Some Pharisees and teachers of religious law now arrived from Jerusalem to see Jesus. They asked him, “Why do your disciples disobey our age-old tradition? For they ignore our tradition of ceremonial hand washing before they eat.” Jesus replied, “And why do you, by your traditions, violate the direct commandments of God? For instance, God says, ‘Honor your father and mother,’ and ‘Anyone who speaks disrespectfully of father or mother must be put to death.’ But you say it is all right for people to say to their parents, ‘Sorry, I can’t help you. For I have vowed to give to God what I would have given to you.’ In this way, you say they don’t need to honor their parents. And so you cancel the word of God for the sake of your own tradition. You hypocrites! Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you, for he wrote, ‘These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. Their worship is a farce, for they teach man-made ideas as commands from God.’ ” Then Jesus called to the crowd to come and hear. “Listen,” he said, “and try to understand. It’s not what goes into your mouth that defiles you; you are defiled by the words that come out of your mouth.” Then the disciples came to him and asked, “Do you realize you offended the Pharisees by what you just said?” Jesus replied, “Every plant not planted by my heavenly Father will be uprooted, so ignore them. They are blind guides leading the blind, and if one blind person guides another, they will both fall into a ditch.” Then Peter said to Jesus, “Explain to us the parable that says people aren’t defiled by what they eat.” “Don’t you understand yet?” Jesus asked. “Anything you eat passes through the stomach and then goes into the sewer. But the words you speak come from the heart—that’s what defiles you. For from the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, all sexual immorality, theft, lying, and slander. These are what defile you. Eating with unwashed hands will never defile you.”
Matthew 15:1-20 NLT
Don't miss the point of God's word. The Pharisees had followed God’s law and added a few of their own. The rules about food were given to keep God’s people healthy and to set them apart. The Pharisees made more rules about food but missed the heart issue. Jesus came and fulfilled the old covenant; He inaugurated the new covenant, which is about a heart being set apart to the Lord. Christians often do the same thing today, adding rules to God’s word but missing the transformative work of God’s Spirit. This doesn’t mean we can ignore the Bible (that would still be making up our own personal rules); we follow God’s word through a relationship with Jesus. He is working to change our wills so that we want what He wants, removing the desire for hate, sexual sin, stealing, lying, slander, and more. These are the deeper sins of the human heart, and they can only be removed through a relationship with Jesus. The Pharisees followed God’s rules but added many of their own. It is not about food or washing your hands. It is about what is happening in your heart: a relationship with the Father that changes your character. Jesus said your actions come from your heart, and those actions can make you unclean. Our choices come from our character. Rules are helpful, like guardrails on the road, but they are no substitute for a genuine relationship with Jesus. If we walk with Jesus, we will fulfill the rules and more. When you are walking with your Friend, you don’t need to focus on the guardrails.
How can you focus more on a relationship with Jesus than the rules? Our character (heart) includes both intentions and actions. Where do you struggle more—with your inner desires or your actions?
