Matthew 15 Devotional & Commentary: Spiritual Cleanliness that leads to Godliness0

Devotional Sharing, Submitted by Pastor William Kang, Gracepoint Berkeley

Matthew 15:1-2, 10-20

Contrast the Pharisees’ view of cleanliness with Jesus’ view.  Are there ways in which my view of spiritual cleanliness resembles that of the Pharisees? The Pharisees determine cleanliness by their ability to perform religious puritiy rituals and practices.  They thought that by performing these rites they could become clean.  Just noted that this cleanliness is just cleanliness on the outside, and what matters for a man is cleanliness of the heart—or the inside. It is the state of the heart and all of the thoughts, values and actions that come from the heart that makes a man unclean.  I am fully aware and convinced of Jesus’ view.  But I do have to admit that I don’t put those teachings into practice when I am in a state of competitiveness or envy.  During those moments, I neglect what is in the heart and pay attention to what I can do.  In other words, I focus on the outsides—my abilities, my competencies, what I’ve done and what I’m doing.  When I’m at my worst, I try to hold on to these things and, by doing so, I deceive myself into thinking I’m okay.  As a result, I become proud, I become more independent from God and the gospel becomes less meaningful.

Given the clear reality of man’s sinful heart, how is it that the Pharisees could have focused so much on external rituals—such as the washing of hands—as a way of becoming clean? I think in order to do this one must deny the sinfulness of his own heart.  The best, and perhaps the easiest, way to do this is to blame one’s sins on others, or their situation/background, or attribute it as some anomaly.  One can also do this by grading himself on a curve.  It was the Pharisee who compared himself to the tax collector and thanked God that he wasn’t like him.  The Pharisees were always judging themselves on a curve.   One can only judge on a curve by comparing visible actions and lifestyle.  And so it became important for the Pharisees to visibly perform better than others.   In this way, rituals like the washing of hands became much more important than they should have.  These rituals became the name of the game.  Also, it’s easier to believe in clean hands than in clean hearts.  What I mean by this is that one can look at his hand and make sure that it’s clean.  It’s hard to do that for the heart because it’s spiritual by nature: I can’t see the heart, whereas I can see my hands.  As the saying goes: “Seeing is believing.” Therefore, cleaning the hand is an easier way to practice religion than cleaning the heart.

How can I keep from falling prey to external religion? I’ve got to pray and read my Bible.  And I need friends and leaders to speak the truth to me and to guide me so that I am not falling prey to external religion.  I’ve fallen into external religion so many times, I’ve now developed a good ability to detect it when I am slipping.  It’s when I’ve fallen and I can’t get up because I’m so engrossed in external religion that I need my friends and leaders to pull me out with the truth.

Devotional Sharing Submitted by Peter Choi, Gracepoint Davis

Matthew 15:29-39

What is most baffling about the disciples’ response is that they had the same small-minded response that they had previously.  They acted as if they didn’t experience Jesus’ divine provision from the previous chapter.  They probably didn’t forget about the feeding of the 5000, as multiple gospel accounts actually indicate that it is something that they all remembered the rest of their lives.  It probably has something to do with the nature of any given challenge, something that I run into all too often.  When I am faced with something huge, like a recurring issue that I’m struggling with personally, or an issue that is burdening me for a long time, or even an event like NSWN that is in only a matter of hours, I automatically default to looking at how daunting it is and how impossible it is.  I default back to that time in my childhood when I desperately wanted a bicycle, only to find that I had a mere two dollars to my name.  The end result is a lack of faith that is not much different from a person who never experienced God’s provision in the first place.  Today, as we go into NSWN activities, I need to remember that no matter how daunting things may seem, God has provided all that we needed each time.  I need to take the time to thank God in advance for the times before, and to place my complete trust in Him to provide all that we need this time, rather than to respond as the disciples did.  This means that I cannot focus on what I can’t do, but focus on what God has done and what God can do in the lives of people that we will be meeting with tonight.

I see in Jesus these components of compassion: noticing the need, knowing the extent of the need and the consequence of not meeting the need, desire to meet the need.  I do not share these aspects to nearly the extent that I would like, because too often I find myself wondering how it is that I missed this or that person’s need; how it is that I am so self-centered that I cannot see that the very person next to me is having a hard time with something basic.  But more than that, related to what we read about the disciples’ response to the need of the four thousand, is the fact that all too often I can see the need, but don’t know what I can do to meet that need rather than come to Jesus through prayer.  As I examine my personal prayer life, it is something that is lacking, and this text shows me that I need to continue to come to Jesus with the needs that I see all around me.  It’s not that each time there is going to be a feeding of four thousand, but I need to continue to come to Jesus and share with him his heart of compassion for the figurative (and sometimes not so figurative) four thousand.

The contrast is quite stark: the disciples’ response seems quire reasonable.  How can we respond to such a great need?  To such a great task?  It is a question that is not unlike the one that faces me today.  And my response is all to similar.  Who am I?  Who are we that we would dare take on the task of bringing the gospel to the Davis campus?  It has all the markings of the economy of the world.  You can only meet a great need with a great resource.  And the markings of doubt when the resources don’t seem to be there at all.  That is not how compassion works.  Compassion says “I do not want to send them away hungry” and does whatever it takes.  On the surface the miracle is that seven loaves and a few fish fed four thousand people, but another miracle is that the disciples’ way of thinking about burden and need was changed.  They started to stop calculating what is possible and what is not possible.  They started to think along the lines of compassion and need, and doing whatever it takes as individuals and as a group to address Jesus’ statement: “I do not want to send them away hungry.”

Matthew 15:1-2, 10-20

• Contrast the Pharisees’ view of cleanliness with Jesus’ view.  Are there ways in which my view of spiritual cleanliness resembles that of the Pharisees?
• Given the clear reality of man’s sinful heart, how is it that the Pharisees could have focused so much on external rituals—such as the washing of hands—as a way of becoming clean?
• How can I keep from falling prey to external religion?

Matthew 15:21-28

• Considering that it was the Canaanite woman’s desperate and helpless situation that drove her to Jesus, what perspective should I have toward needy or helpless situations in my life?
• What did the Canaanite woman endure to experience healing?
• What are some things about life that I feel entitled to?  Consider how this might contribute to a lack of growth or healing in some area of my life.
• Jesus praises this woman as having great faith.  What is it about her response that warranted this praise, and what picture of faith does she depict?

Additional Questions:

Matthew 15:1-9

“In this question he goes to the heart of the problem, which is the relationship of the developing oral law to the written law. The tradition of the elders was not simply a preferred way of living, but it became equal in authority to the written law. Jesus makes it clear to them that the Old Testament came from God, while their traditions are simply the pronouncements of human elders.”[1]

• What would the Pharisees have had to do in order for them to equate “tradition” to the “written law”?
• How can I safeguard against equating “traditions” as equal to God’s law expressed through scripture?
• Are there traditions that I am appealing to in order to justify clear disobedience of the command of God?

Matthew 15:29-39

• What is so baffling about the disciples’ response in light of the miracles that they just witnessed as well as the feeding of the five thousand (cf. Matt 14:13-21)?  What could have been the reasons for their response?  Has this kind of approach prevented me from living out my faith, and experiencing God’s divine provisions?
• From Jesus’ example, what are the components of compassion?
• To what extent do I share these aspects of compassion?
• Reflect on the contrast between the need of the hour and the meager provisions in the disciple’s possession.  Yet, what does Jesus ask them in v. 34?  What was the focus of the disciples, and what was the focus of Jesus in their approach to the problem?

Reflect on the potential use of seven loaves and “a few small fish.”  What steps were needed before this small amount could be used to feed the multitudes?  To what extent have I released the few loaves and fish that I have?

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[1] Wilkins, Michael J. “Matthew 15:1 – 39” In NIV Application Commentary, New Testament: Matthew. By Michael J. Wilkins, 532-552. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, © 2004.