 15:14 Some manuscripts add of the blind
  4. Matthew 15:17 Greek is expelled into the latrine
  5. Matthew 15:28 Greek from that hour

18 Comments

The contrast is striking, with the Pharisees shown to have unclean hearts by the hypocritical words of their mouths, while the Canaanite woman who had a discharge was made clean by her faithful words. We must be careful to not look at these examples as warnings to others, but warnings to ourselves. We must continually test our own works to make sure we are not setting aside the word of God for traditions of men, and not loving sacrifice over mercy.

Matthew 15
While the miracles of Jesus caused his fame to spread among the crowds, so that they came out to be healed, his fame also brought out critical religious leaders who Jesus condemns for setting aside the word of God for traditions of men that love sacrifice over mercy. The Pharisees serve as an example that it is what comes out of ones mouth, flowing from their heart, that truly defiles a person. The words from the Canaanite woman demonstrate her faith, and thus the Lord makes her clean. Jesus has compassion on great crowd, who glorified the God of Israel, and performs the works of God.

Verses 1 through 9 are a strong warning to our Catholic friends that are all around us in San Antonio. 210 needs to know that their church traditions are not going to save them, but that they need to bow the knee to Jesus and obey his word.

Lord, even the dogs eat the crumbs fr the masters table! That’s the faith I want! Thank u Jesus!!

Amen Kelly, amen Sarah.

Thinking on V. 10-20, we see here that its not the behavior that defiles a man, particularly regarding his choice of food and drink. But I don't see this passage as a lightening of the standards of righteousness, in fact Jesus is instituting a higher standard. What come out of our limbs is not the root problem, but the heart does far worse than the tongue or hands. It is from within us. That's a helpful insight to have when evangelizing all sorts of lost people, from the religious sorts to the flagrant sinner.

We're not in the business of behavior modification, but heart transplant. We need new hearts ourselves and to bid others that their very nature is the problem. Not just their actions. It can't be had without the Gospel message.

Amen Elder Newton

Jesus is awesome in this passage. Boom your sickness is healed. Boom you can see. The disciples are worried about not having enough food to feed the crowds but even after everyone is satisfied, there are baskets of left overs. Lord help me to live by faith and not by sight, and help me to understand that I serve the most powerful king in all of the universe.

In Christ we are God's children. Too often we are satisfied with a few crumbs from the plate. I have two thoughts: 1. Maybe we should fast and take the plate to those who are starving for the truth of God that leads unto salvation. 2. This one really hurts, I forgot what I wanted to say. Ahh!!! Maybe it is because I need to eat that healthy bread that Jesus serves to all those who listen to Him. So let us eat our healthy portion each day for our Lord's table and be full of His truth. This will enable us to share God's word with those who have ignored the reality that they are starving and dying from the lack knowing Christ.

Amen pastor

V.18 “What comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart, and this defiles a person” A great reminder that our actions and words are the fruit of what is in our hearts. Praying that we would not be focusing on the external alone, but using what comes out of us to see the sin in our own hearts & repent of that sin before The Lord

Vs. 8-9 and 18-20 are so very convicting! It is so easy to start focusing on external things; yet, our heart is what matters most to God. I pray that my actions will reflect a heart that has been transformed by God.

As has been noted by both Bruce and Kelly, we need to be concerned about our hearts. It reminds us not only of our need for a Savior because of the condition of our hearts, but our need to guard our hearts. Heb 4:12 tells us that the Word of God can judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart. We must pray that as the Spirit uses the word in our hearts, we will obey and conform our hearts to the will of God and not rely on outward activities.

What goes into the mouth is of much less importance than what comes out of it. This is a good reminder for me to be concerned more with my heart condition than the condition of my body. Both are important to serve God well, but my heart condition is supremely important as the root of either good or evil thoughts, deeds and motives. Lord, that you would reveal my heart and work out my flesh so that I glorify You today and forever.

Jesus gives a strong warning here. We can be more concerned with just keeping the external, religious formalities (go to church, read the Bible, etc.) and ignore what matters the most - our hearts. I pray that as I continue to read the Word it would not be just to accumulate more knowledge, but that my heart would be changed. Someone has said, the Bible wasn't given for information but for transformation.

I think it’s amazing that Jesus can feed four thousand and get this that wasn’t all the people that were there. If there were one child and one woman for every adult there would be 12,000 people there who got fed and who sat and listened to Jesus teach for three days. WOW!!!

I think in vv. 29-31 we can learn more about Jesus and his character, and also learn about faith. In these verses Jesus continues his compassionate ministry through powerful physical healing. This has been an ongoing theme in Matthew and it is encouraging to know Jesus is consistent and willing to continue loving and serving the people in this way. The crowd clearly demonstrates faith because of their action. They see a need in their life and they know what Jesus is capable of so they respond in faith. Heavenly Father, I pray that my heart would continue to be transformed with more compassion for others, and I pray also that when I see a need in my life or in a friends life I would respond in faith by seeking the You and bringing those things before You. God thank you for who you are and thank you for your word!

The perceptiveness and wisdom of the Canaanite woman’s response blows me away. This should have been the wisdom of the pharasies and scribes leading the people. Father, please do not let me judge based on the outside or look down on the lowly. Please give me the eyes of Jesus.

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