Matt 15:11 It is not that which enters into the mouth that defiles the man; but that which proceeds out of the mouth, this defiles the man. (19) For out of the heart come evil reasonings, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witnessings, blasphemies. John 6:57 As the living Father has sent Me and I live because of the Father, so he who eats Me, he also shall live because of Me.
In [Matthew] chapter fifteen, immediately after the dispute regarding the washing of hands, there is a record of feeding on Jesus. Matthew had a definite reason for putting these two sections together [15:1-20 and 15:21-28]. His purpose was to show that what the Lord wants is not the washing of hands, but the eating of Him, the taking in of Him as food. No matter how many times we may wash our hands, we shall still be hungry. In this chapter we see that what matters to the Lord is not outward practices, but the inward condition. We should not outwardly wash away the dirt; rather, we need to be cleansed from within. In order to be cleansed from within, something must get into us, and the only way this can take place is by eating. As the nourishing food, the Lord Jesus is the best cleansing element. When He comes into us as food, He not only nourishes us, but also inwardly cleanses us. He does not wash our hands; He washes our system, our very being. This matter of inward cleansing through the eating of Jesus is the link that joins the first two sections of chapter fifteen.
Bible verses are taken from the Recovery Version of the Bible and Words of Ministry from Witness Lee, Life-study of Matthew, pp. 543-544. Both are published by Living Stream Ministry, Anaheim, CA. Please visit us at www.emanna.com. Send comments to: [email protected].
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