The next red letters of significance are found in Matthew 15. In this account Jesus rebukes the scribes and Pharisees over their tendency to put more importance on their religious traditions while ignoring God’s commands. Let’s set the context. This is Matthew 14:35-36, “And when the men in that place (the northern shore of the Sea of Galilee) recognized Him, they sent word into all the surrounding country to bring all who were sick. And they begged Him to only let them touch the hem of His garment; and as many who touched it were made perfectly whole.” Then, being both jealous and fearful of Jesus’ popularity, the scribes and Pharisees make yet another pathetic attempt to find fault and publicly discredit Him.
“Then from Jerusalem came scribes and Pharisees who said, ‘Why do Your disciples ignore the traditions of the elders? Why do they not observe the ceremonial washing of hands before they eat?” (Matthew 15:1-2) As discussed before the journey from Jerusalem to Galilee took three days. There would have been some scribes and Pharisees close by in Capernaum, but here it seems this was such a serious matter it required the attention of the leaders from Jerusalem.
It should also be noted that in the Talmud (the collection of writings on Jewish law and tradition) the long-held opinions of the scribes were more important than the Old Testament books of the Law and the Prophets. A common quote is “the words of the elders are weightier than the words of the prophets.” The defining principle was that the traditions of the elders actually explained or completed the words of the prophets. The traditions of the elders actually put the finishing touch to the Divine revelation and without such there could be no confidence in its accuracy. From the very beginning the leaders of Judaism actively perverted and distorted the commands of God.
But Jesus doesn’t hesitate and gets right to the point. “He replied to them, ‘Why do you ignore the commandments of God, preferring the rules given to you by men? For God said, Honor your father and mother and anyone who abuses his father or mother, let him be put to death. But you say, If anyone tells his father or mother, whatever money you may have expected from me to help you has already been dedicated as a gift to God. Then he is no longer under any obligation to help his father or mother. So, for your own personal benefit, you have set aside the Word of God” (Matthew 15:3-6) Evidently the idea of helping one’s parents in their old age had become too much of a burden for these religious Jews. So, they had to come up with a rule that relieved them of the responsibility.
Now comes the rebuke and Jesus couldn’t be more direct. “You hypocrites! Isaiah was right when he said this about you, ‘These people pretend to honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from Me. Their worship of Me is useless and worthless, because the things they teach and practice are nothing more than rules taught by men.” (Matthew 15:7-9) This word has probably been explained before, but it bears repeating. “hypocrites” is from hupokrites, used to describe someone acting in a mask, in this case, pretending to have certain moral or spiritual principles not evident in one’s life or grounded in the Scriptures.
And, I’ll not belabor the point, but much of religion today would fall under this same rebuke. In fact, the stated goal of many denominations today is to perpetuate the rituals and traditions of their past with little or no consideration to the Word of God.
Again, the reason there are so many different Christian denominations and religious institutions is not because their formation is commanded in the Scriptures. Their differences can all be traced back to a specific time in history and to the particular attempt of the founder to distinguish his or her group from the others that already exist. Even a casual examination of the history of religion tells us the formation of a religious group has more to do with gaining control of a group of people and their wealth than accurately teaching the commands of God. Otherwise, how can one explain all the different groups with all their different beliefs and practices, especially when those differences have no foundation in scripture?
So, if you remember, the religious objection to the disciples not following the prescribed ceremonial cleansing of hands before eating was defilement. Now Jesus is going to talk about the source of true defilement. “And Jesus called to the people and said, ‘Listen and understand this: it is not that which goes into the mouth of a man that defiles him, but what comes out of the mouth, this is what defiles a man.” (Matthew 15:10-11) There are several passages in the New Testament that make it clear the food we eat cannot defile us and all food was created by God to be enjoyed and received with thanksgiving (compare 1 Timothy 4:1-5).
This next part is funny, it’s as if the disciples after being so long with Jesus still don’t know Him very well. “Then the disciples came to Him and said, ‘Do You know the Pharisees were offended when they heard you say this?” (Matthew 15:12) Had they ever seen Jesus get worried or afraid of what the Pharisees said or thought? “He answered, ‘Every plant which My heavenly Father has not planted will be ripped up by the roots. Ignore them. They’re blind guides leading the blind. And when the blind lead the blind, both will fall into the ditch together.” (Matthew 15:13-14) Verse 13 is a quote of Isaiah 60:12, a prophecy concerning the destruction of false teachers.
“Then Peter said, ‘Explain this saying to us.” (Matthew 15:15) Evidently Peter is having a difficult time understanding what Jesus said about what defiles a man. It’s time for a short, elementary lesson on the human digestive system. “And He said, ‘Are you really so ignorant? Do you not understand that whatever goes into the mouth goes into the stomach and then passes into the place where it is discharged? (Matthew 15:16-17) Peter should be feeling a little silly about now, but Jesus is going to give a great explanation of just what does defile a man.
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“But whatever comes out of the mouth issues from the heart, and this is what defiles a man. For out of the heart come wrong thoughts, murder, adultery, fornication, theft, false witness, slander. These things defile a man, but eating with unwashed hands will not defile him.” (Matthew 15:18-20) I know we’ll eventually get to this later in the red letters, but there’s something Jesus says about the Pharisees that is such an appropriate description of them. It’s found in Matthew 23:24 where He says, “You blind guides, you choke on a gnat, but easily swallow a camel.” This is found in the midst of a long running criticism of the Pharisees over their consistent practice of emphasizing unimportant or insignificant things, while ignoring important, even essential matters. The contrast is almost always emphasizing the worldly, fleshly issues, while ignoring the more important moral and spiritual ones. Yet they were the ones always claiming to be the righteous ones, always claiming the moral high ground. This is the reason Jesus repeatedly called them hypocrites and blind guides.
To the Pharisees the essential thing was to make sure everyone followed a hand washing ritual before eating. However, one can never ignore Jesus’ response in these exchanges. Always consider the absolute fact that He always knew men’s wrong thoughts and intentions. And His honest, direct answer always revealed those faults. So, what’s the conclusion here? Jesus knew that to over-emphasize the supposed seriousness (to the point of public criticism) of eating with unwashed hands revealed a misguided priority concerning what was really important.
So, He revealed that in His response. The issues of wrong thoughts, murder, adultery, fornication, theft, false witness and slander were much more important. And He did not include these things just on a hunch or wild guess. They were included because He knew full well these were issues easily dismissed by these Jews. He included these issues because He knew they had crafted this false, perverted religion to not only dismiss these things, but to actually give them the opportunity to practice these evil things without consequence and in many cases the justification of their religion.
In following the red letters there is an account found in Matthew 15 that has always been one of my favorites. It illustrates the persistent faith of a Gentile woman, but to me it also serves as an example of how the Lord sometimes tests our trust in Him. The account starts with verse 21 telling us that after His exchange with the Pharisees Jesus left the northern coast of the Sea of Galilee and went to the “coasts of Tyre and Sidon.” Here, “coasts” is from meros and is actually a reference to the high land in the interior of Asia Minor. On a map it appears to be about ten miles east of the Sea of Galilee into the mountains.
Then a Canaanite woman from that area came and began to beg Him to heal her daughter vexed with demon-possession (verse 22). There is an account of this same incident in Mark 7:24-30 that identifies this woman as a Syrophoenician, a Greek from Syria. The
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point is that she was a Gentile. In verse 23 Jesus seems to ignore her and His disciples were obviously bothered by her constant begging. The implication of the language here seems to imply that when Jesus refused to answer her, she began to beg the disciples for help. So, they asked Jesus to send her away.
Finally, Jesus answered, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” (Matthew 15:24) (compare Matthew 10:5-6, Romans 1:16, 15:8) But, she wouldn’t give up, fell at His feet, worshipped Him and kept begging for help. (Matthew 15:25) And this is where the conversation turns. “And He answered, ‘It would not be right to take the children’s bread and give it to the dogs. To which she replied, ‘Yes Lord, yet even the little pups eat the crumbs that fall from their master’s table.’ Then Jesus answered her, “Woman you have great faith. Be it done as you have asked.” And her daughter was cured from that very moment. (Matthew 15:26-28)
I’ve always been impressed with this woman’s wisdom in using the Lord’s own words to make her case. She actually uses His comment about dogs to make her claim for her daughter’s healing. She understood as a Gentile she had no legal, covenant rights to the blessings promised the Jewish nation (the children’s bread). Yet she argued that even dogs have access to the crumbs that fall from their master’s table. So, she claimed those crumbs for her daughter and secured her healing. It’s noteworthy to mention there are only two people Jesus describes as having “great faith” (“great” from megas, used to illustrate intensity), a Gentile Centurion in Matthew 8:10-13 and this Gentile woman.