Out of the Heart
Curt Whitfield
Matthew: The King & His Upside Down Kingdom • Sermon • Submitted
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Introduction
Introduction
Today we continue our study of the Gospel of Matthew. As we begin Matt. 15 we are going to see a debate between the religious leaders and Jesus. While the debate is over human traditions vs. God’s Word, Jesus ends this debate about physical things by speaking to spiritual things. In other words, Jesus goes from the hands to the heart.
1 Then Pharisees and scribes came to Jesus from Jerusalem and said, 2 “Why do your disciples break the tradition of the elders? For they do not wash their hands when they eat.”
Pharisees = A group of conservative leaders who were teachers and enforcers of the Jewish Law and traditions. They were very influential with the Jewish people.
Scribes = A group responsible to protecting, interpreting, and copying Scripture.
Tradition of the elders = Referring to the teachings of the religious establishment. The Pharisees and scribes had their own set of teachings which they claimed were based on Scripture but often contradicted God’s Word.
They do not wash their hands = There is no command in the Bible that everyone must wash their hands before they eat. Only the priests were commanded to do this (see Exod 30:17–21; Lev 15:11). The Pharisees taught that everyone must do what only the priests were commanded to do.
3 He answered them, “And why do you break the commandment of God for the sake of your tradition? 4 For God commanded, ‘Honor your father and your mother,’ and, ‘Whoever reviles father or mother must surely die.’
Commandment of God = Jesus turns from the traditions of men to the commandments of God. We should always judge our traditions and/or preferences by God’s Word. God’s Word should always take priority over our traditions and preferences.
Honor your father and mother = Quoting from Exodus 20:12 which is the 5th commandment and the first commandment that includes a promise of a good/long life.
Note: The biblical concept of honoring your parents goes far beyond mere respect. It includes caring for their needs. In Hebrew, כָּבֵד (kā·ḇēḏ) literally means “to make heavy, to distinguish as special, to make wealthy, to reward”. The idea is regard and treat your parents as different from other people in your life.
Whoever reviles father or mother must surely die = Quoting from Exodus 21:17. The Old Testament term for “revile” is “to curse” or “to dishonor” meaning to disown, disobey, and refuse to care for your parents.
For the Old Testament Israelites, God’s purpose was that they be unique (holy) among the other nations. They were not to tolerate insubordinate children. While this command seems harsh, the goal is strong families and children who are respectful toward authority. Also, keep in mind that there is no story in the Old Testament describing a situation where they actually had to kill an insubordinate child. Apparently, this harshly worded law was an effective deterrent to the crime.
5 But you say, ‘If anyone tells his father or his mother, “What you would have gained from me is given to God,” 6 he need not honor his father.’ So for the sake of your tradition you have made void the word of God.
But you say = Jesus is contrasting God’s word and Pharisee tradition.
What you would have gained from me is given to God = The Pharisees taught that instead of taking care of one’s elderly parents, one could devote those resources to God (or the temple). This was a clever way for the religious establishment to benefit themselves by releasing people from the “burden” of caring for their parents. This was a popular tradition because it “felt” spiritual and God-honoring.
For the sake of your tradition = Jesus is saying that this tradition is a violation of God’s commandment to honor your parents. They had thrown out God’s word for the sake of their own traditions.
A Few Modern Traditions:
KJV Only: People who say the King James Version is the only “true Bible”. Not only is this completely illogical (what about those who can’t read English?), it rejects all of church history and wealth of textual data of the original manuscripts of the Bible.
Pastor-Centered Churches: Ministries where a single pastor is responsible for all the ministries and all the people in their church. This is unbiblical and destructive for everyone in the church, including the pastor.
Christian Dress Code: For example, some say you must “dress up” for church in order to give God your best. This is not biblical and often leads to class divisions between believers as some cannot afford expensive clothing. Some who can afford it can abuse it and draw “flashy” attention to themselves.
Order/Style of Worship: The belief that a worship service should have a certain order and music style. There is no order of worship in the Bible and certainly nothing about the style of music. Order and style come from tradition and preference.
It is easy and common for God’s people to believe and practice things that are not based on God’s Word. All beliefs must be judged by God’s Word alone.
It is common today to judge theological views by other theological views instead of God’s Word. We should not believe something just because theologians in the past taught it. Theologians are flawed people. God’s Word is perfect.
7 You hypocrites! Well did Isaiah prophesy of you, when he said: 8 “ ‘This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me; 9 in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’ ”
Hypocrites = Grk. ὑποκριτής (hypokritēs) - duplicitous, double-minded, acting in opposite of what is claimed to be believed.
Isaiah = Jesus is quoting from Isaiah 29:13-14
Their heart is far from me = God tells Isaiah that while the Israelites were saying that they follow Yahweh, inside they are far from Him.
In vain they worship me = This was a common theme in the Old Testament prophets. Worship had been corrupted by importing human ideas and doctrines. These “commandments of men” eventually led the Israelites away from God by worshiping other gods, defiling the temple, and profaning the Sabbath. The result of their disobedience was exile to Assyria and Babylon.
Vain worship is focusing on what we think about God (theology) instead of focusing on the condition of the heart.
Now Jesus turns from the Pharisees to address the crowd while Pharisees listen.
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.”
Hear and understand = Jesus is making an absolute statement here. Listen and also understand is Jesus’ way of saying, “Listen because this is absolutely true”.
What comes out of the mouth; this defiles a person = While the Pharisees have been teaching that dirty hands defile a person, Jesus reverses the issue. It’s not what goes into the mouth, but what comes out of the mouth that is the problem.
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.
Offended = Grk. σκανδαλίζομαι (skandalizomai) - Literally, to cease believing. Our word “scandalized” comes from this Greek word. Since, the Pharisees were still present and listening, they are offended to the point that they view Jesus as a heretic.
Every plant = Jesus is referencing Isaiah 60:21 where God’s people are referred to as being “planted” by God Himself. The context of Isa. 60 describes how God would call all kinds of people all over the world His people. Jesus is saying that the Pharisees are not God’s people.
Will be rooted up = In Isaiah 60:12 we find that those who are against God’s people will “perish” and “be utterly laid waste”. Jesus is referring to the Pharisees as plants that God has not planted. This reminds us of the Parable of the Weeds in Matt. 13:24-30; 36-43. Jesus is claiming that the Pharisees were planted by the evil one.
What should we do about the plants God didn’t plant (weeds)?
14 Let them alone; they are blind guides. And if the blind lead the blind, both will fall into a pit.”
Let them alone = Grk. αὐτούς· ἄφετε (autous aphete) - Literally, to depart from them or leave them to themselves. This should remind us of the Parable of the Weeds of Matt. 13:30 where the master tells his servants to “Let both grow together” until the harvest.
Blind guides = While the Pharisees were the lead teachers of Israel, they were blind to the truth. They were misleading God’s people.
Both will fall into a pit = This is proof of Jesus’ humor. He is giving a humorous jab to the Pharisees. They think they see more clearly than everyone else, but Jesus believes they are blind leaders.
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?
Do you not see = Jesus is telling Peter that what we eat just ends up becoming waste. He is using an obvious fact to speak to the Pharisees’ false teaching.
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.”
Proceeds from the heart = As Jesus was saying earlier by quoting Isaiah 29:13, the content of the heart is the real issue not what you eat. It is our hearts that defile us.
Jeremiah 17:9-10 tells us that our hearts are mostly deceitful.
Out of the heart come evil thoughts… = Jesus is making the case that our sinful deeds/works begin in the heart. What is on the inside eventually makes it way to the outside.
This heart problem is exactly what Jesus came to solve. It was prophesied in the Old Testament that God would make a new covenant and give us a new heart.
26 And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. 27 And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules.
As we go into our time of worship and Communion, let’s remember what Jesus did for us to give us a new heart and a new spirit.