Matthew 15

“These people honor Me with their lips, but their hearts are far from Me. They worship Me in vain; their teachings are merely human rules.” ‭‭Matthew‬ ‭15‬:‭8‬-‭9‬ ‭NIV‬‬

In this section, Jesus quotes Isaiah, which is a book that the religious leaders would have been very familiar with (See Isaiah 29:13). He criticizes the Pharisees because their worship and good deeds were all external, to be seen by men.  They wanted to be praised by men, but inwardly they were full of pride.  We are called to pray and do our good deeds in secret, so only the Father knows what we are doing.  This doesn’t mean that we can never pray in public.  Jesus prayed in public, and there are times that we should too.  This also does not mean that we cannot tell others about our good deeds.  When we tell others, we need to make sure we are telling them because we want to encourage them to do similar things.  We must always bring glory to God when we provide a testimony about how God has used us.  If we are telling them in order to boast about ourselves, then we are no different than the Pharisees. Sadly, Jesus will say this about us: “Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full” (Matthew 6:2).

Jesus called His disciples to Him and said, “I have compassion for these people; they have already been with me three days and have nothing to eat. I do not want to send them away hungry, or they may collapse on the way.” His disciples answered, “Where could we get enough bread in this remote place to feed such a crowd?” “How many loaves do you have?” Jesus asked. “Seven,” they replied, “and a few small fish.” He told the crowd to sit down on the ground. Then He took the seven loaves and the fish, and when He had given thanks, He broke them and gave them to the disciples, and they in turn to the people. They all ate and were satisfied. Afterward the disciples picked up seven basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over. The number of those who ate was four thousand men, besides women and children.”  ‭‭Matthew‬ ‭15‬:‭32‬-‭38‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Jesus had compassion on the people that were gathered to hear him teach, and wanted to make sure they were fed before He sent the crowd away.  Even though Jesus had previously fed a crowd of 5,000 men and their families, the disciples showed little faith and said they had no idea where they could get enough food to feed this large crowd.  In verse 34, Jesus asked them an important question: “How many loaves do you have?”  He wanted them to focus on what they did have, and wanted them to watch and see what God could do with whatever they gave Him.  Today, Jesus is asking you to take a look at the talents, time, and money He has given you.  Even if you think that what you have to offer is not enough to make a difference, remember this story.  Give God what you have, and watch how He multiplies it to make big things happen!