You knew it would not be long until the scribes and Pharisees returned on the scene to scrutinize Jesus’ every move. Here they move in to accuse Jesus’ disciples of not keeping the tradition of the elders by failing to wash their hands before they ate bread (15:2). The tradition of the elders was a list of rules which had been developed outside biblical writings and were eventually committed to print in the Mishna near the end of the 2nd century. The tradition of the elders was man’s attempt to add what they thought was important to God’s law. Apparently the disciples had violated one of these traditions by not cleansing their hands prior to eating bread. Of course the scribes and Pharisees were right there to question Jesus about the spirituality of His disciples and their failure to keep “man-made religious tradition.” In only the way He can, Jesus shoots straight back at them with by pointing out their violation of one of the commandments…honor your father and mother (15:3-4). It seems that the same men who were critical of the disciples failure to wash their hands had failed to honor their parents by not financially caring for their parents (who were elderly) because they had dedicated a certain amount of money to God (15:5-6). In essence they were ignoring God’s commandments but trying to maintain their “spirituality.” Jesus continues to build His case against the scribes and Pharisees by pointing out that they had elevated man-made tradition over God’s law (15:9). Furthermore, He expressed that what went into their mouth did not defile a person, but what comes out of it (15:10-11). Jesus was saying that a person’s speech reveals the heart and in reality the heart is more important than a person’s devised rules of spirituality. Jesus’ disciples inform Him that the Pharisees were offended by what He had said, but Jesus goes further in His criticism by proclaiming their ultimate judgment through separation from God (15:12-14). The disciples needed to understand that the moral law far outweighed the ceremonial law. Ceremonial violations could be taken care of by ceremonial cleansing, but moral transgression of the law resulted in the corrupting of a man’s heart (15:15-18). Be honest with yourself…have you created a system of spiritual rules for yourself without any regard to God’s commandments? If so, you are in good company with the scribes and Pharisees. God isn’t interested in you pacifying yourself by adherence to a list of rules which you have created to feel better about your relationship with God. Stick with what God has revealed in His word and quit wasting time concocting a system that is in reality for you. Although a person can create a fascade on the outside, eventually the heart will manifest itself through actions. If the heart is pure, good with spew out; if the heart is corrupt, evil will soon follow (15:19-20).
Dear God, I desire to follow Your commandments and Yours alone. May I not create my own system of right and wrong but may I obey what You’ve already established.
I’ve always subscribed to the 10% of gross tithing rule. Mat, 15:5 has made me think… How does this apply to a family when both husband and wife lost there job (because of circumstances, not disciplinary), and the husband is now earning $10.00/hour to support his household? Some would say: stay the course with sacrificial giving of what belongs to God (10%) and He will bless, and it’s the right thing to do. This verse has stuck out to me and challenged my thinking on this issue. I know there are others who don’t believe that the New Testament supports 10% tithing. In the major/minor tenants of our faith, this would be considered a minor. Honor your mother and father, honor your family, if you’ve made all the possible cuts in your budget and still can’t provide for your family, then giving 10% might put the husband mentioned above in the Pharisee category.
Yet, I know that years ago when I stepped out in faith and started giving 10%, I was blessed financially and in so many other ways – I was also living in a 20×20 efficiency room with no furniture. Since then, I’ve been able to give 10-13%. Though, my retirement savings is growing at a snails pace compared to others with my income….hmmm. Good food for thought. Thank you for your blog.
Those are some great thoughts! Thank you for sharing and giving testimony about what God has done in your life.