We’ve come to the final passage I will look at as we consider how Jesus responded to the legalism he encountered in His ministry. In parts 1 and 2 I went through the Sermon on the Mount. Today, Matthew 15:1-20. It begins with the disciples not washing their hands and then explodes!
1 Then came to Jesus scribes and Pharisees, which were of Jerusalem, saying,
2 Why do thy disciples transgress the tradition of the elders? for they wash not their hands when they eat bread.
3 But he answered and said unto them, Why do ye also transgress the commandment of God by your tradition?
The tradition of the elders
taught them to wash their hands before eating. This is more fully explained in
Mark 7
3 For the Pharisees, and all the Jews, except they wash their hands oft, eat not, holding the tradition of the elders.
4 And when they come from the market, except they wash, they eat not. And many other things there be, which they have received to hold, as the washing of cups, and pots, brasen vessels, and of tables.
“The tradition of netilat yadayim [hand washing] prior to eating bread originated with the rabbis of the Talmud. It derives from various practices concerning ritual impurity from when the ancient Temple stood in Jerusalem. The priests who performed the temple rituals were given gifts of oil, wine and wheat that could be eaten only after ritual washing. For various reasons, the ancient rabbis extended this practice to all Jews before eating meals.” (you can read this here)
This tradition is a good example of legalism. There is no specific instruction in the Law to wash your hands before eating bread. The priests were required to perform ritual washing, and “For various reasons, the ancient rabbis extended this practice to all Jews before eating meals.” In other words, they added an external observance to the Law. Hand washing is obviously not a bad idea, but they made it a requirement. “One talmudic sage even says that eating bread without washing is tantamount to having sex with a prostitute...”
Jesus responds, Why do ye also transgress the commandment of God by your tradition? He admits His disciples transgressed the tradition of the elders (why do ye also), but turns the question back on them, with a much more serious charge.
4 For God commanded, saying, Honour thy father and mother: and, He that curseth father or mother, let him die the death.
5 But ye say, Whosoever shall say to father or mother, It is a gift, by whatsoever thou mightest be profited by me;
6 And honour not his father or his mother, he shall be free. Thus have ye made the commandment of God of none effect by your tradition.
7 Hypocrites, well did Isaiah prophesy of you, saying,
8 This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me.
9 But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.
The commandment of God was to Honor thy father and mother, but they had a tradition that permitted them to declare the money normally used to support their parents a gift given to God.
“It is a gift - something consecrated to the service of God in the temple, by which a man had the privilege of approaching his Maker. This conduct was similar to the custom of certain persons who bequeath the inheritance of their children to Churches or religious uses. It was in this way that, in the days of popish influence, the principal lands in the nation [England] had fallen into the hands of the Church. In those charters, multitudes of which have passed through my hands, a common form was, ‘For my salvation, and for the salvation of my predecessors, and for the salvation of my successors, and for the salvation of my wife, etc., etc., I give and bequeath to God and his Church, etc.’" (Adam Clarke)
The point is, ye made the commandment of God of none effect by your tradition and they were teaching for doctrines the commandments of men. Tradition had negated the force of the commandment, that is, it freed them from obeying the commandment. Their righteousness consisted of obeying the tradition, while breaking the commandment. And they had ascribed to the tradition more authority than the Word of God. This is hypocrisy. Why did Jesus call them hypocrites? Because, while they said they honored God and His Word, the reality was they were honoring tradition above the Word. This is robust, full-blooded legalism.
10 And he called the multitude, and said unto them, Hear, and understand:
11 Not that which goeth into the mouth defileth a man; but that which cometh out of the mouth, this defileth a man.
Apparently He was done with the religious leaders, he called the multitude and explains to them what defiles a person: It’s not what goes in your mouth, but what comes out of your mouth.
12 Then came his disciples, and said unto him, Knowest thou that the Pharisees were offended, after they heard this saying?
13 But he answered and said, Every plant, which my heavenly Father hath not planted, shall be rooted up.
14 Let them alone: they be blind leaders of the blind. And if the blind lead the blind, both shall fall into the ditch.
He seems to be fed up with the Pharisees, Let them alone.
15 Then answered Peter and said unto him, Declare unto us this parable.
16 And Jesus said, Are ye also yet without understanding?
17 Do not ye yet understand, that whatsoever entereth in at the mouth goeth into the belly, and is cast out into the draught?
18 But those things which proceed out of the mouth come forth from the heart; and they defile the man.
19 For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies:
20 These are the things which defile a man: but to eat with unwashen hands defileth not a man.
The disciples have been so programmed that they still don’t get it, so He explains it again in more detail. He concludes, What proceeds out of the heart defiles a man, not eating with unwashed hands. Eating with unwashed hands is external, Jesus is concerned with the internal.
Legalism is focused on the external – doing the right thing the right way (and there was a right way to wash the hands); Jesus is focused on a thorough transformation of the internal, of the heart. If what proceeds out of the heart defiles me, that means I need a new heart and a new spirit. And this is the very thing God promises to do for us, A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you ... And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them. (Ezekiel 36:26-27) It's called being born again.
I have repeatedly said that legalism substitutes manmade rules and obligations for the Word of God. Here it was done under the name tradition of the elders. Such tradition frequently makes the commandment of none effect. Jesus calls this hypocrisy. I repeat myself from my last post, Legalism is deadly.
In my final post I will seek to answer the questions and situations I posed in my first post.
NEXT: Now You Know
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