Listen and Understand

Read Matthew 15:10–20 Listen and Understand”

Greetings Church!

We all probably are aware that every person has an agenda. A politician has an agenda, a business has an agenda, a family has an agenda. Even each one of us has an agenda.

An agenda is simply what we want to accomplish, what we want people to focus on, or what we believe is most important. And when we come to Matthew 15, Jesus is also revealing His agenda. But Jesus’ agenda is different from the agenda of the religious leaders. The religious leaders were focused on external things such as traditions, appearances, rituals, and what people could see. But Jesus was focused on something deeper. He was concerned about the condition of the human heart.

These are the words Jesus speaks in Matthew 15:10: “Listen and understand.” Here Jesus is not simply asking the crowd to hear His voice. He is asking them to pay attention, think deeply, and allow His teaching to change the way they understand their faith. Jesus wants them to understand His message because sometimes we hear without listening. We can be physically present, but our hearts can be somewhere else. We can hear something without paying attention to it. That is why Jesus says, “Listen and understand.” He wants us to listen beyond what we can see on the outside and pay attention to what is happening in our hearts.

In this passage, Jesus is responding to a religious argument because the Pharisees and teachers of the law were concerned about religious traditions, especially the question of ceremonial washing. They believed that a person could become spiritually unclean by eating without washing their hands. But Jesus takes the conversation deeper and says: “It is not what goes into the mouth that defiles a person, but it is what comes out of the mouth that defiles.”

Jesus is teaching us that the real problem is not outside of us. The real problem is what is inside us. Jesus was particularly concerned about the following matters:

• The Pharisees were focused on clean hands. But, Jesus was focused on a clean heart.
• The Pharisees were looking at behavior. But, Jesus was looking at the source of the behavior.
• The Pharisees were concerned about what people could see. But, Jesus was concerned about what God could see.

Beloved in Christ, there is nothing wrong with washing our hands. There is nothing wrong with having good traditions. There is nothing wrong with doing things properly. But Jesus reminds us that religion is not only about what we do on the outside. It is also about what is happening inside our hearts.

Jesus is teaching them to understand that we can look clean on the outside while still struggling with what is happening inside our hearts. We can smile at Church or at our workplace while carrying anger in our hearts. We may look clean on the outside, but we need God to clean our hearts.

The Religious leaders were concerned about ritual cleanliness. They were busy asking people:

• Did you wash your hands correctly?
• Did you follow the tradition?
• Did you do everything according to the religious rules?

But Jesus says: The problem is not about washing hands correctly or following the tradition. The problem is the heart from which our words and actions come. We can be clean and still refuse to forgive.

That is why Jesus says: “Listen and understand.” Don’t just look at the outside. Look at the heart. So, this statement challenged the religious thinking of Jesus’ time.

Jesus is more concerned about the heart than appearances. In verse 18, Jesus says: “But what comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart, and this is what defiles.” Jesus is telling us that our words are connected to our hearts. And our mouths often reveal what our hearts contain. So, we can ask ourselves:

• When we are under pressure, what comes out of our mouths?
• When we don’t get what we want, what comes out of our mouths?
• When someone hurts us, what comes out of our mouths?
• When we are angry, what comes out of our mouths?
• When someone disagrees with us, what comes out of our mouths?

So, sometimes pressure does not create what is inside us. Pressure reveals what is already inside us. Imagine a cup.If you bump a cup and water comes out. You don’t say, “Why did the water come out?” You say, “Because there was water in the cup.” If there is coffee in the cup, coffee comes out. If there is juice in the cup, juice comes out. And when life bumps us, what comes out of us often reveals what is already inside our hearts.

In other words, Jesus is saying, Listen:

• The heart matters.
• The words matter.
• The attitudes matter.
• The intentions matter.
• The things that nobody else sees matter.

So, God does not only examine our actions. God examines our hearts.

Dear Church Family, our words have power. And the reason Jesus specifically talks about what comes out of the mouth, it is because words are powerful.

• A word can encourage someone.
• A word can heal someone.
• A word can restore someone’s hope.

But, also,

• A word can also destroy.
• A word can discourage.
• A word can humiliate.
• A word can divide a family.
• A word can destroy a friendship.
• A word can damage a church.

Sometimes we may say, oh well “I was only joking.” But the other person was hurt. Sometimes we say, “I was just telling the truth.” But truth without love can become a weapon. I know, sometimes we say, “I didn’t mean it.” But words can leave wounds even after we apologize.

In Proverbs 18:21 says: “Death and life are in the power of the tongue.” That means we should not treat or take our words lightly. Our words have power.

In this world, sometimes, life can be very hard and complicated. We may go through painful situations, disappointments, and things that we do not understand. But please, do not speak negative things about yourself or about your life. Do not use your own words to bring yourself down.

Even when life or someone has hurt you. Please, before you speak or take any action, think of what you will say. Take a moment and ask yourself, “What will my words cause? What will this decision bring into my life?” 

Maybe there is something that happened in your past that still hurts you. Maybe you have made certain decisions because someone hurt you. Then you said: “I am going to make this person pay for what they did.” And sometimes, we think we are punishing the person who hurt us, but in reality, we are also hurting ourselves.

Church, please always listen and understand. Jesus is teaching us that our words are not disconnected from our spiritual lives. Our words reveal something about our hearts. So, Jesus is asking you and me this morning to listen and understand what is happening in our heart, so that we can make our heart clean, by forgiving and letting go of what is bothering us or hurting us. Jesus is not asking us to pretend that everything is okay. He is simply asking us to bring our hearts to Him. 

Conclusion

Beloved Church, Jesus says: Listen with your heart, because He wants us to understand that what defiles us is not simply what comes from outside. The deeper issue is what comes from within. Today, Jesus invites each one of us to examine our hearts. Maybe there is something in our hearts that nobody else knows about. Maybe there is bitterness. Maybe there is a feeling of a lack of forgiveness. Maybe there is jealousy. Maybe there is pride. Maybe there is a wound. Maybe there is something you have been carrying inside your heart for a long time. It’s only Jesus who knows our hearts.

This morning, Jesus wants us to bring our hearts the way they are to Him. We don’t have to hide it. We don’t have to clean ourselves up before going to Jesus. Come to Jesus as you are. Because the same Jesus who reveals the condition of our hearts is the same who can transform our hearts.

So, dear Church family, let us allow Jesus to change our hearts. May our hearts become more like the heart of Christ. May our words bring life. May our actions reflect God’s love. May everything that comes out of us point people back to Jesus.

Amen.

Prayer:

Heavenly Father,

Thank You for speaking to us today through the words of Jesus: “Listen and understand.” Lord, help us not only to hear Your Words with our ears but to receive it with our hearts. God, we confess that too often we focus on what others can see while neglecting what You alone can see. Forgive us for the pride, bitterness, jealousy, anger, our lack of forgiveness, and hidden sins that sometimes remain in our hearts. Cleanse us, O Lord. Create in us clean hearts and renew a right spirit within us.

Lord Jesus, You taught us that what comes out of our mouths reveals what is in our hearts. We ask You today to transform our hearts, so that our words may bring life instead of hurt, peace instead of division, encouragement instead of discouragement, and love instead of bitterness.

Holy Spirit, help us to forgive those who have hurt us. Remove every burden that we have been carrying for too long. Heal every wounded heart, restore broken relationships, and fill us with Your love and grace. May our lives point others to Jesus, and may our words be a blessing to our families, our church, our workplaces, and our communities. We thank You because You are the God who not only reveals our hearts but also transforms them by Your grace. We pray all these things in the precious and powerful name of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

Amen.