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Matthew 15:1-20 (Clean and unclean)

INTRODUCTION: Our message series is called Miracles and Controversy.” So far, we have mostly been looking at miracles, but today we come to a section dealing with controversy. The controversy here is between the religious leaders and Jesus, and it has to do with traditions and what makes a person clean or unclean in God’s eyes. This is a fairly long passage of Scripture so I am not going to read it through at the beginning as we normally do, but this morning we will read it section by section as we go. (Pray)

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Tradition! There are all sorts of traditions in life. We have family traditions, holiday traditions, community traditions. And by and large traditions are a good thing. Traditions serve a useful function. They give us a sense of connection with others and continuity with our past. And that’s a good thing.

This morning we are going to be talking specifically about church or religious traditions. And once again, there is nothing wrong with having traditions in the church. They can be a good thing, but when it comes to religious traditions, there are some things you need to watch out for. And that’s what Jesus warns us about in today’s passage.

In this passage the Pharisees approach Jesus because his disciples are breaking one of their traditions about washing your hands before eating. And Jesus uses this opportunity first to give some instruction about traditions in general, and then to address the particular concern of the Pharisees about what makes a person clean or unclean before God.

I. Jesus’ instruction about traditions (1-9)

We will look at both sets of instructions this morning, but let’s begin with Jesus’ instruction about traditions.

   A. Do not judge other people by your traditions (1-2)
      – Exodus 30:17-21, 40:12; 2 Chronicles 4:6

And the first thing we learn about traditions from this passage is this: Do not judge other people by your traditions. Look at verses 1-2:

Then some Pharisees and teachers of the law came to Jesus from Jerusalem and asked, 2 “Why do your disciples break the tradition of the elders? They don’t wash their hands before they eat!” (Matthew 15:1-2)

Now it is important to understand what the Pharisees are talking about here. The “hand washing” in this passage is different from what you and I do when we wash our hands before we eat. When we wash our hands, we do it for sanitary reasons. We don’t want to touch our food with dirty hands that may be carrying germs or bacteria. And let’s face it. We’ve probably washed our hands more in the year 2020 than any year in our lives!

But for the Jews in Jesus’ time, this was not so much a matter of personal hygiene as of ceremony. They performed a ceremonial washing before eating, which may have involved dipping their hands and arms into water all the way up to the elbow.

The Pharisees call this “the tradition of the elders.” So, who were these elders? These were the leaders, respected men in the community, including such people as the scribes and the Pharisees and the synagogue rulers. And the tradition of the elders was a set of oral interpretations of the law that was passed down from one generation to the next.

It is important to understand that these traditions were not Scripture, but rather various applications of Scripture as interpreted by the elders. For example, in the Bible only the priests were required to perform ceremonial washings (Exodus 30:17-21, 40:12; 2 Chronicles 4:6), but over time the elders began to apply these rules to the people as well. And so, by the time of Jesus this was the common practice for all the Jews.

The problem arose when the Pharisees and teachers of the law saw Jesus’ disciples eating with unwashed hands. And so, they bring their complaint to Jesus. What is the problem here? The Jewish leaders are judging the disciples according to tradition rather than Scripture. And although there is nothing wrong with having certain traditions, you should not judge other people by your traditions.

Every church and every family and every community has traditions. We have certain traditions here at our church. For example, we observe communion on the first Sunday of the month. We sing both contemporary praise music and hymns. We have a time of coffee and refreshments between the services. Or at least we did before Covid, and when Covid is over I am sure we will do it again. There is nothing wrong with us doing any of these things, but it would be wrong if we judged other people because they did things differently.

There are some traditions or practices that are causing a lot of stir in churches today. Some of the hot-button issues include worship style, dress, the use of media, and the number and format of services during the week.

There is a shift taking place in church culture, and we need to be careful how we approach both old and new practices in the church. Younger people need to respect some of the older traditions, while older people need to open up and trust some of the newer practices. Just because we did it one way in the past, doesn’t mean that’s the best way to do it today.

For example, John Calvin wore a hat while preaching. Why? Because the building was drafty and had pigeons. That’s a good reason to wear a hat! But it would be silly for someone to say because Calvin wore a hat so should everyone else. There are good reasons to adopt some new traditions, there are good reasons to hold on to some older traditions, and there are good reasons to let go of some other traditions altogether.

One of the wonderful things about the gospel is that the gospel is for all people in all cultures everywhere. When we bring the gospel to a new people group in an unreached part of the world, we do not need to teach them Western culture along with the gospel. We do not need to teach them our language or our music forms. Rather, we share the gospel with them in their own language, and then we allow the gospel to penetrate and shape their culture accordingly. In this way they will learn to praise God in their own language. They will write their own songs and adopt their own worship traditions that are appropriate to their culture.

So, back to our passage, there was nothing wrong with the Pharisees washing their hands before eating. There is nothing wrong with a ceremonial cleansing. But the Pharisees were wrong to judge the disciples for not keeping a tradition. So, that’s our first principle this morning. Do not judge other people by your traditions.

   B. Do not hold your traditions as sacred (3-9)

A second important principle about traditions is this: Do not hold your traditions as sacred. In other words, not only should we not hold other people to our traditions, but we should hold our own traditions loosely as well. Sometimes traditions outlive their usefulness. Sometimes a tradition that worked just fine in the past can become a snare in the present. So, what are some of the dangers of holding our traditions as sacred?

      1) You are in danger of putting tradition above God’s word (3-6)
         – Exodus 20:12, 21:17

Well for one, you are in danger of putting your tradition above God’s word. Look at Jesus’ response to the Pharisees in verses 3-6:

Jesus replied, “And why do you break the command of God for the sake of your tradition? 4 For God said, ‘Honor your father and mother’ and ‘Anyone who curses his father or mother must be put to death.’ 5 But you say that if a man says to his father or mother, ‘Whatever help you might otherwise have received from me is a gift devoted to God,’ 6 he is not to ‘honor his father’ with it. Thus you nullify the word of God for the sake of your tradition.” (Matthew 15:3-6)

The Pharisees had asked Jesus, “Why do your disciples break the tradition of the elders?” (Matthew 15:1) Jesus turns that around and asks the Pharisees, “Why do you break the command of God for the sake of your tradition?” (Matthew 15:3) Which is more important – the tradition of the elders or God’s commands? You see, when you hold your traditions as sacred, you are in danger of putting your tradition above God’s word, which is exactly what the Pharisees were doing.

Jesus gives them an example. God says, “Honor your father and mother” in Exodus 20:12, and “Anyone who curses his father or mother must be put to death” in Exodus 21:17. Those are some pretty clear commands of Scripture. The first one comes from the Ten Commandments, and the second one was one of the national laws of Israel that demonstrated the seriousness of obeying the first law.

Jesus then contrasts what God says with what the Pharisees say. Do you see the contrast between verses 4 and 5? Jesus tells the Pharisees, “God said this, but you say that.” In other words, what the Pharisees were saying contradicts what God says.

The Pharisees were saying that it was okay for a person to tell his parents: “Whatever help you might otherwise have received from me is a gift devoted to God.” This was a tradition or practice known as “Corban.” A gift that was “Corban” was dedicated to God by an irrevocable vow. It was put under a “ban” so that it could not be used for any other purpose. The Pharisees were allowing people to put certain gifts under “Corban” as a way of shirking their responsibility to their parents. So, here is an example where a tradition was in direct contradiction to the word of God, but the Pharisees were going with the tradition rather than Scripture.

Once again, traditions are fine, but we need to be careful that we never elevate our traditions to the level of God’s word. And we need to watch out that our traditions never take the place of God’s commands. It is all too easy to take our man-made rules and put them in competition with what God tells us in his word.

      2) You are in danger of hypocritical and vain worship (7-9)
         – Isaiah 29:13

And that leads us to the second danger of holding our traditions as sacred. You are in danger of participating in hypocritical and vain worship. Look at what Jesus says in verses 7-9. He tells the Pharisees:

“You hypocrites! Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you: 8 ‘These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. 9 They worship me in vain; their teachings are but rules taught by men.’” (Matthew 15:7-9)

Jesus quotes from the prophet Isaiah here and tells the Pharisees that Isaiah was talking about them. “Look Ma, I’m in the Bible!” Well, that’s not always a good thing!

Jesus uses some strong words here for the Pharisees. He calls them hypocrites. Here they were busy washing their hands before eating and observing all sorts of rituals and traditions, but they weren’t right with God in their hearts. Everything looked good on the outside, but there were deep spiritual problems within. They were worshiping God in vain because their teachings were merely rules taught by men. When you hold your traditions as sacred, you are in danger of hypocritical and vain worship.

So, where is your heart in relation to God today? Are you guilty of honoring God with your lips while your heart is far away from him? The traditions and customs and forms of worship are only that – they are just traditions and customs and forms. And when you neglect your heart relationship with God and rely on the outward traditions and forms instead, you put yourself in spiritual danger.

Christian novelist George Macdonald once wrote: “There is nothing so deadening to the divine (that is, the influence of God’s Holy Spirit in your life) as an habitual dealing with the outsides of holy things.” (George MacDonald: An Anthology; p. 113) God doesn’t want you just to go through the motions. He wants your heartfelt worship, repentance, obedience and prayer.

So, those are Jesus’ instructions about traditions. You should not judge other people by your traditions, and you should not hold your traditions as sacred. God’s commands always come before man-made rules and regulations.

II. Jesus’ instruction about spiritual uncleanness (10-20)

Next, Jesus moves on to the specific concern of the Pharisees, and he gives us instruction about spiritual uncleanness. And in these next verses, Jesus shows that spiritual uncleanness comes from within a person, not from without. And here he makes two important statements.

   A. Nothing that enters you from the outside can make you unclean (10-14)

First, nothing that enters you from the outside can make you unclean. Look at verses 10-11:

Jesus called the crowd to him and said, “Listen and understand. 11 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 15:10-11)

The Pharisees were concerned about hand washing because they wanted to be clean before God. But Jesus says quite plainly, nothing that enters you from the outside can make you unclean. So, their ceremonial washing was not necessary. It’s not what goes into you from the outside that makes you unclean. It’s what comes out of you.

Well, the Pharisees are not happy with this teaching, and Jesus’ disciples come and tell him so. Look at verses 12-14:

Then the disciples came to him and asked, “Do you know that the Pharisees were offended when they heard this?” 13 He replied, “Every plant that my heavenly Father has not planted will be pulled up by the roots. 14 Leave them; they are blind guides. If a blind man leads a blind man, both will fall into a pit.” (Matthew 15:12-14)

The disciples tell Jesus about the Pharisees, and Jesus responds with two brief parables. First, he uses the illustration of a plant. “Every plant that my heavenly Father has not planted will be pulled up by the roots.” (Matthew 15:13) The Pharisees had substituted their traditions for the word of God, and anytime you abandon the word of God, you are no longer speaking for God but for yourself. God’s word endures forever. Therefore, those who abandon God’s word will be like a plant pulled up by the roots. This is a picture of final judgment, because a plant pulled up by the roots will never grow again.

Jesus also uses the illustration of the blind guide. He says: “Leave them; they are blind guides. If a blind man leads a blind man, both will fall into a pit.” (Matthew 15:14) The disciples are worried about the Pharisees’ reaction, but Jesus says to ignore them. They have abandoned the light of God’s word, and so they are blind guides. The blind guide not only falls into the pit himself, but whoever follows him falls into the pit right behind him. Jesus says to leave them alone.

So, what is Jesus’ first instruction about spiritual uncleanness? Nothing that enters you from the outside can make you unclean. The Pharisees objected to this because they were holding on to their traditions rather than the word of God.

   B. The evil that comes out of your heart makes you unclean (15-20)
      – Mark 7:21-22

And then Jesus’ second instruction about spiritual uncleanness is this. Nothing that enters you from the outside can make you unclean. Rather, it is the evil that comes out of your heart that makes you unclean. Look at verses 15-18:

Peter said, “Explain the parable to us.” 16 “Are you still so dull?” Jesus asked them. 17 “Don’t you see that whatever enters the mouth goes into the stomach and then out of the body? 18 But the things that come out of the mouth come from the heart, and these make a man ‘unclean.’” (Matthew 15:15-18)

When Peter asks Jesus to explain the parable to them, he’s not talking about the two parables Jesus just told them about the Pharisees. He’s asking about what Jesus said earlier in verse 11: “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) Peter understands it on a physical level, but now he wants Jesus to explain the spiritual meaning behind the illustration.

And so, Jesus explains that it is not food that makes you clean or unclean before God. Any foods you eat go straight into the stomach and then leave the body. Food is physical. But being clean before God is not a physical matter. It is a spiritual matter. It is a matter of the heart. And that’s why it is the things that come out of the mouth that make a person unclean. The things that come out of the mouth come from the heart, and it is these things that make you spiritually unclean.

And then Jesus gives us a list of the types of things that come from the heart that can make you unclean before God. Look at verses 19-20:

“For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander. 20 These are what make a man ‘unclean’; but eating with unwashed hands does not make him ‘unclean.’” (Matthew 15:19-20)

This is what we call a vice list. There are a number of vice lists in the New Testament, but this is the only one we find in the gospels (other than the parallel passage in Mark 7:21-22). Whenever you see a vice list in the Bible, you are supposed to stop and take inventory. So, let’s take a moment. Let’s stop and look. Ask yourself. “Which of these is a problem in my life right now? Where am I falling short? Where do I need God’s help to grow as a Christian?” Whenever you see a vice list in Scripture, take a good look at the list, take a good look at yourself, and then take inventory of your life.

I won’t take the time to go through each vice listed here. You can see them. Most of them are self-explanatory. But Jesus’ point is this. Jesus says that spiritual uncleanness is neither physical nor ceremonial. Rather, spiritual uncleanness is moral. Sin does not come from external things but originates within the human heart.

I like the way one preacher puts it. “Every sin is an inside job.” (Alistair Begg; https://www.truthforlife.org/broadcasts/2021/01/30/behaving-part-2-of-2-/) Every sin you commit begins in your own heart.
Nothing that enters you from the outside can make you unclean. Rather it is the evil that comes out of your heart that makes you unclean. We are all sinners in need of a Savior. We do not need physical or ceremonial cleansing. We need spiritual cleansing.

III. How do you become spiritually clean before God?

So, what is the solution? How do you become spiritually clean before God? I want to share two things in closing here.

   A. You need an initial cleansing (salvation)
      – Titus 3:5

First of all, you need an initial cleansing. Spiritual cleansing begins with what Scripture calls the washing of rebirth. You must be born again. You must receive new life in Christ. Titus 3:5 says that “[God] saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit.” (Titus 3:5) When you put your faith in Christ, your sins are forgiven and God gives you his Holy Spirit, to wash your sins away and to make you clean in his sight. Spiritual cleansing begins with the washing of rebirth.

   B. You need continual cleansing (confession)
      – 1 John 1:9

Then, after this initial cleansing, you need continual cleansing. And this continual cleansing takes place as you continually confess your sins to God. 1 John 1:9 says, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us (or “cleanse” us) from all unrighteousness.” (1 John 1:9)

Unconfessed sin will harden your heart and keep you away from God. You need to take constant inventory of your life and confess sin to God every day. Every day you need to ask, “God, what in my life is displeasing to you? Where do I need to change?” Use the vice lists of Scripture if you need to. Confess your sin to God, and then make a conscious decision to turn away from that sin. Do what you need to do to make things right, which often means apologizing to other people or making some type of restitution. Confess your sin to God every day and allow God continually to cleanse your heart.

Now it is best to keep short accounts with God and confess your sins to him throughout the day as soon as you have sinned. That’s like washing your hands throughout the day. But it’s also good to take a “spiritual shower” each night before you go to sleep. When you lie in bed at night, stop and think about your day, confess any known sin to God, and then go to sleep with a clean heart.

CONCLUSION: The Pharisees were so wrapped up in their traditions, they were missing out on a heart relationship with God. Don’t just go through the motions of being a Christian. Give your heart to Jesus, and then give it to him again every day. There is nothing in this world that compares with knowing God and knowing God’s forgiveness in your life. There is nothing better than being clean before God. And that only comes through trusting Christ.

© Ray Fowler

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