Matthew 15 - Man Looks At Outside Appearance, But God Looks at the Heart!

Matthew 15 - NIV

Enduring Word Commentary

Verses of the Day:

"You hypocrites! Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you: 8 “‘These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. 9 They worship me in vain; their teachings are merely human rules.’”

Commentary

Jesus has his first major "run-in" with the Pharisees and teachers of the Law. They had followed him all the way up north from Jerusalem to disrupt and discredit his ministry. The Pharisees spent a lot of time trying to find a way in which Jesus' disciples might be disobeying the Mosaic law. 

When they accuse the disciples of not washing their hands before they eat, they are not concerned about proper hygiene. They are calling them out for violating the tradition of the Jewish elders. Note, this is not a command from the bible. but something added to the Mosaic law by the rabbis. 

There are many other instances where the elders added to the basic commandments given by God increase their power and lay heavy burdens on the people. Take, for instance, not doing any work on the Sabbath. The Pharisees developed 39 separate categories which prohibited certain kinds of work on the Sabbath. This led to a very complicated set of restrictions. (Kent Crockett). 

Here are some of the ridiculous rules this led to. 

Not swatting a fly on the Sabbath (as it could be seen as hunting/work).

Not spitting on the Sabbath (to avoid disturbing the dirt, which could be seen as plowing).

Do you think they missed the point? The bottom line was that the Pharisees were focused on externals not the heart. 

God is interested in the internal and the real. We are far more interested in the merely external and image. One must take care that their relationship with God is not merely external and image. - David Guzik

This is when Jesus quotes from Isaiah 29:13. We might say the Pharisees and teachers of the law, "Talked the talk but didn't 'walk the walk!" 

Before we get to judgmental of them, is there a little Pharisee in all of us. Sometimes we do things for God in order to be noticed. It may be very subtle. For instance, if you serve in the church or somewhere else, and you feel disappointed when no one acknowledges or gives you thanks for your service. 

In the Sermon on the Mount Jesus said, "If you things to be noticed by others, you have received your reward in full."

Of course, there are many more glaring examples of hypocrisy. I know plenty of people who have been turned off and even left church because of the hypocrisy they saw. An example might be someone who shows up in church in Sunday in fine clothes after cussing out their spouse and kids all the way to church because they were hungover from the night before. 

In another passage, Jesus says when you are offering your gift at the altar and have an unresolved conflict with a brother or sister, you should leave the service and be reconciled with them before you offer your gift. It shows Jesus is more interested in restoring relationships than religious ritual. 

Again, none of us is perfect. If you had to be perfect with no sin to go to church, then no one would show up, especially the pastors. LOL. But there is a place in the service where we confess our sins to God. To confess is to be honest with God. When we confess together in church it is called "corporate confession". 

"If we confess our sins, God who is faithful and just will forgive our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness." 1 John 1:9

Application for Today

1. Is your heart far from God? Are you giving "lip service" to God, while trying to look religious in front of others?

2. Do you have an "audience of one" when you serve, or are you looking for the applause of the crowd?

3. Where is your life out of alignment with God? 

Prayer of the Day

"Jesus, I need your power in my life, so that I will not be like the Pharisees. I want the words from my lips to match condition of my heart. Forgive me when I do things to be noticed by others. Forgive me when I judge others only to do the same things myself. Thank you for dying for me on a cross so that I might serve you with a clean heart. Amen."


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