The Gospel for the Nations (Matt. 15:1-39)

[Sung Psalm: 42]

[Pastor holds out a cup of water. Someone bumps him and it spills on the carpet]

Why is there water on the floor?
You might say, “because someone bumped your hand.”
But why is there water on the floor?
Because there was water in the cup!

Whatever is in your heart will come out when you get bumped!

I’m amazed at what God has done in the heart of our brother, Rolf Caylor. He didn’t just get “bumped” last week – he got body slammed! Four days in the ICU – and then transferred to Hospice, where there is so much bitterness and fear. But you look at what has come out in his words and deeds, and you hear grace, mercy, and love.

And that is what you should expect to see from those who trust in Jesus. You see that contrast in the people who encounter Jesus in Matthew 15. Hypocrisy flows from the hearts of the Pharisees – who want people to admire and follow them, but are, in fact, blind guides of the blind.

When Jesus “bumps” them, they are offended.

On the other hand, trust and confidence radiate from the Canaanite woman. She believes in Jesus – no matter what he says to her! When Jesus “body slams” her, she holds fast to him all the more..