Matthew
Pharisees’ Traditions
We should ask ourselves, what is the foundation to my traditions
Is the true meaning and purpose getting lost like a field where there is
Lots of growth, but you cannot tell the weeds from the plants you planted
Religious or Church traditions are changing very fast
The contrast between the church built 75 years ago
To the church today has many traditional changes
Those changes have been very hard on some people
Some for good reason and some not so good
Some of us love tradition and others like change
As we see Jesus bring a New Covenant, we see the clash of the old traditions
Yet, Jesus may not have held to the traditions of religious leaders
He did uphold and fulfill the law of Moses
He did it not by rituals and traditions expressed by outward actions
But He fulfilled them by a pure heart
When you think of traditions think of the heart
"'These people honor me with their lips,
but their hearts are far from me.
They worship me in vain;
their teachings are but rules taught by men.'" Matthew 15:8-9
Washing the hands is a good thing, but does not make your heart clean
…but eating with unwashed hands does not make him 'unclean. Matthew 15:20
Matthew
Pharisees’ Traditions
Clashing Kingdoms
The Kingdom of Heaven clashed with the Roman kingdom.
Jesus said…
From the days of John the Baptist until now,
the kingdom of heaven has been forcefully advancing,
and forceful men lay hold of it.
Matthew 11:12
John prepared the way for the Kingdom of Heaven.
He was arrested and beheaded…
Violent and forceful acts upon the Kingdom of Heaven.
The bases of these acts stemmed
from Righteousness Judgment.
John told Herod it was not right
to be married to his brother’s wife.
We see in chapter 15 a clash
of the religious Kingdom and the Kingdom of Heaven.
The clash is over traditions.
The Pharisees are making a big deal over
Jesus’ disciples not washing their hands before they eat.
It is a good idea to wash before you eat…
But how big a deal should we make of it.
Jesus goes right to the issues of traditions
rather than the importance of hand washing.
The Pharisees had a tradition of…
'Whoever wants to, can say to father and mother,
What I owed to you I've given to God.'
Matthew 15:5 THE MESSAGE
Jesus pointed back to the law of Moses
that
we should honor our parents
and if we don’t, we are worthy of death.
Jesus says their traditions were mere “lip service”.
Just like…
What goes into a man's mouth does not make him 'unclean,'
but what comes out of his mouth, that is what makes him 'unclean.
Matthew 15:11
It is interesting that Jesus’ disciples were
concerned that the Pharisees were offended.
"Do you know that the Pharisees were
offended when they heard this?"
Matthew 15:12
This is more than an interesting story,
because traditions are a big part of the way we live.
Things about traditions…
1. All traditions are not bad
It is good to wash before you eat.
Traditions are handed down information
Things handed down can lose their meaning.
The Pharisees lost the meaning passed down from Moses.
2. Traditions can become thoughtless and meaningless
Scripture never told us to celebrate Jesus’ birth
but believers and unbelievers have.
Over the generations, many additions have been added
to the tradition of Christmas.
Many of those traditions have
nothing to do with Jesus’ birth.
See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the basic principles of this world rather than on Christ.
Colossians 2:8
We can go through the motions on the outside
and never have the true change on the inside.
3. Traditions have a way of misleading
Jesus said…
"Every plant that my heavenly Father has not planted will be pulled up by the roots. Leave them; they are blind guides. If a blind man leads a blind man, both will fall into a pit."
Matthew 15:13-14
We need to be very careful we do not add
or take away from God’s Word by our traditions.
Formerly, when you did not know God, you were slaves to those who by nature are not gods. But now that you know God — or rather are known by God — how is it that you are turning back to those weak and miserable principles? Do you wish to be enslaved by them all over again? You are observing special days and months and seasons and years! I fear for you, that somehow I have wasted my efforts on you.
Galatians 4:8-11
4. All traditions are not bad
So then, brothers, stand firm and hold to the teachings we passed on to you, whether by word of mouth or by letter.
2 Thessalonians 2:15
One Tradition passed on by Christ…
1 Corinthians 11:23-34
For I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you: The Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, "This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me." In the same way, after supper he took the cup, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me." For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes.
Therefore, whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of sinning against the body and blood of the Lord. A man ought to examine himself before he eats of the bread and drinks of the cup. For anyone who eats and drinks without recognizing the body of the Lord eats and drinks judgment on himself. That is why many among you are weak and sick, and a number of you have fallen asleep. But if we judged ourselves, we would not come under judgment. When we are judged by the Lord, we are being disciplined so that we will not be condemned with the world.
So then, my brothers, when you come together to eat, wait for each other. 34 If anyone is hungry, he should eat at home, so that when you meet together it may not result in judgment.
And when I come I will give further directions.
Communion and water baptism
are the only traditions Jesus passed on to us.
They both focus on the death of Jesus Christ.
Traditions have a way of being modified over time.
We like to make them more children friendly
or convenient to our schedule or life style,
more acceptable to the world.
We should ask ourselves…
What is the foundation to my traditions?
Is the true meaning and purpose
getting lost like a field where
there is lots of growth…
But you can not tell the weeds
from the plants you planted.
Religious or Church traditions are changing very fast.
The contrast between the church built 75 years ago
to the church today has many traditional changes.
Those changes have been very hard on some people.
Some for good reason and some not so good.
Some of us love tradition and others like change.
As we see Jesus bring a New Covenant…
We see the clash of the old traditions.
Yet, Jesus may not have held to
the traditions of religious leaders…
He did uphold and fulfill the law of Moses.
He did it not by rituals and traditions
expressed by outward actions…
But He fulfilled them by a pure heart.
When you think of traditions think of the heart.
"'These people honor me with their lips,
but their hearts are far from me.
They worship me in vain;
their teachings are but rules taught by men.'"
Matthew 15:8-9
Washing the hands is a good thing
but does not make your heart clean.
…but eating with unwashed hands
does not make him 'unclean.
Matthew 15:20
Scripture Reading
Matthew 15:1-20 NIV
15 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 his father or mother must be put to death.' 5 But you say that if a man says to his father or mother, 'Whatever help you might otherwise have received from me is a gift devoted to God,' 6 he is not to 'honor his father' 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 but rules taught by men.'"
10 Jesus called the crowd to him and said, "Listen and understand. 11 What goes into a man's mouth does not make him 'unclean,' but what comes out of his mouth, that is what makes him 'unclean.'"
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 a blind man leads a blind man, 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 the mouth come from the heart, and these make a man 'unclean.' 19 For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander. 20 These are what make a man 'unclean'; but eating with unwashed hands does not make him 'unclean.'"
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