Matthew 15:1-9 Then some Pharisees and teachers of the law came to Jesus from Jerusalem and asked, “Why do your disciples break the tradition of the elders? They don’t wash their hands before they eat!” Jesus replied, “And why do you break the command of God for the sake of your tradition? For God said, ‘Honor your father and mother’ and ‘Anyone who curses their father or mother is to be put to death.’ But you say that if anyone declares that what might have been used to help their father or mother is ‘devoted to God,’ they are not to ‘honor their father or mother’ with it. Thus you nullify the word of God for the sake of your tradition. You hypocrites! Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you: ‘These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. They worship me in vain.’”
In the above text, Jesus castigates the Pharisees for putting the oral law above the written law. The oral law of how people and society should function was part of the Jewish community for centuries before Jesus asked the question of the Pharisees: Why do you break the command of God for the sake of your tradition? The oral law was not to supersede or constrain the laws given by Moses, but they could clarify the written law as practiced in society. The washing of hands was a very important part of the procedure in worshipping God. Make a bronze basin, with its bronze stand, for washing. Place it between the tent of meeting and the altar, and put water in it. Aaron and his sons are to wash their hands and feet with water from it. Whenever they enter the tent of meeting, they shall wash with water so that they will not die. Also, when they approach the altar to minister by presenting a food offering to the Lord, they shall wash their hands and feet so that they will not die. This is to be a lasting ordinance for Aaron and his descendants for the generations to come. (Exodus 30:18-21) The Jewish people were not to touch anything that had died or menstrual blood or they were considered unclean. If they had done so they had to go through a purification process. They were not to eat anything that was thought to be unclean such as pork. These were written laws. The oral traditions were thought to clarify the application of the written law in real life. In today’s verses, Jesus was upset by the Pharisees considering their oral traditions above the written law. When the Pharisees questioned Jesus’ disciples for not washing before eating, Jesus deflects the Pharisees’ focus to how they advocated treating parents. He is unhappy with them because they are breaking the written law: ‘Honor your father and mother’ and ‘Anyone who curses their father or mother is to be put to death.' To allow religious fervor to supersede God’s commandments was bad, for the mind of God is in Moses’ laws but not necessarily in the oral traditions that are in the minds of men. Washing of hands before eating is proper and good, but traditions cannot be considered equal to the written law. Honoring your mother or father is God’s will. To adjust this law to fit your own needs, even if spiritual, is a sinful act. Jesus also understood that the Pharisees themselves violated their own traditions when they did not wash their hands every time they put something in their mouths. So He called them hypocrites, willing to heap heavy requirements on the people. Then Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples: “The teachers of the law and the Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat. So you must be careful to do everything they tell you. But do not do what they do, for they do not practice what they preach. They tie up heavy, cumbersome loads and put them on other people’s shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to lift a finger to move them. (Matthew 23:1-4) Because the religious leaders are given the responsibility to lead people to God, they should be considered very important in the Jewish community. They should be heeded, especially if they are teaching the written law, but they were not practicing what they preached. The religious leaders were not willing to follow the written law or the oral law. Do not do what they do, for they do not practice what they preach. Jesus rightly calls them hypocrites.
The Pharisees were allowing people to escape their responsibility to their fathers and mothers by saying their resources are given to God; therefore, they are free from their obligation to their parents. But you say that if anyone declares that what might have been used to help their father or mother is ‘devoted to God,’ they are not to ‘honor their father or mother’ with it. The Pharisees were very rigid about washing hands before eating, but they were too willing to nullify the written law by making excuses for people not taking care of their parents. Jesus is disgusted with them for their intentions of serving God wholeheartedly were weak, feckless. These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. They worship me in vain. The priests and the people they led were not honest with God, but full of pretensions and lacking sincerity. This reflects how wicked the heart is within a rebellious people who have wandered far from the heart of God. The Pharisees and the teachers of the law were far from God’s heart. Jesus calls them vile. “You snakes! You brood of vipers! How will you escape being condemned to hell? (Matthew 23:33) A religious pretense, a failure to serve God with honest integrity is without God’s blessings. This hypocrisy has been condemned in the Old Testament as well as the New. The Children of Israel were finally dispersed to other lands because they were not honest before their God. They worshipped the world represented by different idols and then supposedly the Creator of all things: Jehovah. God does not tolerate this compromising lifestyle. The priests were serving God through traditions that were getting in the way of serving with an intense love and devotion. Jesus criticizes their lifestyle and their pretensions of serving him. By saying the people did not have to put God’s commandment about parents above their own view of life, these leaders provoked God to anger. As with the Jews of old, they were in danger of dispersion because of their wayward lifestyle and attitude toward God’s righteousness. No man’s ideas, wisdom, or knowledge should be put before God’s commandments. James talks about this lack of spiritual honesty. My dear brothers and sisters, how can you claim to have faith in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ if you favor some people over others? For example, suppose someone comes into your meeting dressed in fancy clothes and expensive jewelry, and another comes in who is poor and dressed in dirty clothes. If you give special attention and a good seat to the rich person, but you say to the poor one, “You can stand over there, or else sit on the floor”—well, doesn’t this discrimination show that your judgments are guided by evil motives? (James 2:1-4) Notice, James says discrimination is guided by evil motives, or motives that are contrary to the Royal Law of loving your neighbor as yourself. Anything that is contrary to God’s love for humanity is not acceptable to him. This aberrant attitude of placing the oral traditions of your society above God’s law of loving others as yourself will be judged harshly. But as with the hypocrisy of the Pharisees and teachers of the law, the fleshly person is not exceptionally fearful of God’s judgment or he or she would change. The flesh is hardwired to discriminate on the basis of wealth, class or caste. Obviously, humans need an intervention of grace and mercy from God for their souls. We need Jesus Christ and the Spirit of God. To move away from the duplicity in our hearts, we need a new start, a new life, a refreshing of the Spirit of God in our lives.
Jesus told the religious leaders that if they really loved God, if they really desired to serve him, they would be obedient to the covenant God laid down through the law. If they truly loved God’s words, they would not subvert them to their own fleshly needs and desires. Jesus knew their hearts. He knew they were out for themselves, to do their will before the will of God. Because of that, He called them a brood of poisonous snakes. Their way of living, their words would lead to death and not eternal life. As Christians we must understand what Jesus is saying to the Pharisees and teachers of the law. A self-willed life will lead to judgment and death. A self-absorbed life is yeast that will contaminate our children, our relatives, our friends. Such hypocrisy is lethal to all we touch. If we love God, we will show it by our deeds. The first cardinal law of loving God with all our heart, soul, spirit and strength must have the subsequent cardinal law with it: loving our neighbors as ourselves. The second validates the first. We cannot claim the first if we fail to love others as we love ourselves. Jesus is telling the Pharisees, people cannot serve God rightly if they do not take care of their parents. They cannot say they love God with their whole being unless they prove it by their actions. Words are not love, they are but statements. Love demands action. As James writes, I will show you my faith by my good deeds. (James 2:18 NLT) If we fail to love others we are but vacuous words, thrown to the wind. But if we put our words into action, we are expressing God on earth. We are fleshing him out to the world, so that the world can see the unseen God. We represent God. We are his ambassadors here on earth. If we are distorted in our way of living: self-absorbed, self-serving, if we discriminate wickedly, we will lead people to death, not life. For God through Christ gave his all for us. Jesus, the Bright and Morning Star of heaven, was poured out for the world. Do not nullify the word of God for the sake of your tradition or the WAY YOU WANT TO LIVE YOUR OWN LIFE. You were bought with a price. Surrender your hearts to him today.
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