Matthew 15

Jesus was a master at deflecting criticism and potential conflict. As we read through Matthew, notice how often Jesus answers a question with a question. Then notice how often his critics do not answer the question he threw back at them.

In this case, the Pharisee’s confront Jesus with the hyper-critical observation that his disciples did not wash their hands before eating.  This “tradition of the Elders” probably stems from Exodus 30:18-21.   In that passage the priests, after sacrificing an animal at the altar in the Tabernacle courtyard, were required to wash their hands in the bronze laver before entering the Holy Place.  Over time, this requirement for the PRIESTSwas transferred to all the people to wash before eating, not simply as “hygienic best practice” but as a law.  Jesus would have nothing to do with this distortion of God’s Law.  He comes back at them with verse 3  “And why do you break the commandment of God for the sake of your tradition?  The commandment he is referring to was the fact that the 5thcommandment required a person take care of their aging parents. The Pharisees weren’t fulfilling that commandment, but rather they were claiming that they had dedicated their possession to God, so therefore, they couldn’t give it to their parents (see Luke 7:9-13 for more details on this “tradition” of the Elders called Corban).  This causes Jesus to proclaim the following quote from Isaiah:

Matt. 15:8-9  “‘This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me;in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’”

So, what is the lesson for us?  Let’s examine our “traditions” (especially if we are judging others for not keeping them) to see if they arise from God’s Word or from our own reasoning.  I, for one, never want to hear Jesus say the words of verses 8-9 to me.