In Matthew chapter 15, the Pharisees and scribes travel 80 miles to talk to Jesus. Whatever was on their minds, it was a big deal! Traveling eighty miles in Jesus’ day was a multi-day trip—about four days on foot.
What could have been so pressing of a topic? Then 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.” (Matthew 15:1–2, ESV) Wow—travel 80 miles over four days to tell on someone for not washing their hands before they eat? The most pressing issue of the day, certainly!
The Pharisees and scribes noticed that Jesus’ disciples were breaking the rules. They were not breaking the law of Moses, which only required the priests to wash their hands before eating; they were breaking man-made religious rules that the Pharisees added to the law of Moses. In fact, these man-made religious rules had become more important than the law of Moses itself, so Jesus called the Pharisees hypocrites, for they were using their rules to get around the law of Moses. Jesus replied, “You hypocrites! Isaiah was right … for they teach man-made ideas as commands from God.’ For you ignore God’s law and substitute your own tradition.”… “You skillfully sidestep God’s law in order to hold on to your own tradition.” (Mark 7:6–9, NLT)
Such is the nature of the religious! They hold on to traditions of man-made rules at great cost, thinking that they are righteous and defending a righteous cause by doing so. But they are hypocrites. As believers, we must be on guard not to elevate tradition or tradition-influenced interpretation over Scripture and man-made rules over authentic relationships with Jesus. Cleaning up the outside of a person through religious tradition misses the point: Jesus in the heart of a person is what matters. With Jesus in the heart, righteousness comes forth from that person while living in an atmosphere of liberty! With religious tradition, there is nothing but endless work, bondage, fear, and, ultimately, hypocrisy.
Thank you for joining me as I read and journal chronologically through the Bible! This devotional reflection comes from Matthew 14; Mark 7.