The Big Problem...Matthew 15:1-20...A sternly corrective Jesus

 

Sometimes we say, "The camera cannot do justice to what I am seeing."  The photo above is a representation of that statement.  I am on the saddle above Timber Lake to peek over on the other side to see Julian Lake and Longs Peak in the background.  Although I am very thankful to be able to take this picture and save it for future viewing, what I captured in my eyes with all the depths of color and perspective cannot be matched.  I had to be there, in that spot, to appreciate the full extent of what I was experiencing.  

This is true of Jesus also.  When we rely on just others perspectives of Him, we will come up short to our time with Him.  When we rely on sound bytes and summaries of Jesus' life and not walk through personally the line by line of words and deeds, we will come up short of experiencing His full character.  Jesus gets painted in many different ways and we tend to lean to one painting of His life over another but to get the full effect you need to experience a Jesus who kind but corrective, loving but direct, and peaceful but powerful to name a few.  Jesus is the good parent who provides and protects but also pushes us to grow and paints the line we are not to cross.  

In our passage we see a Jesus who is telling the religious leaders of the day that they are wrong in their teaching.  We see a Jesus who is questioning His followers on their understanding and needing to go back to the basics with them.  We see a Jesus who isn't "going along to get along" or "agreeing to disagree."  Jesus is to the point and not backing down on the subject of what defiles a man.  It isn't the external things but rather an internal thing.  It isn't the way that you wash your hands or wash your hands at all before eating but it is the condition of your heart.  You can wash your hands but you can't change your heart.  A major heart surgery must be performed by surgeon Jesus for you not to be defiled.  Justification must happen so sanctification can occur and glorification can be ultimately experienced.

Jesus is flipping their teaching supported by the traditions of the elders on its head.  He is drawing in the whole crowd to hear the truth in the midst of their religious leaders.  His disciples know that what Jesus has said has ruffled some feathers but Jesus doesn't back down.  Rather He explains even further that what is being taught is not of His Father and it will be "uprooted."  The wheat will be brought into the barn but the tares (weeds) will be thrown onto the fire.  It is a pointing the finger at the religious leaders but when we study all of Jesus we know that it is a type of invitation to leave the teaching of men to follow the commandments of God.  It may have sounded stern but the sternness was on purpose to get their attention.  It is not a mode that Jesus uses all the time but I am so thankful He does at times because we need to hear this voice from Jesus too.

A fuller picture of Jesus is what I desire.  I desire to see Him in 3D and in high definition.  I want to see the multi-facets of His life.  The only way for this to happen is for me to be in that spot to see Him myself.  It took effort to get to that spot where the picture was taken.  I was huffing and puffing to get enough air; I was sweating from the effort even though it was a cool morning, and my muscles were straining against the steep incline.  So it is with our time with Jesus and experiencing Him through the words of the Bible.  It will take effort on our part to be in a place where you take in all of who He is; all of what He says; and all of what He does.  It was worth the effort yesterday to get to that spot to see Julian Lake and Longs Peak and it is truly worth the effort to get to the spot to see Jesus in full color as only your own eyes can take in.

Adam