Category Archives: Righteousness / Serving God

Demons, Evidence in Scripture, Faith / Trusting God, Holy Spirit / Ruach HaKodesh, Miracles

“Why Couldn’t We Cast Out The Demon?”

Jesus once again demonstrates His power and authority over demons in Matthew 17:14-21 as he casts out a demon with seemingly little effort. However, this scripture actually puts more emphasis around the disciples’ inability to cast out the demon.

14 At the foot of the mountain, a large crowd was waiting for them. A man came and knelt before Jesus and said, 15 “Lord, have mercy on my son. He has seizures and suffers terribly. He often falls into the fire or into the water. 16 So I brought him to your disciples, but they couldn’t heal him.”

17 Jesus said, “You faithless and corrupt people! How long must I be with you? How long must I put up with you? Bring the boy here to me.” 18 Then Jesus rebuked the demon in the boy, and it left him. From that moment the boy was well.

19 Afterward the disciples asked Jesus privately, “Why couldn’t we cast out that demon?”

20 “You don’t have enough faith,” Jesus told them. “I tell you the truth, if you had faith even as small as a mustard seed, you could say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it would move. Nothing would be impossible.[d]”

On the surface, this passage may seem to be about Jesus casting out the demon, but as we study we see that is actually of secondary focus. Jesus’ rebuke of the demon is described in one line. There is much more emphasis in this scripture on the disciple’s inability to heal the boy, on their lack of power, and what this reveals about their spiritual condition.

Jesus’ tone while speaking expresses frustration in the lack of faith resulting in the disciples being unable to cast out the demon. The disciples did in fact show some evidence of faith in that they tried to cast out the demon and again in that they did not understand why it did not work… they expected it to work. What we can see though is that the faith of the disciples is still developing and growing. They have farther to go.

The statement about being able to move a mountain with faith of a mustard seed is often misunderstood and misused. It is not simply…

“If I believe God exists, I can use His power to do whatever I want.”

More correct would perhaps be to think of it like the following…

“Jesus demonstrated that powerful prayer life, disciplined study of the scriptures, and absolute submission of His life to God’s will are essential in knowing and living God’s will. When we have that kind of relationship with God we will have the faith required to empower us to do whatever is in His will for us.”

It is also helpful to remember that during Jesus’ earthly ministry, God had not yet sent the Holy Spirit to be the helper for the disciples and other believers. That took place after Jesus’ death, resurrection, and return to heaven.  It is actually quite an interesting study to compare the ministry and faith of the disciples before the death and resurrection of Jesus to the same individuals after God had sent the Holy Spirit to be their helper. They transitioned from those that ran, hid, or denied Christ when He was to be crucified to standing strong on their own and proclaiming the good news of the gospel in the face of death. They had faith strong enough to willingly die for Jesus rather than deny Him.

There is yet another subtle point made in this scripture and in many others throughout the New Testament and throughout the Bible as a whole.  If the Bible were, as some claim, just a fictional text written by the followers of Jesus then they would not include so many examples where the disciples themselves failed as part of the text. Those parts could easily be omitted. The fact that the Bible chronicles the failures (along with the successes) of those who are or were leaders of the faith is compelling evidence of the truth of the Bible.

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Church / Body of Christ, Discerning / Judging, False Prophets / Teachers, Hearing from God, Jesus Christ / Yeshua, Righteousness / Serving God, Share the Good News

Jesus’ Appearance Was Transformed

In Matthew 17:1-13, Jesus takes Peter, James and John up to a high mountain to be alone and what they witness is amazing. For these three disciples it is another incredibly personal exposure to God. Jesus clearly wanted them to be witness to these events.

17 Six days later Jesus took Peter and the two brothers, James and John, and led them up a high mountain to be alone. 2 As the men watched, Jesus’ appearance was transformed so that his face shone like the sun, and his clothes became as white as light. 3 Suddenly, Moses and Elijah appeared and began talking with Jesus.

4 Peter exclaimed, “Lord, it’s wonderful for us to be here! If you want, I’ll make three shelters as memorials[a]—one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.”

5 But even as he spoke, a bright cloud overshadowed them, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is my dearly loved Son, who brings me great joy. Listen to him.” 6 The disciples were terrified and fell face down on the ground.

7 Then Jesus came over and touched them. “Get up,” he said. “Don’t be afraid.” 8 And when they looked up, Moses and Elijah were gone, and they saw only Jesus.

9 As they went back down the mountain, Jesus commanded them, “Don’t tell anyone what you have seen until the Son of Man[b] has been raised from the dead.”

10 Then his disciples asked him, “Why do the teachers of religious law insist that Elijah must return before the Messiah comes?[c]”

11 Jesus replied, “Elijah is indeed coming first to get everything ready. 12 But I tell you, Elijah has already come, but he wasn’t recognized, and they chose to abuse him. And in the same way they will also make the Son of Man suffer.” 13 Then the disciples realized he was talking about John the Baptist.

Jesus clearly wanted Peter, James and John to witness this event, even though He did not want them to tell anyone until after He was raised from the dead. Jesus is not seeking personal glory in His earthly ministry. God confirms that He is pleased with the life of Jesus, reaffirming that Jesus’ earthly ministry is the example of how God wants us, as His followers, to live.

We see again reference to the fact that Jesus was fully God and fully man rather than one or the other. God refers to Jesus as His “son” and Jesus refers to Himself as “Son of Man”.

We also see that when God reveals Himself directly to His people it can actually make people afraid. This is a theme that repeats throughout scripture in other examples like when God appeared to His people at Mt. Sinai and when God’s messengers, angels, appear to people. It can be an overwhelming experience.

At the close of the scripture we are also reminded that those who claim special knowledge  because they are in positions of religious authority often get it wrong. They not only abused and persecuted just about every prophet God sent, but completely missed the role of John the Baptist… even though they were looking for the return of Elijah as part of their own teaching. They completely missed the role of Jesus even though they were looking for the Messiah as part of their own teaching as well!

Many who were less “educated” or who were not in positions of religious authority could see clearly when the Pharisees and Sadducees could not. We are not called to blindly follow our religious leaders, but rather study scripture and get to know God’s word ourselves. We are not only to participate with other believers in a congregation but also study and seek God prayerfully in families and small groups to ensure a solid  foundation to living out our faith. Then when we are actually better positioned to help our faith based leaders and to discern which should be followed and which should be rebuked.

Reflect on what it would be like to be on the mountain top with Peter, James, and John as they experience that event. Would that change your life… making you more confident and bold in studying scripture, praying humbly, submitting your life to Jesus,  and sharing the good news of the gospel with more passion?

Jesus wanted us to know about this event after He died and rose again! That is why He brought the disciples and why it is in the Biblical text. Jesus wants us to accept it every bit as much as if we were there with Him on the mountain top!

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Disobeying, Rebelling Against, Ignoring God, Faith / Trusting God, Righteousness / Serving God

Faith Is The Confidence That What We Hope For Will Happen

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Hebrews 11 provides a wonderful summary of great examples of faith in God and faith that what He tells us is trustworthy and true. Faith in God should not be confused or misrepresented as a “blind faith”, but rather faith supported by the overwhelming evidence around us… in creation itself… in the authenticity and timeless relevance of the Bible… in the study of historical events including the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

11 Faith is the confidence that what we hope for will actually happen; it gives us assurance about things we cannot see. 2 Through their faith, the people in days of old earned a good reputation.

3 By faith we understand that the entire universe was formed at God’s command, that what we now see did not come from anything that can be seen.

4 It was by faith that Abel brought a more acceptable offering to God than Cain did. Abel’s offering gave evidence that he was a righteous man, and God showed his approval of his gifts. Although Abel is long dead, he still speaks to us by his example of faith.

5 It was by faith that Enoch was taken up to heaven without dying—“he disappeared, because God took him.”[a] For before he was taken up, he was known as a person who pleased God. 6 And it is impossible to please God without faith. Anyone who wants to come to him must believe that God exists and that he rewards those who sincerely seek him.

7 It was by faith that Noah built a large boat to save his family from the flood. He obeyed God, who warned him about things that had never happened before. By his faith Noah condemned the rest of the world, and he received the righteousness that comes by faith.

8 It was by faith that Abraham obeyed when God called him to leave home and go to another land that God would give him as his inheritance. He went without knowing where he was going. 9 And even when he reached the land God promised him, he lived there by faith—for he was like a foreigner, living in tents. And so did Isaac and Jacob, who inherited the same promise. 10 Abraham was confidently looking forward to a city with eternal foundations, a city designed and built by God.

11 It was by faith that even Sarah was able to have a child, though she was barren and was too old. She believed[b] that God would keep his promise. 12 And so a whole nation came from this one man who was as good as dead—a nation with so many people that, like the stars in the sky and the sand on the seashore, there is no way to count them.

13 All these people died still believing what God had promised them. They did not receive what was promised, but they saw it all from a distance and welcomed it. They agreed that they were foreigners and nomads here on earth. 14 Obviously people who say such things are looking forward to a country they can call their own. 15 If they had longed for the country they came from, they could have gone back. 16 But they were looking for a better place, a heavenly homeland. That is why God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them.

17 It was by faith that Abraham offered Isaac as a sacrifice when God was testing him. Abraham, who had received God’s promises, was ready to sacrifice his only son, Isaac, 18 even though God had told him, “Isaac is the son through whom your descendants will be counted.”[c] 19 Abraham reasoned that if Isaac died, God was able to bring him back to life again. And in a sense, Abraham did receive his son back from the dead.

20 It was by faith that Isaac promised blessings for the future to his sons, Jacob and Esau.

21 It was by faith that Jacob, when he was old and dying, blessed each of Joseph’s sons and bowed in worship as he leaned on his staff.

22 It was by faith that Joseph, when he was about to die, said confidently that the people of Israel would leave Egypt. He even commanded them to take his bones with them when they left.

23 It was by faith that Moses’ parents hid him for three months when he was born. They saw that God had given them an unusual child, and they were not afraid to disobey the king’s command.

24 It was by faith that Moses, when he grew up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter. 25 He chose to share the oppression of God’s people instead of enjoying the fleeting pleasures of sin. 26 He thought it was better to suffer for the sake of Christ than to own the treasures of Egypt, for he was looking ahead to his great reward. 27 It was by faith that Moses left the land of Egypt, not fearing the king’s anger. He kept right on going because he kept his eyes on the one who is invisible. 28 It was by faith that Moses commanded the people of Israel to keep the Passover and to sprinkle blood on the doorposts so that the angel of death would not kill their firstborn sons.

29 It was by faith that the people of Israel went right through the Red Sea as though they were on dry ground. But when the Egyptians tried to follow, they were all drowned.

30 It was by faith that the people of Israel marched around Jericho for seven days, and the walls came crashing down.

31 It was by faith that Rahab the prostitute was not destroyed with the people in her city who refused to obey God. For she had given a friendly welcome to the spies.

32 How much more do I need to say? It would take too long to recount the stories of the faith of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel, and all the prophets. 33 By faith these people overthrew kingdoms, ruled with justice, and received what God had promised them. They shut the mouths of lions, 34 quenched the flames of fire, and escaped death by the edge of the sword. Their weakness was turned to strength. They became strong in battle and put whole armies to flight. 35 Women received their loved ones back again from death.

But others were tortured, refusing to turn from God in order to be set free. They placed their hope in a better life after the resurrection. 36 Some were jeered at, and their backs were cut open with whips. Others were chained in prisons. 37 Some died by stoning, some were sawed in half,[d] and others were killed with the sword. Some went about wearing skins of sheep and goats, destitute and oppressed and mistreated. 38 They were too good for this world, wandering over deserts and mountains, hiding in caves and holes in the ground.

39 All these people earned a good reputation because of their faith, yet none of them received all that God had promised. 40 For God had something better in mind for us, so that they would not reach perfection without us.

Verse 3 highlights that by faith we understand that the entire universe was formed at God’s command, that what we now see did not come from anything that can be seen.  The more we learn about the universe them more it provides evidence for its creation by God. 

Based on observable evidence, credible  scientists virtually all agree that the universe had a beginning. It is not eternal. Basic laws and logic which are foundational to all science require that the law of causality is true. Said more simply, all “effects” must have a “cause”. Everything that has a beginning is an effect that requires a cause. Additionally, something that does not exist can not create itself. Thus we see fundamental laws of logic and science require a supernatural cause (in this case God as creator) that created the universe. Evidence leads to God.

Many argue against God because they can not “see” Him. I can not see gravity, but I recognize and accept it is real based on the evidence. When I look my car, I can not see the person who invented the first car or the person who designed or built my car… but I know from the evidence that someone designed and built my car.

Others argue that God is not real because they do not understand His reasoning for aspects of creation (e.g. “Why is there suffering?). I do not understand aerodynamics but I can not deny that evidence supports that planes fly.

We are not asked to have blind faith… but rather faith based in evidence… faith in God as revealed through scripture and the life of Jesus Christ and through creation itself. When we live our lives filled with faith in God we are able to submit to and serve Him even when we do not understand all the details. In many cases, we will not even see the end result of our faith… like ripples on a pond that go far out of our limited sight. But we can trust that God uses our faith to His glory!

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Obeying God, Suffering / Adversity

Seeing From a Human Point of View, Not From God’s

Matthew 16:21-28 continues after Jesus has just confirmed to His disciples that He is the “son of the living God”. After this revelation, which God had revealed to Peter and then Peter shared in the presence of the other disciples, Jesus began to tell His disciples more plainly that it was necessary for Him to go to Jerusalem and suffer at the hands of the elders.

21 From then on Jesus[j] began to tell his disciples plainly that it was necessary for him to go to Jerusalem, and that he would suffer many terrible things at the hands of the elders, the leading priests, and the teachers of religious law. He would be killed, but on the third day he would be raised from the dead.

22 But Peter took him aside and began to reprimand him[k] for saying such things. “Heaven forbid, Lord,” he said. “This will never happen to you!”

23 Jesus turned to Peter and said, “Get away from me, Satan! You are a dangerous trap to me. You are seeing things merely from a human point of view, not from God’s.”

24 Then Jesus said to his disciples, “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must turn from your selfish ways, take up your cross, and follow me. 25 If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake, you will save it. 26 And what do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul?[l] Is anything worth more than your soul? 27 For the Son of Man will come with his angels in the glory of his Father and will judge all people according to their deeds. 28 And I tell you the truth, some standing here right now will not die before they see the Son of Man coming in his Kingdom.”

Peter calls Jesus to the side to reprimand Him for saying such things. Peter loved Jesus and did not want Him to come to any harm. Peter saw things from a man’s view. He got a very clear correction from Jesus. Then Jesus continued to explain.

We all see through the eyes of men. None of us can see through God’s eyes except perhaps through limited special revelation from God. We will all be subject to making Peter’s mistake when we see things around us that do not make sense such as death and illness, especially for the innocent and for those who serve God.

We must bring our concerns humbly before God and release them to Him, as we will see Jesus do later in scripture in the garden before He is taken into custody for crucifixion. We can ask for help, of course, but are called to submit to God’s will even when we do not understand it.

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Discerning / Judging, Disobeying, Rebelling Against, Ignoring God, Faith / Trusting God, False Prophets / Teachers, Miracles, Parables, Wickedness / Evil

Beware The Yeast of The Pharisees and Sadducees

Matthew 16:5-12 continues after the Pharisees and Sadducees just demanded a miraculous sign from Jesus (again) to prove His authority in verses 1-4. Jesus pointed out that their motivation is evil and they had more than enough evidence in front of them to see He is from heaven but they refuse to acknowledge it.

Following that encounter, Jesus warns His disciples about the deceptive teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees.

5 Later, after they crossed to the other side of the lake, the disciples discovered they had forgotten to bring any bread. 6 “Watch out!” Jesus warned them. “Beware of the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees.”

7 At this they began to argue with each other because they hadn’t brought any bread. 8 Jesus knew what they were saying, so he said, “You have so little faith! Why are you arguing with each other about having no bread? 9 Don’t you understand even yet? Don’t you remember the 5,000 I fed with five loaves, and the baskets of leftovers you picked up? 10 Or the 4,000 I fed with seven loaves, and the large baskets of leftovers you picked up? 11 Why can’t you understand that I’m not talking about bread? So again I say, ‘Beware of the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees.’”

12 Then at last they understood that he wasn’t speaking about the yeast in bread, but about the deceptive teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees.

Jesus once again uses a comparison of something his disciples are familiar with to demonstrate an important element of kingdom truth. Jesus compares of false teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees to yeast in bread. Just as a little yeast can change the character of the whole loaf of bread so too can even a little false teaching change how we understand the character of our worship and obedience to God. We must be careful to avoid any false teaching and avoid making excuses to accept “a little” false teaching.

If we are unsure of whether or not something is correct or false we are not called to just accept it because someone else said it was so, but rather study scripture and seek God in prayer to determine what is true and verify what we were told.

As a side note, I can easily identify with the disciples… starting to argue about who forgot the bread. All to often even those who genuinely love Jesus and desire to serve Him can miss the point or get distracted by events around them. Jesus is gracious enough to redirect us and get us back on track and focused… if we are submitted to Him and listening to Him.

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Depression / Discouragement, Hope, Peace / Rest

You Will Keep In Perfect Peace All Who Trust In You

In this world there is much suffering and discouragement. Many fall even into depression. There is hope in the word of our God to encourage us and bring us joy even in trials.

You will keep in perfect peace all who trust in you, all whose thoughts are fixed on you! [Isaiah 26:3]

12 And so, dear brothers and sisters,[a] I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him.[b] 2 Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect. [Romans 12:1-2]

5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. 6 Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take. [Proverbs 3:5-6]

We are all susceptible to discouragement in our lives. None of us are above it. However, we can find much comfort in seeking God in prayer and through study of His word in the Bible. We depend on Him and trust Him rather than trusting our own understanding. We live God’s way instead of the world’s way.  Jesus is a source of hope and encouragement even when we do not fully understand why He allows difficult things to happen in our lives.

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Children, Consequences of Sin, Disobeying, Rebelling Against, Ignoring God, Family, Parenting, Righteousness / Serving God

“What Good Is My Birthright To Me Now?

We see in Genesis 25:27-34 some of the damage inflicted within a family when parents fail. Isaac and Rebekah chose favorites, perhaps unintentionally, but favorites none the less. When parents do this it creates a significant divide within the family instead of uniting the family together. Instead, as parents, we are to love each child for the unique gifts and personality God has given them… following the example of our Creator, who loves each of us despite our differences.

27 As the boys grew up, Esau became a skillful hunter. He was an outdoorsman, but Jacob had a quiet temperament, preferring to stay at home. 28 Isaac loved Esau because he enjoyed eating the wild game Esau brought home, but Rebekah loved Jacob.

29 One day when Jacob was cooking some stew, Esau arrived home from the wilderness exhausted and hungry. 30 Esau said to Jacob, “I’m starved! Give me some of that red stew!” (This is how Esau got his other name, Edom, which means “red.”)

31 “All right,” Jacob replied, “but trade me your rights as the firstborn son.”

32 “Look, I’m dying of starvation!” said Esau. “What good is my birthright to me now?”

33 But Jacob said, “First you must swear that your birthright is mine.” So Esau swore an oath, thereby selling all his rights as the firstborn to his brother, Jacob.

34 Then Jacob gave Esau some bread and lentil stew. Esau ate the meal, then got up and left. He showed contempt for his rights as the firstborn.

As we continue to read in scripture we will later read in Genesis 27 how Jacob tricks Isaac into giving him the blessing intended for Esau. However, we see clearly in Genesis 25 that Esau showed contempt for his rights as the firstborn and agreed foolishly to give them to Isaac in trade for… yes… one bowl of stew.

There is much we could discuss about the dysfunctional behavior of both Isaac and Esau within this family… and Isaac and Rebekah as well. It is disappointing to see the grandchildren  of Abraham acting so poorly and acting so clearly on their internal sin nature instead of turning to God and following His instruction.

It is a clear reminder for each of us to focus as parents on the importance of following God’s instruction and example in loving and raising our children. We must actively seek God and parent well. Children will not raise themselves in a godly manner. Sometimes parenting can be a very difficult task to do in a righteous and thorough manner. It is not for the lazy or faint of heart.

Join me in praying for Christian parents around the world to raise their children in a righteous manner and help lead them to God. If you are a parent or grandparent,  seek ways you can help raise the next generations. There are many in the world who will try to lead them astray and they must be well rooted in the Bible and in Jesus Christ as the only path to knowing God.

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Character of God, Compassion, Miracles

Jesus Feeds Thousands With Little Food… Again

Jesus is once again moved with compassion for the people who follow Him and feeds 4000 people with little food in Matthew 15:32-39. As a reminder, this is a separate event than the feeding of the 5000 plus people we recently discussed in Matthew 14.

32 Then Jesus called his disciples and told them, “I feel sorry for these people. They have been here with me for three days, and they have nothing left to eat. I don’t want to send them away hungry, or they will faint along the way.”

33 The disciples replied, “Where would we get enough food here in the wilderness for such a huge crowd?”

34 Jesus asked, “How much bread do you have?”

They replied, “Seven loaves, and a few small fish.”

35 So Jesus told all the people to sit down on the ground. 36 Then he took the seven loaves and the fish, thanked God for them, and broke them into pieces. He gave them to the disciples, who distributed the food to the crowd.

37 They all ate as much as they wanted. Afterward, the disciples picked up seven large baskets of leftover food. 38 There were 4,000 men who were fed that day, in addition to all the women and children. 39 Then Jesus sent the people home, and he got into a boat and crossed over to the region of Magadan.

This scripture shows us once again that Jesus is moved with compassion for those who genuinely seek Him. Having recently fed 5000 plus with a few loaves and fish, we find the disciples responding the same way they did before when Jesus says He wants to feed the crowd. They start by asking where they will get the food for such a crowd.

While some may chastise the disciples as foolish for not remembering the last time, I prefer to reflect on it slightly differently. The miracle of feeding the 5000 plus was so amazing and unusual, that even the disciples who were there and witnessed it could still not consider it as an obvious and common solution to feeding the crowds. Let’s give the disciples their due respect… they obeyed Jesus and distributed the food even when it clearly appeared that there would not be enough to go around. They did not require Jesus to make all the food appear first in a pile before they agreed to pass it out.

I can think in my own life how many times when God asks me to do something I start by recognizing the obstacles that would prevent me from doing this on my own, by my normal abilities and actions. The difference is that when Jesus asks us to do something, He will provide the ability and resources to do it. We can focus on trying simply to obey. We can start even without seeing and knowing exactly how it will be completed.

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Character of God, Faith / Trusting God, Humility, Merciful, Miracles

Your Faith Is Great. Your Request Is Granted.

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Jesus is moved by the faith of a gentile woman in Matthew 15:21-28 as she pleads for His mercy to cast out a demon from her daughter. Although it was not part of His direct mission or task, He was moved by her humility and faith in repeatedly asking for His help.

21 Then Jesus left Galilee and went north to the region of Tyre and Sidon. 22 A Gentile[e] woman who lived there came to him, pleading, “Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David! For my daughter is possessed by a demon that torments her severely.”

23 But Jesus gave her no reply, not even a word. Then his disciples urged him to send her away. “Tell her to go away,” they said. “She is bothering us with all her begging.”

24 Then Jesus said to the woman, “I was sent only to help God’s lost sheep—the people of Israel.”

25 But she came and worshiped him, pleading again, “Lord, help me!”

26 Jesus responded, “It isn’t right to take food from the children and throw it to the dogs.”

27 She replied, “That’s true, Lord, but even dogs are allowed to eat the scraps that fall beneath their masters’ table.”

28 “Dear woman,” Jesus said to her, “your faith is great. Your request is granted.” And her daughter was instantly healed.

Jesus repeatedly shows compassion by recognizing the needs of others and responding to them, even when it means changing His plans. He recognized the gentile woman’s great faith and then healed her daughter.

We can see in this scripture that we can not just claim healing in Jesus’ name and be healed as if we were at a vending machine demanding what we want.  The woman asked for His intervention to heal her daughter and He granted that request.

Each of us should consider…

Do we look upon God’s people around us with compassion? are we willing to stop what we are doing to help someone in Jesus’ name or are we too busy with our own tasks?

When we have illness or injury or if we suspect demon possession (yes, it is real though many dismiss it), do we look to God for help? Do we humbly come before Him asking in faith or do we demand it as if from a vending machine? Do we ask once and then move on not believing He will answer or do we seek Him persistently, believing He will hear our request? God’s answer is not always “yes” to our requests, but we can always come before Him humbly and seek His help with our needs and desires.

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Discerning / Judging, Hebrew Roots / Commands / Law, Hypocrisy, Righteousness / Serving God, Traditions / Holidays

Why Do You Put Traditions Above Commandments of God?

In Matthew 15:1-20, Jesus reminds us that we should be careful to follow the instructions of God and clearly distinguish those from the traditions of man.

Traditions can be very comforting and can initially be well intended…  trying to help translate the commands of God into actionable, specific steps or actions. However, we must be careful not to get so attached to the traditions of men, that we lose connection to the original instructions of God.

15 Some Pharisees and teachers of religious law now arrived from Jerusalem to see Jesus. They asked him, 2 “Why do your disciples disobey our age-old tradition? For they ignore our tradition of ceremonial hand washing before they eat.”

3 Jesus replied, “And why do you, by your traditions, violate the direct commandments of God? 4 For instance, God says, ‘Honor your father and mother,’[a] and ‘Anyone who speaks disrespectfully of father or mother must be put to death.’[b] 5 But you say it is all right for people to say to their parents, ‘Sorry, I can’t help you. For I have vowed to give to God what I would have given to you.’ 6 In this way, you say they don’t need to honor their parents.[c] And so you cancel the word of God for the sake of your own tradition. 7 You hypocrites! Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you, for he wrote,

8 ‘These people honor me with their lips,
    but their hearts are far from me.
9 Their worship is a farce,
    for they teach man-made ideas as commands from God.’[d]”

10 Then Jesus called to the crowd to come and hear. “Listen,” he said, “and try to understand. 11 It’s not what goes into your mouth that defiles you; you are defiled by the words that come out of your mouth.”

12 Then the disciples came to him and asked, “Do you realize you offended the Pharisees by what you just said?”

13 Jesus replied, “Every plant not planted by my heavenly Father will be uprooted, 14 so ignore them. They are blind guides leading the blind, and if one blind person guides another, they will both fall into a ditch.”

15 Then Peter said to Jesus, “Explain to us the parable that says people aren’t defiled by what they eat.”

16 “Don’t you understand yet?” Jesus asked. 17 “Anything you eat passes through the stomach and then goes into the sewer. 18 But the words you speak come from the heart—that’s what defiles you. 19 For from the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, all sexual immorality, theft, lying, and slander. 20 These are what defile you. Eating with unwashed hands will never defile you.”

Jesus also strongly makes the case to his disciples that we can not be overly concerned about offending people if they do not like to hear the truth of God’s word. We must teach the truth of the gospel even if it upsets some who prefer the traditions of men.

Ask yourself, what traditions are you holding on to? Do you get so focused on the tradition that you miss the original intent of God’s instruction? Are the traditions you hold on to even based on God’s instruction, or are they contrary to it?

Where traditions are in contrast to God’s instruction or replace God’s instruction, we must reject them. Traditions should support and point to God’s instruction, but never replace it.

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