You Can't Fake God Out! Matthew 15:1-9

1 Then some Pharisees and teachers of the law came to Jesus from Jerusalem and asked, 

News about Jesus quickly spread south from Galilee to the heart of Jewish capital of Jerusalem.  The delegation of scribes (teachers of the law) and the Pharisees were sent to investigate Jesus' teaching. They are quickly getting jealous of him and therefore looking for a way to trap him.  

2 “Why do your disciples break the tradition of the elders? They don’t wash their hands before they eat!”

They start with what almost seems like a "cheap shot".  He accuses them of not taking part in ceremonial washing of their hands before meals. 

"These ceremonial washings were by tradition, not by Scripture. The religious leaders say as much when they refer to the tradition of the elders and not the commandment of God." Guzik

The matter had nothing to do with hygiene but the personal offense taken by the leaders, which had everything to do with their pridefulness. 

3 Jesus replied, “And why do you break the command of God for the sake of your tradition?

Jesus confirms it was not the Mosaic law that was broken but only their own tradition.  There is nothing wrong with tradition if it is based on the Word of God, but if it is based on the words and rules of man they have no authority for a believer.  

"Additions to God's laws reflect upon his wisdom, as if he had left out something which was needed, and which man could supply; in one way or other they always lead men to disobey God. How thankful ought we to be for the written word of God! Never let us think that the religion of the Bible can be improved by any human addition, either in doctrine or practice." (Henry)

Jesus turns the tables on them by saying that they are breaking God's command by demanding their own fleshly traditions be honored as more important than God's sacred commandments.  Therefore, they are preventing people from coming to God, which is an even worse sin.  

4 For God said, ‘Honor your father and mother’and ‘Anyone who curses their father or mother is to be put to death.’ 

Jesus states the commandment from Deuteronomy 5:16 to honor one's parents, and then the penalty for cursing one's parents from Exodus 21:17

If you struggle with the severity of this penalty in the Exodus passage, which I think most people would, you can read more about it in this link. 

https://www.gotquestions.org/stone-rebellious-children.html

Jesus then cites one of the core commandments about how someone should honor their father and mother.  

5 But you say that if anyone declares that what might have been used to help their father or mother is ‘devoted to God,’ 

"Some Jewish people of Jesus’ day had a way to get around the command to honor your father and mother. If they declared that all their possessions or savings were a gift to God that were especially dedicated to Him, they could then say that their resources were unavailable to help their parents." (Guzik)

Once again they are taking God's word and making it mean what they want it to mean for their own betterment.  Instead of honoring their parents by taking care of them, they were more worried about keeping the funds for themselves and then passing it off as being obedient to God.  You can see the height of their hypocrisy. 

6 they are not to ‘honor their father or mother’ with it. Thus you nullify the word of God for the sake of your tradition. 

When tradition comes in conflict with the Word of God, then the tradition needs to be thrown out.  We have seen this many times in the church, where traditions develop and if people are not anchored in God's Word, the tradition is seen as the same authority as the scriptures.  

7 You hypocrites! Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you:

Jesus doesn't mince words.  The word "hypocrite" comes from the Greek theater and it means to wear a mask.  It means to pretend to be something you aren't.  Jesus hates their hypocrisy but is not surprised by it, because the prophets had forewarned it. 

8 “‘These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. They worship me in vain; their teachings are merely human rules.’”

Note Isaiah's prophecy was directed at the Jews in his day but it had relevance to the Jews in Jesus' day.  God's Word is living and active, it is not a dead letter.  The truth of the bible continues to speak to every generation and never changes, though the specific application might change. 

"Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet's own interpretation of things." 2 Peter 1:20

Jesus states it quite succinctly when he says, "These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me."  What a great definition of hypocrisy. What we say does not match who we truly are.  Jesus would rather have them not worship him at all than to do it in this manner.  Jesus saw through external appearances and looked deep inside of their heart.  

This is again one of the roles of scripture as we read in Hebrews 4:12,  "For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart."

Since Jesus was the Word, he knew people's heart and knew whether they were mere "fakes".  You can fool some people in this world, but you will never fool God.  You are only kidding yourself.  

When you think about your times of worship, do you ever feel like you are saying one thing, but your heart is another place?  My guess we all do it to some extent, I know I do.  Why does God care about our hearts more than outward shows of religiousity?  Would you say your heart is far from him, or near to him?  Why or why not?  How would you know?  When is the last time you have spent time authentically worshipping God in a way your heart matched your words?  Do you think we have traditions in the church that have taken precedence over scripture?  What are they?