Heart Disease | Matthew 15
Matthew 15
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Chapter Notables:
What’s inside that counts - verses 1-20
Jesus alludes a woman as a “dog” but declares her astounding faith - verses 21-28
Jesus feeds 4,000 with 7 loaves of bread and several fish - verses 29-39
Inside Job | Lemuel Ayudtud
Heart disease is the number one leading cause of death in the US (most likely around the world, as well). As much as it is based on heredity, the management of heart disease highly depends on exercise and diet. A quick search online and you will find that fatty and oily foods along with increased intake of sodium (salt) over time can lead to exacerbating any native propensity of anyone towards heart disease. So to offset increased risk, people should really be intentional about what they put into their mouths to eat.
Now as much as the medical community preaches the principle of what and what not to eat, Jesus tells us that what’s important for man is not what goes in his mouth but what comes out. Yup! There’s a different “heart disease” that Jesus is concerned about. And when we put them in the balance, the heart disease that Jesus is warning us about affects us holistically. Eating salted, fried pork daily is a good way to shorten your life in the most miserable way, but the warning of Jesus about what comes out of the mouth rather than what comes in has eternal consequence.
In the beginning of this chapter the good ‘ole Pharisees were at it again about the disciples doing something “unlawful”. What was it this time? Eating with unwashed hands. Nothing wrong with that, right? especially with our current understanding of microbes. It was a good and sanitary tradition. Of course back then it wasn’t because of microorganisms, they didn’t know about that then, this was for ritual purity. But if we go deeper, it was probably not even about the ritual at this point that they were after. The Pharisees were probably trying to discredit the authority of Jesus anyway possible, attempting to make Him look like a “law” breaker before people. They hoped that if they prove Him to be against the “traditions of the elders,” then the people would stop following Him and they would regain their spotlight. Unfortunate, yet again, for them, is that Jesus saw right through their facade.
After attempting to correct Jesus, Jesus informed them that it’s not what goes into someone’s mouth that defiles a man, it’s what comes out of it. This was not an outside work. This was an inside job. Jesus taught His disciples that out of the heart come evil thoughts—murders, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, lies, slander. These can’t be erased by washing one’s hands. Only God can deal with it. Clean hands don’t matter anyway if you have a dirty heart. Of course one can fool people with how clean they are on the outside, but God sees the mal-condition that’s festering inside.
Most people have heart disease that don’t come from what they put into their mouths. Eating bad food may affect our health but it will pass through; however what comes out of the mouth can have eternal consequences. Why? Because it’s revealing what’s inside! While eating unhealthily can give you heart failure, harboring evils in your heart can give you spiritual failure.
Which one would should you be more concerned about: you eat or what you constantly think about? While dieting and exercising may give you a good blood work and make you less prone to high blood pressure or other heart diseases, what’s that when you have unforgiveness, envy, hatred, lusts, anger in your heart? While you’re trying to care for your body so that you won’t catch a stroke or a hearth attack, you should be equally if not more concerned about your soul suffering from the heart disease that comes from bitterness, worry, maliciousness, prejudice, among other things. A healthy heart may stop beating way later on in life, but an unclean heart can kill you while you’re still alive.
Reading the chapter we find Jesus delivering a Canaanite’s woman’s daughter of a demon followed by another episode of Jesus feeding thousands of people with a few loaves of bread and fishes. Once again on the surface these stories appear disjointed, but when we anchor it on the teaching of Jesus about the heart, then we can feel the pulse of the chapter.
The woman’s expressed faith was greater than any hindrance her Gentile birth may have raised. It was her expression of faith that revealed her heart. She may have been considered “a dog” by the Jews of that time, but her faith answered Jesus’ statement to her which caused her to receive her prayer. What she showed was her internal health. Though her external associations were supposed to be “unhealthy” by Jewish standards, her mouth expressed what she had on the inside. Her mouth reflected her heart health! Her faith was greater than her family connection. (She was not Jewish.)
Contrary to the Canaanite woman, Jesus’ disciples questioned Jesus about His instructions. The previous chapter showcased Jesus feeding over 5000 people from 5 loaves and 2 fishes. This chapter there were at least 4000 people and 7 loaves and several small fishes. When Jesus instructed them to feed the people, the disciples once again questioned Jesus. What do we see here? Unlike the “non-Jewish” Canaanite woman who was not supposed to have her request answered, these disciples who had complete access to Jesus could not see past their challenges. They had doubt clogging the arteries of their faith.
Physical heart disease affecting muscles, vessels, and blood transits in our body should be of great concern for each of us, but the heart disease that only God can fully keep healthy is of eternal value. Sure, some maybe able to work out for an hour straight or even run a marathon or finish a triathlon without keeling over, but what’s a healthy physical heart if your spiritual heart is diseased? What’s so good about washed hands when the heart has not been washed by the Spirit of God?
Over the course of 15 chapters, Jesus has dealt with religiosity, limiting beliefs, improper perspective, lack mentality, among others. It’s apparent that since the beginning of Jesus’ earthly ministry, He had been dealing with the true, debilitating conditions of the heart. From the time He started preaching repentance, He was establishing the cure for the spiritual heart disease. The cure the world needs to know and is dying to receive!
Lord, help me to surrender my heart. Help me to value my physical health, but in doing so, Lord, please, help me to truly make my spiritual health a priority. Father, give me the grace to understand that Your love for me is beyond skin deep. You want me first healthy on the inside. I yield my spirit to You. Clean me of my heart disease. In Your Name, Jesus, I pray, amen!
