Learning the Jesus Way of LifeSample

Getting to the Heart

Pray: Jesus, give me the faith to go where you go, do what you do, trust what you say, and love how you love. Today, I commit to following you. Amen.

This chapter of Matthew’s Gospel begins with a showdown between Jesus and the Pharisees and the teachers of the law.

Then some Pharisees and teachers of the law came to Jesus from Jerusalem and asked, “Why do your disciples break the tradition of the elders? They don’t wash their hands before they eat!” Matthew 15:1–2 NIV

The tradition of the elders was a set of laws and commands passed down orally, but not written in the Jewish Scriptures. These traditions were seen as a “fence around the Law.” In the same way that people put a fence around their yard to keep their kids from wandering off and bad stuff from getting in, the purpose of these oral traditions was to help the Jewish people stay within the boundaries of faithfulness and away from sinful behaviors. But, over time, this fence became an obstacle. Because those who were on the outside couldn’t get to the Law. And those who were on the inside started to mistake the fence for the Law. As long as they didn’t leave the backyard, they thought they were fulfilling their duty.

This is why Jesus responds so directly—because He will not stand for anything that gets between God and His people. Jesus doesn’t mince His words or sugarcoat His rebuke. He speaks plainly, because love does not deny truth, even when the truth may hurt.

Jesus replied, “And why do you break the command of God for the sake of your tradition? … You hypocrites! Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you: ‘These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. They worship me in vain; their teachings are merely human rules.’” Matthew 15:3,7–9 NIV

An easy mistake to make when reading the Gospels is to assume that we are nothing like the Pharisees. But, if you’ve been a Christian for longer than a few months, it’s likely that you have some pharisaical tendencies in you. Hopefully, like the Pharisees, you have a desire to know and obey the commands of God. Hopefully, like the Pharisees, you want to do good and avoid sin. Hopefully, like the Pharisees, you want to help other people grow closer to God and discover the freedom that comes from living for Him. Unfortunately, like the Pharisees, you’ve also been infected by the disease of self-centeredness called sin. And, like the Pharisees, you have a spiritual enemy known as the devil who wants to attack your identity by targeting your desires with lies and deceptions. So, like the Pharisees, one of the most important battles you will have to fight is never letting religious duty become more important than intimacy with Jesus.

This is so much easier said than done, because doing what’s right is the right thing to do. And avoiding what’s wrong is commanded by God. But, if we aren’t careful, then just like the Pharisees, we can find ourselves taking our eyes off of God and becoming fixated on the fence we’ve built around the Law. A fence that was put up for good reasons, but that has become a barrier between us and God.

What is the fence you have built around the Law? What rules have you let others impose on you or that you have created for yourself?

In your mind, is there a specific dress code all Christians have to follow? Are there some shows that are totally off-limits? What about words that nobody should say? Things that nobody should do?

What happens when you go outside the boundaries of these rules? Do you begin to question your worth? Does shame start to settle in?

What about when someone else goes outside the boundaries of these rules? Do you question if they’re really a Christian? Do you avoid them because you’re afraid that being associated with them will make other people think you’re less holy?

If you think God’s opinion of you is determined by how well you follow the rules, then you haven’t been paying attention. His love is unconditional. That means He loves you no matter what you do or don’t do. His love has no limits. Whether you cross the line or stay inside of it, His love never changes.

And the same is true when it comes to how God thinks of other people. Their adherence to the fence you, your friends, your family, or your church has constructed does not change how God feels about them. It will not change how far God is willing to go to reach them.

Just so there’s no confusion, this does not mean that we should stop trying to do what’s right and avoid what’s wrong. It means we need to stop trying to manipulate God’s affections by pulling on the levers of good behavior and not pushing the buttons we’ve labeled “sinful.”

This lesson isn’t just one that Jesus teaches through His words. He demonstrates it with His actions. Because the very next story Matthew tells is one where Jesus crosses just about every line the Pharisees had put in place so He can show that God’s love isn’t confined to the fences we construct.

Leaving that place, Jesus withdrew to the region of Tyre and Sidon. A Canaanite woman from that vicinity came to him, crying out, “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on me! My daughter is demon-possessed and suffering terribly.” Matthew 15:21–22 NIV

Jesus didn’t just leave the backyard—He practically packed up and moved out of the country! Because this Canaanite woman would have been seen as unclean, unrighteous, unholy, and unworthy. In spite of that, she comes crying out to Jesus, and the first words that tumble out of her mouth are, “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on me!”

Jesus did not answer a word. So his disciples came to him and urged him, “Send her away, for she keeps crying out after us.” He answered, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel.” The woman came and knelt before him. “Lord, help me!” she said. He replied, “It is not right to take the children’s bread and toss it to the dogs.” Matthew 15:23–26 NIV

What’s going on here? Why doesn’t Jesus answer her? And when He finally does, why does it seem like He doesn’t want to help her? Because Jesus wants to teach His disciples a lesson they will never forget. He wants them to witness love without limits and faith that doesn’t let up.

“Yes it is, Lord,” she said. “Even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their master’s table.” Then Jesus said to her, “Woman, you have great faith! Your request is granted.” And her daughter was healed at that moment. Matthew 15:27–28 NIV

Jesus responds to this woman’s request. He heals her daughter. And He celebrates her for having “great faith.” Even though she wasn’t a citizen of Israel, even though she wasn’t inside the “fence” or living by God’s commands, she still saw Jesus more clearly than most. She saw Him as a merciful Lord. Even when the people around Jesus tried to send her away, she refused to give up because she believed that if she kept crying out, He would respond with compassion.

That’s who He is and what He does. Sometimes, His compassion comes in the form of comforting us with His mercy. Other times, His compassion comes in the form of confronting us with His truth.

All of it is defined and directed by love. All of it is designed to wake us up to the presence of God and move us closer to Him.

Application: Is there a truth that you are avoiding? What about mercy that you are rejecting? These questions—and your responses to them—are two sides of the same coin. The coin is God’s love. His love is true and always tells the truth. And His love is gracious, unending, and so gentle. When we avoid the truth or reject grace, we are really stiff-arming the love of God that He wants to pour out on our lives. Pray through these questions today and identify any areas where you need to embrace the love of God more fully in your life.