Mateus 15

Mateus 15

Gill - R. Eleazer, whoever despiseth washing of hands, shall be rooted out of the world.” Cathers - It’s not wrong to have traditions. Traditions can be a good thing. But when our traditions start to contradict what God clearly says in His Word, we’re heading for trouble. One prescription for washing - “One was to take one and a half eggshells of water and pour it over his hands as they were pressed together uprightly, letting the water drip only to his wrists and no further. Then, he would flip his hands over, pointing them downward while yet another one-and-a-half eggshells of water was poured over them. Finally, he was to rub his right fist with his left palm, then his left fist with his right palm. This procedure was followed not only before every meal, but between each course of every meal." (from Jon Courson) MacArthur on "Traditions of the Elders": "In their minds the tradition of the elders was superior to Scripture, in the sense that it was the only reliable interpretation of God’s Word. Just as Roman Catholics look to church dogma to discover what Scripture “really means,” most Jews of Jesus’ day looked to the tradition of the elders. In much the same way, many Protestants give more authority to the pronouncements of their denomination than to the Bible. The Talmud, which is the repository of Jewish tradition, teaches that God gave the oral law to Moses and then told Moses to pass it on to great men of Israel. These men were then to do three things with the law they had received. First, they were to deliberate on it and properly apply it. Second, they were to train disciples in order that the next generation would have teachers of the law. Third, they were to build a wall around the law in order to protect it. Because their hearts were not right with God, the rabbis’ wall-building “protection” of His law actually undermined and contradicted it. Their purpose was not to lead the people to worship and serve God from pure hearts made clean by Him, but to worship and serve Him by human means and from unchanged hearts. To provide the means for superficially keeping God’s commandments, regulation after regulation and ceremony after ceremony were added, until God’s own Word was utterly hidden behind the wall of tradition. Instead of protecting. God’s Word, the tradition obscured and perverted it. When the northern kingdom of Israel and then the southern kingdom of Judah were taken into captivity, the Jewish people felt as if God had abandoned them. The real reason for their captivity, of course, was that they had abandoned Him. They were suffering God’s judgment, just as Isaiah, Jeremiah, and other prophets had repeatedly and vividly warned they would. While the Jews were in exile, scribes (the first of whom was Ezra) began to assemble and copy the various books of Scripture written to that time. They also began to make comments on various passages that seemed unclear; and gradually a larger and larger accumulation of interpretations was developed until there was more interpretation than Scripture. The distinction between Scripture and the traditions based on interpretations of Scripture gradually became less and less distinct, and before long tradition was more familiar and more revered than God’s own Word. By Jesus’ day, the tradition of the elders had for many years supplanted Scripture as the supreme religious authority in the minds of Jewish leaders and of most of the people. The traditions even affirmed that “the words of scribes are more lovely than the words of the law,” and it became a greater offense in Judaism to transgress the teaching of some rabbi such as the revered Hillel than to transgress the teaching of Scripture. In the thinking of the Pharisees and scribes who approached Jesus on this occasion, it was therefore an extremely serious matter that His disciples would transgress the tradition of the elders. Jesus and His disciples disregarded all the rabbinical traditions, and the particular infraction cited here was simply representative of many others that could have been mentioned. " (MNTC-Matthew) Barclay describes how absurd rules of clean and unclean could be - This is not only a Jewish idea; it occurs in other religions. To a high-caste Indian anyone not belonging to his own caste is unclean; if that person becomes a Christian, he is still more seriously unclean. Premanand tells us what happened to himself. He became a Christian; his family ejected him. Sometimes he used to come back to see his mother, who was broken-hearted at what she considered his apostasy, but still loved him dearly. Premanand says: "As soon as my father came to know that I was visiting my mother in the daytime while he was away at the office, he ordered the door-keeper, a stalwart up-country man, Ram Rup ... not to allow me to enter the house." Ram Rup was persuaded to slacken his vigilance. "At last my mother won over Ram Rup, the door-keeper, and I was allowed to enter her presence. The prejudice was so great that even the menial Hindu servants of the house would not wash the plates on which I was fed by my mother. Sometimes my aunt would purify the place and the seat on which I had sat by sprinkling Ganges water, or water mixed with cow dung." Premanand was unclean, and everything he touched became unclean. (Commentary) Knox Chamblin gives some helpful background on the traditions, oral law, etc..."THE TRADITION OF THE ELDERS." For light on this phrase, we turn to Pirke Aboth ("Chapters of the Fathers"), one of 63 tractates in the Mishnah. P.A. is mostly "a selection of maxims on conduct and sayings in praise of the Law handed down in the names of 60 teachers of the Law who lived between 300 B.C. and A.D. 200 from the time of Simeon the Just to Rabbi Judah the Patriarch, the editor of the Mishnah" (H. Danby, The Mishnah, 446, n. 1). Says P.A. 1:1, "Moses received the Law from Sinai and committed it to Joshua, and Joshua to the elders, and the elders to the Prophets; and the Prophets committed it to the men of the Great Synagogue. They said three things: Be deliberate in judgment, raise up many disciples, and make a fence around the Law." The Concept of Torah in P.A. 1:1. "The Law (Torah) throughout post-biblical Jewish religious literature has the threefold connotation of (a) the Pentateuch, the 'Written Law'; (b) the 'traditions of the elders' - rules of Jewish life and religion which in the course of centuries had come to possess a validity and sanctity equal to that of the Written Law and which, as the 'Oral Law,' were deemed, equally with the Written Law, to be of divine origin and therefore consonant with and, for the most part, deducible from the Written Law; and (c) the study of the Law in its twofold aspect [of Oral and Written Law]" (Danby, Mishnah, 446, n. 2). The Oral Law as Revelation. According to P.A. 1:1, the oral law is not an addition to God's Law, but as an integral part of that Law. The oral law is considered to be revelation from God. (The same point was made by Rabbi Stephen Engel in one of Knox Chamblin's classes at RTS, May 1993.) Cf. H. L. Strack, Introduction to the Talmud and Midrash, 10: "It is maintained by orthodox Jewish scholars that from the very beginning, i.e. from the time of the giving of the Law on mount Sinai, there had been in existence an oral law, carried on traditionally." Write G. H. C. Macgregor and A.C. Purdy: "What might have seemed new in the succeeding centuries was only apparently so, when viewed in the light of the written code, but actually it was as old as the Pentateuch itself. For the revelation was embodied in part in writing, and in part it was transmitted orally from generation to generation in unbroken succession down to the schools of the Law in which Tradition was defined, formulated, and systematized" (Jew and Greek, 75). The Oral Law as Application. For the orthodox rabbis the Oral Law was a necessary application of the written law. This is (so they argued) precisely what the OT prophets did - they "repeated, explained, emphasized, and applied (the) revelation, but they added nothing new" (ibid.). Allegiance to the Law. The "fence around the law" (P.A. 1:1) consisted of safeguards against infringements of the Law. "The famous Rabbinic 'fence around the Law' was intended to block you at the furthest possible distance from any overt transgression" (R. A. Stewart, Rabbinic Theology, 5). "Things which by the letter of the law must be completed before morning, by rabbinical rule must be done before midnight, 'to keep a man far removed from transgression' (G. F. Moore, Judaism, 1:33, quoting from the Mishnah). Cf. Berakoth 1:1 (in the Mishnah): "Why then have the Sages said: Until midnight? To keep a man from transgression." Such enactments were viewed not as new rulings, but as stricter applications of existing rulings. Preservation of the Law. Mishnah, from the Hebrew shanah ("to repeat") "means 'that which is to be learned by repetition,' therefore by memory. The further implication is that the Mishnah [early 3rd c. A.D.] contains materials which had been memorized and not written down for a very long time" (Jacob Neusner, Invitation to the Talmud (1st ed., 35). The Weight of the Tradition. Recurring in P.A. 1 are the words "received [the Law] from [him or] them." "The primary purpose of this collection of maxims is to demonstrate the continuity and hence the weight of tradition" (Strack, Introduction, 53). Such a view of the tradition was vital for maintaining Jewish life and thought. This chain of tradition comes right down to Gamaliel, grandson (or son) of Hillel (P.A. 1:16), teacher of Saul of Tarsus. In this light, cf. Gal 1:14, "I was...extremely zealous for the traditions of my fathers [ton patrikon mou paradoseon]." "The Great Synagogue." P.A. 1:1. This was a general assembly of Jewish leaders, "a body of 120 elders, including many prophets, who came up from exile with Ezra" (Danby, Mishnah, 446, n. 5). Cf. Ezra 6:14; 10:14. It was naturally Ezra who presided over the body (Moore, Judaism, 1: 31). Their purpose was not innovation but preservation; they were viewed not as creators of law but as restorers of law. The G. S. was modelled on what Neh 8 records about Ezra's reading of the Law, together with the accompanying explanation and applications. "They saw that prophecy had come to an end and that restraint was lacking; therefore they made many new rules and restrictions for the better observance of the Law" (Danby, 446, n. 5). The work of Ezra and the G. S. proved to be a base in its own right, different from the base at Sinai but nonetheless a vitally important watershed so far as the hallowing and the preserving of the tradition were concerned. Cf. the function of the Westminster Assembly in Presbyterian history: Westminster was itself based on Scripture, but itself came to be treated as a base for developing tradition. Related Resources: Alfred Edersheim - The Cavils of the Pharisees Concerning Purification, and the Teaching of the Lord Concerning Purity - the Traditions Concerning Hand-Washing' and Vows Handwashing in Judaism Ritual Handwashing Easton's Bible Dictionary Tradition Fausset Bible Dictionary Tradition Holman Bible Dictionary Tradition Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible Tradition Hastings' Dictionary of the NT Tradition Tradition (2) International Standard Bible Encyclopedia Tradition McClintock and Strong's Bible Encyclopedia Tradition The Jewish Encyclopedia Traditions 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? NET Matthew 15:3 He answered them, "And why do you disobey the commandment of God because of your tradition? NLT Matthew 15:3 Jesus replied, "And why do you, by your traditions, violate the direct commandments of God? ESV Matthew 15:3 He answered them, "And why do you break the commandment of God for the sake of your tradition? NIV Matthew 15:3 Jesus replied, "And why do you break the command of God for the sake of your tradition? GNT Matthew 15:3 ὁ δὲ ἀποκριθεὶς εἶπεν αὐτοῖς, Διὰ τί καὶ ὑμεῖς παραβαίνετε τὴν ἐντολὴν τοῦ θεοῦ διὰ τὴν παράδοσιν ὑμῶν; KJV Matthew 15:3 But he answered and said unto them, Why do ye also transgress the commandment of God by your tradition? Why : Mt 7:3-5 Mk 7:6-8,13 Col 2:8,23 Titus 1:14 Matthew 15 Resources - Multiple Sermons and Commentaries STRIKING CONTRAST: MAN MADE VS GOD GIVEN And He answered - Answered is apokrinomai which is a somewhat formal response or reaction to a question and Hebraistically was used a formula to control the flow of discourse. In this case Jesus was clearly in control of the flow of the discourse! Notice the root of apokrinomai is krino which means to judge and so the idea of the verb is to make a distinction, in this case between what the religious leaders thought was truth (traditions of men) and what really is truth (God's Word). Jesus would frequently respond to questions addressed to Himself with a question of His own! So here we see Jesus immediately go on the offensive! Notice that He responds with quotes from Moses and a quote from Isaiah. How could the Pharisees argue His use of the Law and the Prophets? And said to them, "Why do you yourselves transgress the commandment of God - Transgress is in the present tense, thus Jesus is justifiably accusing the "religionists" of continually transgressing the infallible truth of God's Word in favor of men's fallible words! Imagine the anger of these leaders beginning to rise up against Jesus as He asks this direct question. Although it is in the form of a question, it clearly is an accusation against these religious bigots. THOUGHT - Keeping the commandments did not make the Jews righteous, but if the laws are kept out of love & reverence for the Lord and from the heart (Lk 1:6, 17 Lk 2:25), not out of ritualistic obedience, then this "keeping of the commandments" is evidence of a righteousness from God in that individual (cp Ro 3:21,22) Transgress (break)(3845) see above for parabaino for - Term of explanation. Jesus explains why they transgress God's truth. The sake of your tradition - Note your tradition, not "God's tradition!" "Note the word "your." The Lord was denying their claim that Jewish tradition went back to Moses when He bluntly called it their tradition." (Phillips) These legalistic religious leaders followed man-made rules many of which were utterly ridiculous but all of which made obedience a burden instead of a blessing. It is fascinating that these man-made rules were far more difficult and detailed than God's rules! (See MacArthur's description of some of the outlandish rules related to the Sabbath). If the Pharisees' were alive today, their theme song would likely be Tevye's "Tradition" in Fiddler on the Roof, a good song but a bad practice. THOUGHT - In their self deception in their zealous adherence to men's traditions the scribes and Pharisees thought they were worshipping God by keeping all of the rules, when in fact they were thoroughly displeasing to God! That's what "religion" without relationship will do. And we can fall into the same trap today, thinking if we go to church on Sunday, that is what God wants us to do. In part that may be true but it is so easy to come to church and miss Jesus by a mile, because we fall into the deception that our "tradition" (of being in church every Sunday) will make us acceptable to God. The basic principle of 1 Sa 15:22 still applies "Has the LORD as much delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices As in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, And to heed than the fat of rams." God wants our hearts. David affirms this principle writing "The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; A broken and a contrite heart, O God, You will not despise." (Ps 51:17+) The Pharisees were not broken in spirit nor contrite in heart, but were prideful in spirit and heart and that is why they failed to recognize the Messiah of Israel! Beware of religious traditions (rituals)! Tradition (3862) see note above on paradosis