Clean Hands, Distant Hearts

 


 

Clean Hands, Distant Hearts

Matthew 15:1–20

Clean hands can still belong to distant hearts.



In Matthew 15, the Pharisees confront Jesus because his disciples do not follow the ritual handwashing tradition of the elders. Jesus turns the question back on them:

Why do you break the commandment of God for the sake of your tradition?

This passage is not really about hygiene. It is about holiness, tradition, mercy, hypocrisy, and the condition of the heart.

Jesus is not against clean hands.
He is against distant hearts hiding behind clean hands.

He is not against tradition.
He is against tradition that cancels commandment.

He is not against holiness.
He is against counterfeit holiness that avoids people instead of loving them.

Jesus says it is not what goes into the mouth that defiles a person, but what comes out of the mouth. Our words, motives, resentments, slander, and contempt reveal what is happening inside us.

The mouth is the heart going public.

So the question becomes:

Are we managing appearances, or surrendering the heart?
Are we protecting ourselves from contamination, or carrying mercy into contaminated places?
Can love become larger than disgust?

The church does not need less holiness. The church needs deeper holiness — Christ-shaped holiness, full of truth and mercy.

Read/listen to the full sermon and study here:
https://tomsims.substack.com/p/clean-hands-distant-hearts

More Bible Chat resources:
https://biblechatonline.com/

More links:
https://linktr.ee/tomsims

#BibleChat #Matthew15 #CleanHandsDistantHearts #Jesus #Holiness #Mercy #Faith #Discipleship #FellowshipOfJoy

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

So Late So Soon #reflections #aging #dawn #hope #possibilities #lookinga...

These reflections are on aging with ADHD and impatience. I resurrect an old reflection today as I consider the years. My night dreams are those of years gone by. The news I regularly receive is of friends who have died, I find myself far too attracted to nostalgia. Yet, I remember what it is like to be the youngest person in the room. I recall the energetic enthusiasm of having all the years and possibilities ahead of me. I recite Dr. Suess' words with feeling, "How did it get so late, so soon?" I am going to pass on the free link today even though it is also behind the pay wall. https://medium.com/@tomsims/it-may-be-late-but-let-us-live-in-the-light-of-dawn-74da84b58df7?sk=c9df1a0856dbb5eb640bc55659ec4124 https://vimeo.com/1112576694?share=copy
Read more

One Thing Needed

Image
  unsplash-logo Shelby Miller And Jesus answered and said unto her, Martha, Martha, thou art careful and troubled about many things: But one thing is needful: and Mary hath chosen that good part, which shall not be taken away from her. -  Luke 10:41-42   Martha knew how to entertain with style. It took its toll on her. She was careful and troubled all the time, especially when she had company. Perhaps she was a perfectionist and that was no doubt a great strain on her body and soul. Mary knew how to be in the moment with Jesus. Jesus saw the value in both kinds of hospitality, but He wanted Martha to know that when tending to details interfered with tending to the Master Himself, just being with Him was all that really counted. It is still what really counts. It counts for the busy mother, the harried executive, the flustered teacher, the hard-driven salesman, and the politician in the pressure cooker of legislative compromise. It is what counts for the safety officer who...
Read more