Today’s Reading: Matthew 15:1-20

One day some teachers of religious law and Pharisees came to Jesus and said, “Teacher, we want you to show us a miraculous sign to prove your authority.” – Matthew 12:38

THEY DEMANDED MORE.

The Pharisees demanded miraculous signs from Jesus. There was a popular expectation in Jewish tradition that the Messiah would perform spectacular miracles on demand when he arrived. So to test whether or not Jesus was the Messiah, the Jewish leaders demanded that he perform for them.

But Jesus replied, “Only an evil, adulterous generation would demand a miraculous sign; but the only sign I will give them is the sign of the prophet Jonah. For as Jonah was in the belly of the great fish for three days and three nights, so will the Son of Man be in the heart of the earth for three days and three nights…” – Matthew 12:39-40

JESUS REVEALED MORE ABOUT WHO HE WAS.

Jesus was revealing to them THE most incredible thing that would happen in all of history and they missed it. The people of Nineveh repented when they heard Jonah’s message but the Jewish leaders refused to repent when they heard the gospel message straight from the Son of Man’s lips. The queen of Sheba had traveled a great distance to hear words of wisdom from Solomon and she was not disappointed at what she found, yet the Pharisees refused to listen to the words of wisdom spoken by someone SO much greater than Solomon (12:41-42).

Jesus told the religious leaders that he would spend three days and three nights in the heart of the earth or the grave, and it was as if they never heard him. Instead of listening closely and finding the powerful truth Jesus was revealing, the Pharisees DEMANDED AN EXPLANATION from Jesus.

“Why do your disciples disobey our age-old tradition of ceremonial hand washing before they eat.” – Matthew 15:2

Jesus answered their demanding question with a demanding question of his own: “And why do you, by your traditions, violate the direct commandments of God? For instance, God says, ‘Honor your father and mother,’…” (Matthew 15:3-4a).

Then Jesus called to the crowd to come and hear. “Listen,” he said, “and try to understand. It’s not what goes into your mouth that defiles you; you are defiled by the words that come out of your mouth.”

Then the disciples came to him and asked, “Do you realize you offended the Pharisees by what you just said?”

Jesus replied, “Every plant not planted by my heavenly Father will be uprooted, so ignore them. They are blind guides leading the blind, and if one blind person guides another, they will both fall into a ditch.”

Then Peter said to Jesus, “Explain to us the parable that says people aren’t defiled by what they eat.”

“Don’t you understand yet?” Jesus asked. “Anything you eat passes through the stomach and then goes into the sewer. But the words you speak come from the heart – that’s what defiles you. For from the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, all sexual immorality, theft, lying and slander. These are what defile you. Eating with unwashed hands will never defile you.” – Matthew 15:10-20

Just as the religious leaders were revealing the sin in their hearts by the words they spoke and the demands they made, we also reveal our spiritual condition by what we say. When our heart is not completely submitted to what God has for us, we see the results of that in our behavior and our conversation. So choosing our words carefully and intentionally avoiding strong language does not have to be a sign of legalism, but can simply be the outflow of the Spirit’s work in our lives. He takes away the desire to sound like the world and behave in a way that does not bring Him glory.

Lord, we thank you for the ways your words continue to teach us today. We ask that you continue to do a work in our hearts and that you will be glorified in everything that we say and do today — not as a result of our human effort but as an indicator of the impact you are having on our hearts. Father, open our eyes to the miracles you are willing to perform all around us if only we will believe. Thank you for saving us from ourselves and teaching us your ways. Amen.