Matthew 15.1-20 | When Purity Makes Dirty

We’re spending the next several months in Matthew chapters 14-20, a study we’ve titled THE REVELATION of the KING. As the gospel according to Matthew unfolds, Jesus reveals his true identity as the Son of God, and his true mission to build His church. These chapters not only serve to reveal the heart of a gospel that saves, they also reveal the hearts of men who foolishly believe they can save themselves.The gospel of John 6 records what happened after Jesus fed the five thousand and the disciples left in the boats and Jesus disappeared (soon the join the disciples by walking on water). Alone, the crowds got into their own boats and headed by to Jesus hometown of Capernaum. When they found him on the other side fo the sea, they said to him,

“Rabbi, when did you come here?” Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, you are seeking me, not because you saw signs, but because you at your fill of the loaves. Do not labor [work] for food that perishes, but for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. For on Him (Jesus) God the Father has set his seal.” Then they said to him, “What must we do, to be doing the works of God?” Jesus answered them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in whom he has sent.” John 6.22-29

This exchange reveals the heart of what I want share today. Desiring to have their physical hunger satisfied again, they are blind to how they are starving spiritually. When Jesus tells them that they need to pursue spiritual food in order to survive eternally, they ask: “WHAT MUST WE DO?” This is the question that all men ask when confronted with their spiritual emptiness—it’s the wrong question.. Read more.