Sermon Tone Analysis

Read: Matthew 15:1-20

Now as we read we can understand there was a conversation between the Pharisees and the Scribes and Jesus.

But before we get into the details of the conversation, I want you to see something.

...

Why do I mention this?

Why is this important.

To help us understand verses 1-20 in Chapter 15, its good to see the context of the situation.

Context: the people, the place, and what the conversation was about.

So if the Pharisees and the Scribes came from Jerusalem, where was Jesus?

Look back to Matthew 14.

In Matthew 14 Jesus feed the 5000, then walked on the water on the Sea of Galilee.

Right?

Then in verse 34 Jesus and the disciples get off the boat at Gennesaret.

And he heals many people.

So Jesus is around the city of Gennesaret and the Pharisees and the Scribes came from Jerusalem.

The journey, on foot, from Jerusalem to Gennesaret would have taken over 24 hours.

Why would they do this.

Why would they travel over 24 hours, on foot, to question this man who they thought was only a teacher.

Every week. it seems that these Pharisee and sometimes Scribes are clashing with Jesus.

As spiritual as they thought they were.

As holy as they thought they were, their religion was dead.

Jesus would later tell them...

But they keep coming.

And every-time Jesus silences they’re accusation, it seems that they come back with more.

Why can’t they see?

Why don’t they realize that he REALLY IS the Messiah.

I don’t know, but because they turned away from God, he used them to reveal that Jesus was the Messiah, and the ultimate proof was when they put him on the cross, he stepped out of the grave three days later.

So this time, as these religious leaders make the long journey to confront Jesus with what they believe is something very wrong, we see the conversation take place.

Look at their question towards Jesus:

Now before we look into their question here, this is the second time that the Pharisees have attacked Jesus because of the actions of his disciples.

Do you remember the first?

At that time Jesus answered them with the example of their ancestor David feeding his men with the bread from the temple.

Then he said “the Son of man is Lord of the Sabbath.”

Now again, the Pharisees attack Jesus with something that the disciples are doing.

The Scripture doesn’t tell us, but it seems to me that the Pharisees and the Scribes were in Jerusalem, trying to come up with another way to catch Jesus, to trick him, and maybe one of them saw the disciples not washing before a meal and they all agreed and decided this is what they would say to him.

They made the long journey and now they were in front of Jesus.

Or maybe as they were walking up, they may have seen the disciples not washing.

We don’t know for sure, but they came a long way to confront Jesus.

And their question was this, why do your disciples not wash their hands before they eat.

No, their question was

Boys, when you are playing ball and the bell rings, do you wash your hands before you eat? Yes.

Girls, before you eat swallow, do you wash your hands?

Yes.

When I am down here in the evenings and I leave, I walk up to my house and fill my gen so it is ready when I turn it on before bed.

So after filling the gen, my hands smell like fuel and the first thing I do before I go inside and eat is wash my hands.

These Pharisees and Scribes were not concerned about the disciples eating their food with dirty hands, there was another reason..... they said… by eating with dirty hands, the disciples break the tradition of the elders?

Traditions are good.

You have traditions in yoru culture, I have traditions in my culture.

Traditions are good.

But here is what I want you to see here.

The traditions that the Pharisees and the Scribes speak about, are not the rules or commandments of God.

Yes, God gave the commandments to Moses and the Law to Moses as well, but that is not what these Pharisees are talking about.

You see the Pharisees and the Scribes, took God’s Law, and they added more to it.

God did not give these traditions, man made them.

That is what Jesus said … Matthew 11:28-30

The yoke of tradition that the Pharisees had put on people was heavy.

It was too much.

They Pharisees had made up far to many rules.

ANd Jesus told them, MY yoke is easy, and my burden is light.

SO the Pharisees had come along and imposed their own man made traditions as law on the people.

But Jesus had an answer for them.

They were replacing God’s law with man’s law.

Man’s own tradition.

But he didn’t just tell them it was wrong to do that, he gave them an example in their own culture how they were following mans tradition and not God’s law.

Look at verse 4:

Matthew 15:4–6 (ESV)

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, you know of the first thing he said...

It’s one of the ten commandments right?

But look at the second part of what he said.

Matthew 15:5-6 “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.”

What does this mean?

There is a word that they used back then : Corban And Mark as he is telling this story uses teh word.

Mark 7:11

Mark 7:11 (ESV)

11 But you say, ‘If a man tells his father or his mother, “Whatever you would have gained from me is Corban” ’ (that is, given to God)—

So Corban is money, a gift , or offering that is set aside for God.

So the example is this, and was something that was going on in that day.

And a mans father and mother would grow older, the children would help care for them, and sometimes that is with money.

That happens in every culture around the world.

But what they would do is to tell their mother and father that the money was Corban, it was set apart for God, and they would not use it to help their parents.

But, they would keep it.

Even though they said it was an offering, they would just say it so they would not give it too their parents.

And Jesus said, because of this MAN MADE TRADITION, they are making the Word of God VOID.

Then he uses a word that is very powerful.

He calls the hypocrites.

Think of the worst word you can call a person, and for a religious leader in this culture....HYPOCRITE was the worst.

It means that they were FAKE.

They were FRAUDS.

They say that they were keepers of Scriptures, but they were not.

Then Jesus points back to a prophecy from Isaiah that shows their condition...

He looks into the eyes of the Pharisees, and says you may worship, but you are not worshipping God, because you are teaching and obeying the commandments of men.

Then Jesus turns away from the Pharisees and looks at the people around him, and begins to tell them that what defiles a person is not dirty hands, or 3 days without a bath.

Look at what he said...

You see that in the Jewish culture in that day, there were things you could not eat and if you did you were seen as unclean.

And if you were unclean, you had to remove yourself from society until you were clean.

But Jesus said it is not what goes into the mouth that defiles a person.

It isn’t what they eat (goes into the mouth) that is unclean (unclean animal) but it is what comes out of the mouth that defiles a person.

After hearing this the disciples saw that the Pharisees were not happy with what Jesus said?

Why?