Jesus often had more than one audience. There were often people eavesdropping, people waiting to hear what he had to say. Some of them were trying to learn. Some of them wanted to be entertained. Some of them want to trap him.

In the space of three sentences in Matthew 15, all three audiences are clearly identified.

Jesus called the crowd to him and said, “Listen and understand. What goes into a man’s mouth does not make him ‘unclean,’ but what comes out of his mouth, that is what makes him ‘unclean.’ ” Then the disciples came to him and asked, “Do you know that the Pharisees were offended when they heard this?”

The crowds came because they wanted to be asked. They liked miracles. They listened to stories. They wanted to be entertained. The Pharisees lurked around the edges of the crowd. They listened for errors. They looked for problems. They wanted to trap him. The disciples tried to figure things out. They tried to protect Jesus. They tried to understand how he fit into the religious and political culture.

But they were talking with him, the disciples were. Even though in a couple more sentences they are going to get scolded for being dull, they consistently showed up to ask questions.

I look at those three groups. I understand the ones wanting to be entertained. It’s easier. It’s more fun. Show up, wait for Jesus to do some trick, impress me. I understand critiquing what challenges me, what makes me uncomfortable. What I want to understand is being the one who is willing to say, “Jesus, I don’t understand. I don’t quite get it. Could you explain it again.”

The lat group have to say that they don’t understand, that they can’t figure it out.

Because disciples have to follow.