Matthew 15:1-50
“Notice what you notice.” This schedule of readings has really opened my eyes to Jesus’ Galilean ministry compared to His time in Jerusalem. For example, today’s reading begins with Pharisees and Scribes coming to Galilee from Jerusalem specifically to monitor and test Jesus. That’s about a 70-80 mile trip. Yet these emissaries are sent by the Jewish leaders because of Jesus’ growing reputation. Accounts of His teachings and miracles have spread far and wide. They want to know whether His Messiahship claims are real or fake – but they have a strong bias for the latter! I hope Carol will share some insights she has picked up as to why the Jewish authorities were so interested in this distant rabbi. I defer to her.
I was intrigued by Matthew’s Isaiah quote in verses 8 and 9. Here is the full text: … this people draw near with their mouth and honor Me with their lips, while their hearts are far from Me, and their fear of Me is a commandment taught by men… (Isaiah 29:13). In my early born-again years I studied my new-found faith in part by way of comparison with what I had learned as a youngster in the Catholic Church. One conclusion that I came to was that there was a dramatic difference between what the Catholic Church was teaching from Scripture and what they were teaching from tradition or from some “church law” that had been established. Some examples include (1) not eating meat on Fridays, (2) strict requirements of church attendance on Sundays, (3) additional “Holy Days of Obligation”, (4) the role of the Pope and his infallibility on particular issues, (5) indulgences, and (6) the Apocrypha as inspired Scripture. I am not ascribing to the Catholic Church the same criticism that Jesus laid on the Jewish leaders for their “commandments of men” (v. 9). But I have often felt that many Catholics today are “enslaved” by church rules and are “seeking” God by following these church rules. They miss the blessings available to them from knowing God more personally. And it’s not just the Catholic Church; it’s “nominal” Christians everywhere. I fear that I sound judgmental, but in reality I feel sorry for them because they do not really know “Him in Whom they have believed” (II Timothy 1:12, edited).
Slava Bohu!
Thanks Fred. I was struck by the words about what comes from the heart. More and more I am seeing into my heart and it’s not pretty. Oh God, give me clean hands, clean lips, but most importantly a clean heart.
Too close to home, Debbie…!!
I agree, Debbie—the longer I am a Christian, the more and more I see how much I need to be washed in the blood of Jesus. Yes, I am a much better person, but I realize I have so much further to go than I thought I did…!