WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:02.379 The choir comes down and Junior Church is dismissed. 00:00:26.089 --> 00:00:28.230 If you have your Bibles, if you would join me 00:00:28.230 --> 00:00:32.390 in opening the Gospel of Matthew, as we make 00:00:32.390 --> 00:00:35.490 our way through this study of this precious Gospel. 00:00:37.509 --> 00:00:39.770 We'll hold as our text this morning, verses 10 00:00:39.770 --> 00:00:48.990 down through verse 20. When he, that is Jesus, 00:00:49.090 --> 00:00:51.310 called the multitude to himself, he said to them, 00:00:51.350 --> 00:00:55.390 Hear and understand. Pay attention, guys, is 00:00:55.390 --> 00:00:58.310 what he's saying there. Now what goes into the 00:00:58.310 --> 00:01:01.229 mouth, it's not what goes into the mouth that 00:01:01.229 --> 00:01:04.510 defiles a man, but what comes out of the mouth, 00:01:04.609 --> 00:01:09.230 this defiles a man. Then his disciples came and 00:01:09.230 --> 00:01:12.930 said to him, Do you know that the Pharisees were 00:01:12.930 --> 00:01:16.870 offended when they heard this saying? But he 00:01:16.870 --> 00:01:20.390 answered and said, Every plant which my heavenly 00:01:20.390 --> 00:01:23.689 Father has not planted, Will be uprooted. It's 00:01:23.689 --> 00:01:28.010 going to be pulled up. Leave them alone. They 00:01:28.010 --> 00:01:31.709 are blind leaders of the blind. And if the blind 00:01:31.709 --> 00:01:35.230 leads the blind. Both will fall into a ditch. 00:01:36.290 --> 00:01:39.569 Then Peter answered and said to him. Explain 00:01:39.569 --> 00:01:41.950 this parable to us. Explain what you just said. 00:01:43.129 --> 00:01:47.349 So Jesus said. Are you also still without understanding? 00:01:48.629 --> 00:01:51.189 Do you not yet understand that whatever enters 00:01:51.189 --> 00:01:54.250 the mouth. goes into the stomach and is eliminated. 00:01:55.530 --> 00:01:57.989 But those things which proceed out of the mouth, 00:01:58.030 --> 00:02:01.510 they come from the heart, and they defile man. 00:02:02.370 --> 00:02:05.989 For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, 00:02:06.250 --> 00:02:12.550 adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, 00:02:12.930 --> 00:02:17.629 blasphemies. These are the things which defile 00:02:17.629 --> 00:02:22.520 man. But to eat with unwashed hands, does not 00:02:22.520 --> 00:02:26.419 defile man. This is the word of God this morning. 00:02:26.479 --> 00:02:29.159 Would you join me as we ask God's help and understanding? 00:02:31.000 --> 00:02:32.919 Father, we thank you for your precious word. 00:02:33.560 --> 00:02:35.979 God, we ask for the spirit of God to illumine 00:02:35.979 --> 00:02:39.159 the text to us, Lord. Feed us from manna on high. 00:02:39.280 --> 00:02:42.020 Feed us with Christ, Lord. God, this is your 00:02:42.020 --> 00:02:45.740 word. It is rich. It is profitable. Lord, I pray 00:02:45.740 --> 00:02:47.620 that, Lord, you would make it effective in the 00:02:47.620 --> 00:02:49.939 lives of your people this morning by means of 00:02:49.939 --> 00:02:52.759 your spirit. Lord, help me to be a vessel that 00:02:52.759 --> 00:02:55.039 will be used for your glory and honor. Lord, 00:02:55.099 --> 00:02:57.099 I pray that you would set a guard over my mouth 00:02:57.099 --> 00:03:00.159 this morning, Lord. I am prone, Lord, to speak 00:03:00.159 --> 00:03:02.800 too many words. God, would you help me, Lord, 00:03:02.919 --> 00:03:05.979 not to speak one word more than is needed and 00:03:05.979 --> 00:03:08.300 to keep me back from speaking one word that might 00:03:08.300 --> 00:03:10.759 be unprofitable. God, would you help me in this, 00:03:10.819 --> 00:03:14.539 I pray in Jesus' name. Amen. Now, if we're going 00:03:14.539 --> 00:03:17.280 to understand this passage this morning, you 00:03:17.280 --> 00:03:19.819 have to understand the immediate context. which 00:03:19.819 --> 00:03:22.060 really is verses 1 through 9, which is what we 00:03:22.060 --> 00:03:24.159 looked at last week. But even if you weren't 00:03:24.159 --> 00:03:26.759 here, we can still understand the text. See, 00:03:26.800 --> 00:03:28.719 at this point in his ministry, the Lord Jesus 00:03:28.719 --> 00:03:32.240 is wildly popular. And his popularity has grown 00:03:32.240 --> 00:03:34.879 because he's done these mighty acts. He's healing 00:03:34.879 --> 00:03:37.659 the sick. On occasion, he's raised the dead. 00:03:37.939 --> 00:03:40.620 On two occasions, he's fed a hungry multitude. 00:03:41.219 --> 00:03:43.479 So if you have anyone sick in your family, let's 00:03:43.479 --> 00:03:47.020 get them to Jesus. And so he's really, his fame 00:03:47.020 --> 00:03:49.180 has taken off at this point. And it's spread 00:03:49.180 --> 00:03:52.159 everywhere, even down to Jerusalem, to the capital 00:03:52.159 --> 00:03:55.240 city. But not only has word of his miracles, 00:03:55.340 --> 00:03:59.139 but word of his teaching has spread. His miracles 00:03:59.139 --> 00:04:02.439 gave credibility to what he taught. But there 00:04:02.439 --> 00:04:04.300 was something different about Jesus. He was popular, 00:04:04.560 --> 00:04:07.800 but he was different. He was different in that 00:04:07.800 --> 00:04:11.680 he would not toe the party line. He refused to 00:04:11.680 --> 00:04:14.400 follow the scribes and Pharisees' devotion to 00:04:14.400 --> 00:04:17.980 ancient tradition. All the leaders at that time, 00:04:17.980 --> 00:04:20.639 they followed tradition. The Mishnah, the oral 00:04:20.639 --> 00:04:24.720 tradition of the law. But Jesus didn't. He refused 00:04:24.720 --> 00:04:28.279 to do so. So therefore, we find in verses 1 through 00:04:28.279 --> 00:04:31.180 9, particularly verse 2, a group of scribes and 00:04:31.180 --> 00:04:33.879 Pharisees had been sent to Galilee in the north, 00:04:33.939 --> 00:04:36.279 and they're going to challenge Jesus on this 00:04:36.279 --> 00:04:40.259 particular point. They wanted to know. Why don't 00:04:40.259 --> 00:04:44.720 your disciples follow tradition of the elders? 00:04:45.000 --> 00:04:48.600 It's ancient. And we see that in verse 2. Why 00:04:48.600 --> 00:04:51.899 do your disciples transgress the tradition of 00:04:51.899 --> 00:04:54.920 the elders? How are they doing that? Well, on 00:04:54.920 --> 00:04:56.920 this occasion, because they don't wash their 00:04:56.920 --> 00:05:01.160 hands before they eat bread. Now, this concern, 00:05:01.300 --> 00:05:03.220 we said last week, has nothing to do with hygiene. 00:05:03.699 --> 00:05:07.480 It has everything to do with ritual purity in 00:05:07.480 --> 00:05:10.339 the law of Moses. The scribes and Pharisees, 00:05:10.360 --> 00:05:13.160 they both believed that if you ate without first 00:05:13.160 --> 00:05:17.860 ceremonially washing your hands, then that defiled 00:05:17.860 --> 00:05:22.199 you. You become unclean. Ritual defilement in 00:05:22.199 --> 00:05:24.819 the eyes of the law. But there's one problem. 00:05:25.360 --> 00:05:28.420 That belief was not based on God's word. Rather, 00:05:28.459 --> 00:05:30.399 it was based on a tradition that had developed 00:05:30.399 --> 00:05:33.680 through the ages. And the Pharisees' eyes, in 00:05:33.680 --> 00:05:37.639 particular, if you broke with tradition, in their 00:05:37.639 --> 00:05:40.750 eyes, That was tantamount to breaking God's law. 00:05:41.810 --> 00:05:44.850 That's where the rub really came in. But Jesus 00:05:44.850 --> 00:05:48.709 said, not only is that untrue, he called it hypocrisy. 00:05:49.509 --> 00:05:52.129 The Pharisees he called a group of hypocrites, 00:05:52.189 --> 00:05:55.449 and we saw that last week. The Pharisees were 00:05:55.449 --> 00:05:58.389 fastidious in the way they sought to obey tradition. 00:05:59.110 --> 00:06:02.470 They dotted their I's and crossed their T's. 00:06:02.709 --> 00:06:05.069 But Jesus said, you can be as fastidious as you 00:06:05.069 --> 00:06:07.480 want. You can be as zealous as you want. But 00:06:07.480 --> 00:06:10.779 all of that is in vain. It's all for nothing. 00:06:11.839 --> 00:06:14.680 These were man -made, self -imposed regulations, 00:06:14.800 --> 00:06:18.680 and they were of no value at all in God's eyes. 00:06:19.420 --> 00:06:21.519 See, the truth is the Pharisees were concerned 00:06:21.519 --> 00:06:23.860 about hands, and Jesus was concerned about the 00:06:23.860 --> 00:06:26.180 heart. And that's what we find here this morning. 00:06:26.519 --> 00:06:29.660 Now, the Lord had been in large clouds. They 00:06:29.660 --> 00:06:32.699 were standing there. And the crowds saw that 00:06:32.699 --> 00:06:34.959 interaction between him and the Pharisees, and 00:06:34.959 --> 00:06:37.819 he did not want the crowds to be influenced by 00:06:37.819 --> 00:06:40.800 the Pharisees' teachings, so he called them over 00:06:40.800 --> 00:06:42.759 to himself, and he's going to instruct them. 00:06:42.879 --> 00:06:44.639 And by the way, the scribes and Pharisees, the 00:06:44.639 --> 00:06:47.160 religious officials, they're standing right there. 00:06:47.600 --> 00:06:50.600 Verse 10. So when he called the multitude to 00:06:50.600 --> 00:06:53.420 himself, he said to them, Listen up, guys. I 00:06:53.420 --> 00:06:56.060 want you to hear something. Understand. It is 00:06:56.060 --> 00:06:58.199 not what goes into your mouth that defiles you, 00:06:58.240 --> 00:07:00.139 but what comes out of your mouth. That's what 00:07:00.139 --> 00:07:03.439 defiles you. So you see, Christ is a good shepherd. 00:07:03.879 --> 00:07:05.959 He's warning and protecting the people about 00:07:05.959 --> 00:07:09.360 false teaching. But what was so insidious and 00:07:09.360 --> 00:07:12.379 dangerous was this false teaching came from official 00:07:12.379 --> 00:07:17.019 religious teachers, scribes and Pharisees. Their 00:07:17.019 --> 00:07:19.879 teaching's not neutral. It was harmful. It was 00:07:19.879 --> 00:07:22.639 false. And verse 11 is the key to this whole 00:07:22.639 --> 00:07:26.959 passage. He said, it's not what goes into your 00:07:26.959 --> 00:07:29.779 mouth that defiles you. It's rather what comes 00:07:29.779 --> 00:07:33.540 out that is defiling. Now, to say that nothing 00:07:33.540 --> 00:07:36.519 that goes into the mouth, that nothing that you 00:07:36.519 --> 00:07:39.459 eat would be defiling, would have been a radical 00:07:39.459 --> 00:07:42.240 and a revolutionary statement for the Jewish 00:07:42.240 --> 00:07:45.300 people to hear at that time. What do you mean 00:07:45.300 --> 00:07:48.779 nothing we eat is defiling? And Jesus said, no, 00:07:48.860 --> 00:07:52.519 it's not what goes in, but what comes out. That's 00:07:52.519 --> 00:07:55.060 what's important. Well, if that be the case, 00:07:55.160 --> 00:07:58.259 why then were all those dietary laws and restrictions 00:07:58.259 --> 00:08:01.660 in place? Why did they have the kosher laws? 00:08:02.180 --> 00:08:06.879 If food is not defiling, how is one defiled? 00:08:07.579 --> 00:08:10.100 Now, friends, how you answer that today is very 00:08:10.100 --> 00:08:14.439 important. Where do you see the source of the 00:08:14.439 --> 00:08:18.139 problem? See, the Pharisees saw defilement coming 00:08:18.139 --> 00:08:22.189 from the outside in. They believed that you became 00:08:22.189 --> 00:08:25.149 unclean when you had contact with the wrong people, 00:08:25.310 --> 00:08:29.730 Gentiles, wrong food, non -kosher, wrong places. 00:08:30.889 --> 00:08:33.970 Then you were defiled. So when you had contact 00:08:33.970 --> 00:08:37.549 with something unclean, then you became unclean. 00:08:38.529 --> 00:08:41.710 And Jesus Christ, the Son of God, disagreed. 00:08:42.169 --> 00:08:46.230 And he said, no, true defilement originates from 00:08:46.230 --> 00:08:50.500 within. It starts in your heart. Your heart, 00:08:50.539 --> 00:08:52.360 and in this case the inner man, the operating 00:08:52.360 --> 00:08:57.080 system, it is already defiled, by the way, which 00:08:57.080 --> 00:09:00.120 is what leads to corrupt thoughts, which leads 00:09:00.120 --> 00:09:03.639 to corrupt words, which leads to corrupt actions. 00:09:04.820 --> 00:09:08.500 See, your problem is not outside of you. Your 00:09:08.500 --> 00:09:14.399 most serious problem lies inside. But the Pharisees, 00:09:14.399 --> 00:09:17.220 they saw the problem as everything around them. 00:09:18.019 --> 00:09:22.919 And that blinded them to the true problem that 00:09:22.919 --> 00:09:26.179 was within them. So again, think how they thought. 00:09:26.779 --> 00:09:30.419 You're clean until you touch something unclean. 00:09:30.500 --> 00:09:32.100 And particularly in this case, let's say your 00:09:32.100 --> 00:09:34.279 hands are now defiled, which then touches your 00:09:34.279 --> 00:09:36.860 food. Then you, with your hands, put the food 00:09:36.860 --> 00:09:39.720 in your mouth. The food goes down in, and then 00:09:39.720 --> 00:09:42.779 you become defiled all over. That's what they 00:09:42.779 --> 00:09:48.129 believed. But Jesus... flatly and strongly contradict 00:09:48.129 --> 00:09:50.929 their teaching. He says, you have it backwards. 00:09:51.750 --> 00:09:54.070 Completely backwards. And by the way, the law 00:09:54.070 --> 00:09:56.990 of God, the Torah, that which God gave to Moses, 00:09:57.049 --> 00:10:00.049 agreed with Jesus. Remember, Pharisees' teaching 00:10:00.049 --> 00:10:02.629 is based on tradition. Jesus is following the 00:10:02.629 --> 00:10:05.570 law of God. How do we know that? Jeremiah 17 00:10:05.570 --> 00:10:10.870 .9. Jeremiah writing, he said, the heart is deceitful 00:10:10.870 --> 00:10:15.490 above all things and desperately wicked. Who 00:10:15.490 --> 00:10:19.509 can know it? In Proverbs 4, the author says, 00:10:19.590 --> 00:10:21.990 keep your heart with all diligence. Why? Why 00:10:21.990 --> 00:10:24.070 be so concerned about the heart? And we're not 00:10:24.070 --> 00:10:25.830 talking about the physical organ pumping blood, 00:10:25.990 --> 00:10:28.190 obviously. He said because it's out of the heart 00:10:28.190 --> 00:10:31.110 springs the issues of life. Your heart is the 00:10:31.110 --> 00:10:33.629 operating system of your life. If it's defiled, 00:10:33.629 --> 00:10:36.110 your life is defiled. And that's what the Pharisees 00:10:36.110 --> 00:10:39.590 couldn't see. See, if the problem is just outside 00:10:39.590 --> 00:10:42.090 of us, then all we need to really do is obey 00:10:42.090 --> 00:10:45.960 rules. Keep away from the contaminant. In this 00:10:45.960 --> 00:10:49.120 case, food. So you have a bunch of rules. Don't 00:10:49.120 --> 00:10:51.960 touch that. Don't taste that. Don't do that. 00:10:52.240 --> 00:10:56.340 Then you're holy. But if the problem is inside 00:10:56.340 --> 00:10:58.919 of you, well, you have a much bigger problem. 00:10:59.860 --> 00:11:02.000 If the heart is the problem, well, what's the 00:11:02.000 --> 00:11:07.960 solution? It can't be rules. You need a new heart. 00:11:09.080 --> 00:11:11.460 Not do you just need a new heart. You need a 00:11:11.460 --> 00:11:14.759 new birth. And that's what Jesus told Nicodemus 00:11:14.759 --> 00:11:17.559 in John chapter 3. Now keep in mind, who is Nicodemus? 00:11:18.100 --> 00:11:21.899 A leading Pharisee. Let's look at that conversation 00:11:21.899 --> 00:11:25.299 in John 3. There was a man of the Pharisees named 00:11:25.299 --> 00:11:28.120 Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. This is an important 00:11:28.120 --> 00:11:30.419 figure, by the way. This is not some come -by 00:11:30.419 --> 00:11:33.559 -night guy. This man, I say it's not some come 00:11:33.559 --> 00:11:35.299 -by -night guy, and look at verse 2. This came 00:11:35.299 --> 00:11:37.539 to Jesus by night, but you understand what I 00:11:37.539 --> 00:11:42.799 meant. And he said to him, Rabbi, teacher. We 00:11:42.799 --> 00:11:44.379 know that you're a teacher come from God. You 00:11:44.379 --> 00:11:46.340 have to be because look at all the works. No 00:11:46.340 --> 00:11:48.100 one can do these signs that you do unless God 00:11:48.100 --> 00:11:50.340 is with them. So Nicodemus is an honorable guy. 00:11:50.460 --> 00:11:52.639 He's a pious guy. He's like, there's no way you 00:11:52.639 --> 00:11:56.379 can be false. Look at all these miracles. Jesus 00:11:56.379 --> 00:11:59.559 is not impressed by flattery. Jesus answered 00:11:59.559 --> 00:12:03.299 and said to him, most assuredly I say to you, 00:12:03.480 --> 00:12:08.460 unless one is born again, born from above, he 00:12:08.460 --> 00:12:11.799 cannot see the kingdom of God. Flatly. You don't 00:12:11.799 --> 00:12:15.799 see it. Nicodemus said to him, well, he's thinking 00:12:15.799 --> 00:12:19.399 very concretely. How can a man be born when he's 00:12:19.399 --> 00:12:22.100 old? Can he enter a second time into his mother's 00:12:22.100 --> 00:12:23.639 womb and be born? It's a ridiculous statement. 00:12:23.740 --> 00:12:26.919 Of course not. No. Jesus said, he didn't clarify 00:12:26.919 --> 00:12:30.399 though, did he? Most assuredly, I say to you, 00:12:30.419 --> 00:12:32.860 unless one is born of water and the spirit, he 00:12:32.860 --> 00:12:37.620 cannot enter the kingdom of God. What's the point? 00:12:39.090 --> 00:12:41.470 Man's inner corruption, mankind's inner corruption, 00:12:41.509 --> 00:12:46.149 it's so pervasive, so all -encompassing, that 00:12:46.149 --> 00:12:48.850 he must have a new birth if he's going to enter 00:12:48.850 --> 00:12:53.230 into God's kingdom. He needs the Spirit of God 00:12:53.230 --> 00:12:57.649 to give him a new heart. We need new operating 00:12:57.649 --> 00:13:00.950 centers. Now, I think, keep in mind, to whom 00:13:00.950 --> 00:13:05.039 is the Lord speaking? To Nicodemus. The leading, 00:13:05.159 --> 00:13:08.539 a leading religious figure, a leading Pharisee, 00:13:08.539 --> 00:13:12.600 a teacher of people. This man's life, Nicodemus 00:13:12.600 --> 00:13:15.500 would have lived an exemplary life. He was righteous. 00:13:15.559 --> 00:13:18.600 He was God -fearing. He looked pious. And Jesus 00:13:18.600 --> 00:13:24.480 told him, even you need to be born again. This 00:13:24.480 --> 00:13:26.039 has implications for us. And let me just talk 00:13:26.039 --> 00:13:27.700 to parents for a moment. This has implications 00:13:27.700 --> 00:13:31.129 for the way we parent as well. If you have a 00:13:31.129 --> 00:13:34.649 wrong view of man's ultimate problem, you will 00:13:34.649 --> 00:13:38.090 give your kids the wrong solution. If you believe 00:13:38.090 --> 00:13:41.549 the primary problem is outside us, it's just 00:13:41.549 --> 00:13:44.970 the world and evil people. And by the way, the 00:13:44.970 --> 00:13:48.590 world is evil and people are evil. But if that's 00:13:48.590 --> 00:13:50.409 the primary problem, then you're going to shelter 00:13:50.409 --> 00:13:52.629 your kids, you're going to protect them. How? 00:13:53.129 --> 00:13:56.870 With rules. And you'll neglect where the real 00:13:56.870 --> 00:14:00.480 problem lies in your child's heart. The problem's 00:14:00.480 --> 00:14:02.340 not the enemy without, it's the enemy within. 00:14:03.279 --> 00:14:07.080 And sadly, sadly, sadly, many parents have done 00:14:07.080 --> 00:14:10.419 this. They have reared their children to be good, 00:14:10.419 --> 00:14:15.919 moral people and not Christians. And you see 00:14:15.919 --> 00:14:19.259 it. How? Because they focus more on behavior 00:14:19.259 --> 00:14:22.860 than heart. Too many parents, in the name of 00:14:22.860 --> 00:14:24.860 Jesus, are only concerned with how their children 00:14:24.860 --> 00:14:28.299 look and behave. As long as their children grow 00:14:28.299 --> 00:14:30.990 up to be honest, financially independent and 00:14:30.990 --> 00:14:32.789 hardworking, well, then that's all that parent 00:14:32.789 --> 00:14:36.769 can ask for, right? Then all must be well. But 00:14:36.769 --> 00:14:39.289 Christianity is not and has never been about 00:14:39.289 --> 00:14:43.809 looking good. It's about loving God. You can 00:14:43.809 --> 00:14:47.590 be hardworking, honest, industrious, and not 00:14:47.590 --> 00:14:51.090 love God at all. Many people, many children have 00:14:51.090 --> 00:14:53.269 been reared in Christian homes, and they've grown 00:14:53.269 --> 00:14:57.210 up to lead clean, moral lives that are indifferent 00:14:57.210 --> 00:15:02.960 to God. and that is not Christianity. See, genuine 00:15:02.960 --> 00:15:06.679 Christianity is a work that is done in the inner 00:15:06.679 --> 00:15:09.500 man, which can only be accomplished by the Holy 00:15:09.500 --> 00:15:13.259 Spirit of God. You and I can't do it. And it's 00:15:13.259 --> 00:15:16.159 easy to parent like a Pharisee. And we all find 00:15:16.159 --> 00:15:18.220 ourselves falling into that trap. My wife and 00:15:18.220 --> 00:15:20.139 I can fall into that trap. And how do you do 00:15:20.139 --> 00:15:22.720 that? When you merely focus on behavior, but 00:15:22.720 --> 00:15:24.639 you ignore the heart that lies behind the behavior. 00:15:26.000 --> 00:15:28.809 You just want them to... Toe the line, if you 00:15:28.809 --> 00:15:32.690 will. And so many of us will assume if they're 00:15:32.690 --> 00:15:35.590 respectful and mannerly, well then our job as 00:15:35.590 --> 00:15:41.090 a parent is done. Friends, that's moralism. And 00:15:41.090 --> 00:15:44.509 that will damn your child. I'm not saying, hear 00:15:44.509 --> 00:15:46.049 me correctly, I'm not saying behavior doesn't 00:15:46.049 --> 00:15:48.269 matter. Of course it does. I'm not saying there 00:15:48.269 --> 00:15:50.090 aren't ever any rules. Of course there must be. 00:15:50.990 --> 00:15:53.330 But behavior that does not come from a heart 00:15:53.330 --> 00:15:56.009 that has been changed by God and loves God is 00:15:56.009 --> 00:16:00.210 not pleasing to God. If your heart, or what you 00:16:00.210 --> 00:16:03.870 do, doesn't flow from a heart that has been changed 00:16:03.870 --> 00:16:07.509 that loves God, it's not pleasing to Him. See, 00:16:07.529 --> 00:16:10.049 what Jesus said was at odds with the religious 00:16:10.049 --> 00:16:13.929 figures of His day, but I fear many times it's 00:16:13.929 --> 00:16:15.809 at odds with the religious figures of our day. 00:16:16.710 --> 00:16:20.940 Verse 12. His disciples came and said, Hey, What 00:16:20.940 --> 00:16:24.440 you just said, do you know it was offensive to 00:16:24.440 --> 00:16:28.620 the Pharisees? They heard you. Now, why would 00:16:28.620 --> 00:16:30.440 they say this? Because Jesus' disciples were 00:16:30.440 --> 00:16:32.860 like the rest of Israel. They held the Pharisees 00:16:32.860 --> 00:16:35.259 in high regard because they were deeply respected 00:16:35.259 --> 00:16:38.980 in society. They would have been the upper crust. 00:16:39.100 --> 00:16:40.240 They would have been the people everyone looked 00:16:40.240 --> 00:16:43.019 up to. So they were thinking, Jesus, you need 00:16:43.019 --> 00:16:44.940 to be careful. You're making some powerful enemies 00:16:44.940 --> 00:16:48.309 and you're offending them. By the way, you could 00:16:48.309 --> 00:16:50.509 get in some hot water, Jesus. Wouldn't it be 00:16:50.509 --> 00:16:53.529 better if you acted in a more conciliatory manner? 00:16:54.509 --> 00:16:57.889 Be a little more cordial, you know? Of course, 00:16:57.909 --> 00:17:00.929 Jesus was offending them. He knew he was offending 00:17:00.929 --> 00:17:03.730 them. He contradicted their view of holiness, 00:17:03.789 --> 00:17:06.869 and he refused, flat out refused, to follow their 00:17:06.869 --> 00:17:12.109 traditions. So how did he respond to their concern? 00:17:12.690 --> 00:17:15.730 Was he like, oh, okay, yeah, I better soften 00:17:15.730 --> 00:17:20.109 the language. Verse 13. He said, Every plant 00:17:20.109 --> 00:17:22.089 that my Heavenly Father has not planted will 00:17:22.089 --> 00:17:24.130 be uprooted, and just leave them alone. Leave 00:17:24.130 --> 00:17:28.029 the Pharisees alone. They are blind leaders of 00:17:28.029 --> 00:17:30.769 blind people. Earlier he called them hypocrites. 00:17:32.309 --> 00:17:35.549 If the blind leads the blind, both are going 00:17:35.549 --> 00:17:39.630 to fall into a ditch. Every plant which the Heavenly 00:17:39.630 --> 00:17:43.549 Father did not plant will be uprooted. Jesus 00:17:43.549 --> 00:17:46.009 was not at all concerned that these men were 00:17:46.009 --> 00:17:48.130 offended. In fact, he doubled down, and here's 00:17:48.130 --> 00:17:50.450 what he said. He said, they don't belong to God. 00:17:51.609 --> 00:17:56.109 These were the official teachers of Israel, but 00:17:56.109 --> 00:17:58.829 they were not of God. And since they did not 00:17:58.829 --> 00:18:00.849 belong to God, he said, they will be eventually 00:18:00.849 --> 00:18:03.150 uprooted. That means this is the language of 00:18:03.150 --> 00:18:05.130 judgment. They're going to be judged one day. 00:18:05.420 --> 00:18:07.619 They're going to be judged by God Almighty for 00:18:07.619 --> 00:18:11.099 how they misled his people. What God does not 00:18:11.099 --> 00:18:14.599 plant will not survive. They will be plucked 00:18:14.599 --> 00:18:16.880 up as if they are a weed. That's what he's saying 00:18:16.880 --> 00:18:19.160 here. And in verse 14, he says, leave them alone. 00:18:20.059 --> 00:18:23.200 Yes, others in society may regard them as eminent 00:18:23.200 --> 00:18:27.259 teachers of the law. But don't you. Because they're 00:18:27.259 --> 00:18:32.039 not. Instead, he said, the Pharisees, the people 00:18:32.039 --> 00:18:36.609 you're talking about, they are blind. And this 00:18:36.609 --> 00:18:39.990 is the irony here. The Pharisees were experts 00:18:39.990 --> 00:18:45.369 at discerning clean from unclean, but they could 00:18:45.369 --> 00:18:49.230 not even discern their own lack of sight. They 00:18:49.230 --> 00:18:52.049 were blind, but they didn't know it. They believed 00:18:52.049 --> 00:18:55.589 it was their job as Pharisees to guide Israel 00:18:55.589 --> 00:19:00.019 into truth. And Jesus said, leave them alone. 00:19:00.140 --> 00:19:02.299 They're blind guides leading blind people, and 00:19:02.299 --> 00:19:03.660 both of them are going to fall straight into 00:19:03.660 --> 00:19:07.160 a ditch. If you follow them and their ways, it 00:19:07.160 --> 00:19:09.240 ends in destruction. And we see that over in 00:19:09.240 --> 00:19:14.319 Matthew 23, verse 15. Woe to you, scribes and 00:19:14.319 --> 00:19:17.940 Pharisees, you hypocrites. For you travel land 00:19:17.940 --> 00:19:21.160 and sea to win one proselyte. And when he has 00:19:21.160 --> 00:19:24.859 won, you make him twice as much a son of hell 00:19:24.859 --> 00:19:29.319 as yourselves. These men diligently studied the 00:19:29.319 --> 00:19:32.539 law of God, but they failed to understand it. 00:19:32.599 --> 00:19:36.339 Why? They were blinded by their own tradition. 00:19:37.000 --> 00:19:39.019 Now, verse 15, Peter then speaks, as normally 00:19:39.019 --> 00:19:40.559 he's the spokesman for the group, and he said, 00:19:40.640 --> 00:19:43.680 explain what you mean to us, Jesus. So now it 00:19:43.680 --> 00:19:45.660 appears that the crowd is no longer with Jesus. 00:19:45.660 --> 00:19:47.859 It looks like you have the 12 there, all right? 00:19:48.279 --> 00:19:50.980 Peter, the spokesman of the 12, he's asking Jesus, 00:19:51.059 --> 00:19:53.799 explain what you just said. What do you mean 00:19:53.799 --> 00:19:57.829 they are uprooted plants and blind guides? How 00:19:57.829 --> 00:20:00.829 are the Pharisees blind guides? I mean, they're 00:20:00.829 --> 00:20:03.329 the most devout, serious students of the law. 00:20:04.289 --> 00:20:08.329 Verse 16. Jesus said, and do you still not understand? 00:20:08.470 --> 00:20:11.410 Do you still not get it? The language here is 00:20:11.410 --> 00:20:13.009 actually a little bit like Jesus seemed surprised, 00:20:13.049 --> 00:20:16.049 almost shocked. Really, Peter? You don't get 00:20:16.049 --> 00:20:19.329 what I'm saying? And Peter didn't quite understand 00:20:19.329 --> 00:20:23.230 yet. How were the Pharisees wrong? Why wouldn't 00:20:23.230 --> 00:20:26.089 you wash your hands before you eat? But understand 00:20:26.089 --> 00:20:29.009 this, what Jesus was teaching was radical at 00:20:29.009 --> 00:20:33.910 that time. Dietary laws had always, and I mean 00:20:33.910 --> 00:20:36.190 always, been an important part of their daily 00:20:36.190 --> 00:20:39.210 life. You go back to the Torah, go back to the 00:20:39.210 --> 00:20:42.930 law, Leviticus 11, Deuteronomy 14, they find 00:20:42.930 --> 00:20:46.349 a list of animals prescribed that differentiated 00:20:46.349 --> 00:20:48.890 between clean you could eat and unclean you couldn't. 00:20:49.289 --> 00:20:52.869 So dietary laws, kosher laws, were part and parcel 00:20:52.869 --> 00:20:55.779 of being a Jew. It's a part of your identity. 00:20:56.599 --> 00:20:58.380 This is why Peter was, he's like, what do you 00:20:58.380 --> 00:21:01.440 mean? Now, Jesus wasn't contradicting the law. 00:21:01.940 --> 00:21:03.660 Remember, the Pharisees said you had to wash, 00:21:03.839 --> 00:21:05.839 ceremony, wash your hands before you ate. The 00:21:05.839 --> 00:21:08.720 law never said that. But we come to Acts chapter 00:21:08.720 --> 00:21:10.819 10. This is after Christ has risen from the dead, 00:21:10.960 --> 00:21:14.140 sent out his church. Peter is still not quite 00:21:14.140 --> 00:21:16.980 sure what all this means. In fact, when the Gentiles 00:21:16.980 --> 00:21:19.519 are going to be brought into salvation, Peter 00:21:19.519 --> 00:21:22.240 sees a vision in Acts 10, and it concerns these 00:21:22.240 --> 00:21:25.720 dietary laws. The next day, as they went on their 00:21:25.720 --> 00:21:28.039 journey, they drew near the city. Peter went 00:21:28.039 --> 00:21:30.160 up on the housetop to pray about the six hours, 00:21:30.200 --> 00:21:33.440 noon, hot part of the day. He became very hungry. 00:21:33.480 --> 00:21:36.019 He wanted to eat. It's lunchtime. But while they 00:21:36.019 --> 00:21:38.220 made ready, he fell into a trance. He starts 00:21:38.220 --> 00:21:41.259 to see a vision. And he saw heaven opened and 00:21:41.259 --> 00:21:43.619 an object like a great sheet bound at the four 00:21:43.619 --> 00:21:46.259 corners descending to him let down to the earth. 00:21:46.720 --> 00:21:49.819 What was in that sheet? In it were all kinds 00:21:49.819 --> 00:21:52.599 of four -footed animals of the earth. wild beasts, 00:21:52.680 --> 00:21:55.619 creeping things, birds of the air. And a voice 00:21:55.619 --> 00:21:59.380 from heaven says, Rise, Peter. Kill them and 00:21:59.380 --> 00:22:03.799 eat them. Peter said, No, not so, Lord. I have 00:22:03.799 --> 00:22:05.640 never eaten anything common or unclean. Peter's 00:22:05.640 --> 00:22:07.960 a good Jew. He's keeping kosher. Leviticus 11, 00:22:08.200 --> 00:22:11.400 Deuteronomy 14. And a voice spoke to him again 00:22:11.400 --> 00:22:15.099 a second time. Peter, what God has cleansed you 00:22:15.099 --> 00:22:17.240 must not call common. What God calls clean, no 00:22:17.240 --> 00:22:21.309 longer call unclean. What God is cleaning, Now 00:22:21.309 --> 00:22:23.869 he's referring to Gentile people. Don't call 00:22:23.869 --> 00:22:25.609 common. Don't call unclean. They're coming in. 00:22:25.950 --> 00:22:29.869 Now this was done three times, and then the object 00:22:29.869 --> 00:22:32.430 was taken back up into heaven. Peter's there 00:22:32.430 --> 00:22:34.589 on the rooftop, very hungry, and he says he wondered 00:22:34.589 --> 00:22:40.430 within himself what this vision meant. He had 00:22:40.430 --> 00:22:45.150 to think, I'm hearing God's voice wrong. This 00:22:45.150 --> 00:22:47.930 vision can't be of God. Are you telling me Leviticus 00:22:47.930 --> 00:22:51.119 11, Deuteronomy 14 are no longer binding? Is 00:22:51.119 --> 00:22:55.160 that what you're saying? Get this, church. In 00:22:55.160 --> 00:22:58.559 Christ, the dietary restrictions were fulfilled. 00:22:58.859 --> 00:23:02.799 They are no longer binding, but they could not 00:23:02.799 --> 00:23:06.859 understand that at the time. Understand the issue. 00:23:06.980 --> 00:23:09.880 Even when God gave Leviticus 11, Deuteronomy 00:23:09.880 --> 00:23:12.759 14, when God gave those dietary laws, it was 00:23:12.759 --> 00:23:16.900 never about food. Those laws were given to show 00:23:16.900 --> 00:23:20.049 Israel they had been set apart. That's God's 00:23:20.049 --> 00:23:23.750 holy people. They were clean. So the laws between 00:23:23.750 --> 00:23:28.410 clean and unclean were given to point to the 00:23:28.410 --> 00:23:32.390 need of cleansing. They were given to show something. 00:23:32.430 --> 00:23:34.829 They were shown a distinction here. But now, 00:23:34.869 --> 00:23:36.970 in Christ, these restrictions were fulfilled 00:23:36.970 --> 00:23:41.390 how? By Jesus' life, death, and resurrection, 00:23:41.630 --> 00:23:45.450 because that's what achieved the ultimate cleansing 00:23:45.450 --> 00:23:48.660 and purity. which is what the food law symbolized. 00:23:49.660 --> 00:23:52.220 They've never made you clean, folks, ever, never, 00:23:52.279 --> 00:23:55.220 never, never. They're pointing to something greater. 00:23:56.019 --> 00:23:59.059 The greater came. The lesser is no longer needed. 00:23:59.740 --> 00:24:05.119 In Jesus, we are clean. We are made pure. But 00:24:05.119 --> 00:24:07.099 at this time, the disciples still don't get it. 00:24:07.119 --> 00:24:09.500 They're still dull, and we understand that. So 00:24:09.500 --> 00:24:12.140 Jesus had to explain what he meant. Look at verse 00:24:12.140 --> 00:24:15.740 17. Don't you get it, guys? Don't you yet understand? 00:24:16.250 --> 00:24:19.509 Whatever you eat, it just goes in the stomach, 00:24:19.549 --> 00:24:22.410 it's digested, it's eliminated. It can't defile 00:24:22.410 --> 00:24:24.869 you. Food cannot defile you because why? It can't 00:24:24.869 --> 00:24:28.069 touch your heart. It doesn't go into the deepest 00:24:28.069 --> 00:24:31.549 recesses of your soul. On the contrary, what 00:24:31.549 --> 00:24:33.750 you eat goes into the stomach and begins to be 00:24:33.750 --> 00:24:36.230 digested. So your body is going to extract the 00:24:36.230 --> 00:24:39.009 minerals and nutrients that it can, and then 00:24:39.009 --> 00:24:42.130 everything else, all the waste product is going 00:24:42.130 --> 00:24:44.589 to be excreted, and nothing that is defiling 00:24:44.589 --> 00:24:49.200 remains in the body. That's digestion. Okay. 00:24:49.839 --> 00:24:54.240 But, on the other hand, verse 18. But the things 00:24:54.240 --> 00:24:57.740 which come out of the mouth, they come from the 00:24:57.740 --> 00:25:02.400 heart. And they do defile man. What comes out 00:25:02.400 --> 00:25:07.259 is what defiles. That is a Copernican revolution 00:25:07.259 --> 00:25:11.799 in Jewish thinking. What are you saying, Jesus? 00:25:12.980 --> 00:25:16.150 It is not unclean people. It is not unclean places, 00:25:16.309 --> 00:25:20.829 nor is it unclean food that defile you. Your 00:25:20.829 --> 00:25:23.390 unclean hearts make you unacceptable to God. 00:25:25.190 --> 00:25:27.430 This is the way it's always been. True defilement 00:25:27.430 --> 00:25:29.690 does not come from outside. It originates within 00:25:29.690 --> 00:25:31.750 us. So you say, what is wrong with the world? 00:25:32.750 --> 00:25:38.750 I am. You are. G .K. Chesterton, I think, that 00:25:38.750 --> 00:25:42.490 was one of the major newspapers that submitted 00:25:42.490 --> 00:25:45.400 a contest said, asking people what's wrong with 00:25:45.400 --> 00:25:48.019 the world, and he submitted a two -word response, 00:25:48.299 --> 00:25:54.440 I am. What's the problem? Us. We are the problem. 00:25:54.980 --> 00:25:57.839 How? Our hearts are not clean before God. Look 00:25:57.839 --> 00:26:02.279 at verses 19 and 20. For out of the heart proceed 00:26:02.279 --> 00:26:04.140 evil thoughts and murders and adulteries and 00:26:04.140 --> 00:26:06.160 fornications, thefts, false witnesses, blasphemies. 00:26:06.440 --> 00:26:08.299 Jesus starts a list of myriad of things that 00:26:08.299 --> 00:26:10.380 flow from unclean hearts, but he begins with 00:26:10.380 --> 00:26:13.869 evil thoughts. Why? Because evil thoughts give 00:26:13.869 --> 00:26:18.130 rise to evil actions. Earlier, in verses 1 through 00:26:18.130 --> 00:26:20.869 9, what we looked at last week, do you remember 00:26:20.869 --> 00:26:22.890 what he accused the Pharisees of breaking? He 00:26:22.890 --> 00:26:24.769 said, you broke the fifth commandment, which 00:26:24.769 --> 00:26:27.150 requires you to honor your parents. You violated 00:26:27.150 --> 00:26:30.609 that. But now he shows how the other commandments 00:26:30.609 --> 00:26:34.650 are being broken as well by unclean hearts. Now 00:26:34.650 --> 00:26:37.210 stay with me here. Out of the heart comes first 00:26:37.210 --> 00:26:40.099 evil thoughts. Now, really, to have evil thoughts 00:26:40.099 --> 00:26:42.140 is a violation of the Tenth Commandment. What 00:26:42.140 --> 00:26:44.099 is the Tenth Commandment? You shall not covet. 00:26:44.220 --> 00:26:47.799 What is covetousness? It's a strong desire to 00:26:47.799 --> 00:26:50.819 have what someone else has. And when you covet 00:26:50.819 --> 00:26:54.059 too much, it leads to things. When you really 00:26:54.059 --> 00:26:55.980 want what someone else has, you're going to try 00:26:55.980 --> 00:26:58.400 to take it. Okay, so it leads to things like 00:26:58.400 --> 00:27:01.400 murder. That's a violation of the Sixth Commandment. 00:27:02.059 --> 00:27:04.180 It leads to adultery. You want your neighbor's 00:27:04.180 --> 00:27:06.220 wife or fornication. You want that woman or that 00:27:06.220 --> 00:27:08.279 man. That's a violation of the seventh commandment. 00:27:09.140 --> 00:27:12.279 It leads to theft. It's a violation of the eighth 00:27:12.279 --> 00:27:15.599 commandment. It leads to false witness. That's 00:27:15.599 --> 00:27:18.519 a violation of the ninth commandment. It leads 00:27:18.519 --> 00:27:20.579 to blasphemies against God and against our fellow 00:27:20.579 --> 00:27:22.319 man, speaking evil of them. It's a violation 00:27:22.319 --> 00:27:25.539 of the third commandment. Now do you see the 00:27:25.539 --> 00:27:31.420 progression? From evil hearts, come evil thoughts, 00:27:31.640 --> 00:27:36.039 which lead to evil actions, and then leads to 00:27:36.039 --> 00:27:42.240 evil speech. The problem is pervasive. All of 00:27:42.240 --> 00:27:45.599 it is disordered. Do you see the problem? It's 00:27:45.599 --> 00:27:48.079 the heart. If you fix your heart, then these 00:27:48.079 --> 00:27:51.480 actions will also be fixed. Now this list is 00:27:51.480 --> 00:27:54.019 not exhaustive. It's not as though if you avoid 00:27:54.019 --> 00:27:56.799 these sins, well now you're in the clear, because 00:27:56.799 --> 00:27:59.869 that was the mistakes the Pharisees made. Don't 00:27:59.869 --> 00:28:01.309 murder? Okay, well technically I'm not taking 00:28:01.309 --> 00:28:03.349 a life. Don't commit adultery? Technically I'm 00:28:03.349 --> 00:28:07.190 not sleeping with her. They believed in holiness 00:28:07.190 --> 00:28:11.150 by rule keeping. But the Ten Commandments were 00:28:11.150 --> 00:28:14.509 not given for that purpose. The Decalogue, the 00:28:14.509 --> 00:28:16.730 Ten Commandments were given to show how corrupt 00:28:16.730 --> 00:28:20.250 our hearts really are. We have broken them. Jesus 00:28:20.250 --> 00:28:21.529 talked about that in the Sermon on the Mount. 00:28:21.609 --> 00:28:23.250 Okay, you've not committed adultery. Have you 00:28:23.250 --> 00:28:26.509 ever lusted in your heart ever? You violate it. 00:28:26.890 --> 00:28:28.329 Okay, you've not committed murder. Have you ever 00:28:28.329 --> 00:28:31.309 been really angry? Okay, you violated the intention. 00:28:32.230 --> 00:28:34.869 So it shows us how we've broken the law and it 00:28:34.869 --> 00:28:37.569 also shows the resulting guilt we have before 00:28:37.569 --> 00:28:42.589 God. There's God's standard, yes. But they're 00:28:42.589 --> 00:28:44.609 given to show how we've transgressed that standard. 00:28:44.789 --> 00:28:46.470 The first one, thou shalt have no other gods 00:28:46.470 --> 00:28:48.730 before me. Has there ever been a time in your 00:28:48.730 --> 00:28:51.720 life where you wanted something above God? Can 00:28:51.720 --> 00:28:53.319 you say that you have loved God with all your 00:28:53.319 --> 00:28:55.400 heart, mind, soul, body, and strength at all 00:28:55.400 --> 00:28:57.599 times, perfectly, in every way, every second 00:28:57.599 --> 00:29:02.079 of your entire life? Of course not. Then you're 00:29:02.079 --> 00:29:05.700 an idolater. You've broken God's law. See, we 00:29:05.700 --> 00:29:09.079 sin because we are sinners. We are not sinners 00:29:09.079 --> 00:29:14.119 because we sin. You were born a sinner. So what 00:29:14.119 --> 00:29:18.230 is going to come from the sinner? Sin. We are 00:29:18.230 --> 00:29:20.450 not made sinners because we sin. I hope that 00:29:20.450 --> 00:29:22.950 you understand the distinction there. Jesus said 00:29:22.950 --> 00:29:26.089 we are corrupt from within. We don't go corrupt, 00:29:26.130 --> 00:29:29.190 grow corrupt from without. Which is why, where 00:29:29.190 --> 00:29:30.910 do we really need to be cleansed? In the inner 00:29:30.910 --> 00:29:33.829 man. With what? With what? The gift of new life. 00:29:34.089 --> 00:29:36.309 Verse 20, if you look at it again. These are 00:29:36.309 --> 00:29:38.789 the things which defile man, but to eat with 00:29:38.789 --> 00:29:42.230 unwashed hands does not defile. This is the essence 00:29:42.230 --> 00:29:44.880 of his complaint. against the Pharisees. They're 00:29:44.880 --> 00:29:47.359 ignoring what's really important. But there's 00:29:47.359 --> 00:29:49.579 one question as we close that we have not yet 00:29:49.579 --> 00:29:53.579 addressed. How did we get those unclean hearts 00:29:53.579 --> 00:30:00.200 in the first place? We were born. We were born 00:30:00.200 --> 00:30:04.559 in Adam's line. And we inherited his guilt and 00:30:04.559 --> 00:30:08.039 his corruption. Romans 5 talks about this. Through 00:30:08.039 --> 00:30:10.599 one man, that is Adam, sin entered the world. 00:30:11.019 --> 00:30:14.559 and death through sin, thus death spread to all 00:30:14.559 --> 00:30:18.400 men because all sinned. All sinned in Adam. The 00:30:18.400 --> 00:30:20.059 old New England prayer, remember, in Adam's fall, 00:30:20.160 --> 00:30:23.720 we sinned all. We all sinned in Adam. We got 00:30:23.720 --> 00:30:27.140 his guilt and his corruption. Therefore, through 00:30:27.140 --> 00:30:31.660 one man's offense, Adam's judgment came to all 00:30:31.660 --> 00:30:36.299 men, resulting in condemnation. What Paul in 00:30:36.299 --> 00:30:39.519 Romans 5 is saying, you and I were born depraved, 00:30:40.420 --> 00:30:43.980 separated from God, and in need of new life. 00:30:44.660 --> 00:30:47.460 That cute little baby you gave birth to is cute, 00:30:47.660 --> 00:30:52.019 but it is corrupt. Jody Bauckham used to call 00:30:52.019 --> 00:30:54.880 them vipers and diapers. And it's a true statement. 00:30:56.200 --> 00:31:01.500 Adam's sin affected all of humanity, except one. 00:31:02.920 --> 00:31:05.240 The one who was born through the virgin's womb. 00:31:06.410 --> 00:31:09.029 See, the answer to our deepest problem is found 00:31:09.029 --> 00:31:13.910 with a virgin -born son of God. Jesus gives a 00:31:13.910 --> 00:31:15.970 clear diagnosis of what is wrong in Matthew 15. 00:31:16.390 --> 00:31:18.750 Our corruption, pollution, defilement, however 00:31:18.750 --> 00:31:23.529 you want to say it, it's not external. It's not 00:31:23.529 --> 00:31:26.250 outside of us. It is internal. Which means the 00:31:26.250 --> 00:31:28.730 problem that is fundamental is not with the culture. 00:31:28.910 --> 00:31:30.849 The culture is depraved, but that's not your 00:31:30.849 --> 00:31:32.670 primary problem. Or with your circumstances, 00:31:32.890 --> 00:31:37.759 but with us. So if the problem were external, 00:31:37.900 --> 00:31:40.220 then just clean up your behavior would work. 00:31:41.759 --> 00:31:45.160 But if it's internal, cleaning up behavior and 00:31:45.160 --> 00:31:48.559 adding rules fails to address the problem. So 00:31:48.559 --> 00:31:50.299 you can incorporate better habits. You can add 00:31:50.299 --> 00:31:53.640 more religious rules to your life, but they're 00:31:53.640 --> 00:31:57.500 not going to matter. We need to be cleansed from 00:31:57.500 --> 00:32:01.680 the inside out. We need to be changed. The Pharisees 00:32:01.680 --> 00:32:03.619 said, well, you can be holy, just don't eat certain 00:32:03.619 --> 00:32:06.079 foods. You need to wash your hands a certain 00:32:06.079 --> 00:32:08.660 way, and you need to follow these certain purification 00:32:08.660 --> 00:32:12.680 rites. But Jesus said, no, you need more than 00:32:12.680 --> 00:32:15.940 ceremonial washings. You need more than that. 00:32:16.559 --> 00:32:20.779 You need to have a new heart, a new birth. And 00:32:20.779 --> 00:32:23.180 that's why Jesus came. The promise of the new 00:32:23.180 --> 00:32:25.539 covenant was given in the old covenant. In Ezekiel 00:32:25.539 --> 00:32:29.019 36, we read these words, God speaking, I will 00:32:29.019 --> 00:32:31.819 give you a new heart and put a new spirit within 00:32:31.819 --> 00:32:34.680 you. and I will take the heart of stone out of 00:32:34.680 --> 00:32:36.559 your flesh, and I will give you a heart of flesh. 00:32:37.539 --> 00:32:40.640 I will put my spirit within you, and I will cause 00:32:40.640 --> 00:32:43.759 you to walk in my statutes. And you will, because 00:32:43.759 --> 00:32:46.839 God did it, you will keep my judgments and do 00:32:46.839 --> 00:32:50.059 them. Jesus did not come to give us a new set 00:32:50.059 --> 00:32:52.200 of ethics, a new set of rules. Instead, he came 00:32:52.200 --> 00:32:54.900 to give us new life. It's a life we never had 00:32:54.900 --> 00:32:57.220 before, a life we could never have on our own. 00:32:57.720 --> 00:33:01.119 See, Jesus was the only one who ever had a completely 00:33:01.119 --> 00:33:05.059 clean heart. He was pure, completely. He loved 00:33:05.059 --> 00:33:08.920 the Lord God rightly. Nothing sinful ever was 00:33:08.920 --> 00:33:11.680 found in him or came out of him because nothing 00:33:11.680 --> 00:33:17.160 sinful was ever in him. Ever. Peter called him 00:33:17.160 --> 00:33:21.180 a lamb without blemish and without spot. He's 00:33:21.180 --> 00:33:24.759 perfect in every way. Internally, he loved the 00:33:24.759 --> 00:33:26.880 Lord as God, and externally, he kept all the 00:33:26.880 --> 00:33:30.799 commandments of God. And this pure, spotless 00:33:30.799 --> 00:33:35.559 lamb. He goes to a cruel cross, a rugged tree, 00:33:35.700 --> 00:33:39.599 where he died for sinful people with sinful hearts 00:33:39.599 --> 00:33:44.299 like you and me. On that cross, the sinless one 00:33:44.299 --> 00:33:48.019 bore the judgment that you and I absolutely deserve. 00:33:49.019 --> 00:33:53.319 We were corrupt, but he took our corruption and 00:33:53.319 --> 00:33:56.039 he started to make us clean. Listen to the words 00:33:56.039 --> 00:34:00.059 of Peter again. Speaking of Jesus, that last 00:34:00.059 --> 00:34:05.619 slide, guys. Who committed no sin, nor was deceit 00:34:05.619 --> 00:34:09.260 found in his mouth. Oh, when he's reviled, he 00:34:09.260 --> 00:34:12.960 did not revile in return. When he suffered, and 00:34:12.960 --> 00:34:16.500 he suffered. He didn't threaten. He committed 00:34:16.500 --> 00:34:20.639 himself to him who judges righteously. Who himself 00:34:20.639 --> 00:34:29.219 bore our sins in his own body on the tree that 00:34:29.219 --> 00:34:34.880 is the cross. That we, having died to sins, because 00:34:34.880 --> 00:34:38.480 now we've been made new, might live for righteousness 00:34:38.480 --> 00:34:43.460 by whose stripes you were healed. The stripes 00:34:43.460 --> 00:34:47.079 of Jesus, the suffering of Jesus, that cleansed 00:34:47.079 --> 00:34:51.659 you. That's what heals you. He died on the cross. 00:34:51.900 --> 00:34:55.699 He rose again the third day. And he offers cleansing 00:34:55.699 --> 00:35:00.719 and new life. To everyone who will trust in him. 00:35:01.940 --> 00:35:07.840 J .C. Ryle said, the right heart is a heart that 00:35:07.840 --> 00:35:10.860 is sprinkled with the blood of Christ that has 00:35:10.860 --> 00:35:14.460 been renewed by the Holy Spirit and it is purified 00:35:14.460 --> 00:35:20.980 by faith. My admonition, my plea to you is come 00:35:20.980 --> 00:35:24.360 to Christ and be cleansed. Come to Christ and 00:35:24.360 --> 00:35:26.730 find new life. We're getting ready to come to 00:35:26.730 --> 00:35:28.329 the table. We call it the table of the Lord, 00:35:28.369 --> 00:35:31.809 communion. Do you know what communion represents? 00:35:32.250 --> 00:35:36.849 Listen carefully. God comes to us in our mess. 00:35:38.409 --> 00:35:43.289 Our messes. This past week, I suspect you, like 00:35:43.289 --> 00:35:47.369 I, have failed again, right? We didn't live quite 00:35:47.369 --> 00:35:52.429 up to even our own standards. And Jesus is not 00:35:52.429 --> 00:35:55.409 embarrassed by that. He offers himself to us. 00:35:56.409 --> 00:35:58.329 Come receive his grace. Receive his forgiveness. 00:35:58.550 --> 00:36:00.570 Come to Jesus, his broken body, his shed blood 00:36:00.570 --> 00:36:03.110 that was given for you. Commune with Christ. 00:36:04.150 --> 00:36:07.289 He's not ashamed of you. You may be thinking 00:36:07.289 --> 00:36:10.610 here, Pastor, my life's a mess. I believe it. 00:36:11.429 --> 00:36:15.190 I think all of us have that at times. But Jesus 00:36:15.190 --> 00:36:17.389 loves and takes delight in cleaning up messy 00:36:17.389 --> 00:36:21.469 lives. Come to him. There is no other solution. 00:36:22.159 --> 00:36:25.440 There is no other name, there is no other Savior 00:36:25.440 --> 00:36:27.880 than the one that was born from the virgin who 00:36:27.880 --> 00:36:31.219 gave his life and rose again the third day. Let's 00:36:31.219 --> 00:36:32.900 praise God and let's come to the table, friends, 00:36:32.940 --> 00:36:37.139 as believers rejoicing in his forgiveness through 00:36:37.139 --> 00:36:40.739 his body and through his blood. Let's pray. Heavenly 00:36:40.739 --> 00:36:42.920 Father, we thank you so very much, Lord, for 00:36:42.920 --> 00:36:45.440 your word this morning. Lord, it is rich, it's 00:36:45.440 --> 00:36:53.659 beautiful. Lord, it gives us sustenance. God, 00:36:53.659 --> 00:36:58.000 it ministers to us, Lord, as we just see Christ 00:36:58.000 --> 00:37:01.880 and the beauty of his person and the beauty of 00:37:01.880 --> 00:37:05.460 his grace. God, would you do a work in the lives 00:37:05.460 --> 00:37:07.199 of your people? Lord, there may be some, and 00:37:07.199 --> 00:37:09.280 there probably are, Lord, who are assembled here 00:37:09.280 --> 00:37:11.739 this morning amongst this group, Lord, whose 00:37:11.739 --> 00:37:15.539 hearts still are cold and stony. Lord God, I 00:37:15.539 --> 00:37:17.500 pray that you would remove the heart of stone 00:37:17.500 --> 00:37:19.820 and give them a heart of flesh, help them to 00:37:19.820 --> 00:37:22.210 see their sin. Help them see the beauty of the 00:37:22.210 --> 00:37:24.809 Savior and the grace that's in him. Lord God, 00:37:24.869 --> 00:37:27.050 bring them into the kingdom and may they celebrate 00:37:27.050 --> 00:37:28.949 forgiveness and cleansing that's offered through 00:37:28.949 --> 00:37:31.409 Christ. Lord, we love you. Thank you, Lord, for 00:37:31.409 --> 00:37:34.070 this time. We pray this in Jesus' name. Amen.