“We’ve always done it that way,” I heard a long-time member of a church I served a while back say when I mentioned that I wanted to evaluate the way we were doing ministry according to Scripture. Jesus taught about the place of traditional practices. When we hear Jesus’s teaching, something about His person and work is revealed. Something about our own sins is revealed. As we walk through this passage of Scripture, may we think upon the person and work of Christ and our own treatment of others in light of our traditions or sacred cows.

Matthew 15:1-11

Then some Pharisees and scribes came to Jesus from Jerusalem and said, “Why do Your disciples break the tradition of the elders? For they do not wash their hands when they eat bread.”

And He answered and said to them, “Why do you yourselves transgress the commandment of God for the sake of your tradition? For God said, ‘Honor your father and mother,’ and, ‘He who speaks evil of father or mother is to be put to death.’ But you say, ‘Whoever says to his father or mother, “Whatever I have that would help you has been given to God,” he is not to honor his father or his mother.’ And by this you invalidated the word of God for the sake of your tradition. You hypocrites, rightly did Isaiah prophesy of you: ‘This people honors Me with their lips, But their heart is far away from Me. But in vain do they worship Me, teaching as doctrines the precepts of men.’”

After Jesus called the crowd to Him, He said to them, “Hear and understand. It is not what enters into the mouth that defiles the man, but what proceeds out of the mouth, this defiles the man.”

The accusation (v. 1-2)

Then some Pharisees and scribes came to Jesus from Jerusalem and said, “Why do Your disciples break the tradition of the elders? For they do not wash their hands when they eat bread.”

The washing of hands was, at this point in history, an oral tradition that would later be reflected in Mishnah Yadayim and represented the spirit of the teachings Jesus addressed earlier in Matthew’s Gospel (Cf. 5:21-48). Once again, we see that the Pharisees considered their tradition authoritative such that they measured others according to their traditions rather than according to Scripture. The Law did not require ritual hand-washing when bread was consumed, only when the priests approached the altar to present a sacrifice (Cf. Exodus 30:17-21). Even if this tradition was derived from the explicit Law for priests, it was a human addition to God’s Law like many of the things people try to classify as sins in the modern day (e.g. drinking, smoking, or getting tattoos) by arguing that they are derived from explicit instructions within God’s Law. Like the Pharisees are doing in this verse, many people today judge others based on the traditional rules of people rather than the good word of God.

The answer (v. 3-9)

And He answered and said to them, “Why do you yourselves transgress the commandment of God for the sake of your tradition? For God said, ‘Honor your father and mother,’ and, ‘He who speaks evil of father or mother is to be put to death.’ But you say, ‘Whoever says to his father or mother, “Whatever I have that would help you has been given to God,” he is not to honor his father or his mother.’ And by this you invalidated the word of God for the sake of your tradition. You hypocrites, rightly did Isaiah prophesy of you: ‘This people honors Me with their lips, But their heart is far away from Me. But in vain do they worship Me, teaching as doctrines the precepts of men.’”

Jesus addresses the tradition of the Pharisees by comparing their traditions, later to be recorded in the Mishnah, to the Torah or Law. God commanded that people honor their parents (Cf. Exodus 20:12; 21:17). Yet, the tradition of the Pharisees caused them to neglect taking care of their parents because they had dedicated their resources to God (Cf. Mishnah Nadarim)—which was not required by the Law.

Jesus does not address hand-washing specifically, but does address the sufficiency and priority of Scripture. The Pharisees had judged others based on their own traditions while, at the same time, breaking God’s Law in order to keep their own traditions. Thus, they invalidated God’s word for the sake of their own traditions, or religious teaching. Human tradition and human rules are not authoritative for the Christian life. We would do well not to classify as sin those things that Scripture does not classify as sin—else we taint God’s word like the extra-biblical Jewish traditions that would later be written in the extra-biblical Jewish religious texts. We endanger ourselves of legalism and of holding others to a standard that God has not even provided by teaching the precepts of people as though they are biblical doctrines. Jesus, here, is alluding to Isaiah 29:13-14:

Then the Lord said, “Because this people draw near with their words And honor Me with their lip service, But they remove their hearts far from Me, And their reverence for Me consists of tradition learned by rote, Therefore behold, I will once again deal marvelously with this people, wondrously marvelous; And the wisdom of their wise men will perish, And the discernment of their discerning men will be concealed.”

When Jesus indicts the Pharisees, He does so like He did through the prophet, Isaiah, in the Old Testament. God does not change; He has always declared the sufficiency of His own word.

The admonition (v. 10-11)

After Jesus called the crowd to Him, He said to them, “Hear and understand. It is not what enters into the mouth that defiles the man, but what proceeds out of the mouth, this defiles the man.”

Jesus turns this private debate into a public teaching, instructing the crowd to hear and understand. It is not what enters into the mouth that defiles the person, here referring particularly to food eaten with unwashed hands—mere religious ritual or outward religious works. What proceeds out of the mouth defiles the person, here referring particularly to the Pharisees judgment and teaching that is based on their own traditions and philosophies rather than Scripture. Jesus’s teaching, here, is consistent with His teaching throughout Matthew’s Gospel (Cf. 7:1-6, 15-23). He proves to be more concerned about the condition of our hearts (Cf. v. 18) than about our outward religiosity.

These Pharisees professed God even though they were more concerned about their own religion. Their hearts were far from God and, as a result, they did not hold His word as their own authority. We should be careful of any worldview or religion that declares any authority other than Scripture, whether tradition, religious teaching, popular philosophy, cultural definitions of sin, expectations, entertainment, emotion, or anything else. We recognize that outward religiosity does not work to accomplish God’s righteousness. Paul will later write:

If you have died with Christ to the elementary principles of the world, why, as if you were living in the world, do you submit yourself to decrees, such as, “Do not handle, do not taste, do not touch!” (which all refer to things destined to perish with use)—in accordance with the commandments and teachings of men? These are matters which have, to be sure, the appearance of wisdom in self-made religion and self-abasement and severe treatment of the body, but are of no value against fleshly indulgence (Colossians 2:20-23).

 We recognize that it is God who must first give His people good roots before they produce good fruit. We recognize the sufficiency of Scripture as our only authority for life and ministry— that is what we mean when we use the term Sola Scriptura. We labor to distinguish between those things that have come merely from human tradition, religious rule, or preference and what has been given to us in holy Scripture—we desire to return to the source of our faith, God’s perfect word (ad fontes).

Jesus’s Identity According to Matthew 14-17:

Who Jesus is:	Who Jesus is not:
The expected Messiah (Isaiah 35:4-5; 61:1-2): The one who would heal His people, take their infirmities, raise the dead, and restore justice to the earth.	John the Baptist; the new Elijah (Cf. Malachi 4:5-6): Not merely a prophet, teacher, or good person.
Compassionate provider; Israel’s Messiah (Cf. Exodus 3:6-9; 34:6; Psalm 78:38-39; 2 Kings 13:23; Isaiah 14:1; 49:13; Lamentations 3:32; Zechariah 10:6).	Not merely  an inspirational figure or brilliant strategist. Not limited by human means.
The Son of God; the king who perpetually sits on the Messiah’s throne prepared through King David (2 Samuel 7:14-17; see also Proverbs 30:4; Isaiah 7:14; 9:6-7; Daniel 3:25; Micah 5:1-3 concerning the “Son of God” motif in the Old Testament). Israel’s deliverer.	Not a wish-granter or halfway savior.
The one who upholds God’s Law and justifies the Father’s people from the inside out (Cf. Genesis 49:10; Isaiah 29:13-14; Jeremiah 23:5).	Not the one who abolishes God’s Law according to people’s preferences, traditions, or philosophies (Cf. Matthew 5:17).

Questions:

1. What traditions, rules, or philosophies have become idols people worship today?
2. What responsibility do we have to always get back to Scripture?
3. Is God concerned more about our outward religiosity or the condition of our hearts?