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Matthew 15:10-11
In John 2 is the first recorded sign from Jesus to show His miraculous power as the Christ/Messiah as He turned water to wine and showed that He came not to cleanse just the outside of the body, but the inside – the heart – the center of life from which our true being resides. In the Law that God gave to Moses are many rules about which foods may or may not be eaten. These were rules that God gave to man so that by following them all, man could prove himself righteousness and worthy in the eyes of God. However, no man was/is able to follow/keep all the law, proving that man is not worthy of redeeming himself, and that another way was/is necessary for man to be made righteous in the eyes of God. A key note here is that man does not have to prove himself better than others as all man is sinful and unworthy of God. Romans 3:23 (NKJV) teaches us, “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”
When Jesus came, He came to heal man from the inside – He came to heal the corrupt heart that was the true inner self and being of man. With this in mind, Jesus, in Matthew 15:10-11 is teaching that the heart must be purified; the time of man proving himself has been proven impossible and the solution has arrived to save man from himself. The food that a man eats is irrelevant to purifying his heart. But man must learn to “Hear and understand” as Jesus teaches in Matthew 15:10 of the way to salvation which Jesus has come to offer to all who will believe in Him.
This is a promise of the need for a purified heart in the eyes of God unto salvation.
It has been the true quest of man to “Hear and understand” the message that God is sending to us through His Word and His Holy Spirit (Matthew 15:10-11). But God gives us hope that we will persevere and dedicate ourselves to the understanding that He gives to each of us as we “hear” in John 20:30-31 (ESV), “Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.”
Dear LORD,
Please help us to not be blocked by the rules and regulations of the Law that Jesus has fulfilled through His life, death, burial, and resurrection, but that You would help us to hear and understand that through the work that He has done for us, we may have life in His name. Please give us understanding for Your Word and how we may draw closer to You day by day – in Christ. In Jesus name I pray, amen.