Chapter BY Chapter

Matthew 15:1-20 – Hearts Far From God

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“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 don’t wash their hands before they eat!”

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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:

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“‘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.’”

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Jesus called the crowd to him and said, “Listen and understand.  What goes into someone’s mouth does not defile them, but what comes out of their mouth, that is what defiles them.”

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Then the disciples came to him and asked, “Do you know that the Pharisees were offended when they heard this?”

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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.”

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Peter said, “Explain the parable to us.”

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“Are you still so dull?” Jesus asked them.  “Don’t 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 person’s 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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In chapter 13, we learned that when the message of Jesus lands on the rich soil, that is, those who understand, it grows and produces much fruit.  What kinds of things that we can do to make sure that people understand when they receive the gospel?

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1. Teaching the word of God.

   • What order did Jesus use to teach his disciples?

     • Caring for people – Jesus healed them.

       1. Matthew 4:23-25

     • Blessings of the kingdom of heaven.

       1. Matthew 5:1-11

     • Responsibilities of the blessed.

       1. Matthew 5:13-20

     • What high ethics are for the blessed.

       1. Matthew 5:21-48

     • How the blessed should go about doing things.

       1. Matthew 6

     • Warnings and relationships.

       1. Matthew 7

     • Preparation for ministry.

       1. Matthew 10

     • Secrets of the kingdom of heaven through parables.

       1. Matthew 13.

 

At the end of chapter 14, Jesus is healing everyone that touches the fringe of his garment.  In chapter 15, some Jews come up from Jerusalem to spoil all the fun everyone is having getting healed.  Just to recap why they are coming out, we see that in Matthew 5, Jesus teaches that they have heard that certain things were said, such as what the Pharisees said, but he told them that he expected them to be even better than what the Pharisees told them.  In Matthew 5:20, he says, “For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.”  Jesus started getting challenges by the Pharisees after that and by Matthew 5:14, the Pharisees are conspiring against him, that is, how to destroy him. 

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Now they send the top gun unit from Jerusalem.  Let’s see what happens.

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Verses 1-9,

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“Then Pharisees and scribes came to Jesus from Jerusalem and said, “Why do your disciples break the tradition of the elders? For they do not wash their hands when they eat.”  He answered them, “And why do you break the commandment of God for the sake of your tradition?  For God commanded, ‘Honor your father and your mother,’ and, ‘Whoever reviles father or mother must surely die.’  But you say, ‘If anyone tells his father or his mother, “What you would have gained from me is given to God,” he need not honor his father.’ So for the sake of your tradition you have made void the word of God.  You hypocrites! Well did Isaiah prophesy of you, when he said:

 

“‘This people honors me with their lips,

    but their heart is far from me;

in vain do they worship me,

    teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’”

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Wow!  Jesus strikes back and really slams the Pharisees. 

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Did Jesus call them a bunch of names?  No.

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Did Jesus make a bunch of derogatory remarks about them?

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Did Jesus point out how insignificant their criticism is and how bad their own behavior is?  YES!!!

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Although washing your hands before eating is a good idea, there is no command for it in the Old Testament.  The Pharisees try to condemn Jesus because some of his disciples ate without washing their hands first.  The disciples are in violation of their tradition.  Jesus reverses the whole debate because he says that the Pharisees violate the word of God using their tradition! 

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There are 2 commandments of God that are in play here. 

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Exodus 20:12,

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“Honor your father and mother, so that your days may be long in the land the LORD your God is giving you.”

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Exodus 21:17,

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“Whoever curses his father or mother must surely be put to death.”

According to God’s law, one was supposed to honor one’s parents.  Even cursing one’s parents was thought to be a violation worthy of the death penalty.  Surely striking your parent or neglecting your parent would be an even more severe violation. 

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Jesus points out that their tradition allowed them to escape honoring their parent with material needs by saying that the material in question was devoted to God.  So, their tradition voids the word of God.  This is much worse than eating with unwashed hands. 

After Jesus points this out, he calls them one name.  What did he call them?

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Hypocrites.  And rightly so they were.

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Jesus points out that they have fulfilled the prophesy in Isaiah 29:13,

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“Therefore the Lord said: "These people draw near to Me with their mouths and honor Me with their lips, but their hearts are far from Me. Their worship of Me is but rules taught by men.”

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Now Jesus is going to use the Pharisees for an object lesson. 

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Verses 10-20,

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“Jesus called the crowd to him and said, “Listen and understand.  What goes into someone’s mouth does not defile them, but what comes out of their mouth, that is what defiles them.”

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Then the disciples came to him and asked, “Do you know that the Pharisees were offended when they heard this?”

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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.”

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Peter said, “Explain the parable to us.”

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“Are you still so dull?” Jesus asked them.  “Don’t 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 person’s 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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Why were the Pharisees offended by Jesus saying that what goes into someone’s mouth does not defile them, but what comes out of their mouth, that is what defiles them?

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1. Because of the dietary restrictions in the Old Testament.

   • What were the Old Testament dietary restrictions for?

     • Preventing diseases.

     • Not inherently bad.

2. Because he was saying what comes out of mouths was defiling them.

3. Because they thought of themselves as the guardians of the people, and likewise wanted people to follow their teachings, not Jesus’ teachings.

 

How did Jesus respond to the news that the Pharisees were offended?

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1. Every plant that the Father has not planted will be rooted up.

   • What does this refer to?

   • The parable of the wheat and the tares.The end of the age.

2. Leave them alone.

   • Why leave them alone?

   • Not every objection needs to be answered.

3. They are like the blind leading the blind.Both will fall into a pit.

   • What does Jesus mean by this?

   • They will have the natural bad results from their error.

 

Okay, so Peter still does not get it and asks Jesus to explain the parable to them. 

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Was this really a parable?  (Hint: Jesus said are you so dull?)

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Who can explain this parable so even Peter can understand it?

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“Whatever goes into the mouth passes into the stomach and is expelled.  But what comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart, and this defiles a person.  For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, slander.  These are what defile a person. But to eat with unwashed hands does not defile anyone.”

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So basically, what comes out of one’s mouth tells where they are spiritually. 

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Song: It’s All About Jesus – Hillsong