Matthew 15:15-18..Ready

Matthew 15:15-18..Ready

15:15  Peter (Peter being the mouthpiece for the other disciples was merely saying what they were all thinking, he just says it out loud.(New)  said Explain the parable to us. (Peter had taken what was simple and straightforward and turned into some complicated parable hard to understand. Reveals how only through Christ Jesus can we unlearn false teaching and views.) 16  “Are you still so  dull?” (The reason they were slow to understand, is not that they were country pumpkins who just didn’t get it. After all they wrote most of the New Testament. But rather it contradicted their strongly held beliefs and all they were taught.-(New) Jesus asked them. 17″Don’t you see that whatever enters the mouth goes into the stomach (digestive system-(New) and then out of the body? (Cast out in the drought?-K.J.V.) 18 But the things that come out of the mouth come from the heart and these make a man ‘unclean’. (For additional Expository Notes see Book)

Extended Sermons 

“Teaches how Sin is not just a surface behavioral problem, but a deeper underlining problem of the heart” ⇒ Sin is not a splash of mud upon man’s exterior, it is a filth generated within himself. Sin is not like a cloud hanging over you. Its’ a Well that bubbles up from inside our hearts.  When it comes to Sin it’s not like trying to clean a landfill by picking up the litter and moving it to the next town over. It goes with you. That’s why changing your environment doesn’t work.  Wherever you go you take your Sin with you. Trying to take care of Sin at the surface level Is like saying “If I stop going to the bar, I won’t drink anymore.” It’s like saying “If I stop going to the Casinos. I won’t gamble anymore.” It’s like saying “If I stop going to the Strip Cubs, I won’t lust anymore.” It’s like saying “If I stop driving by the Dealers house, I wont’ do drugs anymore”  Though all of these are important and should be practiced. But in the end it’s  really a heart problem that needs to be addressed and dealt with.

“Gives comfort were in good company when slow to understand, Jesus’ own disciples didn’t get it right away either.” ⇒ Think about it, these disciples were the real deal. They have been following Jesus for a bit now at this time. They’d seen Him do some things that only God can do. Heal the sick, feed the masses, calm storms, cast out demons, and forgive sins. Yet they were still growing spiritually. They’d hadn’t arrived, they we’re still in need of hearing, understanding, and trusting in Christ. So again, this is something that should be encouraging to us. We’re not going to get it all at once either, that there’s still a lot of growing, and that’s okay. There’s room for mistakes and room for growing in our life’s as well.

“Teaches how a upright heart and willing mind will go to Jesus for answers, instructions, and greater understanding” ⇒ . Did you know we can always go to God for further clarification for the things we don’t understand. When we come up against the hard parts of God’s word the first place we need to go to is the Lord to help make it clear to us. (This does not mean were to be anti-teacher or anti-study, but were to look to God first for insight and understanding. Whatever missteps the disciples make in their journey to understand Jesus’ teaching, their dogged determination and devotion in going to Jesus for clarification and understanding is something we should all emulate. Going to church and hearing the preaching with the “crowd” is a good starting point, but church attendance doesn’t make a disciple. We need quieter settings and smaller groups to really understand God’s Word. That may include a Bible study, a private meeting with the pastor, or individual study time with prayer and a commentary such as “Matthew Life Application Commentary”. (Much of what you’re doing right now!)

“Displays the Lords patience for people like us who take a long time to learn even the simplest of lessons.” → Isn’t that just like us we can say “Yeah, Amen Jesus, Hallelujah. Yeah preach it Jesus.” And then when alone ask ourselves I wonder what He meant by that? Can you explain that to us please. Take comfort in the knowledge that growth seldom comes swiftly. The Lord’s patience with those who struggle to grasp even the simplest lessons is a testament to grace—a gentle reminder that wisdom is not measured by speed, but by persistence. If you find yourself slow to understand, remember: you are not alone. The greatest stories of faith are built not on instant mastery, but on the steady, enduring pursuit of truth. Each moment of confusion, every misstep and question, is not a failure but an invitation to deeper discovery. The journey to clarity is paved with perseverance. Embrace the process, welcome the lessons, and trust that patience—both from above and within yourself—will carry you forward.

“Even today, we often blame sin on something else. We blame it on our parents, our environment, our upbringing, our education, our genetics, etc. When the source of sin is within us.” ⇒ We often blame sin and our bad behavior on other things. I was unloved as a child, I was abused as a child, I was bullied as a child, I was brought up in a toxic environment. Or we blame sin on our job, our kids,  our education, our finances, our estranged relationships. Or we blame sin on the Devil. The devil made me do it. if he hadn’t tempted me so much. Boy that devil, he sure got a hold of me that time. (Though it’s true that the devil looks for weaknesses and footholds to draw sin out of you, but he didn’t put it in you it was already there.)  Or will blame sin on the temptations of the world. No wonder I sin, look at all the billboards, all the magazines covers. Look at all the pop-ups on my computer. (Though it’s true the world is always looking to seduce us, entice us, and lead us astray. But it didn’t put it in to us, it was already there, its just looking to draw it out of you.)  Or will blame sin on something or someone else. Did you see what they did to me?  It’s they’re fault I wouldn’t have done what I did, “If they hadn’t provoked me. If they hadn’t kept pushing my buttons, if they hadn’t been so annoying, if they hadn’t said what they said.”  Or will attribute it to others causes; “I had a stressful day at work. So I went out with a few friends and had a few drinks and woke up in somebodies else bed and ended up committing adultery.” Or “I didn’t make any Sales today, therefor I came home and kicked the dog and yelled at the kids. But I didn’t mean to do it, it’s not my fault. Or will blame sin on the bad things that happened to us; “You don’t know what I’ve been through.” “You don’t know what’s going on in my life.’ Beside, who are you to judge. Doesn’t the bible say “Do not judge, lest you be judged.”  Or will blame sin as a coping mechanism; “I couldn’t deal with the trauma I was going through at the time and needed an outlet.” Or we try to justify sin by saying “It’s O.K. for me to do what I did, they deserved it, they had it coming” Or I did what I did because I have ADD. Or will rationalize our sin away saying the end justifies the means. That It doesn’t matter how we get there, as long as it came from a good place and good intentions. Or will downplay sin by saying “This is just a bad habit, it’s not who I am at  heart, I’m still a good person.  And besides it’s not hurting anyone, it’s not like stealing or committing adultery.”

Additional Notes & Applications 

Warns against uniting with others on some big ecumenical plan to work together just because you want to show your solidarity with them, even though they reject some core doctrines. It’s like Baptists coming to the aid and defense of Jehovah Witness or Mormons.

Teaches how true leadership will share in and voice the concerns of others.

Teaches if you really want to know where the problem of sin lies, just listen to yourself and what you say and do.

Teaches those who seek truth and greater understanding know the One whom they should ask! (You can always go to Jesus for answers!)

Because of the inability of the disciples to understand this, shows the power of legalistic teaching. It can become so ingrained in people, that only Jesus can  correct it.

Teaches how often times when it comes to God’s word, it’s not because we don’t understand, but because we’re unwilling to heed it.

Warns against thinking we can avoid sin by setting up boarders and boundaries without dealing with the heart first. This is why if we’re struggling with pornography issues with content filters and accountability partners are not enough. This is why external solutions do not work without heart change. The reason we continue to struggle with certain sins, even though we may change the external circumstances, is because the problem is inside of us. The issue is a heart issue. This is also why fixing the externals is not what God is looking for. The external acts are not the problem but symptoms of a deeper issue. The problem comes from the heart.

The real purpose of ministry is to effect the heart, not the just the hands. As ministers of the gospel we aren’t just getting people baptised, were not trying to make immoral people moral people, were not trying to make dirty people clean people, or bad people good people. We are trying to make lost people Saved people, sinful people, righteous people. Were to go after the heart, because God is after the heart.

There’s many professing Christians who are comfortable in spreading manure with their mouths, than singing God’ praises. Then you have many others who are more at home in receiving manure from other people’s mouths, (gossip, slander) than they are at receiving the Word of God straight from scripture.

Jesus is not talking about what is healthy and unhealthy for you. Or saying that cholesterol, trans fats, and junk foods aren’t bad for you or effect your body.

Jesus is not saying you can sin whenever you want without consequences. that it’s O.K. to start smoking, drinking, and using recreational drugs. But rather is simply teaching that the source of sin lies in our hearts.

Peter’s struggle on this issue of clean and unclean will continue years later. We learn in Acts how God had to tell Peter three times in a vision to eat what Jewish tradition said was unclean. And three times Peter said “No Lord I have never eaten anything impure or unclean”(Acts 10:9-16)

We can sympathize with Peter how often have we’ve grown up in being told unless your good enough you don’t belong. That belonging is contingent on meeting certain standards or proving one’s worth. You   feel pressured to act, dress, or behave a certain way to be accepted by a particular group. You need to constantly outperform colleagues to maintain your position or be recognized. Or even in religion that acceptance by God depends on adherence to rules or achieving a certain level of righteousness. .And that’s hard to let go of, it goes against our human nature. No one wants to feel they don’t belong, no one wants to be rejected, no one wants to be left out, no one ants to be an outsider. No one want’s to be excluded from the traditions we grew up with and hold dear. No one wants to be left out when a contribution we’ve made at work or church goes unnoticed and unappreciated.

When the Gospel of Mark says  “In saying this, Jesus declared all foods clean”.(Mark 7:19b)  This is not Jesus saying everything in the Old Testament is irrelevant, boring, and unnecessary. But rather what He is saying is that cleanliness laws, the food laws have been fulfilled in Him. Therefore all these O.T. Laws were to lead you to Christ Jesus. They were Types & Shadows of something better in Christ Jesus.  That it is Jesus who makes us clean before God. It’s not how you ceremonially wash yourself, its not what you eat, its not what you do. it’s Jesus and what He has done in perfectly fulfilling all of the Law. This fulfillment doesn’t mean the Law is obsolete, but rather that it finds its ultimate meaning and purpose in Christ. Christians see the Law as pointing towards Christ, revealing God’s character, and providing instruction for how to live righteously and closely to God  and what it should look like. While also recognizing that Christ’s sacrifice fulfills the sacrificial system and provides access to God. We should follow O.T. customs and traditions so far as they are helpful, but they should not be a litmus test of faithfulness and righteousness.