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TITLE: How Would We Know That You Are a Christian?
SCRIPTURE: Matthew 15:10-28
How would we know you are a scout?
Well, you would wear a uniform.
You would go to scout meetings.
You would earn merit badges.
Those are things that scouts do.
That's how we would know that you are a scout.
How would we know that you are a quilter?
Well, you would have drawers full of fabric.
Probably boxes full of fabric too.
You couldn't drive by a fabric store without stopping.
You might even stitch a quilt or two.
Those are things that quilters do.
That's how we know they are quilters.
How would we know that you are a Jew -- if you were a Jew?
Well, you would keep the Jewish law -- the Torah.
Of course, not all Jews keep the Jewish law.
There are observant Jews and non-observant Jews -- but, for our purposes today, let's just talk about observant Jews -- religious Jews.
The chief characteristic of an observant Jew is that he or she observes the Jewish law -- the Torah.
It's that simple.
Except that the Jewish law isn't simple.
The Jewish law includes 613 commandments -- 365 "Thou shalt nots" -- and 248 "Thou shalts."
They get pretty complicated.
Food laws are one of the things that distinguish the Jewish people.
We call it "keeping kosher."
You might have Jewish friends who "keep kosher."
Even if you don't know much about keeping kosher, you probably know that observant Jews don't eat bacon or ham.
Leviticus also says that Jews may not eat camels.
It would be easy for me to keep that law, because I have never been tempted to eat a camel.
Leviticus also says that Jews may not eat rock badgers.
It would be easy for me to keep that law too, because I have no interest in eating a rock badger.
Leviticus also says that Jews may not eat hares or rabbits.
I would rather eat a rabbit than a camel, but I am happy enough to leave both to someone else.
But here's the rub.
Leviticus says that Jews may not eat pigs.
That rules out ham and bacon and pork -- all of which I enjoy.
So that would be not so easy.
But then it gets really complicated.
Both Exodus (23:19) and Deuteronomy (14:21) say, "You shall not boil a kid in its mother's milk."
Frankly, that just seems like common decency.
Who would want to boil a lamb in its mother's milk?
The whole idea is disgusting.
Boil it in water -- or roast it over a fire -- or bake it in the oven -- anything but boiling it in its mother's milk.
But the Jewish law says, "You shall not boil a kid in its mother's milk."
Simple enough!
But the rabbis got together and made things complicated.
By the time they were through, Jews would have to have one set of dishes for meat and another set of dishes for dairy.
Now multiply that by infinity, and you will have some idea how complicated it can be to keep the Jewish law.
But the Jews were just trying to do what God told them to do.
I can't fault them for that-- can you?
Keeping those food laws was and is part of Jewish identity.
How would we know that you are a Jew?
One of the ways that we would know is that we would see that you "keep kosher" -- that you observe the Jewish food laws as laid down in the Torah.
Jesus lived in a place where everyone observed the Jewish food laws -- EVERYONE!
No exceptions!
And he said this.
He said:
"Listen and understand:
it is not what goes into the mouth that defiles a person,
but it is what comes out of the mouth that defiles" (Matthew 15:11).
That might not seem earthshaking to you, but it sounded earthshaking to the Pharisees.
Pharisees spent half their lives worrying about what went into their mouths -- because their scriptures said that was important.
But Jesus said, "It is not what goes into the mouth that defiles a person."
What!
That went against everything that the Pharisees believed.
And they had good reason to believe what they did, because they were just trying to do what their scriptures commanded.
The problem, of course, was that the Pharisees had gotten so entangled in their interpretations of the law that they neglected more important things -- things of the heart.
That's what Jesus was trying to correct.
So he said:
"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" (Matthew 15:17-20a).
*Pianist Artur Rubenstein, who spoke eight languages, suddenly found himself suffering from hoarseness.
It got so bad that he could barely speak, and it continued day after day after day.
Rubenstein was a smoker, so he began to wonder if he might have cancer.
After many worrisome days, he finally decided to consult a physician.*
* *
*The doctor conducted a thorough examination, but gave Rubenstein no clue about a diagnosis.
The doctor told him to return the next day.
Rubinstein went home, where he hardly slept.
He was terrified at the prospect of learning that he had cancer.*
* *
*The next day, Rubenstein returned to the doctor, who examined him at length once again.
Once again, the doctor said nothing about a diagnosis.*
* *
*Finally, Rubenstein could take it no longer.
He said, "Tell me!
I can stand the truth.
I've lived a full, rich life.
What's wrong with me?"*
* *
*The doctor said, "You talk too much."*
So how would anyone know that you are a Christian?
It wouldn't be by observing what you eat.
Jesus said that the Jewish food laws weren't all that important.
The Apostle Paul made it clear that Christians don't have to observe them.
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