The Traditions of man and the Word of God

Verses 1-9

In chapter 15 of Matthew’s Gospel, we read about the Scribes and Pharisees of Israel saying to our Lord, “Why do thy disciples transgress the traditions of the elders? For they wash not their hands when they eat bread.” Jesus answered their question with a question. He put God at the heart of his response. Jesus said, “Why do ye transgress the commandment of God by your tradition.” The tradition of the elders were oral traditions passed down that are extra-biblical. The law given to Moses contained no such law about washing hands before eating bread, apart from priests before eating holy offerings (Leviticus 22:6-7). It is clear from the text that the Scribes and Pharisees held the traditions of the elders as more important than the Word of God.

Jesus is saying you may accuse my disciples of breaking the traditions of the elders, but I accuse you of breaking the commandments of God. This is a major issue for us today. We live in a society that places the word of man above the Word of God. They prefer human invention in true religion more than the sound and pure Word of God. There are great truths to be learnt from this passage of Holy Scripture, which is of great importance for us today. One such truth is this, hypocrites place great importance on mere outward things.

We will do well to remember what the Lord said to Samuel in 1 Samuel 16:7, “for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the Lord looketh on the heart.” Sadly, we see the spirit of outward approval alive in the assemblies today. Far too many Christian people obey the so-called traditions of man and place great importance on outward expression rather than true heart religion. There are many professing Christians that add to the Word of God and thus follow in the path of the Scribes and Pharisees. One of greatest offender of this is the so-called Church of Rome. The papists place the tradition of the Roman Catholic system above the authority of Scripture and teach for doctrine the commandments of men. Transubstantiation, purgatory, celibacy of the priests, plenary indulgences and the worship of Mary are just some of the many traditions of the Romish religion that are traditions of men. Rome is not the only offender of this, the Church of England are also guilty of this and many others. It is important to point out that Roman Catholicism is not Christianity: Catholicism is not a true Church, but is a good example of a religious group that place tradition above the Word of God.

Jesus uses the fifth commandment as an example of the importance of the law. He talks about the benefit we receive as a gift from God. Jesus also talks about pledging support to the religious establishment that may go against one’s parents. The Pharisees seemed to have encouraged something which places the oral traditions of man above the Word of God.

Heed to the warning found in verses 8 and 9. Let us not be a people that only honours God with mere lip service. Let us not be a people that only draws nigh by mere profession of the mouth. Let us be a people that honours God with mind, heart, and soul. Let us be a people that draw nigh unto God with true faith, true repentance, and true worship. Remember, we worship in vain if we teach the commandments of men as a doctrine to be obeyed. The Christian’s only authority in all matters of faith and practice is the sound Word of God.

What defiles a man?

Verses 10-20

There are two key sayings of our Lord in this passage. The first is about false doctrine and the second about the human heart. Both are worthy of our attention. Listen carefully to the words of Christ.

Firstly, regarding false doctrine, our Lord declares that all false doctrine ought to be rejected by God’s people and it is the duty of all true believers to oppose it. Our Lord does not use courteous words or an agreeable tone. When he speaks of the Pharisees and other false teachers, he uses the strong language of condemnation. It mattered not to Christ that he would offend the Pharisees. He cared not that his words would disrupt the status quo. The plain teaching of Christ is that false doctrine is a great evil that should be shown no mercy at all.

The Church ought to regard false doctrine as wicked, evil, and sinful. It must be exposed, rejected, and forsaken regardless of the offence it might cause. It matters not who they are or what they are. If falsehoods are being preached, then they who preach such lies are called to reject and repent of the doctrine. If not repented, then the child of God must consider if it is for the good of his soul to remain under the ministry of such a place. Remember that nothing shall stand but that which is built on the sound, pure and holy Word of God. Be bold in resisting false teachings. We should not fear causing offence when God’s truth is in question. Truth must be declared, not suppressed. The truth shall prevail.

The second saying of our Lord that demands our attention is that the heart is the source of all sin and defilement. Jesus said that it is out of the heart that proceeds evil thoughts. Every sin that has ever been committed has started with a thought in the heart. A feeling, a desire, a passion for something is at the root of all sin. The heart of man is deceitful and is desperately wicked (Jeremiah 17:9). No man can truly know the depths of sin that the heart will sink to. It is only by the grace of God that some hearts are not as wicked as others. Many have been led astray by listening to their heart. Our main danger is from within.

Do not be like the blind Pharisees, the blind leading the blind. Listen carefully to the words of our Lord. That which comes out of the mouth starts from within the heart. The heart needs to be protected. This is like a filing system. You will only get the information that you put in. Many times, we do not help ourselves. We allow sin to enter our hearts and fail to protect ourselves. We are sometimes our own worst enemy. We assist the devil to cause us to fall. Let us have a true desire to please and worship God. Let us have a desire to have a pure heart in the sight of God. May we be purified by faith and never rest until we have that assurance from the Holy Ghost. Remember this, “He that trusteth in his own heart is a fool: but whoso walketh wisely, he shall be delivered” (Proverbs 28:26). The heart will deceive you.

Jesus Heals the Gentile Woman’s Daughter

Verses 21-31

Here we read another miracle of our Lord. This time it happened in the coasts of Tyre and Sidon. Tyre and Sidon were ancient cities of Phoenicia, often mentioned in the context of judgement (Luke 10). They were Gentile cities of Northern Israel. Jesus uses these two pagan cities to show how God’s chosen people rejected God.

Sometimes true faith is found in the most unlikely places. We do not expect to see true faith in some parts of the world, but that is sometimes where God works His greatest miracles of faith. We see today great acts of faith in the Middle East where true faith in the Gospel can result in great punishment and even death. We also read about many coming to faith after a long life of sin. We see a pang of hunger and desire for God in many of the world’s prisons. True salvation is a gift from God. Salvation is a work of God. If there are sinners in need of grace God will continue to pour out his saving grace on lost souls. Let us take courage from this passage of Holy Scripture. Let us not despair of anyone because of their position or circumstances they find themselves in. Nothing is too hard for our God. No one is too far gone to be saved. No one is too deep in the pit of sin to be pulled out by the loving and saving arms of grace.

It is possible to dwell in the most ungodly places on earth and see a soul saved. It is possible to be in the heart of a wicked city and see God at work. You may reside in North Korea and see true faith. No city or country is beyond the reach of God.

We also learn from the passage that affliction is sometimes a blessing to a person, look at Job for example. He was a man who suffered great affliction and sorrow, yet he was blessed in his suffering for his faithfulness to God. Just because you are going through a time of testing do not think that God is punishing you. If our suffering brings us to Christ, then that is surely a blessed thing. Many times, God allows people to suffer to teach these people something that they would not have learnt if they did not go through that time of affliction. This is especially true for the ungodly. The Lord may allow them to reach the bottom of despair so that He can rebuild them in faith. There have been many people who have been blessed in affliction. Many lessons have been learnt the hard way. Just look at the Gentile woman and her daughter in the passage. She went through great affliction, yet it brought her to Christ.

There is nothing like impatience that teaches us that we lack faith in God. We expect results here and now. We expect God to answer our prayers in a very short space of time. We lack faith in God when we wait not on him. Trials are sent from God to wean us from the world and to cause us to depend more on Him. Good health is a blessed thing, but better to be sick and a child of God than healthy and a hardened sinner. It is better to live with a modest income and be a faithful child of God than to have great wealth and be a wretched vile man. Anything is far better than dying in your sin and without hope in Christ.

The last point in this section is that Christians are far less gracious than Christ Himself. The disciples of our Lord sent the woman away. Maybe they thought her to be unworthy to come to Christ. Maybe they did not believe her. Whatever the reason they wanted to send her away. There is far too much of this spirit in people today. We often lack faith in the power of God to transform a soul. We sometimes see the beginning of faith in a soul and do not persevere with that person to see what will happen. When a soul has been saved among us do we rejoice or doubt that such a soul has been saved? We saw this when Paul became a believer. The disciples doubted his conversion. We may have reasons to doubt the sincerity of true salvation in a person, but we have no reason to doubt the power of God. The words “send her away” never came from the lips of Christ. Jesus Christ will never send us empty away. A lost soul that is truly seeking Christ will find Him and be filled.

There is great hope in steadfast prayer. The disciples wanted to send the woman away and at first, Jesus did not answer her. However, she continued to pray and call on Jesus. If at first our prayers are not answered do we cease to pray and think that prayer does no good? If we do not see results quickly are we tempted to give in to the lies of the devil? Our prayers are heard by God and will be answered in His timing. Cease not to pray. Onwards in prayer.

Jesus feeds the Four Thousand

Verses 32-39

Here we read that our Lord had compassion on the multitudes because they followed him for three days having nothing to eat. The disciples told Jesus that there was not enough bread to feed them all, as they only had seven loaves and a few fish. After Jesus commanded the multitudes to sit, he took the loaves and fishes and gave thanks and gave them to eat. There were seven baskets full of food. These seven baskets fed four thousand people.

This is another miracle of our Lord. He fed four thousand with just seven loaves and a few fishes. Jesus truly is divine, for no other man could do what he did. He had compassion for the multitudes who followed him. They were suffering in body and spirit. We all suffer from the heart disease of unbelief, but happy is that soul that comes to be filled with the bread of life.

What must have the disciples thought of the great crowd that followed Christ? We know not what they thought, but we know that our Lord had compassion on them and met their need. Nothing is recorded in Scripture by chance. This is written to remind us of Christ’s power and compassion.