The Word versus words, Matthew 15:1-20

Matthew 15:1–20 (CSB)

“Then Jesus was approached by Pharisees and scribes from Jerusalem, who asked, 2 “Why do your disciples break the tradition of the elders? For they don’t wash their hands when they eat.” 3 He answered them, “Why do you break God’s commandment because of your tradition? 4 For God said: Honor your father and your mother;, and, Whoever speaks evil of father or mother must be put to death., 5 But you say, ‘Whoever tells his father or mother, “Whatever benefit you might have received from me is a gift committed to the temple,” 6 he does not have to honor his father.’ In this way, you have nullified the word of God because of your tradition. 7 Hypocrites! Isaiah prophesied correctly about you when he said: 8 This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me. 9 They worship me in vain, teaching as doctrines human commands.”,

10 Summoning the crowd, he told them, “Listen and understand: 11 It’s not what goes into the mouth that defiles a person, but what comes out of the mouth—this defiles a person.” 12 Then the disciples came up and told him, “Do you know that the Pharisees took offense when they heard what you said?” 13 He replied, “Every plant that my heavenly Father didn’t plant will be uprooted. 14 Leave them alone! They are blind guides. And if the blind guide the blind, both will fall into a pit.” 15 Then Peter said, “Explain this parable to us.” 16 “Do you still lack understanding?” he asked. 17 “Don’t you realize that whatever goes into the mouth passes into the stomach and is eliminated? 18 But what comes out of the mouth comes from the heart, and this defiles a person. 19 For from the heart come evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, sexual immoralities, thefts, false testimonies, slander. 20 These are the things that defile a person; but eating with unwashed hands does not defile a person.”

One of the perennial problems that the people of God experience is the loss of what God has actually said to the traditions of what the people we know have said.

As a pastor I desire to teach what the Bible actually says and apply it in ways that are consistent with the truth of Scripture and relevant to the people in the room.

Not sure about the following: The reason is that I can’t preach to people who aren’t here. I know that we have more people watching us than ever before from home, and I am grateful for the opportunity to present the truth of Christ and the Gospel to them. But, I pray and prepare the sermons each week for the people who will be sitting in this room, the members, friends, and neighbors of Harrisburg Baptist Church. This doesn’t mean I don’t want people to “watch”, but it does mean I think you shouldn’t be watching from home if you have the means to be here in person. There is more to being in the church than listening to the sermons, there is living out the Christian life with one another, and you can’t do that through a screen.

From the Fall of 1998 until August of 2012 I was a youth and college minister. I had the opportunity to teach and disciple students at one of the most exciting times of life. I realized after a while that I had the opportunity to help students have a biblical framework or worldview for the rest of their lives.So, I dedicated my ministry to students and families to the teaching of the Word. In 2011 God began to stir in me a desire to help the whole church be equipped and grounded in the Word. The church I served in at the time and the pastor and other ministers I served with affirmed me and encouraged me to pursue this new direction God was leading me. Since August of 2012 I have had the privilege of serving as a Sr. Pastor and the opportunity to equip the saints for the work of ministry through the preaching, teaching, discipling, counseling, and relationships. As I have taught through books of the Bible and taken time to teach foundational doctrines and give theological instruction, I have had the same question asked many, many times; “Why haven’t I heard this before?”

So, I am going to level with you and say that I don’t know a preacher who wants to be the first person to introduce what the Bible says to those who have been listening to preaching for a long time. When someone says they “haven’t heard it before,” I begin mentally going back over everything that I have studied, thinking through the rest of the Bible and what it says. The reason is because I don’t want to be on an island with my preaching and teaching. So, I strive to study a great deal and interact with many faithful and conservative sources as I wrap up my sermon prep. I start with the passage itself, then I look into the original languages to the best of my ability.

Then I look at some language helps with the Greek or Hebrew, then I write and pray through the passage. After I have what I believe is the sense of the passage I consult a series of commentaries, books, and sometimes even sermons on the same passage. My hope is to make sure that I’m not the only person in the world to ever interpret a passage the way I have. If I can’t find ample support throughout Christian history for what I am going to preach then I need to start over.

But, even with that approach to preaching there are still times where the truth presented in the sermon is the first time someone in the congregation has heard it. And, there are also times when the truth presented in the sermon or in a leadership meeting is the first time that anyone in the room has heard it or been asked to think deeply about it.

From my experience, people don’t always react well to being told what they have always done or taught is inconsistent with the Bible (or wrong). In fact I can testify that many times the reaction is hurtful to the one who brings the truth of Scripture to the surface. Another thing I can testify to is that when you are preaching, you have no idea what people have studied, heard before, or have even taught at some point themselves. As the preacher you can only bring the truth of the passage and present implications and applications that are true to the Word. And, when the passage of Scripture is taught in a way as to expose the truth of the text, it will shed light on the ways that we are believing wrong, doing wrong, or teaching wrong. But, being corrected by Scripture is the way of the Christian. Christians want to be faithful to the Word and we welcome the truth into our lives even when it means we need to change and/or repent.

I said a few moments ago that:

One of the perennial problems that the people of God experience is the loss of what God has actually said to the traditions of what the people we know have said.

This is the issue at hand in our passage today. Jesus is confronted by a coalition of religious leaders from Jerusalem. This group is the first wave of the big guns in the opposition to Jesus. They come to oppose Jesus because He and His disciples are not following the oral law and tradition that has been passed down by the religious leaders.

Notice, that I said Jesus and His disciples are not following the oral tradition of the Jews. Jesus was not breaking the actual written Word or Law of God. He was breaking the oral tradition and laws known as the Mishnah. By the time of Jesus the Mishnah was as authoritative or even more authoritative than the actual law God gave to Moses and that was written in the Scriptures.

Jesus isn’t breaking the actual law of God, He is breaking the traditions of men. And, the tradition of men are not the Word of God, and therefore not something Jesus felt obliged to honor. In fact, Jesus takes their accusation and returns to them with one of His own. Jesus accuses the Pharisees and Sadducees with keeping the Mishnah but breaking the actual law of God.

Now, quickly let me say this… Don’t go trying to defend the traditions of men, prioritize keeping the Word of God. And, just because I am preaching this text, it doesn’t mean that I don’t value traditions. I am simply preaching the passage and applying it today. But, because of this passage others like it I value the traditions of men under the Word of God, and believe that you should too. I believe that you should value the Word of God over the traditions of men because Jesus says so.

Jesus says we are to value the Word of God over the words of men.

The religious leaders were breaking the law of God, but they were keeping the laws of men. According to Jesus they were fulfilling the prophecy of Isaiah from Isaiah 29. Look in verses 8-9. “This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me. The worship me in vain, teaching as doctrines human commands.”

It is vain and empty to say that you are committed to Christ, but neglect to be faithful to His Word. A modern day equivalent would be for someone to attend worship services in the church but live according to the world and not the Word. Or consider it this way…

A pattern of religious habits is not the same thing as an actual relationship with God through faith in Jesus Christ.

No one is saved by religious habits any more than they can be saved or made spiritually clean by washing their hands. The Mishnah taught that if your hands were unclean then they would make your food unclean, and if your food was unclean then it would make you unclean.

But, like Jesus says in verse 11, “It’s not what goes into the north that defiles a person, but what comes out of the mouth— this defiles a person.”

And the reason that what comes out is defiling, is because what comes out of the mouth reveals the heart; and a person is defiled or made unclean because of his or her heart. Matthew 15:18 says, “But what comes out of the mouth comes from the heart, and this defiles a person.”

Sinners are unclean because of their hearts, not their hands.

What I mean by that is that the actions that are committed, the words that are said, and the sinful thoughts are the result of the sin in your heart.

Jesus teaches this truth to His disciples in Matthew 15:19 (CSB), “19 For from the heart come evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, sexual immoralities, thefts, false testimonies, slander.”

Sin doesn’t come in and make your heart dirty. Your heart is the source of the sin that comes out.

You’re not a sinner because of what you did. You commit sin because you are already a sinner. This means you aren’t in neutral and clean until you sin. Psalm 51:5 (CSB) says:

“5 Indeed, I was guilty when I was born; I was sinful when my mother conceived me.” Psalm 51:5

Temptation presents you with the opportunity to appease the flesh that your heart desires to satisfy, but it doesn’t go in and make you unclean. You pursue the temptation because of the sin in your heart.

James 1:14–15 (CSB)

14 But each person is tempted when he is drawn away and enticed by his own evil desire. 15 Then after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin, and when sin is fully grown, it gives birth to death.

I go back to the point that Jesus is making here…

Sinners are unclean because of their hearts, not their hands.

Sin is passed on from generation to generation, and we trust God’s grace toward children and those who don’t have the capacity to understand the gospel. We also know in Scripture that those who don’t hear the gospel are not the same those who are not able to understand. Romans 1 provides us with a clear understanding that God’s revelation through creation is enough to condemn every person.

Romans 1:18–20 (CSB)

18 For God’s wrath is revealed from heaven against all godlessness and unrighteousness of people who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth, 19 since what can be known about God is evident among them, because God has shown it to them. 20 For his invisible attributes, that is, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen since the creation of the world, being understood through what he has made. As a result, people are without excuse.

And, in Romans 10 we see clearly that without hearing the gospel of Jesus Christ there is no salvation.

Romans 10:13–15 (CSB)

13 For everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.,14 How, then, can they call on him they have not believed in? And how can they believe without hearing about him? And how can they hear without a preacher? 15 And how can they preach unless they are sent? As it is written: How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news.,

This means that God doesn’t save any person apart from the gospel. There is no such thing as a person being saved without hearing, believing, and repenting through the gospel of Jesus Christ. It is unbiblical to believe that someone can be saved just because when it so clearly says no one is saved without hearing the gospel.

Matthew 15:19–20 (CSB) says, “19 For from the heart come evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, sexual immoralities, thefts, false testimonies, slander. 20 These are the things that defile a person; but eating with unwashed hands does not defile a person.”

Since your hands don’t stain your heart, washing them doesn’t make your heart clean either.

Jesus has come to cleanse your heart through the cross

The only way for your heart to be made clean is by the grace of God through faith in Jesus Christ. What I mean by that is the sin in your heart is a stain that you cannot get out Your sin already deserves the eternal wrath of God and because of it you are condemned to hell. But, according to His grace and kindness God sent Jesus to die on the cross to take the punishment that your sin deserves. And, if you believe in Him, repent of your sin, and follow Him then God will forgive you of the sin that you can’t make go away. Jesus talked about it with His disciples in terms of being washed clean.

In John 13 Jesus sits down for the Last passover meal He will share with His disciples. In fact, it’s the last passover because after this meal Christians are called to celebrate the Lord’s supper until He returns. And, before the meal Jesus went around the table and washed each disciples feet. This was the job of the lowliest person in the room, but Jesus did it to make a point. And the point was about the washing of their hearts, not their feet. John records this in 13:6–8 (CSB):

“6 He came to Simon Peter, who asked him, “Lord, are you going to wash my feet?” 7 Jesus answered him, “What I’m doing you don’t realize now, but afterward you will understand.” 8 “You will never wash my feet,” Peter said. Jesus replied, “If I don’t wash you, you have no part with me.” John 13:6-8

The washing of their feet foreshadowed the washing of their hearts that would come through the cross. Jesus was offering Himself on the cross as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. His blood is seen as washing our sin stained hearts clean and white as snow. (At the cross… where love ran red)

You can spend the rest of your life making sure that you don’t do anything wrong, never touch anything unclean, never watch something bad, never listen to anything sinful, and you will still be a sinner in need of the cleansing power and love of God through Jesus Christ. You can make up as many additional rules and develop a hundred extra habits in an effort to be clean and keep yourself free from sin. But, this is the point… Only Jesus can make you clean.

Your heart is the source of sin, and what you do or don’t do won’t make it clean. Only Jesus can cleanse your heart, and only those who believe in Him, trust Him, and repent from sin to follow Him and walk according to His ways will be saved.

When we lose the truth of what God has actually said…

1. We lose the Gospel saves and replace it with a gospel that enslaves

The gospel is according to God’s grace through faith in Jesus Christ. When we lose the truth the gospel we replace it with a system of works and comparisons that enslave us to the flesh and the law rather than the freedom God gives to those who are in Christ.

Jesus and His disciples exemplify this in the passage today. They are free from trying to work themselves into cleanliness. God frees us from working for our sin to live according to faith. Galatians 2:20 says, "20 I have been crucified with Christ, and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”

If we lose the gospel we lose a life of seeing by faith and replace it with a life of living blind.

2. We lose the authority of Scripture and replace it with the lesser opinions of men

Elevating the authority of Christ is not an attack on the traditions of men; it’s the right and godly order of the Christian life. But, elevating the traditions of men is an attack on the authority of Scripture.

Our goals and expectations for our members must be straight from Scripture.

Our understanding of roles, qualifications, and expectations for leaders in the church must be straight from Scripture.

Our understanding of the roles in marriage and in the family must be straight from Scripture.

There are many Christians who are participating in religious denominations that don’t have it all right. In fact, I think we should make sure we aren’t prideful.

There are many churches that don’t have everything according to the Bible, but that just means they have the opportunity to align with the Word, regardless of what has been done before. We always have the choice to align with the Word or continue to go against it.

Our traditions must be rooted in Scripture, not in our culture. And what I mean most is that the things that we view as essential and necessary to be a healthy church must be rooted in Scripture. There are times where we have to admit that we need to change to follow Scripture, and there are other time when need to change to quit going against Scripture. This is true for individuals, families, and the church.

3. We lose faithfulness to God’s Word and replace it with faulty and false versions of Christianity

There are many systems of belief today that are close to Biblical Christianity, but there is no such thing as Christianity that isn’t Biblical.

The Health and Wealth Gospel (Twisting of Scripture)

The Political Gospel (Twisting of Scripture)

The Bible isn’t Relevant Anymore Gospel

The Bible is wrong Gospel

The Bible is just about social issues and not spiritual issues Gospel

Christians all over the world are called to live the same way. I talked with a missionary friend yesterday who is home for a bit. He mentioned to me how much it seems to him like American Christians are getting a taste of what the rest of Christians in the world have experienced this whole time. Christians all over the world are different than the world around them. Christianity is about being faithful to God and His kingdom through obedience to the Word.

I’m not advocating for Christians to just let our country go and quit caring. But, I do think we need to take a step back and remember that while we fight for what is good, just, and best for our country; we are grounded in our heavenly citizenship and our future home with Christ.

Kingdom citizenship isn’t an excuse to not care about our city, state, or country. But Kingdom citizenship is the worldview that you live with as you go about life until Jesus comes back. He is the source of our faith, the rock that keeps us steady, and the reason we don’t fall apart. He is the reason that we can be the best help and citizens in our country, regardless of what is happening in any era of the US.

What does this mean for you?

1. Know the Bible to know God and be saved by faith in Christ

There is no other God than the one in Scripture, and there is no salvation apart from the gospel that is the Bible.

2. Know the Bible to live faithful to God and worship Him with your life

(Not just with your lips)

3. Know the Bible to lead others to God

(For how will they believe if they never hear…)