Sermon Tone Analysis

Chapter 15

The following material is adopted from John MacArthur’s commentary on Matthew and his Study guide.

Additional material taken from sources listed at the end

Read and summarize

Look for

— Prayers ( Blue )

— Promises ( Green )

— Warnings ( Red )

— Commands ( Purple )

Q: What religious traditions did you grow up with?

When are traditions good or bad ( 15:1-2 )

The Confrontation ( 15:1-2 )

( 15:1-2 ) Then the scribes and Pharisees who were from Jerusalem came to Jesus, saying, 2 “Why do Your disciples transgress the tradition of the elders?

For they do not wash their hands when they eat bread.”

— Many traditions are not bad in themselves

— Certain traditions can add richness and meaning to life

— But we must not assume that because our traditions have been practiced for years they should be elevated to sacred standing

— God’s principles never change, and his law doesn’t need additions

— Traditions should help us understand God’s law better, not become laws themselves

The transgression

( 15:2 )“Why do Your disciples transgress the tradition of the elders?

— The OT has abundant laws with respect to ritual purity and cleanliness

— The priests were required to wash their hands and feet before ministering in the tabernacle ( Ex 30:20-21 )

— But no such command was given to the general public in connection with eating food

— In their minds tradition was superior to scripture

— Caution; remember the reason and meaning behind the tradition; better not to focus on the tradition itself and move away from the real meaning of said tradition.

It is always about the heart (Matt 15:7), not adherence to rules or traditions.

(Matt 15:8-9)

— Traditions can actually be “transgressions of the law” (Jesus own words, Matt 15:3)

Came to Jesus

— They came to Jesus with what purpose?

— These men were familiar with Jesus’ teachings and came to Him with the specific purpose of proving Him to be an offender against their tradition

Going Deeper

who were from Jerusalem — A delegation of scribes and Pharisees came to Jesus, bit it is significant that they were not from the local vicinity

— They had traveled all the way from Jerusalem

— An earlier delegation had been sent to observe John the Baptist ( John 1:19 )

— These men observed the men not following the tradition

( 15:2 ) They do not wash their hands

— The criticism of the Pharisees had nothing to do with hygiene

— The matter in dispute touched ceremonial purity, not dirt

— It had nothing to do with germs, about which the disciples nor their critics knew anything

The tradition

— Water was kept in jars ready for the ceremonial washing

— The water was first poured on both hands, held with fingers pointed upward; and it must run down the arm as far as the wrist and drop off the wrist

— The process was repeated with the fingers pointed downward

— Finally, each hand was cleansed by being rubbed with the fist of the other hand

Tradition superior to Scripture

— To the scribes and Pharisees tradition was superior to scripture in some cases

— By Jesus’ day, the tradition of the elders had for many years supplanted Scripture as the supreme religious authority

— The traditions even affirmed that “the words of the scribes are more lovely than the words of the law”

— In modern times, the Catholic church affirms that special revelation is found in Scripture and in the tradition of the church, a dual source of ultimate authority was confirmed as late as 1950 in the papal encyclical, Humani Generis (Of the Human Race)

Peter

— Peter says we were redeemed from our futile ( NASB), aimless ( NKJV ) , empty way of life handed down to us (NIV)

— “knowing that you were not redeemed with corruptible things, like silver or gold, from your aimless conduct received by tradition from your fathers, 19 but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot.

( 1 Pet 1:18-19 )

— vain, worthless existence

— Unredeemed men or women are living a futile life

— Religious tradition is a feature of sin’s bondage ( Matt 15:3, 6; Gal 1:14 )

The Condemnation ( 15:3-9 )

( 15:3-9 ) He answered and said to them, “Why do you also transgress the commandment of God because of your tradition?

4 For God commanded, saying, ‘Honor your father and your mother’; and, ‘He who curses father or mother, let him be put to death.’ 5 But you say, ‘Whoever says to his father or mother, “Whatever profit you might have received from me is a gift to God”—6 then he need not honor his father or mother.’

Thus you have made the commandment of God of no effect by your tradition.

7 Hypocrites!

Well did Isaiah prophesy about you, saying: 8 ‘These people draw near to Me with their mouth, And honor Me with their lips, But their heart is far from Me. 9 And in vain they worship Me, Teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’ ”

— The Pharisees were teaching children that there was a way around the heavy burden of financially supporting their parents

— Anyone who made a Corban vow was required to dedicate money to God’s temple that otherwise would have gone to support his parents

— Corban had become a religiously acceptable way to neglect parents, circumventing the child’s responsibility to them

— These religious leaders were ignoring God’s clear command to honor their parents

— The prophet Isaiah also criticized hypocrites ( Is 29:13 ) and Jesus applied Isaiah’s words to these religious leaders

— The Pharisees knew a lot about God but they didn’t know God

— When we claim to honor God when our hearts are far form him, our worship means nothing

— It is not enough to study the bible or act religious; Our actions and attitudes must be sincere (without wax)

— If not, Isaiah’s words describe us too

— “Teaching as doctrines the commandments of men” is a quotation from Isaiah accurately describing the real problem with these religious leaders.

They elevated man’s tradition to an equal level with God’s revealed Word.

— Note: Those who rely on tradition as a staple for worship and doctrine beware

The Principle Stated ( 15:10-11 )

( 15:10-11 ) When He had called the multitude to Himself, He said to them, “Hear and understand: 11 Not what goes into the mouth defiles a man; but what comes out of the mouth, this defiles a man.

The Multitude

— Evidently the people had been standing at some distance away

— Probably out of respect for those who had come to question Jesus about the conduct of his disciples

— So Jesus, turning away from the critics, ask the people to come closer

— He has something of great importance to tell them, something that concerns the very essence of religion and ethics, that they may no longer allow themselves to be misled

Traditions

— Jesus was referring to the religious regulations concerning food and drink

— The physical has no way of defiling the spiritual

— Jesus was saying, “Don’t be deceived and misled by foolish traditions you have been taught.

The practice of washing your hands before you eat has nothing to do with making you undefiled.

What matters is in your heart.

It is the evil in the heart, which eventually proceeds out of the mouth, that defiles the man.”

— Jesus was referring not simply to what a man says but what he thinks and does

Going Deeper

— In fairness to the Jews, many ceremonies and restrictions had been given to them by God as expressions of their covenant relation to Him

— If those ceremonial requirements and restrictions were entirely external, we might ask, why did God require them?

— God gave them to teach His children who had just come out of Egypt, a nation of pagan, idolatrous people

— The book of Hebrews is a commentary on the book of Leviticus, and the writer of Hebrews reminds the people that the OT sacrifices were but pictures of the real, true, perfect and complete sacrifice that Christ made on the cross

— From the time the Old Covenant was first given to them, God’s people were more concerned with outside ritual than with inside righteousness

— Ritual requires no change of heart, no forsaking sin, no repentance before God

— It allows a person to display symbols of religion while holding on to his sins

— It is a religion of form rather than faith, it is therefore empty and hypocritical