About the Text
(2) Why did the Pharisees wash their hands before
eating? To stay religiously pure. They thought that by adding such man-made laws,
they could keep from breaking God's laws of religious purity, cf. Exodus 30:17-21, Deut.
21:6. The problem with these man made laws, however, is that the Pharisees placed more
importance on them than on God's own laws. In other words, they would break God's laws
while trying to keep the man-made ones, all in the futile quest for religious purity.
(5) What did Jesus mean by the "gift devoted to God"? Jesus was
pointing out Pharisees' practice of using "religion" to avoid helping their
parents. In a sense the Pharisees were saying, "Father, mother, I can't give you the
$500 you need, because I'm giving it to God," while they would later spend the money
on themselves. Jesus called them hypocrites, because they appeared religious but were evil
in their hearts. In other words, they were using religion (the following of rules and
regulafions ''in the name of God'') to cover-up the secret sins in their hearts. Do you
ever use "religion" to cover-up a secret sin in your life? Do you show off your
Bible knowledge, come to church, lead Bible studies, help out with the church work, for
the wrong reasons? Is it to be admired? To avoid your parents or spouse? To feel superior
to the non-religious?
(13) What did Jesus mean by pulling plants "up by the roots"?
He was referring to the Pharisees, the Jewish religious leaders of the day. He was
responding to the disciples' questions, saying that the Pharisees were offended at Jesus'
teaching because they were not of God, i.e. God did not "plant" them. See
Matthew 13:24-30 for the Parable of the Weeds.
Insights
The Bottom Line
Cling to Christ, not your traditions. Although God gives us the freedom to worship in many different styles and traditions, He can see if you're hiding behind these traditions in order to avoid the truth: that is, that you (we) are a sinner and need Jesus Christ to be saved.
Security in life comes not from trying hard to follow familiar traditions, but by believing that God loved you so much that He died on a cross, to take away your sins, and claimed you as His own child (JoIm 1:10-13).
Key Memory Verses
"What goes into a man's mouth does not make him 'unclean,'
but what comes out of his mouth, that is what makes him 'unclean."' (Matthew 15:11)
Next Week:
Chris Leonard, one of our church kaders, will be preaching his first ,-ermon! He will be
teaching from ~atthew 15:21-28, about the woman who persistently begged Jesus for help.