Truth or Tradition? By Steve Keeler
Matthew 15:1-20
"Then some Pharisees and scribes came to Jesus from
Jerusalem and said,"Why do Your disciples break the
tradition of the elders? For they do not wash their
hands when they eat bread." And He answered and
said to them, "Why do you yourselves transgress the
commandment of God for the sake of your tradition?
For God said, 'honor your father and mother,' and, 'he
who speaks evil of father or mother is to be put to
death.' But you say, 'Whoever says to his father or
mother, 'Whatever I have that would help you has been
given to God,' he is not to honor his father or his
mother.' And by this you invalidated the word of God
for the sake of your tradition. You hypocrites, rightly did
Isaiah prophesy of you: 'this people honors Me with
their lips, but their heart is far away from Me. But in
vain do they worship Me, teaching as doctrines the
precepts of men.'" After Jesus called the crowd to Him,
He said to them, 'Hear and understand. It is not what
enters into the mouth that defiles the man, but what
proceeds out of the mouth, this defiles the man.' Then
the disciples came and said to Him, 'Do You know that
the Pharisees were offended when they heard this
statement?' But He answered and said, 'Every plant
which My heavenly Father did not plant shall be
uprooted.
Let them alone; they are blind guides of the blind. And
if a blind man guides a blind man, both will fall into a
pit.' Peter said to Him, 'Explain the parable to us.'
Jesus said, 'Are you still lacking in understanding also?
Do you not understand that everything that goes into
the mouth passes into the stomach, and is eliminated?
But the things that proceed out of the mouth come from
the heart, and those defile the man. For out of the heart
come evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications,
thefts, false witness, slanders. These are the things
which defile the man; but to eat with unwashed hands
does not defile the man.'
***********
Guess who popped in for a visit? It's the heads of the
local major denomination. They are heavy hitters, the
scribes and Pharisees. They have come to Jesus on a
fact finding mission, to try to validate whether they
should put their approval on Him or not.
Isn't it interesting that Jesus had more problems with
the religious people than the lost? They were always
trouble for Him, these were the same ones who
crucified Him.
These men made religion an outward thing instead of
an inward experience. Truth was being trampled by
tradition. And it's still goes on today!
I will not be a Pastor that honors tradition over truth.
And this church will never place truth in a place where
man made do's and don'ts can override it.
Many churches today allow themselves to be bound
and gagged by tradition, and as a result they no longer
have the real impact Jesus charged us to have.
Now, I'm not saying that all tradition is wrong or bad.
It's when you are exult tradition and exclude truth that It
becomes a big problem.
2 Thessalonians 2:15 "So then, brethren, stand firm
and hold to the traditions which you were taught,
whether by word of mouth or by letter from us."
But tradition becomes a bad thing when it's allowed to
surpass truth or worse, when it contradicts truth. We
are not called to carry on traditions, but to proclaim the
truth!
The gospel message must never change, but our
methods must change, doing all we can to reach our
world.
In verse one of our scripture we see the accusation of
the Jews.
Did they really come all this way to talk about washing
of hands before you eat? You have to understand
some background to get it here:
The Jewish people of the old testament had added to
the Law of God over 600 man made laws. These
became known as the traditions or ceremonial law, and
they were passed down from generation to generation,
and more and more was added thru the years.
These traditions were compiled into a book called the
Mishna which got thicker and thicker and became
impossible for the Jews to fulfill.
Some of these traditions were outrageous. In God's
Law, we are told to remember the Sabbath Day and
keep it holy.
The Mishna says on the Sabbath you could not wear
your false teeth! I wonder how many of us are wearing
false teeth here today? According to the Mishna, all
who are, they are sinning.
They also said you couldn't spit into the dirt on the 7th
day, because it would make mud, and then you had
done work.
One of the biggest concerns of the Mishna was
ceremonially cleanness. They had ritual rules for hand
washing, things which have nothing to do with hygiene,
and everything to do with tradition.
Tradition said, when you slept demons rested on your
hands, and if you ate your food without doing a certain
ritual you would get a demon inside of you.
Truth was being trampled on by tradition.
So, these religious leaders drop by for a visit, checking
if their silly traditions were being followed. And in their
minds, if Jesus didn't follow their tradition, He was a
heretic.
Sadly today, many religious people are of the same
brand, bound by traditions that are nowhere in the
Bible, the one and only final authority for mankind!
Some churches today, let the tradition of the church
hold authority over the bible. Which we are warned
about in the God's Word.
I heard of a Pastor who was run off from his church.
Was it adultery? Did he steal money? Was he teaching
false doctrine?
No, he moved the pulpit off the platform before a
Christmas play without consulting with the deacons.
Another church, the Pastor asked that folks hang their
coats before sitting to make room for everyone to sit.
Big mistake! At the next business meeting an elderly
lady stood and said, "Preacher, I've been going to
church here a long time, and have always sat beside
my coat. My father before me sat by his coat, and
preacher, if it was good enough for our fathers then it's
good enough for us!"
I'm a patient person, but I'm not sure what I would have
said or done in that situation!
These were powerful men who came into town, and
they were used to people cowering down under their
intimidation. But Jesus was not intimidated by them. He
was bold and held to truth in the face of bad tradition.
I don't think a preacher should be cocky, but I do
believe he should stand for something, and not be
controlled by traditions.
If I'm ever challenged to choose between man's rules
and God's Law I hope you know where I will stand, I
will choose God over man every time.
Jesus answered them right back with an accusation. In
verse 3 Jesus shows these men that they are walking
outside the lines themselves, and these lines were
drawn by God Himself!
In verse four thru six, Jesus uses the 5th commandment
to tell the pharisees they should be taking care of their
parents when they are older. But the pharisees had set
up a system called "carbon".
This was a traditional "gift" that was dedicated to God.
They could withdraw from it, but the parents couldn't
touch it. I think what we need is a reverse carbon to
keep our kids out of our money!
Jesus told them they had undermined the truth of God
with a tradition. And people are still doing that today.
When people want to disobey God, it's amazing how
clever they can be at skirting around biblical truth.
In verses seven and eight, Jesus calls them
Hypocrites. The Greek word "Hypocrites" means an
actor or someone who wears a mask. Greek actors in
theater wore masks.
Jesus pointed out that these guys were just religious
play actors. They acted like they really loved God, but
God knew the truth in their hearts.
In verses ten thru twenty, Jesus said, what you eat is
no big deal. Sin doesn't enter through the stomach, it
begins in the heart. If someone is raised a good Jew,
there are some things you simply don't eat.
God gave us guidelines for eating healthy. Jesus says,
what you eat may make you sick, but it won't make you
a sinner. So while some foods are unhealthy, they are
not unholy.
It's not about the hands, it's about the heart. Sin starts
on the inside and works its way out, not the other way
around. Sin is always 'potential' before it becomes
'actual.'
It's like tithing, not tithing is not a money issue, it's a
heart issue. Being worldly is not a behavior problem,
it's a heart problem.
Jesus had torn their traditions to pieces but He said,
we can fix it. Make sure you aren't offending God,
stand on His Word, not the tradition of men.
Tradition Truth
Exalts people. Humbles people.
Creates pride. Creates holiness.
Is impersonal. Is intimate.
Only affects the outside. Penetrates the heart.
Produces hypocrites. Produces servants of God.
Is something you keep. Keeps you!
Jesus never said He was the way, the tradition, and the
life, no, He said I am the truth!
Why did you come to church today? Why did you sing
songs? Is it habit and tradition, or is it a heart filled with
love for a Savior who gave His life for you.
The saddest example of being bound by tradition is a
lost person who thinks they have been saved by
keeping some man made list of rules, or even by
saying just the right words in a prayer, yet their heart
hasn't been changed by the truth.
There's a big difference between ritual and
righteousness between religion and a relationship
with Jesus. It's not enough to just know about Jesus,
you need to know Him in truth.
Amen!
