February 8. Matthew 15

Have a Pure Heart, Be Humble, Let God Provide as You Seek

There are 3 amazing thoughts laid out for us in Matthew 15.  So easy to read.  So easy to understand.  Yet so difficult to practice.  I truly desire to live in the space of God providing for me in the context of a pure heart for him, humility that comes from seeing my needs, and the motivation to seek him in bold ways but it seems like I can be off track on any moment, in any day.  I am so thankful for the gospel in these moments.

Have a Pure Heart 

Mat. 15:1-20 lays out Jesus’ upward call for heart vs tradition.  Quoting Isaiah, Jesus says in vs 8, ‘These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me.’  Jesus continues in vs 11, ‘What goes into someone’s mouth does not defile them, but what comes out of their mouth, that is what defiles them’.  This is a clear call to have a pure heart for God. Yet those who were listening to Jesus responded with offense or confusion.  Isn’t that how we are today?  God wants our devoted hearts evidenced by things like the fruits of the Spirit (Gal 5) and yet, our heart and therefore our mouths can miss the mark.  I struggle regularly with pride, bitterness, self-righteousness, and discontent in my heart and out of my mouth.  I find I must put these sins to death every day to be able to focus on the fruits of the Spirit.  It takes a deep, daily, abiding walk with God in my Bible and prayer to have a heart that Jesus describes.

Be Humble

Mt 15:21-28 tells the story of the Canaanite woman. This woman came to Jesus with a desperate need for healing for her daughter who was suffering with demon possession.  She would have known, as did He, that there would be awkwardness if she spoke to him given their gender and cultural differences.  Yet her desperate need and humility prevailed.  Jesus prompts her with 2 unusual statements. First, ‘I was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel’ (vs 24). Second, ‘It is not right to take the children’s bread and toss it to the dogs’ (vs 26).  I have wondered why Jesus would say this instead of just healing her daughter at her request.  It reads like she digs in, digs deep, for the combination of humility, faith, and desperate need to offer Jesus the response, ‘Even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their master’s table’ (vs 27).  Jesus heals her daughter and acknowledges her great faith.  A faith with humility. A faith out of desperation. A faith with no entitlement.  Just need expressed through humble faith.  

Let God Provide as You Seek

Lastly, Mt 15 ends with the feeding of the 4,000 in vs 29-39.  The Bible says great crowds were gathered for healing.  As Jesus healed, they praised the God of Israel (vs 31).  Through this, they were there for 3 days and had nothing to eat.  And in vs 32, Jesus’ compassion prompts Him to meet their needs. This challenges me to think about how far am I willing to go to rely on God for my needs and for my relationship with Him?  The crowd gathered for days.  Am I willing to go without food for days for the sake of healing and a relationship with Jesus?  Am I willing to pray desperate and bold prayers as I cry out to my Jesus?  Am I willing to make myself uncomfortable for the sake of the gospel because I see my need and the needs of others?  

Jesus’ heart was moved with desperate, humble seeking in both the Canaanite woman’s life and the with the crowd.  I find I always need God’s help to see my needs that cause the humble seeking laid out here.  Finally, Jesus wants us to have a pure heart that results in pure mouths.  I find that focusing on my heart sins in repenting daily to be a way to support my desire for Jesus to meet my desperate needs.