Faith or offense

Matthew 15:1-28 from the daily reading in the One Year Bible

Then some Pharisees and scribes came to Jesus from Jerusalem and said, ² “Why do Your disciples break the tradition of the elders? For they do not wash their hands when they eat bread.” ³ And He answered and said to them, “Why do you yourselves transgress the commandment of God for the sake of your tradition? ⁴ For God said, ‘Honor your father and mother,’ and, ‘He who speaks evil of father or mother is to be put to death.’ ⁵ But you say, ‘Whoever says to his father or mother, “Whatever I have that would help you has been given to God,” ⁶ he is not to honor his father or his mother.’ And by this you invalidated the word of God for the sake of your tradition. ⁷ You hypocrites, rightly did Isaiah prophesy of you:

⁸ ‘This people honors Me with their lips, But their heart is far away from Me.
⁹ ‘But in vain do they worship Me, Teaching as doctrines the precepts of men.’”

¹⁰ After Jesus called the crowd to Him, He said to them, “Hear and understand. ¹¹ It is not what enters into the mouth that defiles the man, but what proceeds out of the mouth, this defiles the man.”

¹² Then the disciples came and said to Him, “Do You know that the Pharisees were offended when they heard this statement?” ¹³ But He answered and said, “Every plant which My heavenly Father did not plant shall be uprooted. ¹⁴ Let them alone; they are blind guides of the blind. And if a blind man guides a blind man, both will fall into a pit.”

¹⁵ Peter said to Him, “Explain the parable to us.” ¹⁶ Jesus said, “Are you still lacking in understanding also? ¹⁷ Do you not understand that everything that goes into the mouth passes into the stomach, and is eliminated? ¹⁸ But the things that proceed out of the mouth come from the heart, and those defile the man. ¹⁹ For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, slanders. ²⁰ These are the things which defile the man; but to eat with unwashed hands does not defile the man.”

²¹ Jesus went away from there, and withdrew into the district of Tyre and Sidon. ²² And a Canaanite woman from that region came out and began to cry out, saying, “Have mercy on me, Lord, Son of David; my daughter is cruelly demon-possessed.” ²³ But He did not answer her a word. And His disciples came and implored Him, saying, “Send her away, because she keeps shouting at us.” ²⁴ But He answered and said, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” ²⁵ But she came and began to bow down before Him, saying, “Lord, help me!” ²⁶ And He answered and said, “It is not good to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs.” ²⁷ But she said, “Yes, Lord; but even the dogs feed on the crumbs which fall from their masters’ table.” ²⁸ Then Jesus said to her, “O woman, your faith is great; it shall be done for you as you wish.” And her daughter was healed at once.

Many people are quick today to speak of the things Jesus said about the religious leaders of His day. In today’s text He says:  “You hypocrites, rightly did Isaiah prophesy of you:  ‘This people honors Me with their lips, But their heart is far away from Me. But in vain do they worship Me, Teaching as doctrines the precepts of men.” The text continues saying:  Then the disciples came and said to Him, “Do You know that the Pharisees were offended when they heard this statement?” But He answered and said, “Every plant which My heavenly Father did not plant shall be uprooted. Let them alone; they are blind guides of the blind. And if a blind man guides a blind man, both will fall into a pit.”   It wasn’t that Jesus despised religion and preferred sinners as some would say. The Pharisees were offended because Jesus spoke the truth. They had added traditions and the precepts of man to the truth of God’s word and His commandments. Jesus came first as Messiah to the Jews. Later in today’s text He says, to a non-Jewish woman:  “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.”   Much of the focus of His teaching was to change the way the Jewish people believed, to open their minds to God’s love and grace, rather than justification through the law, so that after His crucifixion and resurrection, He could send His disciple out to the whole world. Because it was different and new, many people had a difficult time and were offended at the truth which Jesus spoke. Jesus never stopped loving the Jewish people or even the religious leaders of His day. Even on the cross He said: "Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing." (Luke 23:34)

While some are offended by Jesus message of love and grace, others are offended and despise Him because He speaks the truth concerning sin and righteousness. In John 15:18-25 Jesus says:  “If the world hates you, you know that it has hated Me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, because of this the world hates you. Remember the word that I said to you, ‘A slave is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you; if they kept My word, they will keep yours also. But all these things they will do to you for My name’s sake, because they do not know the One who sent Me. If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not have sin, but now they have no excuse for their sin. He who hates Me hates My Father also. If I had not done among them the works which no one else did, they would not have sin; but now they have both seen and hated Me and My Father as well. But they have done this to fulfill the word that is written in their Law, ‘They hated Me without a cause.’”   Jesus could not tolerate false doctrines of man. Neither did He or does He tolerate those who choose to continue in sin after experiencing His grace. Jesus says:  “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter. Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness.’” (Matthew 7:21-23)    In our culture and society we have come to a point where the precepts of man declare that there is no absolute truth. Each person, or each group of people, determine what is truth to them. The error in their thinking is that truth is more than a concept. John 14:6 says:  “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.”    Truth is not a concept to be debated or to be interpreted by the whims of society. Truth is Jesus Christ, God’s Son, who came to save the world from sin.

One of the greatest lies being perpetrated in our culture and society today is that we are all the same. Under the guise of equality, society ignores the very obvious differences in how we were created, male and female, black, brown, red and white. Some people are tall some are short. Some are heavy others are thin. Some people are richer and some are poorer. Some people are stronger. Some are smarter. Some are athletic. Some are artistic. Yet despite the obvious differences, society tells us we are the same. Today’s text ends saying:  A Canaanite woman from that region came out and began to cry out, saying, “Have mercy on me, Lord, Son of David; my daughter is cruelly demon-possessed.” But He did not answer her a word. And His disciples came and implored Him, saying, “Send her away, because she keeps shouting at us.” But He answered and said, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” But she came and began to bow down before Him, saying, “Lord, help me!” And He answered and said, “It is not good to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs.” But she said, “Yes, Lord; but even the dogs feed on the crumbs which fall from their masters’ table.” Then Jesus said to her, “O woman, your faith is great; it shall be done for you as you wish.” And her daughter was healed at once.    How offended would people be today if someone who was different because of nationality or ancestry was compared to a dog? Jesus didn’t mean to offend. He was simply speaking the truth about different groups of people. The woman though, rather than being offended, appealed to the heart of the Lord through faith. She accepted her social status, recognizing by faith that Jesus was Lord and that He judges the heart not the appearance or the social status of people. By faith, not by protest or offense, she received the blessing and healing she sought. God created us to be different and unique. If He wanted only one type of person He would have made us that way. Romans 8:28-29 says: God causes all things (Even our differences) to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren.   If we will embrace the way God has made us, if we will respond to His love demonstrated in the cross of Christ, if we will believe that Jesus died for us, despite the differences in our appearance or status we will be restored to the way God created us, conformed to the image of Christ, made in His likeness. The choice is ours, equality with God and Christ through faith or offense at what causes us to appear different.

Heavenly Father, Lord Jesus Christ; precious Holy Spirit thank You for Truth. May I truly embrace the way You have made me. May I lay aside the things that would offend me and may I turn away from the things which offend You. May I be redeemed from sin and restored to Your likeness, not in appearance, but in heart.    Amen.