Truth vs. Tradition, Part 2

Matthew 15:1-20

Last time, we studied the confrontation between Jesus and the scribes and Pharisees in Matthew 15.

1. The Confrontation (Matt. 15:1-9)

A. Pharisees confront Jesus about tradition (15:1-2)

They came from Jerusalem and charged Jesus with teaching His disciples to transgress the traditions of the elders—specifically regarding the ceremonial washing of hands before eating. They condemned those who did not follow their man-made traditions. Jesus hadn’t broken God’s Law; He hadn’t offended God; He had simply failed to play their traditional religious games. Traditions that are man-made carry no divine authority.

B. Jesus confronts Pharisees about God’s law (15:3-9)

Jesus then turned the spotlight on the Pharisees and charged them with transgressing God’s law in order to keep their traditions. Specifically, they broke the fifth commandment to honor their father and mother by keeping a tradition of vowing their possessions to God. They used their tradition as an excuse to disobey God. Jesus called them hypocrites (Matt. 15:7), said that their hearts were far from God (Matt. 15:8) and that they worshipped God in vain because they taught as doctrines the commandments of men (Matt. 15:9).

So we learned last time that religious traditions can easily become sinful transgressions when they cause us to set aside the clear commands of God’s word and become a substitute for a true relationship with God by faith.

Next, having dealt with the hypocrisy of the Pharisees, Jesus then turns from the hostile, unbelieving Pharisees and speaks directly to the crowds, the common people.