Matthew 15-17

MATTHEW

15:1-20  -  The Pharisees were preoccupied with washing the hands (2), yet they missed out on the most important thing - the cleansing of the heart. They were obsessed with ‘correct’ religious ritual, yet they sent Christ to the Cross. They honoured God with their words, yet in their hearts they were far from Him (8). We must pray for the cleansing of the heart: ‘Purify my heart, Cleanse me from within And make me holy.  Purify my heart, Cleanse me from my sin, Deep within’ (Songs of  Fellowship, 475). When Jesus was buried, He was wrapped in a ‘clean linen cloth’ (27:59). This was followed by His mighty resurrection. Without lapsing into hypocritical obsession with outward appearances, we make this simple comment: the ‘resurrection’ of God's work among us will come as we pray earnestly for the cleansing of our hearts.

15:21-16:4  -  Above all Jesus’ miracles, we celebrate His mighty resurrection from the dead (28:5-7). This miracle is referred to in 16:4 - ‘the sign of Jonah’: Jonah was raised from ‘the belly of a huge fish’, Jesus has been raised from ‘the heart of the earth’ (12:40). We are to ‘remember Jesus Christ, risen from the dead’ (2 Timothy 2:8). In the girl’s healing (21-28), we see the risen Lord’s great triumph over evil - evil men tried to put Him down, but He did not stay down (Acts 2: 23-24). In the feeding of the crowd (36-37), we see the risen Lord’s ongoing ministry of feeding His people. Here, we compare verses 36-37 with the Lord's Supper: (a) He took bread; (b) He gave thanks; (c) He broke it; (d) He gave it to the disciples; (e) The bread is shared with the people; (f) All are satisfied. All glory to the risen Lord!

16:5-23  -  What a contrast there is between Jesus Christ and the religious leaders of His day. Three times, we are told to ‘guard against... the Pharisees and Sadducees’ (6,11-12). These men had religion without salvation. They claimed to have faith in God, yet they despised Jesus Christ, the Son of God and Saviour of sinners. We are to guard against the ‘Pharisees and Sadducees’. We are to glory in Christ, God’s Son, our Saviour. In Christ, ‘the Son of the living God’ (16), we have a Saviour against whom ‘the gates of  hell shall not prevail’ (18). Our faith is like Peter’s - sometimes strong (16-17), often weak (22-23). Our Saviour is always strong. We ‘are weak, but He is strong’ - may we never ‘outgrow’ this simple testimony, as we confess our sin and glory in our Saviour who forgives sin.

16:24-17:13  -  There will come a time when the glory of God will be fully revealed - ‘the Son of man is going to come in His Father's glory’ (27). Here on earth, there are ‘foretastes of glory divine’: verse 28 may be understood in connection with the transfiguration (2) - the divine glory of heaven breaking through into our human life on earth. Revelations of glory prepared these men for discipleship. They turned their eyes upon Jesus (8). They looked full in His wonderful face (2). The things of earth grew strangely dim in the light of His glory and grace (Mission Praise, 59,712) - ‘Lord, it is good for us to be here’ (4). The ‘mountain top’ experience could not be preserved - no ‘three shelters’ (4)! We can continue to worship, hear Jesus’ words and look to Him (6-8), rejoicing in His suffering for us (12) and awaiting His return to ‘restore all things’ (11).

17:14-27  -  Epilepsy is an illness. In this case, there was something more - demonic involvement (18). The disciples failed and were called to greater faith (16, 20). They were ‘greatly distressed’. Troubled by talk of His death, they failed to hear this: ‘He will be raised on the third day’ (23). Jesus paid the annual temple ‘tax’ (24-27). His first allegiance was to God, yet He did not ignore His other responsibilities. There is a lesson for today’s Church here. We are to be one body of Christ - not two groups, ‘spiritual’ and ‘social’, each looking down on the other: ‘too earthly-minded to be any heavenly good’, ‘too heavenly-minded to be any earthly good’. We need the high spiritual principles: ‘we will devote ourselves to prayer and the ministry of the Word’ (Acts 6:4), but we must not forget the ordinary things that need to be done!