Central Lutheran Church - Elk River

Are You Still Without Understanding? with Sonja Knutson

• Central Lutheran Church

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Ever catch yourself following the rules but missing the point? We open with small-town warmth and head straight into the heat of Matthew 15, where Jesus confronts the Pharisees’ obsession with handwashing and exposes a deeper problem: the heart that hides behind holy habits. From the Corban loophole to Isaiah’s warning about lip-deep worship, we trace how tradition can eclipse truth and why Jesus’ question—“Are you still without understanding?”—lands closer to home than we expect.

Together we unpack what truly defiles a person, how the “blind leading the blind” still plays out online and in our circles, and why clarity begins with listening. Not passive hearing, but an active posture that lets Scripture interpret us, invites the Spirit’s correction, and moves us to love people in practical ways. We share candid stories about common misunderstandings, then translate them into a spiritual lens: how easy it is to misread God when we’re defending our image or our camp. The better way is simple and demanding—listen and understand.

We get practical without getting shallow. Read the Bible across translations to shake loose stale assumptions. Commit to a real community that wrestles with the text and guards against performative faith. Pray in a way that makes space for God to speak. And pay attention to needs the way Jesus did: feed, heal, comfort, and serve. If your heart feels hardened, your words feel sharp, or your habits feel stronger than your hope, there’s a path back. Let Jesus reorder what you value, release the mask, and lead you out of blindness into honest, humble obedience.

If this conversation helps you see your heart more clearly, share it with a friend who needs encouragement. Subscribe for more thoughtful, Scripture-centered episodes, and leave a review to tell us what part challenged you most. Your insights help shape where we go next.

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SPEAKER_00:

Good morning, Central.

unknown:

Good morning.

SPEAKER_00:

Anybody catch a deer yesterday? My mother-in-law used to ask that of my my sons, her grandsons, and they're like, Grandma, we didn't catch a deer, we shot them. Anyway, my husband's up hunting this morning, so prayers for safety for all of those who are hunting who probably aren't in the room, but maybe you're watching online. That would be cool. You're sitting in your deer stand watching along with us. We're so grateful that you're here in the building. It's warmer in here than in a deer stand, just saying. My name is Sonia Knuts, and I'm the Pastorio Associate here at Central. I have a privilege of working alongside women here at Central and working with the women's ministry team. We call it the She Team, which stands for sharing his existence. We have a lovely team that would love to come alongside any of the women if you're in need of prayer or ministry. And we're starting to do more pop-up events, we call them, where like yesterday we had a She hike. Cheryl was there. I see you, Cheryl. And it's just super fun to get together with different women of all different ages. We're a growing congregation. There's lots of new faces. So we're going to have all these fun, different events coming up so we can get to know each other a little bit better. By the way, we do have a She play coming up. It's a Christmas play in Anoka on November 30th. I think I have about 10 tickets left. If you would like to attend that, stop at the counter and share some information about yourself. We can help you go online and figure out how to be a part of that. Well, we are leaning towards the end of our This Isn't Rhetorical sermon series, and we've been working through the questions that Jesus asked. And weekly, I'm in awe, I don't know about you, but of how masterfully he uses these questions to teach uh virtual, spiritual, vital spiritual truths. He doesn't ask the questions because he needed to know the answer for himself. He uses the questions to grow us as his readers and his followers. After the series, we move into Advent because Christmas is almost here. Yay! And we get to explore the characters that were around the story of Jesus' birth. And then in January, we're going to hit some hard questions of the Old Testament. So buckle up because who doesn't love the Old Testament? Amen. My question today that Kevin read for us is, I believe, one that we can all connect to as Jesus asked this question of his disciples. And he asked, Are you still without understanding? This question isn't new, and it is also found in Mark 7 around this same story. But he also asked the question, do you not understand? In Mark 8 and Matthew 16, do you still not understand while they were feeding the 4,000? Now, for me, as I listened or I think about that question around that story, the 4,000, the disciples didn't bring bread. This is after they just got done fighting and feeding the 5,000. I'm like, okay, disciples, you're missing some connecting piece here because you just got done feeding over here. Why didn't you bring bread over there? Either way, I can imagine that Jesus is still asking the same question of us today when we live the way we do and we call ourselves his followers. And of course, if he was to ask that question, are you still without understanding? We would say yes, because it is easy for us in this world to misunderstand things and in the Bible. We do it every day, just like the disciples did in the story today. Whether it's the misconception or a misunderstanding, we are often confused in life, am I right? For example, did you know that the Vikings did not have horns on their helmets? I know. This is a misconception, a history misconception that was created from a stage designer who was working on an opera back in the early 19th century. Now, is this going to change your wardrobe for football today? I don't know. Maybe. Or not to ruin your cr your Christmas, but did you also know that we're not sure how many magi or wise men were actually at the birth or that brought gifts to Jesus? There were three gifts, therefore we assumed there were three wise men. There we go. But it could have been one, could have been more. We don't know. I'm thinking it could have been one. They could have just thrown it in their backpack, jumped on their camel, and off they went, right? But our misconception is that there were three wise men. Some of my favorite misunderstandings are always around song lyrics. When I was growing up, there was a movie called Caddyshack. Are you familiar with it? Super funny. There was a song in it called I'm Alright by uh Kenny Loggins. And one night on a Friday night, my girlfriend and I were driving down Owatana, because that's the cool thing to do. And I'm singing along this song, Ham on Rye. Don't nobody worry about me. She's like, What are you singing? I'm like, Well, the song. What did you say? Uh Ham on Rye. She's like, It's I'm Alright. I'm like, oh, well, that makes a lot more sense. My son used to watch the movie Pocahontas from 1995 as an animated Disney movie. And there's an extremely inappropriate song in there called Savages, Savages, whatever the rest of it. And he at three would walk around the house singing, sandwiches, sandwiches. I guess it's a genetic thing, ham and rye, sandwiches, you know. It just passed on the way down. And don't we do a wonderful job of misunderstanding communication, whether it's an email or a text message or over the phone? We misread things all of the time. And there was an email that went out to a dad that said, Come to your son's costume party. And so he did. But his son was the one that was supposed to be in the costume. So you can see and you can hear how easy it is to misunderstand things in life. And our story today was filled with misunderstandings and misconceptions for the Pharisees, for the disciples, and for the crowds that gathered that led to Jesus' question. And I would love to go back with you today in the beginning of our story in Matthew 15. So if you did not take your Bible out when Kevin read earlier, I would encourage you to do that now and go to page 796, which is where our story begins. And while we dig around in this story and we figure out what this question really meant, I want you to think about what speaks to you in this story and how this question pertains to you in your own faith journey and relationship with Jesus. You cool with that? Great. Well, let's begin in prayer. Whoops, I don't want that one yet. There we go. So, Father, we thank you for this morning. We thank you for the chilly start to this morning that reminds me of your warmth in our lives, that sometimes we misunderstand, that sometimes we misread, and sometimes we forget to listen and see where you are in our lives. This morning I ask that you use my words, you use this story to speak into our mindset and to open up the areas of our lives where we struggle in our relationship with you and in our own faith journey. We love you, Jesus. We invite you in. We ask that the Holy Spirit speaks to us this morning. In your name we pray. Amen. Well, in the beginning of Matthew 15, 1, we find that Jesus is with his disciples in the region of the Sea of Galilee. He's been there preaching and teaching and performing miracles and healing people. And they're just hanging out when all of a sudden they hear that the Pharisees and the scribes, which by the way, if you don't know who they are, they're the big dogs in all of this. They're the religious leaders, they are the teachers, they know the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, they know the Torah, they know the scriptures, and they are coming down from Jerusalem, which is about 60 miles away, to confront Jesus and his disciples. Now they know Jesus, they know what he's been up to. They've heard that he's been performing miracles, that he's been healing people, and they know that he's has many followers and they're threatened by him. And the disciples are with Jesus and they're waiting and anticipating, probably with some fear, of why are these guys coming? What did we do now? What did Jesus do now? So what's going to come next? Now, one would think that the Pharisees are coming to ask the obvious questions, but instead they focus on a ridiculous thing, or at least as we read it now, 2000 years later, we think it's a ridiculous question. But as Ben mentioned last week, the Pharisees are just doing what they know to do. They're holding up the laws, they're holding up the rules. And so we read in verse 2 why do your disciples break the tradition of the elders? They don't wash their hands before they eat. What a strange question, right? They traveled 70 miles to ask this question. Not what's up with all of your miracles? How have you been healing all of these people just by touching your robe? How do you have so many followers when you're not on Instagram or Facebook? But instead, they say, Let's talk about hygiene. And all of the moms in the room are like, Yes, let's talk about our boys' hygiene. And Jesus quickly jumps on their criticism by asking, and why do you, by your traditions, violate the commandments of God, pointing out that they do not honor their mother and father and called them hypocrites when they declared their money a gift of God or a Corban. Now let's push pause here a little bit. A Corban is an offering, it's a gift of money to God. And anyone who made a Corban vow was required to give money to the temple, which would have normally been given to family to support their needs. Now remember, this is a culture that moms and dads and children and extended family live together. And so typically when they work out in the fields or doing whatever their carpentry work, they pool their money together to support one another. And although this action seemed worthy and prestigious, often they would make the vow publicly for selfish acknowledgement. And that had become a religiously acceptable way to neglect their parents and family. And Jesus is saying, you are shaming the disciples for not washing their hands, which isn't a law, it's a tradition, but it's not a law. But you break the law of God to honor your mother and father by giving your money to the temple instead of supporting and honoring your parents. And therein lies the rebuke of the Pharisees as hypocrites. I bet that stung a little bit, don't you think? I don't know about you, but when I I cringe when I hear the words of hypocrisy and Christianity together. But it's not wrong. Churches are full of hypocrites, whether we like it or not, whether we admit it or not. Don't be looking around, because I'm probably talking about you or I'm talking about myself. I love Rich Mullen's quote, who is a famous singer and songwriter from the 70s and 80s and 90s, when he was asked, Is church full of hypocrites? And he said, Full of hypocrites. No, we're not. There's always room for more. And this is who we can be. We show up looking all nice on a Sunday morning. We're wearing our Christian mask proudly with a Bible in our hand and all of its rules. And we are quick to point out to others the flaws that don't align with what we believe, or at least what we understand the Bible to say. And this is what Jesus is referring to when he calls the Pharisees out and he applies Isaiah, the prophet's words from the Old Testament, that says, Your mouth may know me, but your heart doesn't. And your worship is fake, for you teach man-made ideas, not the law. And then he draws the crowds closer and he declares, Listen and understand. Almost as if he knows they're not going to. He says, Listen and understand. What goes into someone's mouth does not defile them, but what comes out of their mouth is what defiles them. Which did not go over well for the Pharisees who happen to be within earshot. And the disciples tell Jesus, Well, now you did it. Now you offended the Pharisees. And Jesus said, Oh, well, not my problem. They are the blind that are leading the blind. And if a blind person guides another one, they will both fall into a ditch. You gotta love his confidence and his attitude, don't you? But Peter, taken back, needed some more clarification. Why? Well, Jesus may have been referring to the Pharisees as the blind, but he knew, and the disciples knew, that they had power, and they were not ones to be messed with. It was known that if you crossed the Pharisees, you could be shamed, you could be kicked out of your community, or in some circumstances you could be put to death. So Peter is probably thinking, should I wash my hands or not? Am I the blind following the blind? Or is what Jesus saying the truth and the way? Now remember, Jesus in his ministry is still fairly new, and what Peter and the disciples knew and from their past teaching was being challenged. They grew up with the law, they knew the rules, and they were threatened and warned not to break those rules. So it was natural for them to second guess Jesus' ways and to be cautious of the Pharisees. So Peter, poor Peter, who often was taking one for the team and one for the boys, asked Jesus to explain more, as if he was in middle school raising his hand to the teacher. And I envision Jesus giving him that, you know, teacher look that teachers sometimes do and asking this question, Are you still without understanding? And Jesus then shares this parable that while physical food passes through the body, it is the internal heart-based evil thoughts, such as murder and adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness and slander that are the true source of spiritual corruption. So eating with unwashed hands does not defile you. Now look back at that statement. The internal heart-based evil thoughts, that is confusing to me. Because when I think of the heart, I think of warm fuzzies. Right. I think of like the little heart emphasis that you send out to people from across the room when you're saying I want to love them. I think of the heart-shaped box candies that we send at Valentine's Day, or when I sign Love Mom, I have hearts all over my cards. Or when I send a text to my boys, love you, happy faces, heart, heart, heart, heart. And my boys get so annoyed with being like, Mom, send one happy face and one heart. That's all you need. I'm like, no, no, you don't understand my love for you. But in this context, the heart is the center of a person's being, their mind. It's their will and their emotions. And Jesus states that from this inner source come all of the evil thoughts and actions that truly defile a person. It's not what we put in our mouths with our unwashed hands. So this question, are you still without understanding, is a scolding to his disciples for their inability to grasp spiritual truths and their failure to see meaning behind Jesus' words and actions when they get caught up in the physical and in the literal? And he uses this question to separate the Pharisees' emphasis on the traditional rules like washing your hands with the true source of defilement, which are the evil thoughts and actions that come from our hearts or the core of a person. So where did you see yourself in the story and in this question? Are you still without understanding in your own faith journey and in your relationship with Jesus? Is there something that blocks you from his love and guidance because of your lack of understanding? What spoke out to you this morning? Was it the hypocrisy that Jesus described and rebuked the Pharisees of having? Maybe this hit home for you and you find yourself holding on to rules over others or wearing the Christian mask all the while hiding under your own sins so the world doesn't see it. Maybe the phrase the blind leading the blind spoke to that question for you. Perhaps your thought as you heard it, am I the blind, being led by the blind? Who's speaking into my life? Or perhaps you thought, maybe I'm the blind leading the blind, based on how you talk to other people, what you share on your social media, where your stance is on the left or the right. Maybe the defiling parable spoke to this question, and you struggle understanding how to turn your life around as your heart is hardened and your thoughts and choices are corrupt, and you have no idea how to step towards a better life that encompasses God. My addiction consumes me. I have awful thoughts outside of my marriage. I consistently lie to cover up my choices, I hide from truth, I hate my neighbors. And I would say to that, number one, we're in good company, you're not alone in that. But also, in our story this morning, there were three words that stood out to me as I read and reread and thought about my own corruption in my life, my own hypocrisy, my own blindness. And it was listen and understand. Three simple words, listen and understand from Matthew 15, 10. It sounds simple, but those words jumped out to me several, several times. This concept isn't new. Listen and understand was repeated throughout the gospel with various translation, and it is a recurring theme in his teachings. And yet, his followers, the disciples, and I think it's safe to say, you and I continuously disregard and misunderstand his teachings due to the lack of misunderstanding and listening. And this isn't just an issue with our relationship with Jesus. Think of the struggles that you have in your personal life with other people. And I would guess that when you take the time to interpret the true issues in those struggles, somewhere along the way, there has been misunderstandings and misconceptions that can be tied back to listening or the lack thereof. To listen is to understand, because just like the disciples, we are blind to what we think we know and we don't have ears to hear. And if we under want to understand what a Christ-like life is all about, then in the words of Martin Luther, we need to take our eyes off our face and put them in our ears, because only then we will hear his plans for us in the world. So how do we do this? Well, as Ben preached last week, we dig into the Bible. We read and we study scripture. And the more in this, the more that we are in this word, then the more we will understand Jesus. And the more we've devour it, the deeper we will grow in relationship with him and with others. I don't know if you noticed that as I was going through my slides today at the bottom, it might have said that I was in RSV or NIV or the message. One way I really encourage you to read the Bible is to read different translations. There are hundreds of translations, and all of them will speak to you in a different way. So read and devour the Bible. And do it in community. Community is a beautiful thing. Look around this morning. We are reading and we are digging in and we are dissecting the Bible this morning. We're breaking down the story, and maybe something I said to you, you've read the scripture before many times, didn't make sense to you, or you read it in a different way. We are dissecting it together in community. Yes, I'm the teacher this morning, but there are many opportunities for you to break into smaller communities and work through the scriptures together. Community is beautiful. It challenges us, it holds us accountable. It also gives us a chance to speak into one another. I would encourage you, if you're not already in a house church or a journey group, to talk to Peter, the guy who was up here earlier. He's going to be at the Christmas cheer table today. He is in charge of growing our house churches and our journey groups, and he will happily put you in a place where you can speak the word of God and you can learn to listen and understand it together. You can also join Bible studies. I have a dear friend who is a part of Stacy Minor's Bible study on Thursday mornings, and they're working through the book of Psalms. Every Thursday since she's been part of this class, she comes into my office after the class and she's like, oh my gosh, I've never thought of the Bible this way. I've never read the Psalms this way. I didn't even know you could pray over the Psalms. She is so excited about how she's learning the Bible, understanding the word in a different way. So read the Bible, be in community, and pray over it. As you read the Word of God to understand and to listen to it to the best of your ability. Pray over those beautiful words that God and Jesus and all of these beautiful authors and prophets and disciples have put their heart and soul into this book so we can understand what it means to have a relationship with Jesus. Pray. Don't dominate prayer. Don't talk at him. Let him speak into you through the word of God. And then pay attention to the needs of others through this. Jesus listened deeply to the people around him, and because he listened, he knew their needs and he cared for them. You need food, I'll feed you, he said. You're sick, I will heal you. You need compassion and love, I will pray for you, I will be there for you. You need saving, I'll die for you, he said. I'll die for you, which was the greatest gift of listening and understanding his kingdom, what his kingdom needed. Friends, Jesus listened, and to know and understand his word, we too are called to listen. And when we do that, we will then care for his world in ways that we didn't even know were possible. So listen and trust his word. Trust that he will turn you from hypocrisy, know that he will lead you from your blindness, and be confident that he will raise you from the dead, the things that corrupt you spiritually and defile your heart and your relationships with Jesus and others. Amen.

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Ryan Braley

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