Jesus faces down the Pharisees. They attack Jesus about the disciples not following the minutia of the Law. Jesus points out the Pharisees blatantly ignore the heart of the Law. He emphasizes that defilement comes from within, but so does faith. And he rewards the faith of a gentile woman.

Jesus is demonstrating His power, over sickness, over nature, over demonic forces, over death, and still His disciples react to each new situation as if there were no power greater than their human abilities to deal with it.

Just as faith in Jesus can override every obstacle, Unbelief blocks the blessings that He wants to do in your life.

The demon possessed man was miserable for a long time. When Jesus arrived, the demons instantly recognized Him and begged him to not torment them, though they had tormented the man for years. Christians can’t be possessed. The Holy Spirit is infinitely more powerful than demons. But they can lie to and harass us. Spiritual warfare is real, and happens today. In carnal war we attack until victory is complete. In spiritual war we sit and feed on God’s promises. Then He attacks until victory is complete.

Parables are stories of physical analogs to spiritual reality. To communicate spiritual things to people without the Holy Spirit to help them understand, analogs from their experience must be used. In the parable of The Sower the right condition of our souls is as good earth to a seed. We are to be places where love can grow.