SUNDAY 16TH AUGUST 2026 SERMON

Genesis 45:1–15 + Matthew 15:10–20

A Heart That Gives Life

There is an old saying: “Hurting people hurt people.” It captures something of the human condition. When we are wounded, disappointed or betrayed, our natural instinct is often to strike back, to withdraw, or to hold on to resentment. The pain we carry in our hearts eventually finds its way into our words and actions.

Jesus understood this better than anyone. In our Gospel reading, he challenges the common belief that what makes us unclean comes from outside us. Instead, he says the real problem lies within. What comes out of our mouths and lives reveals what is already in our hearts.

Our reading from Genesis gives us a living example of this truth. Joseph had every reason to allow bitterness to define him. His brothers had betrayed him, sold him into slavery, and left him for dead. Yet when the moment came to confront them, something remarkable happened. Instead of revenge, Joseph offered forgiveness. Instead of condemnation, he offered reconciliation.

Together, these readings ask us an important question:

What kind of heart are we allowing God to shape within us?

The Heart Revealed

In Matthew 15, Jesus calls the crowd to him and says, “Listen and understand.”

That invitation still stands today.

People have always focused on outward appearances. We spend time worrying about how we look, what others think of us, whether we are following the right customs or saying the right things. In Jesus’ day, there were vigorous debates about ceremonial washing and ritual purity. Many believed holiness could be measured by external observance.

But Jesus goes much deeper.

He teaches that it is not what enters a person’s mouth that makes them unclean. Rather, it is what comes out of the mouth, because it comes from the heart. He lists some uncomfortable examples: evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony and slander.

These actions do not suddenly appear. They begin as seeds within the heart. This is both confronting and liberating.

It is confronting because Jesus removes every excuse. We cannot simply blame our circumstances, our upbringing, or the actions of others for what grows within us. Those things influence us, certainly, but they do not determine how we respond.

It is liberating because Jesus is telling us where true transformation begins. God is not merely interested in changing our behaviour. He wants to transform our hearts.

If the heart changes, our words change.

If the heart changes, our relationships change.

If the heart changes, our lives change.

Joseph’s Story

So let’s look at Joseph’s story; one of the great stories of Scripture.

As a young man he was deeply loved by his father, Jacob showed him favouritism in many ways, including giving him a magnificent robe of many colours. His brothers became consumed with jealousy. They stripped him of his robe, threw him into a pit and eventually sold him into slavery.

Imagine carrying that pain.

Years passed. Joseph was falsely accused, imprisoned and forgotten. Yet through God’s providence he eventually became second only to Pharaoh in Egypt. During a devastating famine, his brothers unknowingly came before the very brother they had betrayed.

Joseph held enormous power. No one would have questioned him if he had punished them. Many would have considered revenge entirely justified.

Instead, Genesis tells us that Joseph could no longer control himself. He sent everyone else from the room and wept so loudly that the Egyptians heard him.

His first words were not words of accusation. They were, “I am Joseph! Is my father still living?”

Can you imagine what his brothers felt?

Fear?                   Shame?              Guilt?

Surely this was the moment when their past would finally catch up with them.

Instead, Joseph said something astonishing.

He told them not to be distressed or angry with themselves because God had been at work through everything that had happened. What they intended for evil, God had used to preserve life.

Joseph did not pretend their actions were acceptable. Forgiveness never calls evil good. Rather, Joseph refused to allow evil to have the final word. His heart had been transformed.

A Heart Shaped by God

Joseph demonstrates exactly what Jesus teaches. His actions flowed from what was in his heart. A bitter heart would have sought revenge. A proud heart would have humiliated his brothers. A fearful heart would have sent them away.

But Joseph’s heart had been shaped by years of trusting God. Notice what fills his words. Not bitterness. Not resentment. Not self-pity. Instead we hear compassion, humility, gratitude and hope. His heart had become a place where God’s grace had taken root.

That is why reconciliation became possible. Forgiveness is never easy. It is not pretending the hurt never happened. It is not ignoring justice. It is not allowing abuse to continue. Rather, forgiveness is choosing not to let hatred become the defining reality of our own hearts.

As followers of Christ, forgiveness is not simply something we do. It is something God grows within us.

Seeing God’s Bigger Story

Perhaps the most remarkable feature of Joseph’s response is his ability to see God’s larger purpose. Joseph does not minimise his suffering. He had suffered enormously.

Yet he also recognises that God had never abandoned him. God was quietly working even when Joseph could not see it. How often do we struggle with that?

We experience disappointment. Relationships break down. Dreams collapse. Health fails. Plans unravel. In those moments it is easy to ask, “Where is God?”

Joseph reminds us that God’s providence is often only visible when we look backwards.God had been present in the pit. He had been present in Potiphar’s house. He had been present in prison.  He had been present in Pharaoh’s palace.

The same God who worked through Joseph’s suffering continues to work through ours. That does not mean everything that happens is God’s desire. Scripture never suggests that betrayal, injustice or cruelty are good. But it does proclaim that God is able to redeem what sin intends to destroy. Our hope rests not in the absence of suffering but in the faithfulness of God.

Jesus: The Greater Joseph

As Christians, we cannot read Joseph’s story without seeing Jesus. Joseph’s story and his response points us toward the gospel message found in Christ. Joseph was rejected by his own brothers. Jesus came to his own people, and many rejected him. Joseph suffered although he was innocent. Jesus suffered though he was without sin. Joseph became the means through which many lives were saved from famine. Jesus became the source of eternal life for the whole world. Joseph welcomed those who had wronged him. Jesus prayed from the cross, “Father, forgive them.”

The difference is that Jesus does even more. He does not simply forgive us. He transforms us. Through the Holy Spirit, Christ begins changing the very heart from which our words and actions flow.

That is the miracle of the Gospel. God does not merely improve behaviour. He creates new people.

Living the Message

So what does this mean for us this week? Perhaps there is someone whose words or actions have wounded you deeply. Perhaps there is a family relationship marked by years of silence. Perhaps there is disappointment that has quietly become resentment. Perhaps the conflict is within the church itself.

The answer is not pretending those things never happened. The answer begins by asking God to examine our hearts. Where bitterness has taken root, ask God to plant grace. Where pride has taken root, ask God for humility. Where fear has taken root, ask God for trust.

As God changes our hearts, our relationships begin to change as well. That is why the scripture says in Psalm 133: 1 ‘Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity! ‘ It celebrates the beauty of God’s people living together in unity.

Unity is not created by ignoring differences. It grows wherever forgiveness, humility and grace are allowed to flourish.

And we can have confidence that God remains faithful even when his people fail. The God who did not abandon Israel is the same God who does not abandon us. His mercy is greater than our failures, and his purposes continue even when we cannot yet see the whole picture.

Conclusion

Jesus tells us that what comes out of our lives begins in our hearts. Joseph shows us what a heart shaped by God’s grace looks like.

His brothers brought betrayal. Joseph offered forgiveness.

His brothers expected judgment. Joseph offered embrace.

His brothers came seeking food. Joseph gave them a future.

That is the way of Christ.

Every one of us has moments when we must decide what will rule our hearts.

Will it be bitterness or grace? Revenge or forgiveness? Fear or trust?

May we bring our hearts before Christ, allowing him to shape them day by day.

And as he does, may our words, our relationships and our lives become living witnesses to the transforming power of God’s grace.

Amen.