Daily Devotional For Sunday, November 30, 2025
Good morning and I pray your Thanksgiving was one of thanks and being with family and friends. If you are joining us for these daily devotionals, we are making our way through Matthew’s Gospel. The passage we are looking at this Sunday morning is from Matthew 15. We have already broken it into different days to look at this more intentionally. We are going to pick up where we left off and add some additional verses from Matthew 15. Today we come to Matthew 15:10-20:
“‘After Jesus called the crowd to Him, He said to them, ‘Hear and understand. (11) It is not what enters into the mouth that defiles the man, but what proceeds out of the mouth, this defiles the man.’ (12) Then the disciples came and said to Him, ‘Do You know that the Pharisees were offended when they heard this statement?’ (13) But He answered and said, ‘Every plant which My heavenly Father did not plant shall be uprooted. (14) Let them alone; they are blind guides of the blind. And if a blind man guides a blind man, both will fall into a pit.’ (15) Peter said to Him, ‘Explain the parable to us.’ (16) Jesus said, ‘Are you still lacking in understanding also? (17) Do you not understand that everything that goes into the mouth passes into the stomach, and is eliminated? (18) But the things that proceed out of the mouth come from the heart, and those defile the man. (19) For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, slanders. (20) These are the things which defile the man; but to eat with unwashed hands does not defile the man’” (NASB).
Yesterday we concluded with 3 characteristics of the spiritually blind. First, they always ask the spiritually wrong questions. We see this in Matthew 15:2. Second, they always put a lot of stock in unscriptural traditions. We see this also in Matthew 15:2. They will elevate certain traditions higher than Scripture. And third, the spiritually blind do not see that spiritual defilement is a matter of the heart as Jeremiah says in Jeremiah 17:9. This is Jesus’ point in Matthew 15:17-20. So, how is your heart?
The Greek New Testament word translated as “listen” in Matthew 15:10 is often translated as “hear.” The Greek New Testament word is [ἀκούω; akouo] .This is where we get our English word acoustic. There is a Hebrew equivalent from the Old Testament that would have taken Jesus’ disciples back to Deuteronomy 6:4-6, “Hear, O Israel! The Lord is our God, the Lord is one! (5) You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. (6) These words, which I am commanding you today, shall be on your heart” (NASB). The Hebrew word translated as “hear” in Deuteronomy 6:4 is [שָׁמַע, shema]. Every Jew memorized Deuteronomy 6:4-6 and understood God’s call of obedience from it.
This passage was memorized by Jews as a reminder that their own spiritual defilement starts in their hearts, not in their traditions or rules or rituals or regulations. So, in Matthew 15:10, Jesus gives His own “Shema.” Jesus says if you want to see two places for spiritual defilement, it is the heart and the mouth, not the hands or the stomach. Notice Jesus does not speak of the good things that come out of our hearts – empathy, sympathy, kindness, creativity and artistry, and love. Jesus mentions only the bad things that come out of our hearts – “evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, slanders.” Previously Jesus had mentioned the 5th Commandment about honoring one’s parents in Matthew 15:3-6.
Now Jesus mentions commandments 6, 7, 8, 9 and 10. Jesus took God’s perfect Law and used it like a floodlight to expose the human heart. Almost like a cardiovascular surgeon today orders tests such as EKGs, echos, CAT scans and MRI’s, Jesus says having looked at our hearts, “Well the heart is diseased and it is fatal. You think your heart pumps blood through your arteries. NO, it pumps evil and sin. Every human being suffers from heart disease. Your sewer systems are cleaner than your hearts.” We hate, we lust, we hold grudges, we get revenge, and we murder and commit adultery.
This is the point of Jeremiah 17:9, “The heart is more deceitful than all else, And is desperately sick; Who can understand it?” (NASB). Our hearts are wicked, deceitful and evil. This is why Scripture warns us of this in Proverbs 4:23, “Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it” (NIV). Jesus says, “You want to know what is in your heart? Just look at what comes out of your mouth.” That is Jesus’ point in Matthew 15:18. Every relationship we have is reflected from the words that come out of our mouths. For example, if you want to know what someone thinks of their marriage, just listen to how they talk about their spouse. The same is true of employer/employee, parent/child, pastor/congregation, etc.
Look at Jesus’ words in Matthew 12:36-37, “But I tell you that every careless word that people speak, they shall give an accounting for it on the day of judgment. (37) For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned” (NASB). Our words shout volumes and our words are the window to our heart and soul. So, how clean is your heart? It is as clean as your tongue. Who of us has never gossiped? Who of us has never been condemning? Who of us has never used inappropriate language? Who of us has never been critical? Who of us has never used God’s name in vain? (In case you’re wondering, this is more than the traditional curse word we often think about today. It involves saying or using OMG, or using any name of God or Jesus out of context of praising or praying to Him). New Testament scholar Emil Brunner writes these words:
“Lay down your stone, O sinner. Cover your mouths, for we are a people with unclean lips. Yes, the world is full of dirty words. And it will take a lot more than the efforts of the EPA to clean it up. Our world is filthy, and the world’s “major pollutant” is words. Jesus’ “Parable of the Mouth” teaches that we are not clean enough on the inside to be right with God through washing our hands before we eat. Put differently, clean hands are not the mediator between God and man. Jesus is” (Source: Emil Brunner, The Churchbook: Matthew 13-28,” p. 94.
New Testament scholar J.C. Ryle writes these words:
“Through the Holy Spirit we need Jesus to give us broken and contrite hearts (Psalm 51:17), circumcised hearts (Romans 2:29), clean hearts (Hebrews 10:22), pure hearts (1 Peter 1:22), new hearts (Ezekiel 36:26), sincere hearts (Ephesians 6:5), so that we might believe from the heart (Ephesians 3:17) and obey from the heart (Deuteronomy 11:13), so we might have Christ dwell in our hearts through faith (Ephesians 3:17) . . . What is the first thing we need, in order to be Christians? A new heart.—What is the sacrifice God asks us to bring to him? A broken and a contrite heart.—What is the true circumcision? The circumcision of the heart.—What is genuine obedience? To obey from the heart.—What is saving faith? To believe with the heart.—Where ought Christ to dwell? To dwell in our hearts by faith.—What is the chief request that Wisdom makes to every one? “My son, give me thine heart” (John Charles Ryle, Expository Thoughts On The Gospels, p. 126, 174).
This is the point of Proverbs 28:26, “He who trusts in his own heart is a fool, But he who walks wisely will be delivered” (NASB). What can cure a sin-diseased, evil, sinful and deceptive heart? Faith in Jesus. What can wash away all those unclean words? Faith in Jesus. Faith in Christ and Him crucified, dying upon the cross for all our sins—the blasphemies, the backtalk, every careless thought and deed and word can be clean from the sewage pipes of our hearts and the toilets of our mouths. The religious leaders were spiritually blind to this and many times, unfortunately, we are also.
Assignment: Take a moment and allow the Holy Spirit and Word of God to be a cleanser of the sewage pipes of your heart and the toilet of your mouth. Let these shine their light on the darkness in your heart that you have rationalized, justified and conceptualized. Is your heart clean? Confess, repent and seek God’s Holy Spirit and God’s Holy Word to replace that trash with God’s truth. Stop rationalizing. Stop making excuses. What darkness is His light exposing in your heart? Kneel before the Father in humility and fear Him. Respect Hm. Love Him and obey Him.
Scripture To Meditate On: Romans 14:17, “For the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit” (NASB).
Prayer To Pray: “Dear Lord, please cleanse my heart and my mouth. Wash me so that I will be whiter than new fallen snow. I am going to stop making excuses and rationalizing the sins in my heart and mouth. I love You Lord. In Jesus’ name, Amen!”
I love you Southside! – Pastor Kelly