Matthew 15 – The vanity of honoring God by teaching commandments of men
Introduction
A. Matthew 15 Renews the opposition of the Pharisees and scribes that find in Chapter 12.
1. In Matthew 12:1-8, the Pharisees condemned Jesus for doing what is not lawful on the Sabbath. Jesus condemned the Pharisees for condemning the innocent. They misunderstood the Law for lack of mercy.
2. In Matthew 12:9-21 again, the Pharisees condemned Jesus for healing the man with the withered hand because He did it on the Sabbath. Jesus uncovered their hypocrisy by saying, “Which one of you who has a sheep, if it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will not take hold of it and lift it out? 12 Of how much more value is a man than a sheep! So it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath.”
3. In chapter 15, the Pharisees condemned Jesus for eating without washing his hands (to remove the possibility of “uncleanness”) and thus disobey the tradition of the elders.
B. The Lord teaches us the principle of the true source of uncleanness, and at the same time He teaches us the vanity of honoring God according to the commandments of men.
I. The Pharisees condemned Jesus for uncleanness, for He ate without washing His hands.
A. Matthew 15:2, "Why do your disciples break the tradition of the elders? Because they don't wash their hands when they eat bread. "
1. The Traditions were oral and not written for two centuries, and they wore the name "MIshnah"("repeat") when Jehudah Ha-Nasi gathered most of them into a book. Afterwards (200-500 AD) they were called "Gemara"("the things learned"). They changed the term again when they added the discussions and studies of the "Amoraim" and called them "Talmud" (teachings or studies). Nowadays they declare that the Talmud is the Legal Code of the Jews. So today's Talmud is (1) The traditions of the elders, plus (2) The Mishnah, plus (3) The Gemara plus, (4) the studies – Talmud. It is all of men and it dishonors God who gave them the law, the "Torah".
2. Supposedly, the traditions protected the law of God that had commanded the Jews not to touch or eat certain things, because they were unclean, and would leave the Jew unclean. Washing In water was the remedy for cleansing the uncleanness of this kind. If touching a person or an unclean thing made one unclean, then he had to take care not to touch anything or anybody that was unclean. It would be possible to imagine that everyone was unclean, so it was advisable to wash your hands before eating. But God never commanded such a thing.
3. Speculation is the source of the traditions of almost every false doctrine of today. (I give some examples at the end of the study.)
B. Christ replied, “And why do you break the commandment of God for the sake of your tradition?” 15:3
1. The Pharisees invalidated the Law, "honor your father and your mother." 15:4-6 According to their tradition, one could dedicate to God what he owed his parents to support them in his old age.
2. Jesus applied the prophecy of Isaiah 29:13, and called them hypocrites. In the name of "protecting" the Law, they justified the disobedience of the Law.
C. In addition, Christ explains to us the true source of uncleanness in 15:10-20.
1. What comes out of the mouth is what contaminates the man, not what enters it. 15:11
2. What comes out of the mouth, comes from the heart, and this contaminates the man. 15:18
3. From the heart come forth evil thoughts, murder, the adulteries, fornication, thefts, false testimonies, and blasphemies. 15:19-20
4. Christ condemned all sinners, even the Pharisees, because unclean thoughts filled their hearts. The rebellious did not want to repent when they heard the preaching of Jesus. He details the sins of the Pharisees in Matthew 23, in the "Woes."
D. When he Pharisees were offended, Jesus, without apologies, called the Pharisees "blind guides." 15:12-14
1. The Heavenly Father uprooted every plant that he did not planted.
2. The Pharisees, for following the commandments of men, and thus for dishonoring God, did not plant God's plant. They were not of God. They were blind guides guiding the blind Jews and together they were going to fall into the ditch.
3. Paul also scolded them in Romans 2:12-24. “But if you call yourself a Jew and rely on the law and boast in God 18 and know his will and approve what is excellent, because you are instructed from the law; 19 and if you are sure that you yourself are a guide to the blind, a light to those who are in darkness, 20 an instructor of the foolish, a teacher of children, having in the law the embodiment of knowledge and truth— 21 you then who teach others, do you not teach yourself? While you preach against stealing, do you steal? 22 You who say that one must not commit adultery, do you commit adultery? You who abhor idols, do you rob temples? 23 You who boast in the law dishonor God by breaking the law. 24 For, as it is written, “The name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you.”
II. The Canaanite woman begged for Mercy. Matthew 15:21-28
A. While the Pharisees refused to believe in Jesus, A non-Jewish woman showed a "great" faith.
1. The daughter of a Gentile was gravely tormented by a demon. 15:22
2. This foreigner called Jesus, "Lord, Son of David." She begged for mercy. With these words she confessed her faith in Jesus, the Lord and Christ (the King , Anointed of God), the son of David.
3. At first, Jesus did not respond to her, but she kept crying out to the disciples.
4. Jesus spoke not to her, but to his disciples, "I am not sent but to the lost sheep of the House of Israel." He walked in the land of the Gentiles for a while, when the Pharisees were offended by His words. Yet Jesus still was not evangelizing the Gentiles.
5. Only a mother could throw herself at the feet of the Lord and plead such an urgent request. "Lord, help me!" Possibly now Jesus answered her directly, though it is possible that He still spoke to his disciples. He said, "It's not right to take the children's bread, and throw it out to the dogs." In any case, the way that Jesus spoke to her humiliated her, as she lay there at His feet.
6. From an extremely prostrate spirit, she said: "Yes, Lord; but even the dogs eat of the crumbs that fall from the table of their masters. " "O woman," said Jesus, "great is your faith! Be it done for you as you desire. "
B. Jesus continued to heal not only the Canaanite woman, but many by the Sea of Galilee. 15:28-31.
C. Again Jesus showed his power to feed his disciples by divine power when He served 4,000 more, along with the women and children. 15:32-39.
III. We Can Apply this Example to the Doctrines of Men of Today, which are the Product of Speculation and the Philosophies of Men.
A. The Doctrine of Original Sin is the foundation of the doctrines of the Roman Church, but also of the Protestant churches. There is not a single verse in the Scriptures, that supports the teaching that a child is born with the guilt of Adam's sin. Nor is there a basis in Scripture for the speculation that, in this way, the will of man was corrupted at birth.
1. Infant baptism (and Limbo) Acts 8:36-38
2. Immaculate Conception of Mary And the Cult of Mary (The mediator between God and man) 1 Timothy 2:5
3. The Sacraments and Indulgences (The transubstantiation of the host) Matthew 26:26-29
4. The imputation of the righteousness of Jesus, faith alone, the predestination of the elect, the irresistible grace, the preservation of the Saints. Acts 2:37-42, Hebrews 10-11
B. Premillennialism and the earthly Kingdom of a thousand years, the Rapture, the Tribulation. Matthew 13, Parable of the Sower is the beginning of the parables of the kingdom which teach about evangelism and the church. See also Colossians 1:13; 1 Peter 2:5, 9.
C. Instrumental music in the worship of the church. Ephesians 5:18-19
D. Women leading in the church, Female Pastors. 1 Timothy 2:8-13
E. The Social gospel. Social justice. Matthew 28:18-20
F. The evolution of Man from animals. Genesis 1-2