The Four: A Survey of the Gospels

Defending Constantine: The Twilight of an Empire and the Dawn of Christendom

From Behind the Veil: The Epistles of John

Deep Exegesis:The Mystery of Reading Scripture

Jane Austen
(A Biography)

Solomon Among the Postmoderns

The Baptized Body

1 & 2 Kings
Brazos Theological Commentary

The Promise Of His Appearing: An Exposition Of Second Peter

A Great Mystery: Fourteen Wedding Sermons

Deep Comedy: Trinity, Tragedy, And Hope In Western Literature

Miniatures & Morals: The Christian Novels of Jane Austen

The Priesthood of the Plebs: A Theology of Baptism

A Son To Me: An Exposition of 1 & 2 Samuel

Against Christianity

From Silence to Song: The Davidic Liturgical Revolution

Ascent to Love: A Guide to Dante's Divine Comedy

Blessed Are the Hungry: Meditations on the Lord's Supper

A House For My Name: A Survey of the Old Testament

Heroes of the City of Man: A Christian Guide to Select Ancient Literature

Brightest Heaven of Invention: A Christian Guide To Six Shakespeare Plays

Wise Words: Family Stories That Bring the Proverbs to Life

The Kingdom and the Power: Rediscovering the Centrality of the Church

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Theology - Liturgical: Eucharistic meditation

Matthew 15:2: The Pharisees asked, Why do your disciples transgress the tradition of the elders?  For they do not wash their hands when they eat bread?

Matthew 15 and the first part of chapter 16 return again and again to the subject of food.  The Pharisees ask Jesus about washing before a meal.  When Jesus responds to the Canaanite woman, He says that He cannot take the children’s bread and give it to the dogs.  He feeds four thousand, and when the disciples go to the other side of the sea, they forget to take bread.  All of these incidents have something to teach us about this table, this meal.

Our sermon text, as we’ve seen, focuses on proper preparations for food.  Failing to wash hands before meals, Jesus says, doesn’t defile.  The Pharisees have annulled the law of God for their tradition.  Though they are, or will be, guilty of every evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, slanders, and false witness, they think they are pure if they wash their hands before they eat.

Jesus did not, as we’ve seen, annul concern with purity.  He simply redefined it, defined in in light of the weightier matters of the law – justice, mercy, and truth.  He doesn’t say that we don’t have to worry about preparing for this meal.  He says we need to be pure if we want to eat.  But He has a different notion of what kind of purity is required than the Pharisees.

If we want to receive this meal rightly, it is true that you must be among the pure ones.   If you want to take this meal rightly, you need to guard your hearts, avoid the defilements of the world, seek God’s cleansing by confessing your sins and believing His word of forgiveness. 

This is a holy meal, and as the ancient invitation puts it, these holy things are for the holy.