Hey everybody! Thank you for joining me in daily Bible reading as we seek to glorify Jesus, know Him more, and interpret the truth of His Word.
If this is your first time going through the Bible, I am incredibly excited to have you here. If this is your 5000th time, I am humbled that you are here and hope you grow in your relationship with Jesus along with me. May we all seek to know Him more and apply what we learn to further our mission of spreading the gospel. If you missed a day and want to catch up, visit the archives page HERE! But there is no shame if you start today! Day 177, Matthew 15:15-20 — Inner Defilement Explained Matthew 15:15-20 (NASB1995) “Peter said to Him, ‘Explain the parable to us.’ 16 Jesus said, ‘Are you still lacking in understanding also? 17 Do you not understand that everything that goes into the mouth passes into the stomach, and is eliminated? 18 But the things that proceed out of the mouth come from the heart, and those defile the man. 19 For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, slanders. 20 These are the things which defile the man; but to eat with unwashed hands does not defile the man.’” Discussion Yesterday, we read Jesus’ response to the Pharisees’ offense of His rebukes. They took offense because He called them hypocrites. Even though they seemed righteous and godly for their rule-following and traditions, Jesus saw through their false piety and straight into their hearts. The Pharisees believed they were honoring God through their various traditions and other man-made rules, but these works were in vain. Jesus describes the Pharisees as plants that God will uproot—a most severe declaration about God casting them aside into judgment. Jesus then tells His disciples to ignore the Pharisees entirely because they are spiritually stubborn and blind. They blind themselves by altering the law and lead their blind followers with them toward destruction. Their focus is not on God but on their own rule-following, which condemns them because they cannot see God’s truth. This same concept is prevalent today. Today, we read Jesus’ explanation about inner defilement from His short parable in vs. 10-11. In the parable, Jesus says nothing can defile a person other than what comes from within him (Mk. 7:15). This statement likely confused the disciples at first, as most Jews still practiced and believed foods such as pork were unclean. The common teaching practiced by most Jews was certain foods could defile a person, hence why some adhered to the handwashing tradition. If food was unclean, then handwashing was logically required so that the unclean food would not defile a person. That makes sense, right? But Jesus refutes this notion entirely. It is not food or any outside substance that makes a person unclean, but their own sinful and unrepentant heart. Jesus proceeds to explain this idea thoroughly. After Peter asks Jesus to explain Himself, Jesus says, “Are you still lacking in understanding also? 17 Do you not understand that everything that goes into the mouth passes into the stomach, and is eliminated?” Perhaps Peter was confused because of all the dietary restrictions found in the Law. Leviticus 11 lists the various animals and types of meat that God forbid, including pork, shrimp, shellfish, insects, the various scavenger birds, and others. But Jesus explains that “no food is unclean” (Mk. 7:19). What does this mean? It is important to understand that these dietary restrictions were not meant for anybody other than the early Israelites. God created these rules to keep His people distinct from other pagan nations, not to oppress or limit their freedom. God is holy and expects His people to be set apart. Furthermore, the coming of Christ fulfills the Old Testament law, which includes obligatory dietary restrictions. This does not mean Jesus voided those commands, as He kept the law perfectly. He is simply explaining that all food is good and simply passes through a person—literally the process of digestion. No food can make a person more sinful other than one’s uncontrollable gluttony. But that is a heart issue, not an issue with food itself. Jesus adds, “18 But the things that proceed out of the mouth come from the heart, and those defile the man.” Here He explains that what comes from inside a person defiles him, not the other way around. This is a similar idea to Jesus’ teaching about one’s words revealing one’s character (Matt. 12:33-37). The words we speak reveal what is in our hearts, thus condemning us. Likewise, it is not what we put into our bodies that condemn us, but what comes out of us from our hearts. Jesus then provides some examples of inner defilement. He explains, “19 For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, slanders. 20 These are the things which defile the man; but to eat with unwashed hands does not defile the man.” Jesus makes it extremely clear here that food cannot defile a person, making handwashing obsolete when it comes to one’s spiritual state. Instead, a more revealing example of one’s spiritual state comes from within. This is not an exhaustive list of all sins, but the LORD lists many sins that defile the depraved hearts of men. Without Christ and a submitted heart to God, man resorts to their sin and reveals this evil-hearted posture through their words and actions. The result is a person becoming impure or defiled from their immoral deeds as the defilement of their heart reveals itself.[1] Notably, this idea goes a step further. Instead of just the verifiable act of defilement through word or action, Jesus reveals the root of evil in one’s heart begins with “thoughts.” It is these ‘considerations’ or ‘reasonings’ that affect one’s future words or actions. How often does one sin without thought or reason? The first shape evil takes in one’s heart is to stir it toward sin, not throw all its eggs in one basket.[2] A defiled heart is first tempted and then eventually responds in the only way it knows how: by acting upon such lusts and desires. Application Today’s passage concludes Jesus’ teaching about inner defilement and His rebuke of the Pharisees’ twisting of the Law. There was some incredibly rich historical context to learn throughout this passage, and I do not know if a passage has left me with such conviction and clarity to this point. Jesus’ words about inner defilement ring truer than I would like to admit. It seems so simple. Of course, our hearts have sinful tendencies, and we must resist their evil temptations. But how often do we immediately take our thoughts captive when one arises? How long do we let an evil thought fester and build itself up in the back of our minds? If we let it remain long enough without prayer and obedience to the Spirit’s convictions, then we will probably act upon whatever lust or desire plaguing us. While the proclivity of our evil hearts is to act on our temptations, the freedom that the born-again believer in Christ has can overcome every one. The LORD does not allow us to be overcome by temptation. Instead, He graciously provides a way of escape. It is vitally important to obey the heeding of the Spirit to eliminate temptation at its root—in its pre-natal thought, consideration, or suggestion. Ignoring such convictions allows the sin to grow until we allow it to have victory over us. But losing these battles with temptations is not the LORD’s intention. If we are born of the Spirit of God, He provides us with the power to resist these temptations. But we must listen to our convictions and obey God’s warning to escape the evil lusts and temptations of our hearts. When it comes to the context of the passage, there is nothing that can make us more sinful other than our choosing to sin over obeying God. This is what the Pharisees did, and this is what many Christians battle with today. May we be people who heed the conviction of the Spirit and take every thought captive. May we remain holy and set apart as God commands and eliminate the rooting of evil in our minds and hearts. May we obey the LORD and follow Him over our selfish wants and desires. May we praise, worship, honor, and glorify Jesus every day in all that we do while continually pursuing righteousness, holiness, and forgiveness as He forgave us. Looking Ahead Thank you for joining today’s daily Bible reading! Next, we read Matthew 15:21-25. I hope you join me! I have made commenting available, so please feel free to discuss the reading and ask questions. If you do not want to discuss publicly, you can reach out to me privately. We are on this journey together. References [1] Doug O’Donnell, “New International Greek Testament Commentary.” [2] Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown, “Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown Commentary.”
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