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Matthew 15:1-20

Since we’ve been apart for some time, I think a brief recounting of the first part of Matthew’s gospel is in
order, before we embark on the second part.

We learned in the beginning that Matthew was inspired to write his gospel account for a specific group of
people; who were they? The Jews; especially for the Hellenist Jews, who lived in Gentile regions, and
might not have heard of Jesus of Nazareth. Matthew wanted to show these Jews that Jesus was their long
awaited Messiah; the King of Israel; and the Savior of the world.

In light of this, Matthew begins his gospel with a genealogy of Jesus, through Joseph. A genealogy was
important to Jews to authenticate to them who a person was, based on his ancestry; to establish his
credentials.

Now, Jesus was not the natural son of Joseph. But we learned that this is not a natural, but a legal
genealogy. And because Jesus was Joseph’s legally adopted son, this genealogy proved Jesus to be a
legitimate heir to David’s throne - which was a necessary credential, for the Messiah of Israel.

Matthew then moves to the record of Jesus’ birth, showing this to be a fulfillment of the Jew’s OT
Scriptures: His conception by the Holy Spirit, in the womb of the virgin Mary; His actual birth in
Bethlehem; the family’s flight to Egypt, to escape slaughter by Herod; the return of the family to the land -
where did they return to? Nazareth, of Galilee.

And it was in this way that Jesus came to be called, in derision, a Nazarene - viewed as an outsider, by the
religious establishment of Jerusalem, in Judea. But as Matthew’s gospel unfolds, he will show that it is the
religious establishment who are the outsiders - with God.

Matthew then fast-forwards thirty years, to the Judean wilderness, where John the Baptist is preaching.
John, the herald of the Messiah, is a fiery preacher, urging the Jews to “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven
is at hand!”

The King is here - and He is looking for subjects who are worthy of His kingdom. John sought to shake the
Jews out of their complacency, to make ready a people prepared for the Lord. And many came to hear
John, recognizing that he was a prophet.

And then Jesus came to John, in Judea - and why did He come? To be baptized - to the dismay of John.
But Jesus urged John to permit it to be so - why? To fulfill all righteousness.

Jesus had come to identify Himself with sinful men as their Sin-Bearer; He “joined” Himself to them,
through the water, in essence. And as Jesus came up out of the water, the Father voiced His approval from
heaven, anointing the Sacrifice with the seal of His Spirit. Here was the Beloved Son, in whom the Father
was well-pleased.

Immediately the Spirit led Jesus into the wilderness, where He was tempted by the devil - unsuccessfully,
on all points. And in this way, the Sin-Bearer was proven to be the acceptable sacrifice to God - one who
would do no sin.

From the Judean wilderness outside of Jerusalem, Jesus made His way even further away from the religious
hub - establishing Himself in Capernaum, in the outermost parts of Galilee of the Gentiles - an indicator of
the universality of His mission - to redeem all mankind.
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Jesus called some disciples to follow Him, and they did; and He began His ministry of preaching, and
teaching, and healing - fulfilling prophetic signs that Messiah had come to His people. And Jesus
developed a following among the Jews of Galilee - with a few, genuinely drawn to Jesus; but many more,
following simply for the sake of the miracles that He did.

Matthew then provided a sampling of the words of Jesus, to these Jews - most of them, unbelievers. What
do we call this teaching? The Sermon on the Mount. The teaching shows what it takes to enter the
kingdom of heaven. And what does it take? Perfect righteousness.

Well, there’s the righteousness of the Law - and Jesus showed the Jews just how impossible it would be to
really keep it in its entirety, down to the motives and the intents of the heart.

And then there’s the righteousness of God through faith in Christ - for the one who recognizes his spiritual
poverty, mourns over his sin, and meekly submits to Jesus as Lord - to be his Savior.

For the one willing to receive Him, Jesus is the Gate, by which they enter into the kingdom of God; He is
the Rock of their salvation - if they will build on Him, by faith. Well, the Jews were astonished by the
authoritative teaching of Jesus. Astonished, but for many, still not convinced.

Matthew next recorded details of some of the miraculous works of Jesus. These showed Jesus forth to be
Jehovah-rophe, the LORD who heals men from the sickness of sin, and the corruption of death; Elohim, the
Creator, with power over His created world, and its beings; and the Almighty, El Shaddai, who is all-
sufficient to deliver His people.

Then Jesus chose twelve of His disciples as His apostles, whom He then empowered to heal and to cast out
demons. They traversed the region of Galilee, preaching the good news that the Savior was here. But did
most of the Galilean Jews receive this good news? No; most of them hardened their hearts, to the message -
despite its authentication by the miraculous works of God that were done.

So Jesus pronounced severe judgment on the cities of Galilee - which had been given so great a testimony,
and had rejected it. But at the same time, Jesus encouraged individual Jews to come out of the religious
establishment, with its burdensome system of works, and instead place their faith in Him. Jesus would give
them the rest their sought - peace with God.

Following this general rejection by the cities of Galilee, Matthew shows the escalating animosity toward
Jesus by the religious authorities there. Jesus touched upon an area of religious sensitivity, with the
Pharisees - do you remember what it was? Working on the Sabbath - rubbing the chaff off of grain in order
to eat it; healing a man’s withered hand.

In the ensuing discussion, Jesus showed Himself to be Lord of the Sabbath - and declared that it was lawful
to do good on the Sabbath. Well, the Pharisees went out and plotted against Jesus, and they disparaged
Him as doing His works by the authority of Satan - something Jesus easily refuted - but He warned them
that they would be condemned by God for their blasphemous words.

With the general rejection of His message, Jesus began to speak to the Jews in parables, in fulfillment of
Isaiah’s prophecy. It should have been a warning to the Jews, that because they were distancing themselves
from Jesus in their hearts, He was distancing Himself from them - with His message.
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This was forcing these Jews to make a decision about Jesus - whether they would choose to draw nearer to
Him, to understand Him - as we see the disciples did - or whether they would just throw up their hands at
the parables, and reject Him entirely. If they did that - O what a treasure they missed! - for the parables
provide a picture of how God will obtain the sons for His kingdom - during the Church Age, and then in the
Kingdom Age.

We left off in chapter 14, with Jesus giving His disciples a taste of what their future ministry would be like,
during the church age - feeding the people the Word of God; with the church persevering despite stormy
opposition, to the very end of the present age.

As we come to Matthew chapter 15, Jesus has been healing all who were sick in a region near to
Capernaum, in Gennesaret. At this point, we find the action changes to yet another confrontation between
Jesus - and some scribes and Pharisees.

15:1-2 Let’s first refresh our memories about these two groups of Jews. The scribes were the experts on
the Law, in its interpretation and application in the life of the Jews.

The Pharisees were a reformist party within Judaism. Pharisee means “separated one” - they regarded
themselves as separate from all that is unclean. The Pharisees were meticulous about the practice of the
Law; they enforced it through teaching and example. To complicate matters, many of the scribes were
Pharisees.

Now, as we read these two verses, we might be inclined to think that this is certainly a trivial issue; it’s
handwashing; just a little pet peeve of these pious Jews. But there are indicators given by Matthew which
suggest it is, in fact, quite the opposite.

One indicator is that this is the first time in Matthew’s gospel that he indicates the presence of such
authorities from Jerusalem; the seat of religious rule, for the Jews.

What were they doing in Galilee? No doubt they had come to investigate this controversial Jewish rabbi of
whom they had heard, who had developed such a following. And now they were questioning the actions of
His disciples; which is to say, they were questioning Jesus.

But surely the issue was insignificant - wasn’t it? Again, quite the opposite. Ritual purity was regarded by
the Pharisees as an issue of the utmost significance - along with the keeping the Sabbath. And here were
the disciples of Jesus, showing utter disregard for what the Pharisees considered to be a most weighty
matter.

Pharisees would never eat, without first washing their hands - whether dirty or not. Pharisees believed that
to eat without washing would render them defiled. And so they taught all the people.

Turn to Mark chapter 7, which contains a parallel account to this one. Mark gives some details, as to the
purity rituals of the Pharisees.

[Mark 7:1-4] Even the couches they reclined on to eat had to be ceremonially cleaned!

Notice Mark said that the Pharisees and scribes saw some of the disciples of Jesus eat bread with unwashed
hands (v. 2). Where was the separation, of Jesus and His disciples? There was none that the Pharisees
could see.
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[Return to Matthew 15]

But we might wonder at the scribes going along with all of this - which they did, for the Pharisees were
highly regarded at that time. Now the scribes, knowing the Law as well as they did, must have known that
there was absolutely nothing in the Law about handwashing, before common meals.

The only mention of handwashing associated with food in the Law is for the priests - and only for when
they were ministering in the temple, when they were to consume the portion of the sacrifices to the LORD
allotted to them (Lev 22:6, 7). But for the common man with common meals, there was no such
requirement.

So where did this requirement come from? Oh look - Matthew tells us right in verse 2. Apparently,
handwashing was a tradition of the elders.

So what does that mean? It means first of all that it is not part of God’s Law, which He gave to Moses for
the children of Israel. It was a tradition, meaning a doctrine - a teaching - that was introduced by some
Jewish rabbi - an “elder” - at some point in time.

These particular Jewish purity rules seem to have materialized during the intertestamental period, with the
rise of the party of the Pharisees. And then they were handed down from generation to generation as oral
tradition, which accompanied the Law.

There are at least two problems with this. One, mentioned earlier, is that these oral traditions did not
originate from God. And the second problem is that the religious leaders came to uphold the oral traditions
on par with the Law of Moses - and at times, they were even held above it.

Look at how the religious leaders say the disciples “transgress” the tradition of the elders; transgression is a
term which is used for violating the commandments of God. The oral traditions of the elders had become a
direct challenge to the authority of the Word of God. And this, Jesus would not tolerate.

15:3-6 Notice that Jesus does not answer the question of the religious leaders; instead, he challenges the
basis of their question through one of His own. They are questioning Him about a mere tradition of men.
What Jesus shows, by His example, is that the religious leaders are actually transgressing God’s commands,
with their traditions.

The example involves the tradition of the elders known as Corban (Mk 7:11). Corban means a gift that is
dedicated to God. It pertained to property, money - even food.

A man could decide to make something he owned Corban - so that now, it belonged to God. That sounds
very pious, doesn’t it? Except the giving to God in practice meant that it was actually given to the temple’s
treasury. Hmm.

And it seems that what was declared Corban was still kept in the possession of the donor making the so-
called gift, until the donor died. It appears to have been more like a pledge.

So what was the point of doing this? The point was that in practice, Corban enabled the donor to retain
possession of what he owned, and to look very pious while he was doing it. And this tradition of the elders
was apparently upheld above the Law of Moses - such as the two commandments that Jesus cites.
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These commandments to honor father and mother include the practical notion of making financial
provision for needy parents, in their old age. Remember, there was no social security to support the elderly,
in that day; no government programs for their care. In the Law, the LORD made provision for elderly
parents through the financial support of their children, honoring them in this way.

But by declaring what is owned Corban, dedicated to God, an adult child could be released from this
financial obligation - or so they were deceived into thinking, by their teachers - the Pharisees and the
scribes. In reality, they were incurring the sentence of disobeying the commandments of God - death.

What Jesus was showing by His example is that His disciples are transgressing - if you could call it that -
the mere words of men; words that are faulty and deceptive. Why should the disciples - or anyone - uphold
such traditions?

But the Pharisees and the scribes had vaulted themselves into a most dangerous position, with their
traditions - holding them above the very Law of God. In so doing, they had negated the commandment of
God, in the eyes of the people they instructed. This is religious pride, and it is an open invitation for God’s
judgment.

This judgment comes in the form of a verbal condemnation by Jesus, at that moment.

15:7-9 A hypocrite is a play-actor; a pretender. Looking at the prophecy of Isaiah quoted, Jesus was saying
that the Pharisees and the scribes were pretend worshipers of God.

Jesus said that Isaiah prophesied about them - the religious rulers. He didn’t mean that the prophecy was
specific only to them.

There were religious rulers in Isaiah day that were the same: they subscribed to the ceremonial worship of
Jehovah, all the while withholding their hearts from Him. And so they taught the people: just follow these
rituals, offer this or that sacrifice to placate Jehovah, and then - do whatever you want. Externally dedicate
something to God; but on the inside, keep it for yourself - and neglect others, such as your parents.

So what does all this have to do with handwashing? Everything. It too was a religious ritual that never
touched the heart - which is what Jesus goes on to show.

15:10-11 We’ll discuss the significance of what Jesus was saying here in a moment. But for now,
understand that Jesus was doing nothing less than condemning a core teaching of the Pharisees, and
denouncing them as frauds, in front of a public crowd. In this moment, Matthew is showing the breach
between Jesus and the religious establishment was complete.

But more importantly, Jesus was instructing everyone within earshot as to what defilement is really about.
What the Pharisees taught the people was a deception; the correction of Jesus provided the people with the
truth. And Jesus was very intent to make sure the people would know it.

15:12-14 Can you tell the disciples were concerned about what Jesus said to the people about the teaching
of the Pharisees? The word “offended” in the Greek is a very strong term. It means the Pharisees were
scandalized, by what Jesus said. And these Pharisees were from Jerusalem!
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The disciples had come to Jesus afterward alone, and they clearly thought that Jesus should not have been
so confrontational; so strong-worded; so - honest. The disciples were concerned for Jesus, because the
Pharisees were popular with the people; Jesus might lose His following, or run afoul of the religious
establishment.

Well, Jesus was not concerned about His following. And He had no intention of compromising with these
religious hypocrites. They must be called out, based on the overriding concern of Jesus - to save men’s
souls.

But Jesus reassured His disciples. Planting is a metaphor for teaching; ideas are planted in the mind. But
what the Pharisees are planting are weeds, that will not bear good fruit: sons of God.

Weeds get uprooted by a farmer, to allow His good plants to grow; to bring them to bear forth their fruit.
And so the Father would see to it with the doctrine of the Pharisees; it will not stand, against His Word.
The action of Jesus here makes that plain.

When Jesus commanded His disciples to let the religious rulers alone, He did not mean, “Don’t bother
them”, as we might say. The Greek means that they were to abandon them; to forsake their teaching.

The Pharisees were blindly following the entirely wrong path; the way of religion, that will never lead them
into the kingdom of God. The choice is either/or - to follow Jesus, who is the way to eternal life; or to
follow that religious system of works, that will lead to destruction (Mt 7:13-14); into the “ditch”.

Jesus endeavored to open the eyes of the multitude to this, by His words. If they will not open them and
see, they will remain in their deception, and blindly follow the Pharisees to their own destruction. But
meanwhile, the disciples must keep their eyes fixed upon Jesus, and keep on following Him.

This, the disciples intend to do - but first they must have their understanding cleared up, on what Jesus said.

15:15-20 This is still part of the private discussion between the disciples and Jesus. In verse 15, we find
Peter asking Jesus to explain the parable to them - to the disciples. Mark indicates that all of the disciples
asked for an explanation of the parable.

What parable? It’s what Jesus said in verse 11. We often think of a parable as a story with a figurative
meaning, but it can be as short as a phrase, like here. The idea is that if one understands what is
represented in the parable, it conveys a truth - often a spiritual truth, as in this case.

Do you think the parable is hard to understand? Let’s see how you view it. Look back at the words of
Jesus, in verse 11. What does He mean by “what goes into the mouth”? What can be said to literally go
into the mouth? Food, right? Yes. Jesus is saying that food can’t defile a man.

And then, what literally comes out of the mouth? Words? Yes. Jesus is saying that words can defile a
man. We can see His parable pertains to the Pharisee’s erroneous thinking that one must handle food with
clean hands; and then, to the words of the Pharisees - that is, the traditions of the elders, that they teach -
which they erroneously hold above the Word of God.

So we think, that’s perfectly simple. Why didn’t the disciples get it? Do you think they missed the
analogy? No more than you did. It’s very clear. So what was the problem?
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The problem is with the first part, of what Jesus said: “Not what goes into the mouth defiles the man”. The
disciples heard that, and their minds undoubtedly went back to a section of the Law that they knew by
heart.

Turn to Leviticus chapter 11. Let’s see. What have we here? Food laws; foods that it was permitted or
forbidden for the children of Israel to eat. This is based on what the LORD delineated as clean or unclean
animals. They were not to consume unclean animals, for that would be defiling to them (Lev 11:24). This
was still adhered to, in Jesus’ day. In fact, there are many Jews who still practice this today.

[Return to Matthew 15]

The Jewish disciples of Jesus would have gotten hung up on that point, for what Jesus was saying was
incomprehensible to them. The food laws were not the traditions of men; they were the commandments of
God. Was Jesus saying they were free to transgress them? Jesus had said He did not come to destroy the
Law (Matt 5:17). But certainly, it seemed He might be changing the Law here.

Do you think Jesus was doing that? No. But how can we reconcile His words with those of the Law?
This, in fact, gets to the crux of what Jesus is bringing out, in this entire passage.

If a Jew were to eat a food which God indicated in the Law was unclean, what would happen to him? The
Law says, it renders him unclean; defiled. In what sense? In his body, which took in the food. His body
was ceremonially defiled.

And then the LORD had a prescription in the Law, to render his body ceremonially clean again - usually
involving washing his clothes, and a period of separation.

The Jew was ceremonially unclean; then he became ceremonially clean again. It’s a ritual, with a
meaningful picture. The children of Israel were to grasp that in order to be a holy people, in order to be fit
to approach a holy God in worship, they must be a clean people; pure, in their hearts. The outer ritual
pictures the inward spiritual reality.

Notice just how Jesus worded His parable. “Not what goes into the mouth defiles a man”. He didn’t say, a
body; He said, a man. He’s speaking of the inner man; the heart. A man is not defiled by any food, in his
inner man. The body takes in what it can use, and it eliminates the rest. The heart - the inner man - is
unaffected by such things.

But what comes out of the mouth? Words. And what do words originate as? As thoughts; the thoughts of
the inner man; the thoughts of the heart. And if those thoughts are evil, they defile a man.

In verse 19, Jesus gives a whole catalog of actions that defile a man - but what is the first one? Evil
thoughts. All of the actions originate in the heart, as evil thoughts. It is the thoughts of the heart that render
a man unclean, before God; not dirty hands, or unclean foods.

The problem with the Pharisees and the scribes is that they had taken these rituals of the ceremonial law,
which were merely meant to picture the reality of having a clean heart before God, and they had made it
into the thing itself - ritual purity became a means of sanctification, in their minds.

And then they extrapolated on this - expanding it to include washing before eating, when coming home
from market, pots and pans - even the couches they reclined on, to eat! And worst of all, they taught the
people that this was the means of attaining holiness, by which they can enter the kingdom of God.
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Those who followed the Pharisees blindly would fall into the ditch with them - to their eternal destruction.
But if they would consider the simple parable that Jesus spoke to them, they would have the opportunity to
see the beginning of what it takes to have true purity of heart. It takes a change of heart - about Him.

Reading: Col 2:6-23; Gal 5:16-24; Rom 6:1-14, 8:1-14.