Many of Jesus teachings to His disciples came through real life encounters.
Matt 15 begins with yet another encounter with the ‘Pharisees and teachers of the law’. Why do your disciples eat without washing their hands first? They break the tradition of the elders. How much of our lives are just traditional and how much are walking with and obeying the Lord?
Jesus in turn rebuked them for breaking God’s commands to keep men’s traditions. He spoke very directly to them and quoted Isaiah the prophet;
Isaiah 29:13
These people honour me with their lips(externally),
but their hearts are far from me(true internal condition).
They worship me in vain(so much wasted effort to conform);
their teachings are but rules taught by men(no value in God’s sight).
Jesus then had to teach his disciples the true meaning of being clean.
Matt 15:18
But the things that come out of the mouth come from the heart and these make a person ‘unclean’. For out of the heart come evil thoughts….
What situations will we face today, this week or month and what is God saying to us through them? We need to ask the Lord for His perspectives on our own life encounters. I’m sure that He’ll have some things to say to us, especially if the same issues are being repeated in our experiences.
Jesus didn’t just teach His disciples in academic or abstract ways, He shared His life with them. Our lives are the arena that God is using to form His character in us for eternity!
May the Lord speak to us and teach us some deep lessons in our own lives as we go forward this year.
God bless you