Matthew 15: True and False Faith (2)
Pray Psalm 53.5, 6.
There they are in great fear
Where no fear was,
For God has scattered the bones of him who encamps against you;
You have put them to shame,
Because God has despised them.
Oh, that the salvation of Israel would come out of Zion!
When God brings back the captivity of His people,
Let Jacob rejoice and Israel be glad.
Sing Psalm 53.5, 6.
Leoni: The God of Abraham Praise
The wicked flee in shame; their ways our God rejects.
Renew Your people in Your Name with great effects!
Let great rejoicing sound once we renewed have been,
and let salvation’s Word resound from us again!
Read Matthew 15.1-14; meditate on verses 10-14.
What does it mean to “let them alone” with regard to people in our Personal Mission Field?
Prepare.
1. What did Jesus say to offend the Pharisees?
2. What advice did Jesus give concerning those who are willfully blind to truth?
Meditate.
The Pharisees took offense at Jesus because He implied that their traditions were defilements (vv. 10, 11). Did the disciples suppose that Jesus did not know this (v. 12)? Jesus knew, and Jesus intended His words to offend them. He replied to their caution in two ways, with two brief parables. The first was meant to say that the Pharisees were not what they presented themselves as being; God had not planted them—like the tree in Psalm 1—and they would therefore be uprooted in due course (v. 13).
Next, Jesus indicated that the Pharisees were blind; they did not know the truth of God. Thus, they were leading the people into blindness as well, and together they would fall into the catastrophe that engulfs all those who remain stubbornly blind to the truth of God (v. 14).
Jesus’ counsel to His disciples is important: “Let them alone.” There is no sense arguing with those who are determined to be blind. You’ll only make them angrier and harder of heart. Jesus responded to the Pharisees often, and He quibbled with them on occasion, leaving them with a question they either could not answer or chose not to answer. But He didn’t argue with them. He didn’t try to reason them out of their false views. He proclaimed the truth and made His point clearly; then, He left the Word to linger with them, to sort it out as they would.
We are sowers of the Word, not changers of the heart (Matt. 13.36-43). The hearts of people are in the Lord’s hands, and He will turn and change them as He pleases (Prov. 21.1; 1 Cor. 3.5, 6). Our task is to sow the Word into the souls of the people around us, and to show the Word as living and active in our own lives, making all things new according to the likeness of Jesus Christ. We must leave all issues of the heart to God.
Treasure Old and New: Matthew 13.52; Psalm 119.162
“The righteous should choose his friends carefully,
for the way of the wicked leads them astray” (Prov. 12.26).
“Do not answer a fool according to his folly, lest you be like him.
Answer a fool according to his folly, lest he be wise in his own eyes” (Prov. 26.4, 5).
“Let them alone” (Matt. 15.14).
There are so many reasons why this was a good command from Jesus.
We can’t fix anyone’s thought patterns or their proclivity toward stupidity.
But we can be wise, and prayerfully loving towards them.
“A soft answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.
The tongue of the wise uses knowledge rightly,
but the mouth of fools pours forth foolishness” (Prov. 15.1, 2).
Jesus was merely reiterating His previously stated truth concerning the wheat and the tares:
“Let them alone” (Matt. 15.14).
“Let them both grow together until the harvest,
and at the time of harvest I will say to the reapers,
‘First gather together the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them,
but gather the wheat into my barn’” (Matt. 13.30).
All these decisions are God’s.
“The judgments of the LORD are true and righteous altogether” (Ps. 19.9).
“For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ,
that each one may receive the things done in the body,
according to what he has done, whether good or bad” (2 Cor. 5.10).
“Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God!
How unsearchable are His judgments and His ways past finding out!” (Rom. 11.33).
His grace and mercy toward all is boundless and unfathomable.
Yet, He has wise works for all to do whilst living on the earth, as His children, doing His will (Matt. 6.10).
“Good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them” (Eph. 2.10).
But we are to do them His way, in His time, and by His methods. In His wisdom.
We will never be able to violently force someone into the Kingdom,
no matter how longingly we desire to do so. This is God’s work alone.
“We are sowers of the Word, not changers of the heart.
The hearts of people are in the Lord’s hands, and
He will turn and change them as He pleases.
Our task is to sow the Word into the souls of the people around us, and
to show the Word as living and active in our own lives,
making all things new according to the likeness of Jesus Christ.
We must leave all issues of the heart to God.”
Therefore, leave the recalcitrant alone; but pray for them and love them—as Jesus loves you.
Reflect.
1. How can prayer be a critical aid to helping people understand the Gospel?
2. When sharing the Gospel with someone, we aim for understanding, not conversion. Explain.
3. Why should we expect some people to be offended by what we say about Jesus? If they become offended, have we failed in our witness? Explain.
Nothing will last in the soul but the regenerating graces of the Holy Spirit; and nothing should be admitted into the church but what is from above; therefore, whoever is offended by a plain, seasonable declaration of the truth, we should not be troubled at it. Matthew Henry (1662-1714), Commentary on Matthew 15.10-20
Pray Psalm 53.1-5.
Think of people you know, and people in places of influence in our society, who seem to be blind to the Word of the Lord. Pray for them, that God Himself will persuade and open their hearts to the Gospel.
Sing Psalm 53.1-5.
Leoni: The God of Abraham Praise
The fool says in his heart, “There is no God at all!”
Corrupt are they in whole and part, unjust and small.
Not one of them does good; God sees their wicked ways.
None understands the Word of God or gives Him praise.
Have all these wicked men no knowledge of God’s grace?
The Church they hate with passion and seek not God’s face.
LORD, strike their hearts with fear, where fear was not before.
And scatter all who camp so near Your holy door.
T. M. and Susie Moore
If you have found this meditation helpful, take a moment to give thanks to God. Then share what you learned with a friend. This is how the grace of God spreads (2 Cor. 4.15).
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Other columns of interest: This week: Our Read Moore podcast continues our readings from the book, The Joy and Rejoicing of My Heart. Our Crosfigell teaching letter begins a new series on the spiritual poetry of the Celtic Revival. The ReVision column considers questions all church leaders must address. Click here to see all the other columns and writers available to you.
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Except as indicated, all Scriptures are taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. All psalms for singing are from The Ailbe Psalter.
