Far From God (Matthew 15:1-9)
Where is God? This is a question that we have asked our children many times, and they typically would say that he is up in the sky. We tell them that God is all around. He sees and knows every thought in our minds and hearts. He knows everything that is going on in our lives and the lives of everyone else. God is omnipresent, meaning that he is everywhere at once.
But it is one thing to say that God is everywhere, and another to say that God is with me. I want us to think about this idea: "Is God close to us?” Is he close to our hearts, and is he wrapped up in our every desire? This is something that we will consider as we look at our text this morning.
Jesus Heals (14:34-36)
In Matthew 14, we see Jesus bounce back from several negative things. People are doubting him and attacking him. Herod has just killed John. It's just not a good time to be Jesus, but he responds by doing greater miracles and showing great compassion. He feeds five thousand people and continues to train his disciples.
Matthew 14:34--36 (ESV) --- 34 And when they had crossed over, they came to land at Gennesaret. 35 And when the men of that place recognized him, they sent around to all that region and brought to him all who were sick 36 and implored him that they might only touch the fringe of his garment. And as many as touched it were made well.
When Jesus and his disciples finally make it over to the other side of the sea, they find men who spread the word about his arrival. All of the sick in that region are brought in to touch his garment and be made well. Matthew 9:21 reminds us of a woman who thought that she would be made well if she could touch his garment. Maybe that woman has spread the healing power of Jesus.
Commands of God or Men? (15:1-9)
Maybe things are starting to turn around. Is the reception of Jesus a sign of good things to come? Chapter 15 lets us know that it’s not. The Pharisees are at it again.
Matthew 15:1--2 (ESV) --- 1 Then Pharisees and scribes came to Jesus from Jerusalem and said, 2 “Why do your disciples break the tradition of the elders? For they do not wash their hands when they eat.”
The scribes and Pharisees come up from Jerusalem to see Jesus. I imagine that they are checking Jesus out because John has died, and Jesus is gaining popularity more than ever before. But instead of accepting him, they question him about his disciples not washing their hands. Why are they so concerned about washing hands?
Traditions
This has nothing to do with germs or bacteria. Nor did this have to do with an Old Testament command to wash their hands before they ate. That command does not exist for ordinary people. Washing was required for the Levites in preparation for offering sacrifices to God. But this was a matter of breaking the tradition of the elders.
How should we feel about traditions? I feel like our world goes to extremes over traditions. On the one hand, people want to hold on to traditions at all costs. On the other hand, some people make a concerted effort to dismantle every tradition and create their own path that is the opposite of their forefathers. I read a quote a few months back, "Tradition is the living faith of those who have gone before us. Traditionalism is the dead faith of those who are alive." I like that quote.
The Jews were full of traditionalism. They had hundreds of traditional commandments from their elders. What does Jesus say?
Commandments
Matthew 15:3--6 (ESV) --- 3 He answered them, “And why do you break the commandment of God for the sake of your tradition? 4 For God commanded, ‘Honor your father and your mother,’ and, ‘Whoever reviles father or mother must surely die.’ 5 But you say, ‘If anyone tells his father or his mother, “What you would have gained from me is given to God,” 6 he need not honor his father.’ So for the sake of your tradition you have made void the word of God.
Jesus' response to their question is another question. He asks them why they break God's commandments to keep the traditions of the elders. He points out a fundamental problem with traditions: men elevate them to be equivalent to God's commands.
Then, Jesus gives an example using the fifth commandment in the ten commandments. God commands everyone to honor their father and mother, and he sentences those who revile (Being overly critical, abusive, or angry with) their mother and father to death! That may sound a bit extreme, but notice that he is talking about adults treating their parents this way. This is in keeping with the law (Exo 21:17).
God commands children to honor their father and mother. He commands them to be treated with respect. We teach our children that as we discipline them. We reinforce in their minds that they are disobeying God, and we have to punish them. If we don't, we are disobeying God. The child must respond with submission to the parent's authority. In the Old Testament, this command does not end when children become adults. In Deuteronomy 21:18-21, rebellious children who grew up to be rebellious young adults were supposed to be stoned before the congregation. As children, we like to think that we have independence from our parents once we move out and get married. We do, to a great extent, but we still have a command to honor them.
What if our parents don’t like our sinful lifestyle and they are bold enough to tell us? If they are especially mean and harsh toward us, can’t we be mean and harsh back at them? Under the tradition of the Pharisees, one can nullify God's command by giving what you would have given them to God. That, of course, means that you can give it to the religious establishment. That sounds a little fishy, doesn't it? The command is clear. We must love God more than our parents, but God doesn't want our money. He wants us to be righteous in keeping his laws. We must never be disrespectful toward parents or revile them. This command would include taking care of their parents when they are older. They changed our diapers, so we must also change theirs or hire someone to do it.
But the Pharisees have created a tradition that would keep them from taking care of their parents, in the name of serving God. They would vow to give what the parents should have to God, making them free from obligation to honor their parents. God's commands are quickly overruled when we elevate traditions to the point of being commandments. Here Jesus points out a particularly heinous sin against their parents that shows how evil their hearts really are.
Lip Service
Matthew 15:7--9 (ESV) --- 7 You hypocrites! Well did Isaiah prophesy of you, when he said: 8 “ ‘This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me; 9 in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’ ”
Jesus calls these men "hypocrites." A hypocrite is an actor. This is someone who plays a part or a role that is not real. Then, he goes on to quote from Isaiah 29. Jesus says that these men are exactly like the men Isaiah prophesied against before God destroyed Israel. That should scare them. In Isaiah 29, God blinds the people so that they can’t tell their judgment is coming. Why would God do that? He would do that because people draw near to him keeping commandments while refusing to love him.
Let's look closely at the words in Matthew 15:8-9. "This people honors me with their lips." They act like they want to keep the law of God. They are religious to the extent that they make all kinds of sacrifices. Think about the difficulty of frequently washing your hands in those days, without indoor plumbing. But their sacrifices are not drawing them near to God. Their hearts are still far away from God. These men hold hundreds of different traditions. They have blindly followed their commands without seeking to know what God actually wants. Imagine if we created a handbook on how to be a good husband. It was about two hundred pages long, but it was required reading in school. Ladies, if your husband learned that rulebook front and back, would that mean that he loves you? He says all the things the book tells him to say, and does all the things the book tells him to do. But at the end of the day, that has nothing to do with him loving you.
Verse 9 says that they worship God in vain. There is no adoration of God or divine honor. What are they doing in their worship then? They have substituted honoring and adoring God for honoring and adoring rules created by men. The days and weeks they spent studying men's traditions could have been spent studying God's word and coming to know God for themselves.
Application
If you are wondering, this has direct application to us today. What do we learn? We learn that God does not find honor when we appear to be righteous and do all the right things. That may seem odd, but it’s true. Like a husband who does all the right things because the book told him to does not honor his wife. His wife could be the best or the worst wife. It doesn’t matter. There is not feeling or emotion in his work for his wife. God wants more than simply keeping a list of rules and commands. He wants our hearts! He wants us fighting for righteous in ourselves because we want to be in a relationship with a perfectly righteous God. Our goal is not to “act righteous” by keeping rules but to be righteous inside. God wants our hearts to desire him, to live righteous like him, and to stop acting righteous for others to see.
God doesn't care about our money or our sacrifice. He cares about our relationships with one another and with him.
Obedience is Better Than Sacrifice
There is more to see in verses 10-20, but I want us to pause for a moment here and reflect. There are some major ideas taught in this text that I believe are important for us to consider. One major thing that we see in this part of the story is that following traditions can pull our hearts away from God. The Pharisees have this mindset that God wants sacrifice. He wants all the money they can give. They believed it was okay to abandon your parents as long as you gave more money to God. They did not love and respect their parents as they were commanded and God was not pleased. What about us?
Being ultra religious does not make up for us disregarding God’s commands. I can’t tell my spouse, “I would love to take you to the hospital, but God wants me to be at all three services on Sunday.” I can’t tell my kids, “Sorry guys, I would love to spend time with you , but everyone wants me to visit them and study with them.” If my kids are starving, I better not give my paycheck to the church treasury. I have a responsibility to provide for them and to train them. Now maybe, I need to be a better manager of my money. I certainly don’t want to excuse someone who is foolish. But God’s not interested in us hurting others to serve him. Our religious practices are important, but obeying God’s command to love others is more important to him than offering sacrifices. Remember Samuel’s words to king Saul.
1 Samuel 15:22 (ESV) --- 22 And Samuel said, “Has the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to listen than the fat of rams.
Adding To The Law Is Dangerous
Wait, are you telling me to stop being ultra religious and stop making sacrifices for the Lord? If you are confused, look more closely at the Pharisees. On the one hand, they wash their hands to remain ceremonially clean (beyond the law), give God money that was supposed to go to parents (beyond the law), and go to great lengths to keep the Sabbath (12:1-2). On the other hand, those same people condemn Jesus' disciples, dishonor their parents, and exalt the traditions of men above the commands of God. Their hearts are pouring out evil words, evil thoughts, and evil intentions (18). They focus so much on their works that they hate their neighbor and disobey the commands of God. They break the two greatest commands to focus on their works.
I wonder how many laws they add to and how many they justify breaking? Do we do the same? Substitute in any rule that we believe God wants us to uphold. It is possible to be so focused on that law that we add to it. Our TRADitions become ADDitions. Then, we destroy others by binding our additions on them. Focusing in on a particular law and adding to it is dangerous. We can start proudly assuming that we are righteous because of what we do or don't do. When we do that, we belittle what Christ has done for us. We just studied this in Colossians 2:16-23, where people are making regulations to try to stop the indulgence of the flesh instead of holding fast to Christ. Look at what Paul said in Galatians.
Galatians 2:20--21 (ESV) --- 20 I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. 21 I do not nullify the grace of God, for if righteousness were through the law, then Christ died for no purpose.
We might thing that adding to the word will help us draw closer, but it pulls us farther away. Instead of adding to his word and binding that on others, we need to promote the personal study and understanding of each individual in Christ. We are drawn closer to God by understanding how much more righteous he is than we are. We are drawn close by seeing our need for forgiveness and seeking his mercy. These things only happen when we each study for ourselves to understand what God has said. If we make up a list of things that make us righteous, we will check off that list, stop focusing on our need for forgiveness, and be mean to those who fail to meet our list. The unfortunate result is a heart that starts to slip back into the old evil ways of loving oneself and pursuing idols.
Worship
Ultimately, our hearts are what God cares about. If we teach people to follow many rules to become a child of God, we are blind guides leading the blind into a pit (which we will talk about next time, v.14). The two greatest commandments must be on our hearts. They have to be the lens through which we evaluate and interpret every doctrine. We can sacrifice many things for God and still have vain worship. Jesus wants us to be totally devoted to God's righteousness. As he said in Matthew 5, "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God" (5:8). None of us will ever meet up to that standard of perfect righteousness. We need his grace and mercy. But those who “hunger and thirst for righteousness will be satisfied” (5:6).
Conclusion
I'm not sure what rules you have relied on to be righteous, but they aren't enough. We all need the grace of God that was poured out for us in the sacrifice of Jesus. If you have not received that grace and forgiveness, there is no other way to be made righteous and experience eternal life with God. Make the right decision. Choose to put your faith and trust in God. Choose a heart that wants to obey all of the commandments and become more and more like God every day. "Draw near to God and he will draw near to you." (James 4:8) Through Christ, we have access to him, not through any form of righteousness we can create.