MATTHEW 15 FROM THE HEART The Lord Jesus was again preached in Capernaum when the teachers of the law came to pass their judgment on His teaching. These people were considered those of authority when it came to the interpretation of the law and what the Old Testament scriptures meant doctrinally. For many years there had been added to the law of God, traditions that were made by men like themselves. These were not actually written for the most part until 200 years later when they became known as the Mishnah. But these Jewish leaders considered them to be part of the law. One of the problems with traditions is their source is men. The Source of the law is God. Opinions of men vary. Traditions have as their objective outward appearances that hopefully clarify questions by those who want habits and forms. Traditions may have a local and temporary value but their source is not in God. The commandments of God when acted upon personally begin in the heart and soul of a person. The will of God is expressed. The presentation of His will to a person now has to be responded to. An outward grudging response is not what keeping the commands of God means. The purpose is that one's heart is convicted and moved to change what is wrong in that attitude to what God desires. That change is done gladly because faith toward God is real. Instead of resentment but still conforming to the form, there is the joy of fellowship with God. The Lord Jesus Christ could see right through the criticisms the Jewish leaders made that were based on the traditions of their own making.
The law of God made adult children responsible for their parents’ welfare when they were older. It was, and still is, only right that we take steps to meet the needs of those in our family. When people ignore their parents and leave them impoverished, while at the same time they go through the form of giving to God, they are breaking the commandment of God to honor their father and mother. To excuse themselves by saying they are giving to God, reduces that giving to a self-centered form and tradition, rather than doing the will of God. The truth of God is found in the inward resources of the heart, not in the outward forms of the hands.
We are constantly absorbing information and impressions. The practice of taking in or being exposed to what is around isn't where our great problem comes from. What we do with what we take in is where the difficulties arise. We have an inward filter in our mind as to what is right and wrong. There is a law of God written on our hearts. Some food we take in is good for us. Some will harm us physically. We hear sounds constantly. Some are beneficial to us and other words and sounds will defile us if we choose to act upon the suggestive sounds that assail us. Our sight is constantly scanning the world around us. This cannot be helped. But not everything we see has to be considered or focused upon. The inward heart immediately filters what we see and hear and can reject or absorb things as the heart reacts to the commands of God, rather than the traditions of men. The actual uncleanness that adversely affects one's life and spirit, comes from what the heart of a person, the soul that is the real "me," is willing to accept or reject. A bit of dirt on the hands when one eats isn't what makes us unclean before God. That is just a lack of normal hygiene. The moral dirt that seeks to claim the attention of the soul is what defiles.
It was with great interest I noticed the Lord Jesus going to the shores of the Mediterranean Sea to connect with a Gentile woman He knew who had a great need. To her, the need of her suffering daughter was greater than any need of her own. Her daughter was suffering terribly from demon-possession. There was a lesson there for the disciples to learn. God can, and sometimes does, make an exception to His own rules for "man looks on the outward appearance but God looks on the heart." The woman and her need were not a mystery to the Lord. She crossed the cultural barriers and came to Him as her Lord. In her heart, not just her posture, she took a place lower than a slave. The heart-felt need she had was greater than her own position. There is great insight into one's soul when the urgent situations of life strike home to us.
In these times of emergency, it comes out into the open what we are really like inside. The humbling of pride, the genuine desire of the heart, the awareness of our own inability and need, the act of repentance - all open the door to blessing from God because they all are evidence of real faith. Sometimes faith is tested by God to see if we are real in ourselves. Other times the reality of faith needs no prompting. The genuineness of our faith instantly responds to the Object of our faith - the Lord Jesus Christ. Some people are amazed at the ability and willingness of the Lord Jesus to meet the needs of the helpless. Others who know the Lord personally, have faith in Him to do whatever the outcome may be because they have learned of Him and know His meekness and lowliness. I know the Lord has compassion on the needy and He expects me to have compassion of them also. I know He is not willing that any perish but wants them to come to the knowledge of the truth - and He wants me to preach the truth. I know He wants to use us who believe, to further the work of the kingdom of God. I also know I am limited as to what I can accomplish. I know He is able to save to the uttermost all who come to God by Him. So, I learned that what I cannot see, He does see. What I cannot do, He is fully able to do. When I am limited by my humanity, and sometimes by my stubbornness, God is able to open my understanding to see people as He does. The immediate testimony of faith by the Gentile woman would have opened the minds of disciples to the fact that God's interests are not limited to only a few. His message of salvation is to all people who believe on Him with their heart.
Again, I watched in my mind the Lord Jesus going up a mountain and the needy and hurting people following Him. Some brought the needy to Him who could not come by themselves. They were laid before the Lord who alone could heal them. We are constrained to bring people to the Lord in our day. The Lord can do for them what we can never do. To present them to the Lord through the Gospel puts them in a position for His blessing. By the power of the Lord over sickness and darkness, by His ability to create food for the body and soul, the Lord Jesus met the needs of the people then and is able to meet the needs of people now. The deepest needs of the hearts and souls of people are met by the limitless and gracious power of God. He is the same yesterday, today and forever.
The empty void is there unable to be filled by frail, mortal men. Forms, traditions, religious activities all leave their hopes undone. To try and find their hopes and longings truly fulfilled escapes Their reaching hands - it is not until the heart is reached hope takes Root and then the soul is warmed by grace and love that finds A place within the deepest recesses of one's longing mind And turns them from the hopeless spinning wheel of circumstances Until one realizes that way beyond the smugness of form and careless glances The Lord Himself waits in patience that does not, and will not act Until repentance of wrong ideas and traditions are gone and real faith is a fact.
Then when all that enters is no longer spurious ideas unsustainable - And what men thought they could do and get for themselves is unattainable - The envy, anger and resentment at other's joy and firmly planted hope Seeks to break loose against those are free in Christ to bear His yoke.
While they struggle in vain to make themselves acceptable to God - Seeking to make it happen by their attendance to the letter of the Word, Rather than by the humbling of the pride and actions of grace in the heart. They have to go back to where God wanted them at the start - So in child-like acceptance of God's wondrous and redeeming grace - They give to Him their heart and in their lives the preeminent place.
Oh what a blessing it is to be able to walk with the Lord in faith and trust - Knowing that we have trusted Him for salvation, and He has accepted us In His Beloved Son who we now know and in whom we find our daily life source - We are not walking independently and arrogantly on a downward course. But we are following Him and He shares with us the principles of living in His kingdom. From time to time He gives us the privilege to live them out and teach them. No longer are those practices just fake and false forms to be seen of men. They are part of our life and being, finding their root in a warm heart within. Our joy now is to really know the commandments and desires of the Lord are also ours. His life and ours are entwined and His truth and grace now our life empowers.
"Father, my hope and prayer is that I will never regress to forms and outward traditions that take the place of obedience and fellowship from the heart. I fear it is possible for me to become satisfied with forms as I get older. Preserve me from the hardness of traditions without grace. In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, Amen."