Why Didn't They Wash Their Hands? Jesus Answers About the Heart

Hey, carpool crew. Whether you're in the car, hanging at home, or brushing crumbs off your shirt, I'm Pastor Justin, and I'm so glad you're here today. All month long, we've been digging into real questions people ask Jesus. Some questions were honest, some were tricky, and today's, it's more like a compliment, actually. The religious leaders noticed that Jesus's disciples didn't follow a certain tradition. Here's what they asked. Why do your disciples break the tradition of the elders? This is in Matthew chapter 15, verse two. Now, quick pause. What's a tradition? Well, you probably have traditions at your home. Maybe holiday traditions, birthday traditions. A tradition is something people do over and over because it's been passed down from parents, grandparents, maybe even leaders in the community. Some traditions are fun, like decorating a Christmas tree together or eating pancakes on Saturdays. But the religious leaders, they had created hundreds of extra rules to make people more spiritual. Now, did it really make people more spiritual? Of course not. But they were rules that had to be followed. One of their rules said you had to wash your hands in a special way before eating, not just to get rid of germs, but to prove how holy you were. And no, it wasn't like mom telling you to wash up before dinner. That's okay. That's a good thing. This was about trying to look super religious, washing your hands so everyone could see how seriously you take the rules that the religious leaders had created. So when Jesus's friends didn't follow that tradition, the religious leaders got upset. But Jesus didn't apologize. Instead, he said something powerful. You honor me with your lips, but your hearts are far from me. Now, this line comes from the book of Isaiah, where God told his people that he wanted their hearts, not just their words or actions. Even in the Old Testament, God cared more about what's inside than how people looked or acted on the outside. Now, here's the thing. The religious leaders definitely would've known this verse and known what this verse meant. This was an incredible response from Jesus that got to the heart of what the issue was. Here's the one thing I want you to remember on this ride. What's in your heart matters most to God. Jesus was saying, you can follow all the rules, you can say all the right things, but if your heart isn't loving and honest, you're missing the point. Let me tell you a story about Josh at home. Josh was really good at saying sorry whenever he got in trouble, but one day after he knocked over his sister's block tower on purpose, he quickly said, sorry. His mom looked at him and asked, I know you said sorry, but are you really sorry in your heart? That made Josh think. He realized that saying the right words wasn't enough. His heart needed to change too. That's what God cares about most, what is happening in our heart. Traditions can be helpful. They can be fun, they can be memorable. Good habits are awesome too, but Jesus is after your heart because that's where love, honesty, and real change begins. So make sure as you're going through the day, don't just say things to say things, and don't just do things to do them. Make sure that your heart is in the right place with everything you say and with everything you do, no matter if you're talking to your parents, your siblings, your teachers, and obviously your friends. Remember, no matter where you are or how you're listening, God loves you. Before you go, answer this question together, what's something small I can do today that shows God what's in my heart? I'll see you tomorrow on carpooling with Jesus.