You Can’t Heal What You Hide | The Gospel of Matthew

·40 min·3 clips

Jesus calls out the Pharisees for manipulating religious rules to avoid helping their parents.

This episode features a sermon by Pastor Justin Moy Navarro of Sandals Church Anaheim, exploring authenticity and spiritual integrity through Matthew chapter 15. Navarro opens by humorously reflecting on turning 45 and feeling disconnected from teen culture, introducing the concept of "aura farming" to describe crafting a false external image. He argues this tendency to perform for others is exhausting and isolating, even within church communities. The sermon centers on a confrontation in Matthew 15, where Pharisees from Jerusalem challenge Jesus because his disciples do not perform ceremonial handwashing. Navarro explains this was a "fence" around God's law, a human tradition the religious leaders added. Jesus counters by accusing them of violating God's commandment to honor parents through a practice called *Corban*, where resources dedicated to God were withheld from family needs. Navarro emphasizes Jesus's accusation that they "cancel the word of God for the sake of your own tradition." The core argument is that disciples must choose God's truth over what is culturally acceptable, with Navarro citing 2 Timothy 4:3-4 about people chasing myths. Navarro states the Bible contains the "very breath of God" and is the source of truth in a noisy world, sharing personal examples of its guidance in his life. Jesus calls the Pharisees hypocrites, quoting Isaiah about honoring God with lips while hearts are far away. Navarro confesses his own past hypocrisy, describing leading worship in college after nights of partying. He cites Hosea 6:6, where God desires relationship over ritual, and the sobering warning from Matthew 7:22-23 where Jesus tells some "I never knew you." Spiritual practices like prayer, service, and generosity are framed not as box-checking but as relationship-deepening actions. Jesus advises the crowd to "ignore" blind guides, which Navarro clarifies means releasing their hold, not necessarily cutting them out. The final point is that defilement comes from the heart, not external rituals, listing evils like evil thoughts and slander. Navarro references Psalm 51, where God desires a "broken spirit" and surrendered heart over sacrifice. The transformative promise is from Ezekiel 36:26, where God gives a new heart and spirit. True revival, he concludes, starts with individual heart surrender, which then transforms relationships and communities. The tone is pastoral, conversational, and exhortative, blending personal anecdotes, humor, and direct biblical teaching. Listeners interested in Christian living, biblical exposition, or themes of authenticity versus performance will find this episode compelling. Those seeking a secular or interfaith perspective may find its evangelical Christian framework less applicable.

As heard by us

A blunt sermon about faith drifting into performance and the call to mean what church life says.

Sandals Church starts with a self-aware riff on turning 45, youth camp, and the plain realities of getting older, then shifts into a sharp critique of religious performance.

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Why you'd press play

When church feels easy to perform and hard to mean, this message cuts straight through.

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