Written ~ 01-19-2024
Read Matthew Chapter Fifteen
Matthew 15
The passage in this chapter that I would like to touch on are verses 15:1-20. These verses talk about the difference between man-made traditions and the commands of God. What Jesus says to the Pharisees and teachers of religious law can be very true of us today. Let’s look at what He says in response to the questioning from the Pharisees and see how we can apply it to our own lives.
15:1-20,
1 Some Pharisees and teachers of religious law now arrived from Jerusalem to see Jesus. They asked Him, 2 “Why do your disciples disobey our age-old tradition? For they ignore our tradition of ceremonial hand washing before they eat.”
3 Jesus replied, “And why do you, by your traditions, violate the direct commandments of God? 4 For instance, God says, ‘Honor your father and mother,’ and ‘Anyone who speaks disrespectfully of father or mother must be put to death.’ 5 But you say it is all right for people to say to their parents, ‘Sorry, I can’t help you. For I have vowed to give to God what I would have given to you.’ 6 In this way, you say they don’t need to honor their parents. And so you cancel the Word of God for the sake of your own tradition. 7 You hypocrites! Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you, for he wrote,
8 ‘These people honor Me with their lips,
but their hearts are far from Me.
9 Their worship is a farce,
for they teach man-made ideas as commands from God.’”
10 Then Jesus called to the crowd to come and hear. “Listen,” He said, “and try to understand. 11 It’s not what goes into your mouth that defiles you; you are defiled by the words that come out of your mouth.”
12 Then the disciples came to Him and asked, “Do you realize you offended the Pharisees by what you just said?”
13 Jesus replied, “Every plant not planted by my heavenly Father will be uprooted, 14 so ignore them. They are blind guides leading the blind, and if one blind person guides another, they will both fall into a ditch.”
15 Then Peter said to Jesus, “Explain to us the parable that says people aren’t defiled by what they eat.”
16 “Don’t you understand yet?” Jesus asked. 17 “Anything you eat passes through the stomach and then goes into the sewer. 18 But the words you speak come from the heart—that’s what defiles you. 19 For from the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, all sexual immorality, theft, lying, and slander. 20 These are what defile you. Eating with unwashed hands will never defile you.”
So what is the question the Pharisees and teachers of religious law asked Jesus? Verse 15:2,
2 “Why do your disciples disobey our age-old tradition? For they ignore our tradition of ceremonial hand washing before they eat.”
Now, Jesus doesn’t have a problem necessarily with hand washing before a meal, don’t get that wrong from hearing His response. What Jesus points out is the cause of the Pharisees to get way off base and it was by their use of “age-old tradition.” One of the definitions for the word “tradition” is: the handing down of information, beliefs, and customs by word of mouth or by example from one generation to another without written instruction.When you read the response of Jesus, think about that definition in relation to God’s commandments…
Verse 15:3,
3 Jesus replied, “And why do you, by your traditions, violate the direct commandments of God?
The Pharisees and teachers of religious law were using their own traditions as the law of God. They would enforce their traditions with the full judgement and condemnation of God’s law. A couple of references in the Book of Matthew you can read where John the Baptist and Jesus are calling the Pharisees “hypocrites,” or “brood of snakes.” You can look up these references in Matthew 3:7, Matthew 12:34 and Matthew 23:13-33.
In verses 15:4-7a Jesus uses an example of how the Pharisees are twisting around a commandment from God to fit into their own agenda or tradition and in doing so Jesus points out their hypocritical ways.
15:4-7a,
4 For instance, God says, ‘Honor your father and mother,’ and ‘Anyone who speaks disrespectfully of father or mother must be put to death.’ 5 But you say it is all right for people to say to their parents, ‘Sorry, I can’t help you. For I have vowed to give to God what I would have given to you.’ 6 In this way, you say they don’t need to honor their parents. And so you cancel the Word of God for the sake of your own tradition. 7 You hypocrites!
One of the Ten Commandments from the Almighty God is…
Exodus 20:12,
12 “Honor your father and mother. Then you will live a long, full life…”
When we take any of the Ten Commandments or any other command from the Lord and add the word, “but” behind it and change it in any way, we are no better than these Pharisees and teachers of religious law. It’s definitely not a compliment when Jesus calls these leaders of the church “hypocrites.”
I want us to look carefully at the prophesy given to us from Isaiah… think about how these verses could apply to your own life. Are there areas in which you need to confess the sin of your heart?
Verses 15:7b-9,
7b “Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you, for he wrote,
8 ‘These people honor Me with their lips,
but their hearts are far from Me.
9 Their worship is a farce,
for they teach man-made ideas as commands from God.’”
Do you praise the Lord, sing worship songs to your Savior then turn around and use curse words from the same mouth that was just praising the Lord? That’s what the Lord is talking about here, “These people honor Me with their lips, but their hearts are far from Me.”
Defiling the Word of the Lord, disobeying the commands of God isn’t necessarily the things you do, like reading your Bible, singing worship songs, going to church. You very well could be listening to the Word of God, you very well could be “feeling” a worship song quite deeply, you even could be studying and reading the Bible with great intent… But the words that come out of your mouth are what defile you, it shows the true state of your heart. Here are a few synonyms of the word defile: poison, contaminate, pollute, corrupt, spoil, stain, tarnish, blemish. So, what Jesus is trying to explain, it’s not what you are taking in that defiles you, it is what comes out of your mouth.
Going back to the question the Pharisees asked Jesus in verse 15:2,
2 “Why do your disciples disobey our age-old tradition? For they ignore our tradition of ceremonial hand washing before they eat.”
The full explanation given by Jesus is found in verses 15:16-20,
16 “Don’t you understand yet?” Jesus asked. 17 “Anything you eat passes through the stomach and then goes into the sewer. 18 But the words you speak come from the heart—that’s what defiles you. 19 For from the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, all sexual immorality, theft, lying, and slander. 20 These are what defile you. Eating with unwashed hands will never defile you.”
This lesson is very impactful if we take to heart what Jesus is saying here. If we are not “eating,” “drinking,” and “breathing,” the Word of God, and our actions and words don’t align with what we read and study in the Scriptures, we are no better than the hypocritical Pharisees. Yikes, our actions and words will show our true colors.
Do you want to be a part of a “blind leading the blind” generation? Or do you want to take a stand for what is true and right and only found in the Bible?
Verses 15:13-14,
13 Jesus replied, “Every plant not planted by my heavenly Father will be uprooted, 14 so ignore them. They are blind guides leading the blind, and if one blind person guides another, they will both fall into a ditch.”
Don’t be uprooted and discarded because you choose not to listen and obey the Word of God. When you honor the Lord God Almighty with your lips, make sure it is coming from a pure heart. A heart that has been sold out for Jesus!
~AMEN~