WEDNESDAY
Yesterday we saw Jesus tell the Pharisees that the mouth speaks what the heart is full of. He says the same thing in multiple different ways and in multiple settings throughout his ministry. Again, Jesus will not be satisfied with superficial cause and effect solutions. He gets right to the heart of the matter. Pun intended.
Matthew 15:1–20 1 Then some Pharisees and teachers of the law came to Jesus from Jerusalem and asked, 2 “Why do your disciples break the tradition of the elders? They don’t wash their hands before they eat!” 3 Jesus replied, “And why do you break the command of God for the sake of your tradition? 4 For God said, ‘Honor your father and mother’ and ‘Anyone who curses their father or mother is to be put to death.’ 5 But you say that if anyone declares that what might have been used to help their father or mother is ‘devoted to God,’ 6 they are not to ‘honor their father or mother’ with it. Thus you nullify the word of God for the sake of your tradition. 7 You hypocrites! Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you: 8 “ ‘These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. 9 They worship me in vain; their teachings are merely human rules.’” 10 Jesus called the crowd to him and said, “Listen and understand. 11 What goes into someone’s mouth does not defile them, but what comes out of their mouth, that is what defiles them.” 12 Then the disciples came to him and asked, “Do you know that the Pharisees were offended when they heard this?” 13 He replied, “Every plant that my heavenly Father has not planted will be pulled up by the roots. 14 Leave them; they are blind guides. If the blind lead the blind, both will fall into a pit.” 15 Peter said, “Explain the parable to us.” 16 “Are you still so dull?” Jesus asked them. 17 “Don’t you see that whatever enters the mouth goes into the stomach and then out of the body? 18 But the things that come out of a person’s mouth come from the heart, and these defile them. 19 For out of the heart come evil thoughts—murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander. 20 These are what defile a person; but eating with unwashed hands does not defile them.”
We are going to focus on vv. 8-9 and 16-20 tomorrow, but first let’s take a brief look at the background of this passage.
The Pharisees and teachers of the law accuse Jesus and his disciples, not of breaking the law, but of breaking the “tradition of the elders.” This is the oral tradition put in place to help practicing Jews follow laws that are outside the Mosaic Law, so that they would not come close to violating the Mosaic law. These teachings are documented in the Mishnah and the Talmud. This is like putting a fences in front of your actual fence in the backyard so your children are extra safe. Soon you’ll realize, after building the 5th fence a foot from the house, that they now have no room to play and you have defeated the purpose.
For example, the Law of Moses only requires the priests to wash their hands before performing certain rituals in the temple but the traditional teachings of the elders required all people to wash their hands before eating just to play it safe. By the way, I certainly recommend washing your hands before eating as a habit of healthy hygiene. Kid’s, don’t go claiming that Jesus said you don’t have to wash your hands before dinner. Hygiene is not the issue here. It is a matter of obeying what the Pharisees thought were essential laws.
Jesus doesn’t directly address their question immediately. Instead he points to how their traditions have led them to disobey the actual law of Moses. Their tradition caused them to break the actual command of God. Their traditional practice of corban has led them to violate the law to honor their fathers and mothers. Corban can refer to many different types of offerings. One could claim that their property or valuables were corban (i.e., dedicated to God) and therefore others could not use them. However, the person who dedicated the items still had access to the funds or property until it officially changed hands. Declaring it corban simply meant it had been set apart for God even though it had not changed hands yet. Apparently, individuals were enacting this tradition to withhold funds or property that would have otherwise been used to care for their parents. This, Jesus views as a violation of the Law to honor one’s father and mother.
We will talk about vv. 8-9 tomorrow but for today, suffice it to say that this practice revealed a corruption of the heart.
In vv. 10-11 Jesus answers the question at hand and effectively does away with the dietary laws of the Law of Moses (Mk. 7:19). The Law taught that what one ate (non-kosher foods) defiled the person and they would become unclean. Jesus says the truth is actually the reverse process. It’s not what goes into the mouth (unclean foods) that makes one unclean but what comes out of the mouth (spoken words). These words reveal an impurity and corruption of the inner life that needs to be cleansed to truly live in holiness. The inner life (a pure heart) is far more important than external holiness rituals.
Verses 13 and 14 seem rather harsh. But remember, this is after numerous encounters with the Pharisees (see ch. 12) in which Jesus clearly sees that the Pharisees are not “planted by God” (i.e., chosen by God). The Mishnah taught that all Israelites were “planted” by God and a part of the world to come. Jesus reveals this is not the case. As we see in the rest of Jesus’ ministry and the teaching of the Apostles, it is not being a part of ethnic Israel that causes one to be planted by God, but it is faith in Jesus, the Messiah, the Son of God.