Matthew 15:1-20
Notes
Transcript
Traditions and Commandments
Traditions and Commandments
Oh brother, today we are going to jump feet first into a mess and I’m going to hope I can hold my head above the surface. We are going further into “traditions” and how they can actually pull us AWAY from God. Now, let’s just jump into the conversation. Why do we hold on so tightly to tradition?
My conclusion is, we allow tradition to become what we worship. We lose sight, lose focus, lose discipline, sometimes even lose our sense when we talk about stepping outside “tradition”.
This is the second time we see Jesus’ disciples being accused of breaking “tradition”. The first was back in Matthew 12:1-8.
1 At that time Jesus went through the grainfields on the Sabbath. His disciples were hungry, and they began to pluck heads of grain and to eat.
2 But when the Pharisees saw it, they said to him, “Look, your disciples are doing what is not lawful to do on the Sabbath.”
3 He said to them, “Have you not read what David did when he was hungry, and those who were with him:
4 how he entered the house of God and ate the bread of the Presence, which it was not lawful for him to eat nor for those who were with him, but only for the priests?
5 Or have you not read in the Law how on the Sabbath the priests in the temple profane the Sabbath and are guiltless?
6 I tell you, something greater than the temple is here.
7 And if you had known what this means, ‘I desire mercy, and not sacrifice,’ you would not have condemned the guiltless.
8 For the Son of Man is lord of the Sabbath.”
Now, this time was not breaking the tradition, or the law, of working on the Sabbath, but instead they’re being accused of not washing their hands before eating. Take into account, handwashing was prescribed by the Jews as a RITUAL based on the Talmud’s requirement of handwashing for anyone around someone with leprosy.
11 Anyone whom the one with the discharge touches without having rinsed his hands in water shall wash his clothes and bathe himself in water and be unclean until the evening.
Now, how is it that we take law - wash your hands if you touch something of a leper, and make it into…wash your hands before you do anything or you’re going against God’s will???
But, that’s where we are at.
The ceremonial washing of hands was part of the religious rituals of the Pharisees. The issue was more than just proper hygiene, but a disregard of a body of commands they considered sacred. Matthew makes it clear in the remark of the Pharisees and scribes that the disciples’ violation was not a neglect or disobedience of a scriptural command, but the breaking of the “tradition of the elders”. Likewise, Jesus’ reply to the religious leaders shows that he was not against every form of tradition, but only those that invalidated the laws of God by giving more importance to human traditions.
1 Then Pharisees and scribes came to Jesus from Jerusalem and said,
2 “Why do your disciples break the tradition of the elders? For they do not wash their hands when they eat.”
3 He answered them, “And why do you break the commandment of God for the sake of your tradition?
4 For God commanded, ‘Honor your father and your mother,’ and, ‘Whoever reviles father or mother must surely die.’
5 But you say, ‘If anyone tells his father or his mother, “What you would have gained from me is given to God,”
6 he need not honor his father.’ So for the sake of your tradition you have made void the word of God.
7 You hypocrites! Well did Isaiah prophesy of you, when he said:
8 “ ‘This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me;
9 in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’ ”
10 And he called the people to him and said to them, “Hear and understand:
11 it is not what goes into the mouth that defiles a person, but what comes out of the mouth; this defiles a person.”
The fact that the scribes and Pharisees united in this attack, and came all the way from Jerusalem to speak to Jesus, indicates the seriousness of their purpose. It is likely that this committee represented the leaders of the Sanhedrin in Jerusalem.
Their accusation about “washing hands” had nothing to do with cleanliness. They were referring to the ceremonial washings of the rigidly orthodox Jews (see Mark 7:1–4).
1 Now when the Pharisees gathered to him, with some of the scribes who had come from Jerusalem,
2 they saw that some of his disciples ate with hands that were defiled, that is, unwashed.
3 (For the Pharisees and all the Jews do not eat unless they wash their hands properly, holding to the tradition of the elders,
4 and when they come from the marketplace, they do not eat unless they wash. And there are many other traditions that they observe, such as the washing of cups and pots and copper vessels and dining couches.)
It was bad enough that Jesus and His disciples mingled with outcasts, but they did not even seek to be purified! Of course, in making this accusation, these religious leaders were forcing Jesus to deal with the very foundation of their religious faith. If Jesus rejected the sacred traditions of the nation, then He was a heretic!
Where did these traditions come from? They were handed down from the teachers of previous generations. These traditions were originally the “oral law” which (said the rabbis) Moses gave to the elders, and they passed down to the nation. This oral law was finally written down and became the Mishnah. Unfortunately, the Mishnah became more important and more authoritative than the original Law of Moses.
Our Lord’s reply to their charge began with an accusation (Matt. 15:3). It was they who were breaking God’s Law by practicing their traditions! He then proceeded with an illustration (Matt. 15:4–6), their practice of “Corban” (see Mark 7:11). The Hebrew word Corban means “a gift.” If a Jew wanted to escape some financial responsibilities, he would declare his goods to be “Corban—a gift to God.” This meant he was free from other obligations, such as caring for his parents. But in so doing, the person was losing the power of God’s Word in his life, and thus hurting his character and missing God’s blessing.
Jesus concluded His reply with an application (Matt. 15:7–11), quoting Isaiah 29:13. Jesus made it clear that obedience to tradition made a person disobedient to the Word of God; and this proved the tradition to be false. Exodus 20:12 taught a man to “honor” father and mother. But the “Corban” rule would make a person dishonor his parents, and, at the same time, disobey God.
Tradition is something external, while God’s truth is internal, in the heart. People obey tradition to please men and gain status (Gal. 1:14), but we obey the Word to please God. Tradition deals with ritual, while God’s truth deals with reality. Tradition brings empty words to the lips, but truth penetrates the heart and changes the life. Actually, tradition robs a person of the power of the Word of God.
Unfortunately, there are many “evangelical traditions” in churches today, man-made teachings that are often considered as authoritative as the Word of God—even though they contradict His Word. By obeying these traditions, Christians rob themselves of the power of God’s Word.
God wants us to give Him our hearts, and not just our lip service. We believe in the heart (Rom. 10:9–10), love from the heart (Matt. 22:37), sing from the heart (Col. 3:16), obey from the heart (Rom. 6:17; Eph. 6:6), and give from the heart (2 Cor. 9:7). No wonder David prayed, “Create in me a clean heart, O God!” (Ps. 51:10)
Jesus declared boldly to the multitudes that sin comes from the heart, not from the diet. It is what comes out of the mouth that defiles us, not what goes in.
What Truly Defiles
What Truly Defiles
12 Then the disciples came and said to him, “Do you know that the Pharisees were offended when they heard this saying?”
13 He answered, “Every plant that my heavenly Father has not planted will be rooted up.
14 Let them alone; they are blind guides. And if the blind lead the blind, both will fall into a pit.”
15 But Peter said to him, “Explain the parable to us.”
16 And he said, “Are you also still without understanding?
17 Do you not see that whatever goes into the mouth passes into the stomach and is expelled?
18 But what comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart, and this defiles a person.
19 For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, slander.
20 These are what defile a person. But to eat with unwashed hands does not defile anyone.”
The disciples were astounded by what Jesus taught about foods. After all, they had been raised good Jews.
Acts 10:14 (see Acts 10:14 for Peter’s testimony). They knew the difference between the “clean” and “unclean” foods (Lev. 11).
Acts 10:14 (ESV)
14 But Peter said, “By no means, Lord; for I have never eaten anything that is common or unclean.”
But the disciples had another concern: This teaching had offended the Pharisees and was certain to create serious problems. But Jesus was not worried about the Pharisees. Neither they nor their teachings had been planted by God, and therefore would not last. While there are isolated groups that seek to maintain the traditions, for the most part, phariseeism is gone. However, the spirit of phariseeism (tradition, legalism, hypocrisy, externals) is still with us, what Jesus called “the leaven of the Pharisees” (Matt. 16:6).
6 Jesus said to them, “Watch and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees.”
Jesus also pointed out that the Pharisees were blind and could only lead their converts into the ditch. In Matthew 23:16, He called them “blind guides”—quite a graphic description. Why be afraid of rootless plants that are dying, or blind guides who cannot see where they are going?
16 “Woe to you, blind guides, who say, ‘If anyone swears by the temple, it is nothing, but if anyone swears by the gold of the temple, he is bound by his oath.’
Peter was not content until he had an explanation of the saying about foods. Patiently our Lord explained the lesson again. The meaning seems obvious to us, but it was astonishingly new to orthodox Jews. Whatever enters the mouth eventually goes into the stomach and comes out in human waste. Food never touches the heart. But what comes out of the mouth begins in the heart, and these things defile a person. Of course, actions are included with words; often actions speak louder than words.
The Lord had to repeat this lesson on foods to Peter a few years later when He was going to call him to preach to the Gentiles (Acts 10). Paul repeated it in 1 Timothy 4:3–6. He also dealt with it in Romans 14–15.
9 The next day, as they were on their journey and approaching the city, Peter went up on the housetop about the sixth hour to pray.
10 And he became hungry and wanted something to eat, but while they were preparing it, he fell into a trance
11 and saw the heavens opened and something like a great sheet descending, being let down by its four corners upon the earth.
12 In it were all kinds of animals and reptiles and birds of the air.
13 And there came a voice to him: “Rise, Peter; kill and eat.”
14 But Peter said, “By no means, Lord; for I have never eaten anything that is common or unclean.”
15 And the voice came to him again a second time, “What God has made clean, do not call common.”
16 This happened three times, and the thing was taken up at once to heaven.
3 who forbid marriage and require abstinence from foods that God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and know the truth.
4 For everything created by God is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving,
5 for it is made holy by the word of God and prayer.
1 As for the one who is weak in faith, welcome him, but not to quarrel over opinions.
So… in the grand scheme of things…what is important? Tradition? While I will not say all tradition is bad, I do feel tradition gets in the way of many churches today. My concern is this - will holding on to tradition hold us back from what God wants for us? Have we missed blessings by holding fast to tradition, instead of looking forward to God’s blessings?
As Romans 6:15 ends…God forbid.
Wiersbe, Warren W. 1996. The Bible Exposition Commentary. Vol. 1. Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.