4 Minute Read

Prepare Your Heart

To the best of your ability, get rid of all distractions. Take a few minutes to breathe deeply and quiet yourself in the Lord’s presence. Then, ask the Lord to speak to you in this time. Let Him know that you will listen and make whatever adjustments He will reveal to you.

Read God’s Word

Genesis 49-50
Matthew 15:10-28

A Verse for Today

Slowly and reflectively read the following verse(s) and listen to what God will say to you through His written Word. Consider writing down any insights He reveals to you.

Matthew 15:10-11, 17-18 (CSB): “Summoning the crowd, he told them, ‘Listen and understand: It’s not what goes into the mouth that defiles a person, but what comes out of the mouth—this defiles a person. … Don’t you realize that whatever goes into the mouth passes into the stomach and is eliminated? But what comes out of the mouth comes from the heart, and this defiles a person.”

Reflecting on God’s Word

As Matthew 15 begins, the hypocritical Pharisees reprimanded Jesus for seeming to approve of His disciples eating without going through a traditional ceremonial washing. Jesus was having none of it. He turned the tables on them and rebuked them for their hypocrisy (v. 3-9).

Then, Jesus called the crowd of people to Himself as He used this teaching moment. He told them that it wasn’t what went into their bodies that defiled them but what came out of their mouth.

Basically, he was saying that the digestive system doesn’t determine a thing’s morality. When we put something into our mouth, it goes through our digestive system and eventually “is eliminated” (v. 17). It is strictly biological, and there is no morality to it.

But what comes out of the mouth is an entirely different matter. Why? Because “what comes out of the mouth comes from the heart” (v. 18). Who we really are and what is near and dear to us will directly affect the things we say and how we say them.

People can tell a lot about us and our spiritual condition by the things we talk about and how we talk about them. If we frequently gossip, slander, tell dirty jokes, or do any number of other sinful things, those things come from our hearts. We can say our heart is right with the Lord, but our words will make it abundantly clear that our heart is not right.

So, the food we put into our mouths isn’t nearly as important or telling as the words that come out of our mouths.

Spend Time in Prayer

  • Ask God to help you listen extra carefully to the things you say and how you say them today.
  • Ask God to enable you to accurately assess the condition of your spiritual life based on what you say and how you say it.
  • Ask God to enable you to be broken over what you observe and to enable you to genuinely repent.
  • Ask God to help you begin an intentional journey of living a life much more worthy of what He has done for you in saving you.

Going Deeper

If you want to dig a little deeper into Jesus’ words in Matthew 15:11, consider reading the following GotQuestions article:

“Why is it that what comes out of the mouth is what defiles (Matthew 15:11)?”

Sharing

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Matt Ellis is the pastor of First Baptist Church in Polk City, Florida (fbcpolkcity.com)