Inside Out, Not Outside In

We're in Matthew 15, 1 to 20.

Let me pray for the reading and preaching of God's word.

! Let me pray for the reading and preaching of God's word.

Heavenly Father,

Heavenly Father,

You are seeking worshipers who worship you in spirit and truth.

Lord, followers who love you with their whole heart, soul, mind, and strength.

And that's what we long to be.

Lord, we don't want to be

fakers who paid lip service to you.

Lord, we want to worship you

and obey you

from the heart.

So to that end, Lord, speak to us from your word.

Teach us your will.

Fill us with the glorious vision of Christ, your Son,

and His grace toward us.

And as we behold Him, fill us more and more with your Spirit.

In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.

If you are able, please stand

so that we can honor God as we read from His word,

Matthew chapter 15, verses 1 to 20.

Matthew 15:1–20

Then Pharisees and scribes came to Jesus from Jerusalem and said,

Why do your disciples break the tradition of the elders?

For they do not wash their hands when they eat.

He answered them,

And why do you break the commandment of God for the sake of your tradition?

For God commanded,

Honor your father and your mother,

and whoever reviles father or mother must surely die.

But you say,

If anyone tells his father or his mother,

What you would have gained from me is given to God.

He need not honor his father.

So for the sake of your tradition,

you have made void the word of God.

You hypocrites!

Well did Isaiah prophesy of you when he said,

This people honors me with their lips,

but their heart is far from me.

In vain do they worship me,

teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.

And he called the people to him and said to them,

Hear and understand.

It is not what goes into the mouth that defiles a person,

but what comes out of the mouth.

This defiles a person.

Then the disciples came and said to him,

Do you know that the Pharisees were offended when they heard this saying?

He answered,

Every plant that my heavenly father has not planted will be rooted up.

Let them alone.

They are blind guides.

And if the blind lead the blind,

both will fall into a pit.

But Peter said to him,

Explain the parable to us.

And he said,

Are you also still without understanding?

Do you not see that whatever goes into the mouth

passes into the stomach and is expelled?

But what comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart.

And this defiles a person.

For out of the heart come evil thoughts,

murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, slander.

These are what defile a person.

But to eat with unwashed hands does not defile anyone.

This is God's holy and authoritative word.

Please be seated.

We were cooking in our home recently using daikon radish.

And as I was cutting them up,

I noticed that one of the radishes had a soft, spongy texture.

And I'm pretty frugal.

I don't like to throw food away.

But as much as it pained me,

I had to throw most of that away.

And this is a common issue with root vegetables.

You leave root vegetables in the ground for too long.

And rather than harvesting it at the proper time,

it loses its firm, juicy, and crisp texture.

And it becomes soft and spongy.

But it's hard to pick these bad radishes out at the grocery store

because they look perfectly healthy and delicious on the outside.

You only notice this problem when you cut it open and see the inside.

This is a common issue when you shop at grocery stores with other items as well

because the stores do their very best to make sure that all their items look ripe and healthy and fresh.

They wax some of their fruits to delay moisture loss

and then to add shine to them to make them look fresher and riper.

They mist their leafy greens constantly so that they can look glossy and hydrated

and so to mask any wilting that might already be there.

They use warm strategic lighting over their meat to enhance their color

and make them look fresher as you're shopping.

They're all made to look good on the outside.

But the moment of truth comes when you start to cook.

Outward beauty is much more easily attained than inward integrity.

Jesus teaches us in this passage that people are like this often also.

It's easier to groom our appearances,

to curate our social media accounts

and the way we present ourselves to others,

to put on a smiling face and to behave respectably on the outside

in such a way that we look good on the outside.

But likewise, it's easier to manage outward appearances

than inward transformation.

But Jesus reminds us of this truth in 1 Samuel 16, 7,

that the Lord sees not as man sees.

Man looks on the outward appearance,

but the Lord looks on the heart.

And for this reason, God desires,

in this passage we learn,

that God desires heart worship,

not lip service.

God desires inward obedience rather than outward performance.

In verses 1 to 9,

we see the outside-in, quote-unquote,

obedience of the Pharisees.

And then in verses 10 to 20,

we see the inside-out obedience that Jesus seeks.

This is the last substantial account of Jesus' ministry in Galilee,

in the Gospel of Matthew.

After this, he will start moving on to foreign parts outside of Galilee,

and then he will start heading toward the cross,

toward Jerusalem.

Fittingly, we begin to see an escalation

in the hostilities of the Jewish authorities

against Jesus in this passage.

It says in verses 1 to 2,

then Pharisees and scribes came to Jesus from Jerusalem

and said,

Why do your disciples break the tradition of the elders?

For they do not wash their hands when they eat.

These are not local Jewish rabbis.

They're not local teachers of the law.

These are a delegation from Jerusalem,

the Jewish capital.

They have come for a formal inquiry

into this famed street preacher and miracle worker

and to them, as it seems to them,

an unorthodox rabbi called Jesus.

This is an inquisition.

We get a sense of the tone of their questioning from verse 2.

Why do your disciples break the tradition of the elders?

For they do not wash their hands when they eat.

The concern here is not with personal hygiene.

It's with ritual purity.

Washing oneself before meals

is described a few times in the Old Testament.

But importantly,

it is never prescribed as a command

to be observed by everyone.

The only context where hand washing

was required before meals

was for the priests in the temple of God.

If they had contracted any kind of ritual unclean,

the priests were required to wash their entire selves in water

before they could partake in the sacrificial food.

So the Old Testament law nowhere requires

ordinary people to wash their hands before eating

for the sake of ritual purity.

But subsequent accumulation of Jewish scribal law

reasoned that since Israel as a nation

is a kingdom of priests and a holy nation,

as God says in Exodus 19, verse 6,

Exodus 19:6

therefore they reasoned that the whole nation

should keep this priestly requirement

of hand washing.

God had warned in Deuteronomy 4.2,

you shall not add to the word I command you,

nor take from it,

that you may keep the commandments

of the Lord your God that I command you.

But these Pharisees and scribes

have added to God's law.

They tied up heavy burdens,

hard to bear,

and lay them up on the people's shoulders.

This is the tradition of the elders

that they are speaking of.

Jesus knows this,

so he responds sharply and proportionally in verse 3.

And why do you break the commandment of God

for the sake of your tradition?

Notice how Jesus turns this around

and contrasts the commandment of God

from your tradition.

The Pharisees and the scribes accused Jesus' disciples,

and by implication Jesus,

of breaking the tradition of the elders.

But Jesus goes one step further

and in his response tells them,

that should be the least of your worries,

breaking the tradition of the elders.

You're concerned about my disciples

breaking the tradition of the elders?

They are nothing but man-made traditions.

You yourselves are breaking

the very commandments of God.

How so?

Jesus goes on to give concrete examples of this.

In verses 4 to 6,

he says,

For God commanded,

Honor your father and your mother,

and whoever reviles father or mother

must surely die.

But you say,

If anyone tells his father or his mother,

what you would have gained from me

is given to God,

he need not honor his father.

So for the sake of your tradition,

you have made void the word of God.

Once again,

Jesus draws a contrast

between what God commanded

and what you say.

The two quotations that Jesus cites here

are from the Old Testament law.

The first is the fifth of the Ten Commandments,

Honor your father and mother,

which literally God spoke

out of Mount Sinai

in Exodus 20, verse 12.

Exodus 20:12

The second quotation

is an explanation

and an elaboration

of that commandment,

the fifth commandment,

in Exodus 21, 17,

which says,

Whoever curses his father or his mother

shall be put to death.

Jesus contends here

that the Pharisees and the scribes

are breaking the commandments of God

by saying,

If anyone tells his father or mother,

What you would have gained from me,

what you think I owe you as your child,

is given to God.

That's the practice called korban.

In Mark 7, 11,

this is explicitly stated.

Korban is a sacred gift

dedicated to God.

And if a Pharisee or a scribe

makes something,

declares something korban

and takes a vow

in declaring that,

then any food

or money

or property,

anything that belonged to them

that they have vowed to God,

now become untouchable

by anyone

and not even by their parents.

In this culture,

in this day and age,

parents could reasonably expect

to be financially supported

by their sons.

In those days,

children were the parents'

retirement plans.

However,

an unfilial

and stingy son

could declare

all his money

korban

and thereby maintain

possession of it

for the time being

until he could decide

on some

quote-unquote

sacred

or more self-serving purpose

putting some money

into the temple treasury

to enlarge their reputation,

for example.

It gives them,

it buys them time

to dispose of it

as they wish

rather than having to use it

to support their parents.

Saying,

well,

can you give me

some allowance,

some living expenses?

And then they say,

whoops,

sorry,

I dedicated all of that

a long time ago

to God.

And you know,

as the scriptures say,

you can't go back

on your word.

Any vow you make

to the Lord,

you must keep it.

So,

sorry,

it looks like

I will not be able

to support you.

You're on your own.

If that seems harsh

and heartless,

we don't need to look far

for similar examples

in our culture

and society.

How many children

have pocketed

their parents'

social security checks?

How many children

have prematurely

claimed the power

of attorney

over their parents

declaring their parents

infirm

and incompetent

to manage

their own finances

and then using

that power

to dispose

of all their wealth

in selfish ways?

These things

are not uncommon.

And Jesus rightly

and roundly

rebukes these Pharisees

and scribes

for this practice

of using their piety

as a pretext

for withholding

provisions

from their parents

and thereby failing

to honor them,

which is a commandment

of God.

For the sake

of your tradition,

you have made void

the word of God.

These teachers

of God's law

were themselves

breaking God's law

by their own

casuistry.

They worshipped God

but in vain

because they were

teaching as doctrines

the commandments

of men.

This raises the question

for us,

how many times

have we

added our own

traditions

to the doctrines

of God

and preached

our traditions

as the commandments

of God?

If you don't

dress like me

or talk like me,

then you're not

a good Christian.

If you don't

homeschool your children,

then you must not

be serious

about being

a disciple of Christ.

If you don't

vote for the same

political candidates

that I do,

then you can't

be a real Christian.

But we must

be careful

not to administer

litmus tests

on matters

where God's word

is silent.

Let us be controlled

by the fear of God

and carefully

distinguish

the commandment

of God

from our own

suggestions,

however wise

they might seem.

And let us

also be careful

on the flip side

not to subtract

anything from

God's word

because this is

a common temptation

too, isn't it?

Downplaying

parts of scripture

that offend

our sensibilities

and temperaments,

ignoring parts

of scripture

that contradict

the dominant ethos

of our culture

and of our time,

explaining away

and nullifying

clear commands

of scripture,

these are also

ways that we

make void

the word of God

to uphold

our own traditions.

When the traditions

of man

are at odds

with the commandments

of God,

let us be a people

who always stand

on the side

of the commandments

of God.

Jesus continues

his stinging rebuke

in verses 7 and 9,

you hypocrites,

well did Isaiah

prophesy of you

when he said,

these people

honors me

with their lips

but their heart

is far from me.

In vain do they

worship me,

teaching as doctrines

the commandments

of men.

The word hypocrite

is originally

a Greek word

that means

an actor

or a pretender.

Pharisees

are pretenders

because they act

like they care

deeply

about honoring God

and obeying

his commands

when they actually

don't care that much

about those things.

Rather,

they care deeply

about being seen

and thought of

by men

as honoring God

and obeying his commands.

But our God

desires heart worship

rather than lip service.

He desires

inward obedience

rather than

outward performance.

So Jesus cites

the prophecy

of Isaiah 29

Isaiah 29:13

verse 13

which is a lament

concerning

unfaithful city

of David,

Jerusalem.

Since this delegation

from Jerusalem

are the representative

leaders of Israel

at the time,

it is fitting

to apply this

8th century BC

prophecy to them.

What Isaiah prophesied

then and was true

of Israel then

is still true

in Jesus' day.

This people

honors me

with their lips

but their heart

is far from me.

There are some

in our day as well

of Christians

who are Christians

in name only.

People who are

Christians only

when people are looking.

They attend church services

and know all the

Christian jargon

and they know

when to say their

amens and hallelujahs

but in their private

lives,

their hearts

are far from God.

The love of God

does not burn

within their hearts.

They can talk

eloquently about God

in the third person

but they never talk

to God

personally.

They don't spend time

reading God's word

and praying.

There is no praise

of God

or thanksgiving to God

that swells up

from their hearts.

There are people

who volunteer

and serve

on the church

committee or boards

not out of humility

and love

but because they

like the spotlight

or the authority

and power

that come from

the position.

Their piety

is a pretext

for prestige.

This people

honors me

with their lips

but their heart

is far from me.

But God

desires

no such

mask wearing

or play acting.

However weak

and frail

and sinful

and faulty

we might be.

God would rather

be that we

be followers

who are true

and earnest.

God desires

heart worship

rather than

lip service.

This contrast

between the heart

and the lip

then paves

the way

for Jesus'

teaching

on true

inside out

obedience

in verses 10 to 20.

He says in verse 10

that Jesus

called the people

to him

and said to them

hear and

understand.

Notice that

Jesus is no longer

debating with the

Pharisees and the

scribes.

He has turned

his attention away

from the Pharisees

and scribes

and he is calling

the people

to himself

and he is now

teaching them

and he is calling

the Pharisees

and scribes

are still

within earshot

they are hearing

what Jesus

is saying

but now

he is making

a public

pronouncement

that summarizes

his teaching

on this matter

but before

he does that

he says

hear

and understand

if you are here

for our sermons

these last couple

months

you may remember

that those

were key words

that were repeated

over and over again

in chapter 13

hear

and understand

that's where

Jesus tells

several parables

of the kingdom

Jesus said

in Matthew 13

13 to 14

this is why

I speak to them

in parables

because seeing

they do not see

and hearing

they do not hear

nor do they

understand

indeed in their

case the prophecy

of Isaiah

is fulfilled

that says

you will indeed

hear but never

understand

and you will

indeed see

but never perceive

for this people's

heart has grown

dull

and with their

ears

they can barely

hear

and their

eyes

they have

closed

lest they

should see

with their

eyes

and hear

with their

ears

and understand

with their

heart

and turn

and I would

heal them

and then he

tells the famous

parable of the

sower

where Jesus

contrasts the

seeds that

are planted

but never

bear fruit

from the

seed that

that's planted

that bears

much fruit

and the

difference is

that the

seed that

fails to

bear fruit

are those

who hear

the word

but do not

understand it

whereas the

seeds that

do bear fruit

represent those

who hear the

word and

understand it

so the

parable of the

sower as well

as the parable

of the wheat

and the weeds

are being

reenacted in

this live

scene in

chapter 15

that's why in

verse 15

Peter asks

Jesus

explain the

parable to

us

in verse 13

then Jesus

compares these

fruitless

these Pharisees

to fruitless

plants that God

has not planted

their weeds

and therefore

they will be

uprooted

hear and

understand

Jesus says

he's inviting

us to pay

close attention

because what

we make of

this principle

in verse 11

will decide

our eternal

destiny

whether we

are wheat

planted by

God and

bear fruit

or weeds

planted by

the devil

that will

be rooted

up on

judgment

day

and that

all important

parable is

is this

it is not

what goes

into the

mouth

that defiles

a person

but what

comes out

of the

mouth

that defiles

a person

the Pharisees

and the

scribes

do not

understand

this

parable

this

principle

instead

they're

offended

by it

the disciples

say to

Jesus

in verse

21

do you

know

that the

Pharisees

were

offended

when they

heard

this

saying

yet

Jesus

does

nothing

to appease

them

or to

persuade

them

instead

he says

in verse

13

that they

are

plants

that the

father

has not

planted

therefore

they will

be rooted

up

leave them

alone

they are

like blind

guides

and if

the blind

lead the

blind

both will

fall

into the

pit

imagine

a blind

person

that you

see on

the street

trying to

cross the

road

and they're

being led

by a

guide dog

but then

it turns

out the

guide dog

is also

blind

it's a

senseless

folly

they will

both

get hit

by a

car

or

they'll

both

fall

into

a

pit

it's

better

Jesus

says

to

leave

the

blind

guides

alone

let them

go

their

own

way

these

Pharisees

are

blind

because

as

Jesus

says

in

John

9

41

they

insist

that

they

see

if

they

were

humble

enough

to

admit

that

they

are

blind

then

they

would

start

following

Jesus

and

in

doing

so

they

gain

sight

but

because

they

insist

that

they

Jesus

his own

disciples

have a

hard

time

understanding

that's

why

Peter

as

the

leader

and

the

representative

of

the

twelve

asks

Jesus

in

verse

15

explain

the

parable

to

us

and

Jesus

says

are

you

also

still

without

understanding

but

nonetheless

Jesus

goes on

patiently

to

explain

the

parable

to

them

why

because

to

them

to

the

disciples

it

has

been

given

to

know

the

secrets

of

the

kingdom

of

heaven

but

to

them

once

again

this

principle

of

verse

11

is

drawing

a

clear

line

of

demarcation

between

the

Pharisees

and

scribes

and

Jesus

disciples

between

the

sons

of

the

evil

one

and

the

sons

of

the

kingdom

of

God

those

who

belong

to

God

will

hear

and

understand

this

truth

those

who

do

not

belong

to

God

will

take

offense

at

this

truth

but

what

does

it

mean

Jesus

unpacks

this

in

verses

17

20

do

not

see

that

whatever

goes

into

the

mouth

passes

into

the

stomach

and

is

expelled

but

what

comes

out

of

the

mouth

proceeds

from

the

heart

and

this

defiles

a

person

for

out

of

the

heart

come

evil

thoughts

murder

adultery

sexual

immorality

theft

false

witness

slander

these

are

what

defile

a

person

but

to

eat

with

unwashed

hands

does

not

defile

anyone

Jesus

point

is

simple

but

profound

the

food

that

we

eat

whether

it's

eaten

with

unwashed

hands

or

not

is

merely

a

natural

biological

process

that

has

no

bearing

on

the

person's

moral

or

spiritual

cleanness

it's

not

what

comes

into

the

person's

outside

in

the

outward

!

things

but

rather

what

comes

from

the

inside

out

the

inward

things

that

come

out

of

the

heart

that's

what

truly

defiles

us

the

heart

in

biblical

conception

is

not

merely

the

seed

of

our

emotions

the

way

we

talk

about

it

in

English

but

it

is

the

seed

of

our

thoughts

and

intentions

it

is

the

very

center

of

the

inner

person

that's

why

Proverbs

4

23

enjoins

us

keep

your

heart

with

all

vigilance

for

from

it

flow

the

springs

!

of

life

our

lives

all

have

a

certain

!

or

a

!

flow

that

directs

our

decisions

and

actions

and

the

source

of

that

God

says

is

the

heart

what's

in

the

heart

directs

that

course

and

isn't

this

true

we

know

this

from

our

experience

out

of

the

heart

come

evil

thoughts

don't

they

in

verse

19

Jesus

lists

the

sins

that

are

forbidden

in

the

second

half

of

the

ten

commandments

the

fifth

commandment

honor your

father and

mother was

already mentioned

earlier

now Jesus

lists

commandments

six

seven

eight

and

nine

you

shall

not

murder

you

shall

not

commit

adultery

you

shall

not

steal

and

you

shall

not

bear

false

testimony

against

your

neighbor

there

are

two

additional

sins

!

And in

the

original

Greek

of

this

all

the

sins

here

are

listed

in

the

plural

form

so

the

Christian

standard

Bible

renders

the

verse

this

way

for

from

the

heart

come

evil

thoughts

murders

adulteries

sexual

immoralities

deaths

false

testimonies

slander

they are

listed

in

that

plural

form

to

emphasize

the

fact

that

the

plurality

of

sins

all

kinds

of

murders

and

adulteries

etc

they all

stem

from

the

evil

thoughts

that

proceed

from

the

heart

does

not

our

own

experience

bear

this

out

Jesus

said

in

Matthew

5

22

that

we

violate

the

sixth

commandment

you

shall

not

murder

even

if

we

are

only

angry

with

someone

or

insult

them

why

is

it

so

because

the

attitude

of

the

heart

determines

the

action

of

our

hands

because

murder

comes

from

anger

and

bitterness

and

hatred

in

our

hearts

because

murder

is

precipitated

by

belittling

and

dehumanizing

insults

toward

others

it's

not

the

outward

circumstances

that are

responsible

for

murders

but

the

inward

attitude

you

can

take

everyone's

guns

away

and

that

might

mitigate

the

problem

some

but

it

will

never

eradicate

!

murder

people

will

still

find

other

ways

to

kill

each

other

why

because

murder

comes

from

the

evil

thoughts

of

the

heart

this

makes

obedience

to

Jesus

command

to

God's

command

much

harder

not

murdering

someone

is

relatively

speaking

easy

we've

all

hopefully

succeeded

in that

if we

have

even

a

modicum

of

self

control

and

fear

of

the

law

and

the

fear

of

the

government

you

can

avoid

that

steer

clear

of

murder

but

being

sinfully

angry

constituting

murder

of the

heart

that's

hard

isn't

it

our

hearts

can

be

so

unruly

at

times

similarly

Jesus

said

in

Matthew

5

28

that

not

only

a

man

who

commits

physical

adultery

but

anyone

who

looks

at

a

woman

with

lustful

intent

has

already

committed

adultery

with her

in his

heart

and has

violated

the

seventh

commandment

why

is this

so

because

adultery

comes

from

the

lusts

and

fantasies

of

the

heart

it's

not

the

outward

circumstances

that cause

defilement

but the

thoughts

you can

ban

and

disable

all

brothels

and

websites

that

facilitate

adultery

you can

ban

all

porn

from

the

web

and

people

will

still

find

a way

to

indulge

their

lustful

fantasies

because

adultery

comes

from

the

heart

you can

ban

all

sexually

suggestive

advertisements

and shows

you can

force

everyone

to

cover

themselves

make

all

women

wear

full length

dresses

and hijabs

and still

there will be

adulteries

and all

kinds of

sexual

immoralities

because

sexual

immorality

comes

from

the

heart

once

again

this

makes

obedience

much

harder

it's

easy

to pay

lip

service

to

obedience

oh

I've

never

cheated

on my

wife

I'm

faithful

but

have

you

ever

lusted

after

another

have

you

ever

entertained

those

fantasies

in

your

heart

even

if

we

were

to

eliminate

poverty

from

the

world

and

make

everyone

in

the

world

well

off

there

will

still

be

thefts

in

this

world

why

because

there

will

still

be

envy

that

compares

oneself

to

others

because

there

will

still

be

pride

that

wants

to

have

more

than

the

other

person

next

to

you

because

thefts

ultimately

come

from

envy

and

covetousness

of

the

heart

for

the

same

reason

there

will

always

be

people

who

bear

false

witness

against

their

neighbors

and

slander

their

neighbors

because

that

sin

comes

from

the

hatred

and

envy

and

selfishness

of

the

heart

outward

performance

is

easy

compared