Teaching Notes

When we invest in our youth we prepare them to be disciples for Christ.

Teaching Notes

Matthew 15:11-13 (The Message)

He then called the crowd together and said, "Listen, and take this to heart. It's not what you swallow that pollutes your life, but what you vomit up." Later his disciples came and told him, "Did you know how upset the Pharisees were when they heard what you said?" Jesus shrugged it off. "Every tree that wasn't planted by my Father in heaven will be pulled up by its roots. Forget them. They are blind men leading blind men. When a blind man leads a blind man, they both end up in the ditch."

Note: Jesus has called his disciples to himself, at different times. Each one he called, he called from the different places and different walks of their lives. Here the disciples ask him a question after Jesus has spoken harshly to what the Pharisees have said. The disciples are afraid of what will happen because of Jesus' words to the Pharisees.

Question: What is Jesus' response?

Answer: The scripture says that Jesus shrugged it off. Meaning he was not afraid of them. The Pharisees were one of the religious groups of his time. They were putting rules on people there had nothing to do with God's commandment. They were rules of men and not of God. The Pharisees were not happy about what Jesus was doing. He was in fact teaching his disciples something important. What he was teaching them was they must have a boldness. In order to be a true disciple of Christ, you must not be afraid of telling the truth, Jesus wasn't. Jesus tells his disciples that those that are not truly following God are like the blind leading the blind, they are leading you into a ditch. So Jesus calls for disciples that are willing to tell the truth at all times.

Prayer: Lord, help us not to be afraid of what people will think of us. Help us to be bold for you and be willing to speak the truth as Jesus did. He did not allow what others would say to stop him, he shrugged it off and continued to go out and reach people that were in need of him.