The Gospel of the Kingdom - Matthew - The Third of Three Meetings.

 

TEXT: Matthew 15:12-20  –  “¹² Then His disciples came and said to Him, “Do You know that the Pharisees were offended when they heard this saying?” ¹³ But He answered and said, “Every plant which My heavenly Father has not planted will be uprooted. ¹⁴ Let them alone. They are blind leaders of the blind. And if the blind leads the blind, both will fall into a ditch.” ¹⁵ Then Peter answered and said to Him, “Explain this parable to us.” ¹⁶ So Jesus said, “Are you also still without understanding? ¹⁷ Do you not yet understand that whatever enters the mouth goes into the stomach and is eliminated? ¹⁸ But those things which proceed out of the mouth come from the heart, and they defile a man. ¹⁹ For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies. ²⁰ These are the things which defile a man, but to eat with unwashed hands does not defile a man.”

We are continuing to study Chapter 15 today. In our study today, we are finishing our study about three meetings that Jesus has. We saw Him meeting with the Pharisees, we considered His meeting with the People, and today we will be musing on His meeting with Peter.

The disciples thought it strange that their Master should say that which he knew would give so much offense. They think, if he had considered how provoking it would be, he would not have said it.

However, Jesus knew exactly what he said, and to whom he said it, and what would be the effect of saying it. He would seek to teach us, that though in indifferent things we must be tender of giving offense, we must not, for fear of that, evade any truth or duty. Tact can be vital, but the truth must always be told.

He then calls the Pharisees blind guides. They were blind in two ways:

First, they were blind from the heart (VSS 15-18).  Our words tell what’s in our hearts. Our hearts defile us, and outward washing rituals and kosher dietary regulations cannot make us clean inside. The heart is the corrupt source of this defilement. Sinful words come from there, and polluting others only serve to defile others as well.

Second, they were blind out of the heart (VSS 19-20). All these evil actions begin within our thoughts.  He states the list from the Ten Commandments, but instead of ending with covetousness,  He ends with blasphemies or slander, the Greek word used here can mean either.  

Jesus said that breaking the Ten Commandments is done first and foremost in the heart, not just in the flesh.

So, how do we apply this account to ourselves today?

We can see that blind leaders place human traditions ahead of matters of the heart. Blind leaders will find excuses to sidestep the instructions of God.  Blind leaders will preach “inclusion,” meaning accommodation to the sins of the world, so that they can keep the money coming in.  Blind leaders will preach “unconditional love,” often preached as “come as you are,” meaning no need to change, when real love is preaching repentance, and rescuing sinners from hell.

We must never allow rituals and traditions, no matter how good they are, to replace the spirit of God’s Law. And in turn, we must be most concerned with our inward attitudes more than our outward actions.