Matthew 15:1–11, 17–20

Bible Studies for Life 
Associate Professor of Religion, Samford University

Tradition or God’s Word?

Matthew 15:1–11, 17–20
How should a person decide what God would have them do? The Scriptures are filled with commandments, proverbs, poetry and stories that instruct us. If only it were as easy as separating our options neatly into God’s demands and human traditions, then perhaps there would be less debate. However as this focal passage from Matthew’s gospel demonstrates, many times those who would follow Christ are called upon to judge between competing goods. By what standard should they decide?

Follow Scripture, Avoid Hypocrisy (1–9) 
The Mosaic Torah prescribes many practices to maintain ritual cleanliness. Hand washing was required for priests prior to making sacrifices (Ex. 30:17–21) and by males following certain bodily discharges (Lev. 15:11), but there is no universal requirement. The Pharisees, a lay reform movement begun about two centuries before the time of Jesus, promoted the study of Scripture in synagogues and personal piety for all. They sought to obey the commandments of God above all. The Pharisees were generally opposed to the Temple establishment — priests, Sadducees and other power brokers in Jerusalem. Instead, they understood the entirety of Israel as a kingdom of priests (Ex. 19:6) and thus often adopted priestly practices, such as the ritual washing here debated.

Rather than answer the question put to him, Jesus takes the opportunity to call out the Pharisees for their hypocrisy in applying the commandments. We should note that Jesus is not rejecting the Law itself but self-serving interpretations of it. Indeed, in Matthew Jesus does not condemn but rather endorses the Law (5:17–20). He even endorses the teaching authority of scribes and Pharisees, while in the same breath condemning them for using God’s commands as a way of showing themselves to be more important and righteous than others (23:1–11). 

The example in the focal passage concerns the conflict between the commandment to honor one’s parents and the Pharisaic practice of dedicating something to God as an offering. On the surface, both seem commendable, so why the conflict? The issue apparently arose when Pharisees dedicated something to God as a way of escaping family commitments. To put it into a modern context, should a person make a large pledge to the church capital campaign if it means ignoring the needs of aged parents?

In Matthew’s gospel, intent is everything. Thus lust is not judged to be different from adultery or anger from murder (5:21–30). What is demanded from those who would follow Jesus is careful discernment of our obligations to God and one another, as well as a close examination of our motivations. One can imagine the husband and father who deludes himself into thinking he is fulfilling his Christian duty by spending countless hours volunteering at church while ignoring relationships with his children, or the woman whose eager devotion to church friends becomes an excuse to avoid care for her parents. In each case what passes for the good becomes as excuse to avoid the spirit of God’s instructions.

Clean Your Heart (10–11, 17–20)
As Jesus turns His attention from the Pharisees to the surrounding crowds, He returns to the original question concerning ritual cleanliness. It is not what goes into the mouth but what comes out from the heart that defiles a person. In Hebrew thought the heart was not, as in our modern usage, the seat of a person’s emotions but rather his moral decision-making. As such it was the root of human conduct, which conversely serves as the best marker of those who seek to follow God. “And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind” (Matt. 22:37).

At the conclusion of the passage Jesus returns to the Pharisees’ original question, and by now the answer is obvious. There is nothing wrong with seeking to live a holy life, but to do so involves more than simply taking on the trappings of purity or being obsessed with the purity of others.