Matthew 15 - February 23^rd

The Traditions of Men

The Pharisees made a complaint toward Jesus regarding his disciples as to why they did not wash their hands when they ate. This was not a part of the Law of God; rather, this was a part of their oral tradition, which the elders of the Jewish community developed. Jesus then explains to them that as much as they esteem and value the oral law created by man, they simultaneously break the obvious commands of God, such as honoring their parents. These Pharisees, who were diligent in teaching the traditions of men, such as hand washing, were likewise teaching others to break the clear commandment of God to honor their parents. How would they teach others to break this command? By saying that one is not obligated to honor their parents by caring for them financially if they declare that money as corban (a sacrifice or offering to God). The command of God to honor fathers and mothers does not merely mean to obey and respect them but also to honor them as they age in caring for their needs. The Pharisees taught that this clear commandment of God could be made void were one to instead give the money meant for the support of parents to God as an offering; as pious as that sounds, it is a sin. To avoid this command in any way was evil in the sight of God.

We, too, must be careful not to substitute the commands of God for our own traditions. Many traditions have developed among certain churches, and they may not even be inherently bad. However, if one begins to sacrifice the clear commands of God in favor of man-made traditions, then they have failed to understand Jesus’ teaching here. 

For example, before Redeeming Grace Fellowship and Gateway Church merged into what is now Levittown Baptist Church, we were two separate congregations, each with our own traditions. Traditions that may, at times, have clashed with one another. Now, imagine how sad it would be were we to choose to hold tightly onto certain man-made traditions rather than honoring clear commands of God, such as loving one another (1 Corinthians 13) and laying down our rights (1 Corinthians 9). I fear we would have fallen into the same error as the Pharisees.

That Which Defiles

Jesus continues to attack the foolish teaching of the Pharisees regarding washing. Jesus makes it abundantly clear that defilement does not come from without but from within. What ultimately defiles man before God are not unclean hands but unclean hearts. What we eat will pass through our digestive system and be destroyed and finally expelled. However, what comes out of us is much more difficult to dispose of. The center of our being is our heart, and as it says in Jeremiah 17:9, “the heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick.” Man is evil! We are fallen creatures and sinners from birth. What comes out of our evil hearts are evil actions. Our unclean hearts produce sin, and sin defiles us before a holy God, and it cannot be disposed of like food. It can only be dealt with on the cross or in hell for all time.