Matthew 15:1-20

Matthew 15:1-20 NIV

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 donʼt 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; their teachings are merely human rules.’ ”

Jesus called the crowd to him and said, “Listen and understand. What goes into someoneʼs mouth does not defile them, but what comes out of their mouth, that is what defiles them.”
Then the disciples came to him and asked, “Do you know that the Pharisees were offended when they heard this?”
He replied, “Every plant that my heavenly Father has not planted will be pulled up by the roots. Leave them; they are blind guides. If the blind lead the blind, both will fall into a pit.”
Peter said, “Explain the parable to us.”
“Are you still so dull?” Jesus asked them. “Donʼt you see that whatever enters the mouth goes into the stomach and then out of the body? But the things that come out of a personʼs mouth come from the heart, and these defile them. For out of the heart come evil thoughts—murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander. These are what defile a person; but eating with unwashed hands does not defile them.”

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Defilement is such a foreign concept to people who are not part of a holiness tradition. There are rare moments in life when we are concerned with God's holy things and God's holy people. There are a few holdovers that point to the idea. Perhaps when you were a child you were told not to run in the sanctuary. Maybe you were scolded for being up on the altar area, where the preacher speaks and where the offering plates are laid. Did you ever play in the water in the baptismal fount? If you had you might have been scolded if caught. The baptismal fount, the altar, the pulpit, the sanctuary; these are sacred and holy things set apart for God alone. For anyone, even a playful child, to treat these as a common things disregards their special status and purpose. In a sense they defile the holy things of God by doing so.

The Pharisees were dedicated to the idea of being God's holy people. The law of Moses states,

Leviticus 20:26 NIV

You are to be holy to me because I, the Lord , am holy, and I have set you apart from the nations to be my own.

The tradition of washing hands before eating was symbolic of being the special people of God. The Pharisees taught to dip the hands into the water 7 times and dip the cup and bowls into the water 7 times before eating and drinking. Not only does this honor God by seeking to be completely clean and free of unholy common things that one has touched, but it's also a good health practice. The seven dippings represent the seven days of creation, and thus completeness. The seventh day is the Sabbath, a day set apart from the others as holy. This ritual is a reminder to be holy as the Lord is holy. The Sabbath is a day for communion with the Lord, completely for that purpose alone. The Pharisees' tradition is a way to remind yourself at every meal that you are called to be holy so that God who is holy may commune with you.

There's something beautiful about the tradition, but when the Pharisees start acting like police officers, (no offense intended to our police) they have lost their way, and have become a hostile burden to others. They want to know why Jesus' disciples do not follow their traction of washing before eating.

Jesus' turns their accusations upon them by pointing out that they break the law of God every time they encourage gifts to the temple in lieu of financial assistance to a needy parent. Jesus said their teachings on that matter nullify the word of God. He accused them of hypocrisy and aptly quotes the prophet Isaiah. Their hearts are far from God and their teachings are only human rules, not the divine word.

Jesus' disciples are alarmed. They tell Jesus that what he said was offensive to the Pharisees. Jesus basically tells them, "Forget those blind guides! They'll only lead you to into a trap with them. God didn't send them and God will remove them soon enough."

Peter asked that Jesus explain His teaching, for Jesus had told the crowd,

Matthew 15:11 NIV

What goes into someoneʼs mouth does not defile them, but what comes out of their mouth, that is what defiles them.”

Jesus told them that it's not hands that touch common things that make you unclean. It's a heart filled with sin that shows itself through what you say that makes you unclean.

Matthew 15:18 NIV

But the things that come out of a personʼs mouth come from the heart, and these defile them.

Jesus lists many sins which are not little white lies, or what we might label as relatively harmless sins. These are terrible sins like murder and stealing and sexual immorality. Jesus places slander and lies right up there with murder! Wow!

This teaching of Christ's gives me pause. On the one hand Jesus does not wish to burden His disciples as the Pharisees do with excessive rules to keep. Jesus had only one rule which is love. On the other hand Jesus' teaching causes me to think about the things that are in my heart.

I know that I have murderous and adulterous thoughts. How many times have I cursed offensive drivers on the road? Jesus taught that if your curse someone you murder them in your heart. (Mat 5:21-22) And if you look upon another with lust, you have committed adultery in your heart. (Mat 5:27-28) Sensual images are everywhere in our society, on billboards, television, magazines and the like. They are meant to ignite sinful urges in our minds and create a covetous longing in our hearts. Therefore I am defiled when I utter curses under my breathe or comment about the sexiness of a Hollywood beauty.

Jesus' teaching both liberates me from empty rituals and rules, and at the same time condemns me. As Peter said to Jesus when he witnessed the miraculous catch of fish, I want to say, "Go away from me Lord. I am a sinful man." (Luke 5:8)

Remember that Jesus responded by telling Peter, "Don't be afraid." He promised to teach Peter to fish for people, to bring them into the kingdom of heaven in the same miraculous way Jesus had filled his nets with fish. Even in our guilt, the Saviour loves and encourages the repentant who humbly acknowledge their sin. He calls us out of our defilement and into the holy work of sharing the gospel. Though the sins that come from my heart defile me, the Lord loves me and died for me, washing me clean in His atoning blood. He sets me free to be in His holy service.

Do you have a Pharisee in your head constantly accusing you? Jesus says, "Forget them." Let His love set you free. Are you ashamed of your sinful thoughts and behavior? Do you wish to hide yourself from God, perhaps by piling up more and more sins? Jesus says, "Don't be afraid." You are clean because Christ has washed you clean in His blood, once for all!

Now that you are free from condemnation (Rom 8:1), follow Jesus in the ministry of bringing people into the kingdom of God. The world needs you, for there are way too many blind guides speaking on God's behalf.