Daily Bread 2010
Matthew 15
Clean and Unclean
1Then some Pharisees and teachers of the law came to Jesus from Jerusalem and asked, 2"Why do your disciples break the tradition of the elders? They don't wash their hands before they eat!"
3Jesus replied, "And why do you break the command of God for the sake of your tradition? 4For God said, 'Honor your father and mother' and 'Anyone who curses his father or mother must be put to death.' 5But you say that if a man says to his father or mother, 'Whatever help you might otherwise have received from me is a gift devoted to God,' 6he is not to 'honor his father' with it. Thus you nullify the word of God for the sake of your tradition. 7You hypocrites! Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you:
8" 'These people honor me with their lips,
but their hearts are far from me.
9They worship me in vain;
their teachings are but rules taught by men."
One of the biggest things that Jesus had to confront was the legalism of the Pharisees. When people say they hate “religion”, this is often what they are referring to. When people say they don’t like “religion” I usually say, “I don’t much either”. Since I am a pastor I usually have some explaining to do.
But what I proceed to tell them is I don’t put my faith in religion per se, but a relationship with God. The Pharisees mistook rule keeping with a relationship with God. They became more interested in keeping traditions than the Spirit of the commandments. It is possible to be a good rule keeper and have a heart that is “black as coal.”
Sometimes we can get prideful by keeping the rules and look down at other people who aren’t doing what we are doing. But often religiosity can be a mere substitute for a love of self and vanity. This is why Jesus advocates doing things in secret, so that they will be noticed by God and not by men.
God’s Word is living and active. It leads us into a relationship with God and then has us do the thing Jesus would do if he were living in our shoes. Each situation might call for a different response based on what Jesus would do were he you. The bible is not a rule book, but a guide for leading us into a relationship with Christ so our hearts will be changed to start desiring and living for the things God values. Out of this will flow true worship of God, as we see who are in light of His glory and grace.
Prayer: God help us to serve and love others with good motives, not gain the attention of the world, but Your heavenly smile. Help us not to be motivated by religion, but our relationship with You. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Clean and Unclean
1Then some Pharisees and teachers of the law came to Jesus from Jerusalem and asked, 2"Why do your disciples break the tradition of the elders? They don't wash their hands before they eat!"
3Jesus replied, "And why do you break the command of God for the sake of your tradition? 4For God said, 'Honor your father and mother' and 'Anyone who curses his father or mother must be put to death.' 5But you say that if a man says to his father or mother, 'Whatever help you might otherwise have received from me is a gift devoted to God,' 6he is not to 'honor his father' with it. Thus you nullify the word of God for the sake of your tradition. 7You hypocrites! Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you:
8" 'These people honor me with their lips,
but their hearts are far from me.
9They worship me in vain;
their teachings are but rules taught by men."
One of the biggest things that Jesus had to confront was the legalism of the Pharisees. When people say they hate “religion”, this is often what they are referring to. When people say they don’t like “religion” I usually say, “I don’t much either”. Since I am a pastor I usually have some explaining to do.
But what I proceed to tell them is I don’t put my faith in religion per se, but a relationship with God. The Pharisees mistook rule keeping with a relationship with God. They became more interested in keeping traditions than the Spirit of the commandments. It is possible to be a good rule keeper and have a heart that is “black as coal.”
Sometimes we can get prideful by keeping the rules and look down at other people who aren’t doing what we are doing. But often religiosity can be a mere substitute for a love of self and vanity. This is why Jesus advocates doing things in secret, so that they will be noticed by God and not by men.
God’s Word is living and active. It leads us into a relationship with God and then has us do the thing Jesus would do if he were living in our shoes. Each situation might call for a different response based on what Jesus would do were he you. The bible is not a rule book, but a guide for leading us into a relationship with Christ so our hearts will be changed to start desiring and living for the things God values. Out of this will flow true worship of God, as we see who are in light of His glory and grace.
Prayer: God help us to serve and love others with good motives, not gain the attention of the world, but Your heavenly smile. Help us not to be motivated by religion, but our relationship with You. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
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