Matthew 15:10-14

Matthew 15:10-14
In the previous verses, Jesus had rebuked the Pharisees concerning their tradition of washing their hands in a special way. They did this before they ate in order to avoid “uncleanness” from going inside their body. Now He turns to the multitudes in order to instruct them as to the fallacy of the Pharisees’ teaching. Their concern was for an outward uncleanness. It was a misunderstanding of the true purpose of the book of Leviticus that had given the Jews the principles of clean and unclean. Though nothing in the Law prescribed a special washing of hands, Leviticus does have a strong emphasis on the need of a person being “clean” in order to go before the Lord. But the Jews missed the real point of the book. God was using foods, diseases, and various other physical things in order to teach the greater principle that He will not accept a person unless he is spiritually clean. Sin is the real issue. Not standing forgiven in the sight of God is the real message. Thus Jesus says, “It is not what goes into the mouth that defiles a person, but what comes out of the mouth.” The Lord isn’t concerned with what we eat, but with what comes out of our heart in words and deeds.
The parallel passage in Mark 7:21-23 states, “For from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, coveting, wickedness, deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride, foolishness. All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person.”The disciples gave an interesting response to Jesus’ words: “Do you know that the Pharisees were offended when they heard this saying?” But Jesus had no sympathy for the “feelings” of the Pharisees. They had the Law but had twisted it to fit their own purposes. They were blind to the truth and were leading others in their blindness. Most importantly, when Jesus tried to teach them the truth, they ignored Him. This is a great lesson for us. We do not want to “offend” someone by having a poor character or not speaking in a loving way. But we must speak the truth. And if truth offends a person, then so be it. In that case, it is not us who are doing the offending, it is the Lord. We must hold true to His word regardless of how others respond.
Berry Kercheville