Matthew__16
Scripture Matthew 16:5-6 When they went across the lake, the disciples forgot to take bread. “Be careful,” Jesus said to them. “Be on your guard against the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees.”
Observation-What does it say? Jesus takes a moment to warn his disciples of the teaching of those looking to change God’s word, in honor of their tradition. During Jesus’ life, the pharisees saw religion in terms of an outward cat and ritual, the cleansing of the body. The sadducees saw religion, were wealthy and highly political, and looked at religion as a means to increase the prosperity. Jesus is reminding his disciples that religion is that which affects the heart, and translates into actions rooted in love.
Understanding-What does it mean? “You shouldn’t be eating that,” my co-worker told me, while I sat quietly eating my ham and cheese sandwich. I was totally confused as to what he was talking about. As I inquired, he went on to tell me that eating ham was sinful and that I shouldn’t call myself a Christian. At this point I still wasn’t grasping what he was getting at, which made him all the more upset. He went on to berate me about going to church on Sunday instead of Saturday and a number of other things that I did, which had never dawned on me as being “sins.” I remember feeling like my co-worker had gotten lost in some details that were really not important. Like the pharisees and the sadducees, this person had turned something that had been intended for good and turned it into an unnecessary burden that he was trying to place on other people.
Jesus is concerned with our hearts, not whether or not we wash our hands the right way, or pray at a certain time. He simply wants our hearts devoted to him. We live in a world full of things competing for our attention and the devotion of our hearts. Our miniature computers beeping at us and entertaining us at all hours of the day. There are disciples of all different schools of thought trying to convince us to eat only meat, or only vegetables. Even in Jesus’ time, we see a glimpse of similar things competing for the disciples hearts. While some of these are good things, they can also distract us from what God is trying to do in us.
In Proverbs we learn of the importance of guarding our heart, because “it is the wellspring of life” (24:3). In his letter to the Romans, Paul warns them about conforming to the ways of the world, and he challenges us to continue to renew our minds into what God wants us to become (12:2). Peter tells us that if we stand firm in our faith, God will be faithful to restore us in him (1 Peter 5:6-10).
Life Application Jesus help me to find You before anything else. Help me not to waiver in my faith. Help me to guard my heart, so that I may not lead others astray over “religious” issues. Help me to lay down my desires to you everyday.
-Tyler Galloway