Matthew the apostle wrote, “Then came his disciples, and said unto him, Do you know that the Pharisees were offended, after they heard this saying? But he answered and said, Every plant, which my heavenly Father has not planted, shall be rooted up. Let them alone: they be blind leaders of the blind. And if the blind lead the blind, both shall fall into the ditch. Then answered Peter and said unto him, Declare unto us this parable. And Jesus said, Are you also yet without understanding? Do not you yet understand, that whatsoever enters in at the mouth goes into the belly, and is cast out into the draught? But those things which proceed out of the mouth come forth from the heart; and they defile the man”, and in chapter fifteen and verse nineteen of his book, Matthew shares how Jesus told His disciples how, “evil” deeds “proceed” from “out of the heart” where we read:
For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders,
adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies:
The verse reads, “For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, ...”. Matthew began with the word, “for” which means “because, since and on account that” “out of the heart” or “from the soul or mind as it is the fountain and seat of the thoughts, passions, desires, appetites, affections, purposes, endeavors” “proceed” which means “go forth, emanate and are issued ” “evil thoughts” which refers to “bad, wicked, diseased, annoying and harassing thinking, disputing and arguing”, “murders” which means “slaying and slaughter”. Matthew shared how Jesus identified the “soul” of man to be the source of “wicked and diseased” thinking as well as “killing and slaughter” .
The verse continues, “... adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies:” Matthew added the word, “adulteries” which means “emotional and sexual relationships outside of marriage with a married person”, “fornications” which is the Greek word “poreia” from which we get the English word “pornography” or “sexual intercourse outside of marriage, homosexuality, lesbianism and intercourse with animals”, “thefts” which means “stealing and taking what does not belong to a person”, “false witness” or “untrue testimony and lies”, “blasphemies” which means “slander, detractions and injurious, impious and reproachful speech”. Matthew shared how Jesus named specific “sins” that come from the “soul” of a person.
When we think through Matthew's words in this verse, we see how “adultery, fornication, stealing, lying and blasphemy” come from the “heart” of a person. Jeremiah the prophet wrote, “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?” (Jeremiah 17:9), and we have seen Jesus answer this question. Jesus knows the “heart and soul” of man, and His desire is to have a personal loving relationship with every person that allows Him to “change” their “wicked heart” and give them a new one. Let everyone who reads these words understand Jesus and yield their “hearts” to Him today.
Next time Matthew shares how Jesus tells His disciples eating, “with unwashed hands defiles not a man”, so read ahead, and we shall join together then.
Until
tomorrow…there is more…
Look for the daily devotional book
“Equipped for Battle – From Generation to Generation”, the
marriage book “So, You Want to Be Married”, “One Year in the
Sermon on the Mount” and the new poetry book "Random Mushrooms
Volumes I and II" and the new novel "Elizabeth County"
in all major bookstore sites, http://www.amazon.com
; http://www.barnesandnobles.com
; download to e-books, and find it locally at
www.mrzlc.com/bookstore.
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