Defilement from within
Notes
Transcript
Jesus calls the crowd to him
Jesus calls the crowd to him
In this passage Jesus is teaching and it is always important when He teaches. This time he specifically says to the crowd, “Listen and understand”
What is the Old Testament law about food?
Leviticus rules all of the creatures that swarm on the ground off limits to the Israelites: "You shall not eat, among all things that swarm upon the earth, anything that crawls on its belly, or anything that walks on fours, or anything that has many legs; for they are an abomination.
Why were there dietary restrictions in the Old Testament?
The Old Testament dietary laws were given to the Israelites in order to distinguish them from other nations and to protect their unique identity. They were meant to control the dietary behaviors of the people called and chosen by God.
Jesus gives a truth teaching that goes against all the things they have been taught. He was throwing down the gauntlet with the scribes and Pharisees, men whom these disciples revered. Jesus was totally transforming their thinking.
David Platt, Exalting Jesus in Matthew, ed. Daniel L. Akin, David Platt, and Tony Merida, Christ-Centered Exposition Commentary (Nashville, TN: Holman Reference, 2013), 205.
As I said a minute ago, the Old Testament taught them what not to do as a way of setting them apart from the rest of the created world. “ it is not what goes into the mouth that defiles a person, but it is what comes out of the mouth that defiles.”
The Holy Bible: New Revised Standard Version (Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1989), Mt 15:11.
At this time the disciples come to him and talk to him about the teachers of the law being offended by what Jesus is saying. Jesus then gives his answer to their concerns, “Every plant that my heavenly Father has not planted will be uprooted. Let them alone; they are blind guides of the blind. And if one blind person guides another, both will fall into a pit.”
The Holy Bible: New Revised Standard Version (Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1989), Mt 15:13–14.
Peter’s response reveals that he and the others did not understand the teaching; Peter calls his teaching a parable. But Peter said to him, “Explain this parable to us.”
The Holy Bible: New Revised Standard Version (Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1989), Mt 15:15.
Do you think this is a parable? Our greatest need is not cleaner hands, that is, for physical cleansing. What goes into the body eventually comes out of the body, Jesus very candidly points out (v. 17). Therefore, dirty hands are not the real spiritual danger. These scribes and Pharisees were so focused on the externals that they had completely bypassed the internal.
David Platt, Exalting Jesus in Matthew, ed. Daniel L. Akin, David Platt, and Tony Merida, Christ-Centered Exposition Commentary (Nashville, TN: Holman Reference, 2013), 205.
Then Jesus said to them, Then he said, “Are you also still without understanding? Do you not see that whatever goes into the mouth enters the stomach, and goes out into the sewer? But what comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart, and this is what defiles. For out of the heart come evil intentions, murder, adultery, fornication, theft, false witness, slander. These are what defile a person, but to eat with unwashed hands does not defile.”
The Holy Bible: New Revised Standard Version (Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1989), Mt 15:16–20.
The Lexham English Bible (Chapter 36)
25 And I will sprinkle on you pure water, and you will be clean from all of your uncleanness, and I will cleanse you from all of your idols. Ezek. 36:25
Exalting Jesus in Matthew Cultivate Hearts of Holiness (Matthew 15:10–20)
What is the first thing we need in order to be Christians? A new heart. What is the sacrifice God asks us to bring to him? A broken and a contrite heart (Psalm 51:17). What is the true circumcision? The circumcision of the heart (Romans 2:29). What is genuine obedience? To obey from the heart. What is saving faith? To believe with the heart. Where ought Christ to dwell? To dwell in our hearts through faith (Ephesians 3:17). (Ryle, Matthew, 126)
The New Revised Standard Version (Prayer for Cleansing and Pardon)
The sacrifice acceptable to God is a broken spirit;a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise. (Psalm 51:17)
(Romans 2:29)29 But the Jew ⌊is one inwardly⌋, and circumcision is of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the letter, whose praise is not from people but from God.
W. Hall Harris III et al., eds., The Lexham English Bible (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2012), Ro 2:29.
The Lexham English Bible (Chapter 3)
17 that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith (you having been firmly rooted and established in love), Eph. 3:17
Take Homes:
What defiles us?
What do we need to be Christians?
What does God call us to bring to him?
What is a circumcision of the heart?
What is genuine obedience?
Let us Pray!