The Parable of the Heart of Man
Matthew 15:10-20 New Living Translation
Matthew 15:10-11
“Then Jesus called to the crowd to come and hear. ‘Listen,’ he said, ‘and try to understand. It’s not what goes into your mouth that defiles you; you are defiled by the words that come out of your mouth.’”
This parable was not at all cryptic, but rather easily understood, yet those who heard it in the crowd didn’t seem to grasp its’ meaning. Even the disciples had trouble understanding it. But the Pharisees understood exactly what Jesus was saying for they placed great importance on what the Jewish people ate and drank. Verse 11 could be paraphrased to say: “You aren’t made unclean by eating nonkosher food! It is what you say and think that makes you unclean!” This lone statement offended the Pharisees greatly. They were so enraged that his teaching was contrary to theirs, they were unable to understand what he was saying thru their haze of hatred.
Jesus proceeded to tell his disciples that the Pharisees were blind guides and anyone who listened to them and followed their laws were blind as well. He punctuated his point by saying that being blind they would both fall into the pit. This is a warning to us all that we should make sure we receive teaching from someone who has good spiritual eyesight and is teaching and preaching from the Bible and not anything else.
Jesus explains this parable in verses 17-20 when he says that anything you eat will pass thru a person’s stomach and out of their body, but whatever words come out of your mouth come from the heart. It is true, however, that whatever a person feeds into his or her mind will form the disposition of their heart, thus creating the potential for evil thoughts, words, and actions to emerge. That is why I continuously urge people to feed their spirit man (or woman) daily with scripture, prayer, supplemental reading from reliable sources, Christian music, etc. We no longer live under the OT Law, but rather the umbrella of God’s grace or divine favor. Live a righteous life so that you will be a beacon of light to a sin sick, evil world. Until next time, walk with the King and be a blessing.
In his name & for his glory,
Richard Keller
Bread of Life Ministries
Resources: Expositor's Bible Commentary (Abridged Edition): New Testament Copyright 2004; Life Application Study Bible.
Matthew 15:10-20 - Then Jesus called to the crowd to come and hear. “Listen,” he said, “and try to understand. It’s not what goes into your mouth that defiles you; you are defiled by the words that come out of your mouth.” Then the disciples came to him and asked, “Do you realize you offended the Pharisees by what you just said?” Jesus replied, “Every plant not planted by my heavenly Father will be uprooted, so ignore them. They are blind guides leading the blind, and if one blind person guides another, they will both fall into a ditch.” Then Peter said to Jesus, “Explain to us the parable that says people aren’t defiled by what they eat.” “Don’t you understand yet?” Jesus asked. “Anything you eat passes through the stomach and then goes into the sewer. But the words you speak come from the heart—that’s what defiles you. For from the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, all sexual immorality, theft, lying, and slander. These are what defile you. Eating with unwashed hands will never defile you.”
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