Matthew 15: 3 And He
answered and said to them, “Why do
you yourselves transgress the commandment of God for the sake of your
tradition?”
Matthew 15:6 “And by this you invalidated the word of God for the sake of
your tradition.”
So what exactly is going on that
Jesus is being so particular about? Well
let me get into a little history for a second and then bring us all back to
earth by describing how we are still guilty of doing this same thing today. Fair enough?
Many, many years ago in a land far,
far away, God gave unto Moses what has been calculated at about 613 Laws
contained in the first five books of the Bible.
Now not to be too presumptuous but one of the purposes, so says the New
Testament, of giving all of these laws was to be a tutor which would lead us to
Christ (Galatians 3:24). In other words, the Law is so extensive and
our human nature is so flawed, our inability to successfully complete such a
monumental task as perfectly observing all the Law was to bring us to utter
dependence on Christ; i.e. faith. The
Law was to lead us to repentance and the dependence on the grace of God and His
strength to perfectly fulfill this Law on our behalf.
In comes the problem. Problems such as basic humanism and
pride began to beset those Jewish adherents to the Law and they developed the
arrogant opinion that 613 was too easy.
As a result they began to write down oral traditions that were
accessories to, or additions to, the current 613. Because God’s requirements were so easily met
among the truly righteous, so they reasoned, they could begin to add more
weight to the Law and separate the super righteous from those who are only
modestly righteous. In comes the
Mishnah. The Mishnah was a written record of these additions which accounted for somewhere near 4200 new “laws” that the
super righteous were to implement into their daily lives. Now these were not inherently bad
things. They were intended to be
reverent and help people focus on God and His holiness, etc. The problem is that God didn’t write
them. They were entirely man made and
therefore many of them actually contradicted the ACTUAL word of God in lieu of
trying to honor Him. That accounts for
why Jesus, in this exchange, snapped at the Pharisees quoting Isaiah and exclaiming,
“But in vain do
they worship Me, teaching as doctrines the precepts of men.” (Matthew 15:9) You see they did not see through to the true
heart of the message contained within the Law and so thought they were adhering
to it when in fact they were failing in most every respect.
One of these Mishnah laws was
detailing the very specific procedures necessary to wash before you ate
anything. Now this is not to speak
poorly of our Purel generation, but quite frankly, Jesus is letting them know
that washing your hands before you eat is not going to somehow make you super
righteous; sorry moms. And not washing your hands
before you eat is not going to somehow disqualify you from church
membership. You would think that was
pretty straightforward, however, because the Mishnah laws had become so
ingrained within this society post-Babylonian exile, they believed that Jesus
was breaking the Law of God. As a result
they pressed on Him and wanted to tear down any clout Jesus may have been
building among the Jewish cohort of disciples.
Primarily because Jesus didn’t do things the way they did
things. Jesus made them feel
uncomfortable because His devotion did not look or feel like theirs did. His ways were not their ways. And furthermore, He was not educated or
formally trained, so how would He know anyway?!
Not moved by the Pharisee’s and their
interpretation of piety, Jesus helped them to understand that not only could they
not meet the 4200 laws, they also could not meet the 613, they couldn't meet even the
great 10 and so teaches them to follow only the 2 (to love God with your all
and to love your neighbor as yourself).
So this is where we jump ship from the history lesson and start looking
for practical application today. I am
sure it is quite easy to look at their Pharisees and scribes and think, “They
were so stupid. How could they miss
something so obvious?” But do you
realize that in saying that you have become one of them? Here is the deal, we do the same thing all
the time and do so MOSTLY within the church!
Not sure what I mean? Let’s think
about it for a second.
How many Christians do you know that
in arrogance state they will never see an R-rated movie because they want to be
sure to keep anything impure from before their eyes? Noble, yet are not The Passion of the Christ and
Hacksaw Ridge two of the most spiritually exhilarating movies ever made? Mishnah.
How many Christians do you know that say they don’t listen to anything
but praise and worship music? Disciplined, yet do not
Jonny Lang and Lifehouse sing some of the most powerful worship music available even though in the secular market? Mishnah. Don’t invalidate the word of God for the sake
of your tradition.
Greater still, should a good
Christian condemn another Christian for missing church? What if that church missing sinner was absent
due to the fact that they had recently discovered their mother had contracted cancer
and couldn’t face people that day?
Mishnah. When a teen girl becomes
pregnant due to making a poorly thought through decision, should a good
Christian be sure she understands that she needs to be repentant for her
sins? What if she is already
self-condemning and really just needs a friend?
Is it not more important that among the children of God she recognizes
that she is special and truly loved?
Mishnah. Don’t invalidate the
word of God for the sake of your tradition.
What if a pastor does not deliver an
alter call at the end of every service?
What if there is not a particular scripture reading at your men’s Bible
study and instead you just fellowship?
What if your devoted prayers are spoken with your eyes open and while driving
your car instead of kneeling in your prayer closest? What if your unbelieving neighbor asks you to
come over for a beer because he has some life questions to ask you? What if you have to mow your yard on Sunday
to avoid a HOA violation ticket that would inhibit your ability to get groceries for
your kids this week? On and on and
on. Don’t invalidate the word of God for
the sake of your tradition.
God’s word is clear and succinct. He doesn’t beat around the bush and makes His
commandments pretty clear. But there is always a reason that He says the things He says. And the reason always defaults to one
thing: He loves you. Or better said, He loves His children. Do you first and foremost respond to
situations with this in mind? Or do you
first and foremost respond based on what you have interpreted from a passage of
Scripture that may or may not be speaking into the context with which you are
currently presented? Do not take wrong
what I am trying to say. Should the
Sabbath be observed? Of course. Is it good to protect your eyes
from viewing unclean things? Beyond the
shadow of a doubt. Should a pregnant
teen be aware of God’s will for her life?
You bet she should. But do we
default to condemnation and judgment or do we love. Jesus says in Matthew 11:30 that His burden is light. The church and its people should not then be going around and adding burden in response but rather directing people to Him to let
Him take the burden for Himself.
Have a beer with your neighbor and
talk to Him about why you love the Lord.
Hug the neck of the pregnant teen and tell her that you will always be
available to her if she needs to talk.
Mow your yard and feed the little blessings that God has put under your care. Watch Hacksaw Ridge and take the whole family. Listen to Jonny Lang's “That
Great Day” even if you have to go to the House of Blues to hear it. Matthew
22:38 “This is the foremost and greatest commandment.” Throw down the
Mishnah in your heart and love the Lord and His people. Extend a little grace on the front end and
see what happens to the sin on the backside. There is always time for judgment but the Holy
Spirit does a pretty good job of that on His timing and in His great ways; not
mine.
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