Tuesday, August 11, 2026

Matthew 15:12-14 

“Then the disciples approached and said to him, ‘Do you know that the Pharisees took offense when they heard what you said?’ [Jesus] answered, ‘Every plant that my heavenly Father has not planted will be uprooted. Let them alone; they are blind guides of the blind. And if one blind person guides another, both will fall into a pit.’”   

As the messiah, Jesus has come to bring the radical, world-changing message of grace. Lutherans understand that, thanks to Jesus Christ, we have been saved by faith, in Jesus, as promised by the scriptures, and given as the gift of the Holy Spirit. That means: not by our doing. Good, bad, or otherwise. And the disciples caution Jesus to stop sharing such an upsetting gospel (at least, to those who claim to be “doing-good, being-good,” like the Pharisees). He should be careful; he is going to make powerful, religious, and significant people angry; it might not go well for him.  

But, to use a modern phrase, Jesus “doesn’t care what the haters think or say.” He knows who the ultimate Lover is, and that divine love is enough to give him courage enough to speak the truth.   

– Pr. Alex 

Let us pray: Courageous God, you show us what it means to walk in your ways. Strengthen us to walk in the ways of Jesus: being with him, being like him, and doing as he did. Amen.