Out of the heart

As you read through the ministry of Jesus it becomes clear that he, at almost every turn, was saying or doing something that crossed the religious leaders of the day. Interspersed throughout his discourses to his disciples and the crowds at large are a number of stern rebukes of the scribes, Pharisees, Sadducees and elders of the Jewish people. We all have a natural tendency to think these passages don’t apply to us. But the reality is that all of the instances where Jesus rebuked the religious leaders of the day contain powerful truths and principles that, at some level, we can all learn from. In Revelation 3:19 Jesus said that those whom he loves he rebukes. And once we understand that the Lord’s rebukes are actually an expression of his love, we will begin to read them with an open heart, eager to see what he might be lovingly telling us.

In Matthew 15:10-20 we see such an instance. In response to the Pharisees and scribes accusation that his disciples were breaking the tradition of the elders by not washing their hands when they eat bread, Jesus rebuked them openly. He essentially told them that their traditions were more important to them than God’s word, and that all their worship was in vain because of it. Obviously this in itself was a harsh rebuke. But Jesus was not done yet. He then made the following statement to the people: “What goes into a man's mouth does not make him unclean, but what comes out of his mouth, that is what makes him unclean.”

At first this statement almost seems unconnected with the Pharisees, but in the next verse Jesus’ disciples came and told him that the Pharisees were offended by this comment. Jesus had essentially told them that their long-held tradition of washing their hands before a meal had no spiritual benefit at all. Jesus went on to say that the Pharisees were “plants” that had not been planted by his father, and as such would be uprooted. Then, as if that wasn’t enough, Jesus told his disciples that the Pharisees were “blind guides” leading blind people, and that both they and their followers would “fall into a pit.”

It isn’t too hard to see why the Jesus’ statements offended the Pharisees. But Jesus was not just trying to make enemies he was revealing a great truth about the kingdom of God – the same truth God had told Samuel in 1 Samuel 16:7: “God sees not as man sees, for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.” But the Pharisees were blind to this truth. Jesus made this point clear in verse 8, where he accused them of being hypocrites, honoring God with their lips, even though their heart was far from him. On the other side of the coin, they cleansed themselves outwardly by washing their hands before a meal, completely oblivious to the fact that they were defiled by the evil that was in their hearts. Jesus made this same point in Matthew 23:25 where he told them, “You clean the outside of the cup and of the dish, but inside they are full of robbery and self-indulgence.”

The Pharisees had their religion down to a science – they knew all the right things to do externally. But they were blind to the fact that God is not looking so much at the externals, rather he is looking at what comes out of the heart of man. And God has not changed. Many people today are guilty of doing the same thing the Pharisees did – they make their religion about externals things like sacraments, services, good deeds, eloquent words and long pious-sounding prayers. There are also many people today who like to think that anything defiling is outside of them, when in fact it is their own evil heart that is defiling them. If either of these describes you, let the light of God’s word reveal it to you and His truth will set you free!