Matthew 15 | The Upward Way | Bible Study with A. Z. Adams — Transcript

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1. 0:00Matthew 15:1
2. 0:03Then some Pharisees and scribes came
3. 0:05[music] to Jesus from Jerusalem and
4. 0:07said, "Why do your disciples break the
5. 0:10tradition of the elders? For they do not
6. 0:13wash their hands when they eat bread."
7. 0:16[music]
8. 0:17And he answered and said to them, "Why
9. 0:19do you yourselves transgress the
10. 0:22commandment of God for the sake of your
11. 0:24tradition?
12. 0:26For God said, "Honor your father and
13. 0:29mother, and he who speaks evil of father
14. 0:33or mother is to be put to death."
15. 0:37But you say, [music]
16. 0:39"Whoever says to his father or mother,
17. 0:42whatever I have that would help you has
18. 0:45been given to God, he is not to honor
19. 0:48his father or his mother." And by this
20. 0:51you invalidate [music] the word of God
21. 0:54for the sake of your tradition.
22. 0:57You hypocrites.
23. 0:59Rightly did Isaiah prophesy of you. This
24. 1:02people honors me with their lips, but
25. 1:05their heart is far away from me. But in
26. 1:08vain do they worship me, teaching as
27. 1:12doctrines the precepts of men.
28. 1:16After Jesus called the crowd to him, he
29. 1:19said to them, "Hear and understand.
30. 1:23It is not what enters into the mouth
31. 1:25that defiles the man, but what proceeds
32. 1:29out [music] of the mouth, this defiles
33. 1:31the man." Then the disciples came and
34. 1:34said to him, "Do you know that the
35. 1:37Pharisees were offended when they heard
36. 1:40this statement?"
37. 1:42But he answered and said, "Every plant
38. 1:45which my heavenly father did not plant
39. 1:48shall be uprooted. Let them alone. They
40. 1:52are blind guides of the blind." And if a
41. 1:55blind man guides a blind man, both will
42. 1:58fall into a pit.
43. 2:01Now, in this story, we see the same
44. 2:05tension unfolding that has been building
45. 2:09in Jesus's ministry. The Pharisees take
46. 2:12great pride [music] in the little rules
47. 2:15and regulations that they make a great
48. 2:17deal out of. And in this case, it's
49. 2:20handwashing.
50. 2:22And they they felt like the disciples
51. 2:24should be undergoing ceremonial
52. 2:26handwashing before eating. And Jesus
53. 2:30basically says to them, you're more
54. 2:33concerned about handwashing than you are
55. 2:36the commandments of the Lord to honor
56. 2:38your parents. And he tells them that
57. 2:41they have a practice of telling people
58. 2:45that the help, the financial help that
59. 2:48they would give to their parents is
60. 2:51dedicated to God. Now, this was during
61. 2:55the time when Herod was taxing the Jews
62. 3:00extensively to pay for and pay off his
63. 3:04massive temple project that was really a
64. 3:06monument to himself as a Roman
65. 3:09architect. So to support this massive
66. 3:13expensive temple, the Pharisees were
67. 3:16squeezing the people to pay more of the
68. 3:21temple tax. And so what they were saying
69. 3:23is the money that I would use to help my
70. 3:26retired parents is now corbone which
71. 3:30means dedicated to the temple. And Jesus
72. 3:34is saying you're teaching people to
73. 3:36forsake the commandment of God for your
74. 3:39tradition, for your ritual of raising
75. 3:43money for the temple, and yet you're
76. 3:45going to come and pick on my disciples
77. 3:46because they didn't wash before they ate
78. 3:48lunch. And he he establishes this
79. 3:51principle. He says, "You invalidate the
80. 3:55word of God for the sake of your
81. 3:57traditions and you teach as doctrines
82. 4:01the precepts of men." You don't know the
83. 4:04difference between a doctrine of God and
84. 4:06a principle or a precept or a tradition
85. 4:09of men.
86. 4:10>> [clears throat]
87. 4:11>> But by saying this, Jesus is drawing
88. 4:13that line for us and asking us to
89. 4:16consider, is this a precept of men or is
90. 4:18this a doctrine of God? Is this a
91. 4:21weighty commandment about honor and love
92. 4:24and relationship with God and with our
93. 4:27brothers and sisters or with our family?
94. 4:30Well, then nothing can tear that apart.
95. 4:32Even the project for the temple should
96. 4:34not tear apart the nuclear family and
97. 4:37the arrangement that God set up for
98. 4:39children to honor their parents. A word
99. 4:42that can mean financially support their
100. 4:44parents. In combination with this, he's
101. 4:46establishing a principle that it's not
102. 4:49what's going into a person that's
103. 4:50defiling him, it's what's coming out of
104. 4:52him. And so he's saying ceremonial
105. 4:55defilement is no longer the measure.
106. 4:57We're going to look at the motivation of
107. 4:59the heart and what is coming out of you
108. 5:01through your words. That's what's going
109. 5:03to make you holy or unholy in the sight
110. 5:05of God. Peter said to him, "Explain
111. 5:08[clears throat]
112. 5:09the parable to us." Jesus said, "Are you
113. 5:12still lacking in understanding also? Do
114. 5:15you not understand that everything that
115. 5:17goes into the mouth passes into the
116. 5:19stomach and is eliminated?
117. 5:22But the things that proceed out of the
118. 5:24mouth come from the heart, and those
119. 5:28defile the man. For out of the heart
120. 5:31come evil thoughts, murders, adulteries,
121. 5:35fornications, thefts, false witness,
122. 5:38slanders. These are the things which
123. 5:41defile the man. But to eat with unwashed
124. 5:44hands does not defile the man.
125. 5:48So he's saying, "I'm no longer concerned
126. 5:50with your ability to keep your hands
127. 5:52washed. I want you to start asking how
128. 5:54you get your heart washed, how your
129. 5:57motivation is changed."
130. 6:01Jesus went away from there and withdrew
131. 6:03into the district of Ty and Siden. And a
132. 6:06Canaanite woman from the region came out
133. 6:09and began to cry out, saying, "Have
134. 6:12mercy on me, Lord, son of David. My
135. 6:15daughter is cruy demon-possessed.
136. 6:18But he did not answer her a word. And
137. 6:22his disciples came and implored him,
138. 6:24saying, "Send her away because she keeps
139. 6:27shouting at us."
140. 6:30But he answered and said, "I was sent
141. 6:32only to the lost sheep of the house of
142. 6:35Israel."
143. 6:38But she came and began to bow down
144. 6:41before him, saying, [clears throat]
145. 6:42"Lord, help me." And he answered and
146. 6:46said, "It is not good to take the
147. 6:49children's bread and throw it to the
148. 6:51dogs."
149. 6:54But she said, "Yes, Lord,
150. 6:58but even the dogs feed on the crumbs
151. 7:01which fall from their master's table."
152. 7:04Then Jesus said to her, "Oh woman,
153. 7:08your faith is great.
154. 7:11It shall be done for you as you wish."
155. 7:15And her daughter was healed at once.
156. 7:20Now, this is an example of
157. 7:22transformation while seeking.
158. 7:25This woman is a pagan. She's a demon
159. 7:29worshipper.
160. 7:31and he happens to be passing through her
161. 7:34region outside of Israel, outside of the
162. 7:37covenant of the Jews,
163. 7:39and she has a need. And so she starts
164. 7:42begging him for help. But God is never
165. 7:46willing to be one among many gods on our
166. 7:48shelf. He is not willing to join himself
167. 7:52in the pantheon of our idols.
168. 7:55He says, "I am the Lord and you will
169. 7:57serve no other god besides me." And so
170. 8:01he he sees
171. 8:03salvation as a covenant relationship.
172. 8:07And he's not willing to be one among
173. 8:10many that we are married to in this
174. 8:12covenant relationship. He's only willing
175. 8:15to be one or none, not involved at all.
176. 8:19And so when she first comes to him, she
177. 8:21comes to him as a pagan, seeking his
178. 8:25involvement in her pagan idolatrous
179. 8:30worship and lifestyle.
180. 8:32And so he ignores her. He's not going to
181. 8:35be one among many options in our life.
182. 8:38He's not going to be one idol on our
183. 8:41shelf while we seek the idol of the
184. 8:44world's approval. While we seek the idol
185. 8:46of our own image and vanity, while we
186. 8:49seek the idol of our ambitions and
187. 8:51power, while we seek the idol that we
188. 8:54can tune on and follow and worship on
189. 8:56TV, he's not willing to be one among
190. 8:59many options for us. So, what she gets
191. 9:02first is silence.
192. 9:04But she won't quit. And so the disciples
193. 9:08say, "Please tell her to be quiet
194. 9:10because she's shouting at us." So she
195. 9:13wasn't doing this in some proper way.
196. 9:16She needed help for her daughter and she
197. 9:19is praying in a most intense manner that
198. 9:23we can at least say she cannot be
199. 9:26ignored.
200. 9:28And so Jesus said, "I was sent only to
201. 9:31the lost sheep of the house of Israel."
202. 9:33Now that is a categorical statement. He
203. 9:35is not going to change his mind on that
204. 9:38statement. The question is, is she going
205. 9:42to change her position and become part
206. 9:44of that flock in the next few minutes?
207. 9:48This is an example of how election,
208. 9:51salvific election and predestination
209. 9:53work. God speaks a word that is
210. 9:56unchanging, but you can move your
211. 9:59position out of the camp of the
212. 10:02condemned and into the community of the
213. 10:04saved. So when he says this word that
214. 10:08looks like condemnation, that looks like
215. 10:10rejection, she comes and bows down. Now
216. 10:14what is that? That is the ultimate act
217. 10:17of worship. That is saying you are my
218. 10:20Lord and God.
219. 10:23And she she prays to him. She says Lord
220. 10:26help me. She doesn't say stranger, help
221. 10:29me. She doesn't just say, "Help me." She
222. 10:32says, "Lord, help me." She acknowledges
223. 10:36that this is the Lord of her life. She's
224. 10:39bowing. She's confessing his lordship.
225. 10:42And he answers and says, "It is not good
226. 10:45to take the children's bread and throw
227. 10:47it to dogs." He's saying, "I came to
228. 10:50feed the lost sheep of Israel, and you
229. 10:52are a dog. You are a gentile dog, and I
230. 10:56am not giving you anything." And that
231. 10:58sounds like the worst sort of rejection.
232. 11:01What it really is is an opportunity for
233. 11:04her to stop being that dog.
234. 11:07But she said,
235. 11:09"Yes, Lord."
236. 11:13Not, "How dare you?" But she says, "Yes.
237. 11:18Yes, you're right. That's exactly who I
238. 11:20am. That's exactly what I've been. Yes,
239. 11:22Lord. But even the dogs eat the crumbs
240. 11:27that fall from the children's table.
241. 11:30And then his whole attitude changes.
242. 11:33And he turns to her and listen to the
243. 11:35respect in his voice. Oh woman,
244. 11:41your faith is great.
245. 11:44It shall be done for you as you wish. He
246. 11:48does not change his mind.
247. 11:51She changes from being in the camp of
248. 11:55the rejected to being in the camp of
249. 11:58Israel. Because what constitutes a true
250. 12:01Israelite except a person who is walking
251. 12:04in the footsteps of Abraham, the father
252. 12:07of the faithful. So when he says, "Your
253. 12:10faith is great," he's saying, "You're an
254. 12:13Israelite. I don't care what your
255. 12:15heritage is. I don't care what your
256. 12:17background is. You have faith in God.
257. 12:22And so you're going to get what is
258. 12:24coming to the lost sheep of the house of
259. 12:27Israel.
260. 12:29He doesn't change. She changes.
261. 12:34Departing from there, Jesus went along
262. 12:36the Sea of Galilee. And having gone up
263. 12:39on the mountain, he was sitting there.
264. 12:42And large crowds came to him, bringing
265. 12:44with them those who were lame, crippled,
266. 12:46blind, mute, and many others, and they
267. 12:50laid them down at his feet, and he
268. 12:52healed them. So the crowd marveled as
269. 12:56they saw the mute speaking, the crippled
270. 12:59restored, and the lame walking, and the
271. 13:02blind seeing, and they glorified the God
272. 13:05of Israel.
273. 13:08Again, we're doubling down on this idea
274. 13:11that he is sent to Israel. And they're
275. 13:13recognizing that this is the God of
276. 13:15Israel because their messianic
277. 13:18prophecies from Isaiah 35 told them that
278. 13:21when God comes, this is what's going to
279. 13:24happen. The lame will be restored, the
280. 13:27blind will see, the deaf will hear, and
281. 13:30the poor will have the gospel preached
282. 13:31to them.
283. 13:33And Jesus called his disciples and said,
284. 13:36"I feel compassion for the people." Now,
285. 13:38this is the second time that he's going
286. 13:41to be preaching on a hill with a large
287. 13:44crowd. And the same exact scenario is
288. 13:47going to happen this time as happened
289. 13:49last time. And what we're going to learn
290. 13:51is, do the disciples have more faith
291. 13:53this time?
292. 13:55And Jesus called his disciples and
293. 13:57said,"I feel compassion for the people
294. 14:00because they have remained with me now 3
295. 14:02days and have nothing to eat, and I do
296. 14:06not want to send them away hungry,
297. 14:09for they might faint on the way." The
298. 14:12disciples said to him, "Where would we
299. 14:15get so many loaves in this desolate
300. 14:17place to [music] satisfy such a large
301. 14:20crowd?"
302. 14:22And Jesus said to them,
303. 14:25"How many loaves do you have?"
304. 14:29And they said, "Seven and a few small
305. 14:32fish." It's almost exactly. The first
306. 14:36time it's five loaves and a few and two
307. 14:38fish. Now it's seven and a few [music]
308. 14:40small fish. We're going through the
309. 14:42exact same scenario.
310. 14:45And he directed [music] the people to
311. 14:47sit down on the ground. And he took the
312. 14:49seven loaves and the fish. and giving
313. 14:51thanks, he broke them and started giving
314. 14:53them to the disciples. And the disciples
315. 14:56[music] gave them to the people. And
316. 14:58they all ate and were satisfied. And
317. 15:00they picked up what was left over of the
318. 15:02broken pieces, seven large baskets full.
319. 15:06And those who ate were 4,000 [music] men
320. 15:09besides women and children. And sending
321. 15:11away the crowds, Jesus got into the boat
322. 15:14and came to the region of Magodon.
323. 15:19So, Matthew is including this because he
324. 15:22was one of the disciples. He was there
325. 15:25and he's reflecting on how hard it was
326. 15:30for them to perceive what God was
327. 15:33actually doing. And you know, from the
328. 15:36outside, from a clear narrative of
329. 15:39hindsight, we can almost be frustrated
330. 15:42with them. Why did they not get it?
331. 15:45But what he's trying to show us is the
332. 15:48nature in all of us that is slow to
333. 15:51believe, that can see God do something
334. 15:55and glorify him for what [music] he's
335. 15:57done. And yet the very next time we're
336. 15:59facing the exact same thing, we bring
337. 16:01the same [music] excuses. We bring the
338. 16:03same impossibilities and the same lack
339. 16:05of faith. And yet God is there to
340. 16:08[music] help us. This time they only
341. 16:10brought back seven full baskets. Maybe
342. 16:14that means their faithlessness was a
343. 16:16little less than the 12 baskets that
344. 16:19each of the disciples had to carry.
345. 16:21Maybe this means that five of the
346. 16:23disciples had faith and only seven
347. 16:25lacked faith. I don't know how that
348. 16:27works.
349. 16:31[music]
350. 16:40[music]