Out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies

 Then the scribes and Pharisees who were from Jerusalem came to Jesus, saying, "Why do Your disciples transgress the tradition of the elders?  For they do not wash their hands when they eat bread."  He answered and said to them, "Why do you also transgress the commandment of God because of your tradition?  For God commanded, saying, 'Honor your father and your mother'; and, 'He who curses father or mother, let him be put to death.'  But you say, 'Whoever says to his father or mother, "Whatever profit you might have received from me is a gift to God" -- then he need not honor his father or mother.'  Thus you have made the commandment of God of no effect by your tradition.  Hypocrites!  Well did Isaiah prophesy about you, saying:

'These people draw near to Me with their mouth,
And honor Me with their lips,
But their heart is far from Me.
And in vain they worship Me,
Teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.'"

When He had called the multitude to Himself, He said to them, "Hear and understand:  Not what goes into the mouth defiles a man; but what comes out of the mouth, this defiles a man."  Then His disciples came and said to Him, "Do You know that the Pharisees were offended when they heard this saying?"  But He answered, "Every plant which My heavenly Father has not planted will be uprooted.  Let them alone.  They are blind leaders of the blind.  And if the blind leads the blind, both will fall into a ditch."  Then Peter answered and said to Him, "Explain this parable to us."  So Jesus said, "Are you also still without understanding?  Do you not yet understand that whatever enters the mouth goes into the stomach and is eliminated?  But those things which proceed out of the mouth come from the heart, and they defile a man.  For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies.  These are the things which defile a man, but to eat with unwashed hands does not defile a man."

- Matthew 15:1-20

 Yesterday we read that after feeding the five thousand in the wilderness, immediately Jesus made His disciples get into the boat and go before Him to the other side, while He sent the multitudes away.  And when He had sent the multitudes away, He went up on the mountain by Himself to pray.  Now when evening came, He was alone there.  But the boat was now in the middle of the sea, tossed by the waves, for the wind was contrary.  Now in the fourth watch of the night Jesus went to them, walking on the sea.  And when the disciples saw Him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, "It is a ghost!"  And they cried out for fear.  But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, "Be of good cheer!  It is I; do not be afraid."  And Peter answered Him and said, "Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water."  So He said, "Come."  And when Peter had come down out of the boat, he walked on the water to go to Jesus.  But when he saw that the wind was boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink he cried out, saying, "Lord, save me!"   And immediately Jesus stretched out His hand and caught him, and said to him, "O you of little faith, why did you doubt?"  And when they got into the boat, the wind ceased.  Then those who were in the boat came and worshiped Him, saying, "Truly You are the Son of God."  When they had crossed over, they came to the land of Gennesaret.  And when the men of that place recognized Him, they sent out into all that surrounding region, brought to Him all who were sick, and begged Him that they might only touch the hem of His garment.  And as many as touched it were made perfectly well.

 Then the scribes and Pharisees who were from Jerusalem came to Jesus, saying, "Why do Your disciples transgress the tradition of the elders?  For they do not wash their hands when they eat bread."  He answered and said to them, "Why do you also transgress the commandment of God because of your tradition?"  The tradition of the elders, my study bible tells us, refers to the interpretations of the Law by Jewish teachers.  Jesus refutes their views that ritual purity depends on outward actions.  Rather it is the state of the heart that determines a person's purity (verse 8).

He answered and said to them, "Why do you also transgress the commandment of God because of your tradition?  For God commanded, saying, 'Honor your father and your mother'; and, 'He who curses father or mother, let him be put to death.'  But you say, 'Whoever says to his father or mother, "Whatever profit you might have received from me is a gift to God" -- then he need not honor his father or mother.'  Thus you have made the commandment of God of no effect by your tradition."   What Christ is expressing here is that the commandment of God can't be overridden by the religious traditions of human beings.  A devotion to God, my study bible tells us, includes both obedience to God's commandments, and service to others.  They cannot be separated (see also James 2:14-18; 1 John 4:7-21).  Jesus here is specifically criticizing the practice of allowing someone that declare their wealth a gift to the temple.  Thereby this would allow them to continue to use their wealth during their lifetime for themselves, but effectively enabled dereliction of care for needy or dependent elderly parents. 

"Hypocrites!  Well did Isaiah prophesy about you, saying:  'These people draw near to Me with their mouth, and honor Me with their lips, but their heart is far from Me.  And in vain they worship Me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.' "  Jesus quotes from the prophesy of Isaiah (Isaiah 29:13) to illustrate His criticism of the hypocrites.

When He had called the multitude to Himself, He said to them, "Hear and understand:  Not what goes into the mouth defiles a man; but what comes out of the mouth, this defiles a man."  Then His disciples came and said to Him, "Do You know that the Pharisees were offended when they heard this saying?"  But He answered, "Every plant which My heavenly Father has not planted will be uprooted.  Let them alone.  They are blind leaders of the blind.  And if the blind leads the blind, both will fall into a ditch."  Here is an indication of the open rift Jesus will have with the Pharisees, who will later plot to kill Him.  He calls them blind leaders of the blind -- and prophesies their eventual downfall stemming from their misguided priorities. 

Then Peter answered and said to Him, "Explain this parable to us."  So Jesus said, "Are you also still without understanding?  Do you not yet understand that whatever enters the mouth goes into the stomach and is eliminated?  But those things which proceed out of the mouth come from the heart, and they defile a man.  For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies.  These are the things which defile a man, but to eat with unwashed hands does not defile a man."  Jesus explains His teaching to the multitude earlier in the text ("Hear and understand:  Not what goes into the mouth defiles a man; but what comes out of the mouth, this defiles a man," verse 11).  This is the basis for the Christian emphasis on the care of the heart, the monastic discipline of awareness of our interior life and thoughts.  Jesus also taught in the Sermon on the Mount, "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God" (5:8).

How do you or I think about hypocrisy?  In context of today, that would mean making a show of one's righteousness -- possibly in a political sense -- but in truth fostering practices that really don't help anyone, or are in fact quite harmful.  Jesus doesn't just go on the defensive when His disciples are criticized.  He goes on offense -- He tells the Pharisees exactly what He thinks of their practices.  They conspicuously observe fasting rules and criticize His disciples, but in their own practices through their traditions allow the commandments to be effectively broken.  Jesus takes this criticism a step further when He speaks in front of the multitude, and expands on teaching regarding fasting.  Like many good practices meant for worthy effects, this can be abused for outward show and enable hypocrisy without a correct perspective.   (Thus the blind may lead the blind.)  A correct understanding of the purpose of fasting places a real emphasis on the heart.  Jesus says, "For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies."  Once again, as in the Sermon on the Mount, He is teaching us that all of these bad and unrighteous acts begin in the heart, and if we don't put emphasis there, we risk our lives becoming hypocritical as well, with our hearts far from God, and our worship being in vain.  So how do we translate this into modern understanding?  We have a culture, especially via social media, of what is called "virtue signalling."  That is, we are able to post things through social platforms on the internet that declare our support for one way of thinking or another.  It is a time in which slogans pass frequently through our awareness, and especially that of our children.  We can easily allow such "sloganeering" to substitute for a true commitment to God's righteousness in our hearts.  We can say to ourselves that we don't have to watch our own hearts for thoughts of violence or envy, covetousness or manipulative lies, false gossip, even blasphemy.  In modern terms we might justify violent revenge, or the harm of innocents, as if they correct an injustice.  Especially in a time when we are beset by current events that take up our time, lives, and attention, where we cannot separate fact from fiction, and where our perceptions are so easily manipulated through media of all kinds, let us take the time to sit back and listen to Christ talk about how important it is that we stop placing so much emphasis on the outside -- and pull back to the inside to see where and how we are aligned with God in what we do and in what we see.  And that means especially how we see, what lens we're using.  We need the lens of the perspective of Christ, the one He offers to us and helps us to acquire and understand.  We need to remember where our first loyalty is, and who our true guide is.  That is the one way we can stay away from the blind guides who may be, like apparently many of the leadership of His time were, out for themselves and even their own wealth.  Let us remember we have a good guide, and call on Him and His allies -- the saints and the angels and our living fellow faithful, the good shepherds we know -- for help in keeping our hearts in the right place.  For our own righteousness in the end is all we really have, and worth the price of awareness.