THE PARABLES OF JESUS – The Externals
Matthew 15:15-20
"The Peter answered and said to Him, 'Explain this parable to us' [see verse 11]. So Jesus said, 'Are you 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.' "
The Pharisees were so wrapped up in the external trapping of their religion (eating certain foods, ceremonial washing of hands, etc.) that they missed the really important things – things of the heart. When I was a kid, the motto was, "I don't drink and I don't chew, and I don't go with girls that do." I didn't do those nasty things but my heart was filled with pride that I was not like them. I'm not advocating doing these things. The externals (like drinking and chewing and not washing my hands) have negative consequences (like addiction, cancer, and disease). But they do not necessarily cause a defiled heart.
TODAY'S THOUGHT: The internal condition of my heart is more important that the external observance of rituals.
Have an "internal" day. Love you.
Matthew 15:15-20
"The Peter answered and said to Him, 'Explain this parable to us' [see verse 11]. So Jesus said, 'Are you 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.' "
The Pharisees were so wrapped up in the external trapping of their religion (eating certain foods, ceremonial washing of hands, etc.) that they missed the really important things – things of the heart. When I was a kid, the motto was, "I don't drink and I don't chew, and I don't go with girls that do." I didn't do those nasty things but my heart was filled with pride that I was not like them. I'm not advocating doing these things. The externals (like drinking and chewing and not washing my hands) have negative consequences (like addiction, cancer, and disease). But they do not necessarily cause a defiled heart.
TODAY'S THOUGHT: The internal condition of my heart is more important that the external observance of rituals.
Have an "internal" day. Love you.
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