Wash Your Heart First - Matthew 15:1-20

When the child of God

Looks into the word of God

And sees the Son of God

They are transformed by the Spirit of God

Into the image of God

For the glory of God

-Warren Wiersbe

“And when the one with a discharge is cleansed of his discharge, then he shall count for himself seven days for his cleansing, and wash his clothes. And he shall bathe his body in fresh water and shall be clean.” - Lev. 15:13

In today’s passage Jesus criticizes those who put external man-made rules like ritual hand-washing on an equal level with biblical commands. Ironically, they often rationalized disobeying God’s clear commands, showing they had clean hands but not clean hearts.

Matthew 15:1-20

When man-made traditions crowd out simple faith and obedience - V. 1-9

There were 2 big problems with the Pharisees approach:

First, all that focus on the external non-essential ‘fencing’ of the law became so important to them that it crowded out matters of simple faith and obedience, loving God and loving others.

The second problem was that their love for their external ‘fences’ became more important than dealing with their own sinful hearts that needed attention before their holy God.

The biblical command to honor your parents includes fully grown children ensuring that their parents needs are well taken care of as they age.

They insisted they loved God because they had washed their hands down to their elbows. Jesus said “If you loved God you would take care of your momma!”

But if anyone does not provide for his relatives, and especially for members of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever. - 1 Timothy 5:8

The word for hypocrites (G5273) appears 17 times in the Bible, 13 in Matthew’s gospel. It’s a compound word, “An interpreter from underneath.” Actors in ancient Greek theater wore large masks, playing their part from underneath the masks.

Jesus again addresses the heart of the matter - V. 10-20

How did Jesus respond to the concern that the Pharisees were offended by Jesus? He basically said, “Of course they are offended – they are lost and going to Hell unless they repent!”

Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you travel across sea and land to make a single proselyte (convert), and when he becomes a proselyte, you make him twice as much a child of hell as yourselves.” - Matthew 23:15

What you put in your mouth goes through your stomach and is then expelled when you go potty. None of that natural process makes you spiritually unclean in God’s eyes, or eating with unclean hands. Spiritual uncleanness comes when sin goes undealt with in the heart.

Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you clean the outside of the cup and the plate, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence. You blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and the plate, that the outside also may be clean. - Matthew 23:25-26

Victory in the Christian Life comes from FOCUS:

F is for Faith – Faith is the Victory that overcomes the world (1 John 5:4).

O is for Obedience – We have 100% commitment to obey the Scriptures and the Spirit.

C is for Confession - When we do sin, we confess our sin, receive God’s forgiveness, and get on with faith and obedience.

U is for Unite My Heart – bringing all spiritual resources to bear on loving God and hating sin.

Teach me Your way, O LORD, that I may walk in your truth; unite my heart to fear your name. - Psalm 86:11

“You must always be a-killing sin, or sin will always be a-killing you.” - John Owen

S is for Serve God by serving others.