Matthew 15 - 11.21.25

Scripture: Matthew 15:1-2, 10-11

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

10 Jesus called the crowd to him and said, “Listen and understand. 11 What goes into someone’s mouth does not defile them, but what comes out of their mouth, that is what defiles them.”

Observation

My mother told us when we were kids to wash our hands before we eat. When we were outside playing, I’m sure when we came to the table with dirty hands many times, Mom did not want to see us touch food with dirty hands, especially when food is being passed around. Now as an adult, when Mary and I are at Disneyland, we know to wash our hands often.  Most of the snacks at Disneyland are eaten using your hands, and I wonder how many people wash their hands.

The Pharisees were talking about ceremonial washing of the hands. Whenever you see the word “Pharisees” in the New Testament, it is generally not a positive story.  Pharisees were the religious leaders who have read or been taught the scriptures. They are always trying to catch Jesus and the disciples doing something that is against the laws and traditions. Jesus, when responding to the Pharisees, looks at their heart.

In Matthew 15:17-20, it says “Don’t you see that whatever enters the mouth goes into the stomach and then out of the body? But the things that come out of a person’s mouth come from the heart, and these defile them. For out of the heart come evil thoughts—murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander.  These are what defile a person; but eating with unwashed hands does not defile them.” 

Application

Washing your hands before you eat is just sanitary. Eating with dirty hands is just a bad look. It could also give you an upset stomach. Jesus was not concerned about what goes into your mouth but was concerned about what comes out of your mouth. Jesus is looking at the heart. Jesus was looking at people who thought they looked great on the outside, but inside they are dirty and have not a cleansed heart.

Jeremiah 17:9: “The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?”

We need a new heart.: Psalms 51:10 – “Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.”

We need to guard our heart: Proverbs 4:23 – “Above all else, Guard your Heart, for everything you do flow from it.”

God is the strength of our Heart: Psalm 73:26 – “My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and portion forever.”

We need a discerning heart: Proverbs 18:15 – “The Heart of the decerning acquires Knowledge, for the ears of the wise seek it out.”

Prayer

Dear Lord, thank you for loving me. Search my heart O God, help me to have a decerning heart, and help me guard my heart. Let me have a loving and gracious heart. Let the things that come out of my mouth honor you Jesus. In Jesus name Amen.

- Robert Oberg

Matthew 14 - 11.20.25

SCRIPTURE:  Matthew 14:13

“When Jesus heard it, He departed from there by boat to a deserted place by Himself. But when the multitudes heard it, they followed Him on foot from the cities.” 

OBSERVATION 

Jesus had just heard of the beheading of his cousin, John the Baptist, and he went to a “deserted place”, not out of cowardice knowing what was next. He would have been mourning the loss of this precious man, and Jesus wanted and needed to be comforted and alone with God. At the same time, the multitudes who had been coming to hear of who he was, followed him in their desire to know more of his words—and the disciples had followed him too.  When he saw them, he became more concerned about the “multitudes” than his sorrow.  Moved with compassion verses 14-16, he began to heal the sick and to teach them. Jesus did this all the way until evening. His gracious compassion for the demanding crowds was remarkable.  And because it was evening and they hadn’t eaten he asked the disciples to get them something to eat.  

Jesus Displays Authority over Nature, verses 20-21 You give them something to eat: With this, Jesus challenged both the compassion and the faith of the disciples. Yet He did not ask them to do anything to meet the need without also guiding them through the work. It was the compassion of Jesus and His awareness of the power of God that led Him to go about the miracle of Him feeding the multitude from five loaves of bread and two fish.  

APPLICATION 

In this beautiful story of the compassion of Jesus Christ, how do you select only one scripture? Jesus showed sorrow over someone he loved BUT He had compassion for others over his own feelings. The prominence of this story – recorded in all four gospels – shows that both the Holy Spirit and the early church thought this story was important.  It is more than an example of the miraculous power of Jesus; it defines the compassion of Christ.  

This story is an example to not always focus on ourselves but look for those around us who may need help.  It shows that Jesus had compassion and care for the people of God, even when we might have expected His patience would be exhausted.  It’s God’s example when we see others struggling, to have compassion and faith, and STEP UP and ask to help, “feed them the bread of life in His word”, in prayer.

The feeding of the 5,000 also gives us three principles regarding God’s provision.

· Thank God for and wisely use what you have.

· Trust God’s unlimited resources.

· Don’t waste what He gives you. 

PRAYER 

Lord Jesus, in all the heartache you were going thru in the loss of someone you cared for, you knew of the prophetic words of God for your future, and you needed to get away to pray /talk with/to GOD.  BUT YOU still put others first, because YOU knew of your purpose: to be the savior of your people, as the son of God, the third party of the Trinity.  Lord, this is a lesson for me to have compassion and put others first no matter the trials I face. And come to you in a “quiet place”. And Jesus, thank you for who you were then in these beautiful stories of your life on this earth, and all you did for others in the journey from your birth until your death at age 30; and now. And LORD, to think of the compassion of the stories of you that were written in the gospel by your disciples…who carried your compassion, through faith, to give your word to all nations and died, and are resurrected with YOU. Words fail to thank you and them…let me live a life that reflects your compassion and your Glory! AND always look for others that need to come to know YOU.  Psalm 119:105 Your word is a lamp to guide my feet and a light for my path.  Amen!

- Charleen Zakarian

Matthew 13 - 11.19.25

Scripture

Matthew 13:54-58

Coming to his hometown, he began teaching the people in their synagogue, and they were amazed. “Where did this man get this wisdom and these miraculous powers?” they asked. “Isn’t this the carpenter’s son? Isn’t his mother’s name Mary, and aren’t his brothers James, Joseph, Simon and Judas? Aren’t all his sisters with us? Where then did this man get all these things?” And they took offense at him.

But Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor except in his own town and in his own home.”

And he did not do many miracles there because of their lack of faith.

Observation

The people of Nazareth could see Jesus’ wisdom and power. But the Jesus they saw didn’t match what they thought they knew of him, so they rejected him. Because of their lack of faith, the people of Nazareth lost out on their miracles. Another version says, “And he did not do many mighty works there, because of their unbelief.”

Do we make assumptions about Jesus – who he is, what he does or doesn’t want to do – that cause us to miss out on what Jesus can do? Do we make assumptions that because he doesn’t work in the way we expect him to, that he is not at work? Do we reject his teachings or the things he speaks to us because they’re not the answer we want to hear?

Application

In Matthew 21:22, Jesus said, Whatever you ask in prayer, you will receive, if you have faith. We must ask in faith believing he has the power to answer our prayers.

In Matthew 7:7, Jesus said, Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. We must earnestly seek his presence and follow his instructions.

1 John 5:14-15 says, This is the confidence we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. We must believe that if we are seeking his will, he will hear us, whether or not we see the results we are expecting.

Prayer

Jesus, I don’t want to miss out on miracles! Help me not to come to you with preconceived expectations, but to come to you earnestly seeking to know you and your will. Help me to be open and teachable, not to close my ears when I am confronted with truth. As I spend time with you, reveal yourself to me more and more.

- Debbie Dunn