Then
Pharisees and scribes came to Jesus from Jerusalem, saying, “Why do your disciples disobey the tradition of the elders? For they don’t wash their hands when they eat bread.” He answered them, “Why do you also disobey the commandment of God because of your tradition? For God commanded, ‘Honor your father and your mother,’ and, ‘He who speaks evil of father or mother, let him be put to death.’ But you say, ‘Whoever may tell his father or his mother, “Whatever help you might otherwise have gotten from me is a gift devoted to God,” he shall not honor his father or mother.’
Matthew 15:1-5
Matthew 14 [34.] When they had crossed over, they came to the land of Gennesaret. When the people of that place recognized him, they sent into all that surrounding region, and brought to him all who were sick, and they begged him that they might just touch the fringe of his garment. As many as touched it were made whole.
Matthew 15 [1.] Then Pharisees and scribes came to Jesus from Jerusalem, saying, “Why do your disciples disobey the tradition of the elders? For they don’t wash their hands when they eat bread.”
Matthew 15 [3.] He answered them, “Why do you also disobey the commandment of God because of your tradition? For God commanded, ‘Honor your father and your mother,’ and, ‘He who speaks evil of father or mother, let him be put to death.’ But you say, ‘Whoever may tell his father or his mother, “Whatever help you might otherwise have gotten from me is a gift devoted to God,” he shall not honor his father or mother.’ You have made the commandment of God void because of your tradition. You hypocrites! Well did Isaiah prophesy of you, saying,
Matthew 15 [8.] ‘These people draw near to me with their mouth,
and honor me with their lips;
but their heart is far from me.
And in vain do they worship me,
teaching as doctrine rules made by men.’”
Meaning:
While ordinary people in Gennesaret were bringing their sick to Jesus and touching the fringe of his garment (Matthew 14:34-36), a delegation of religious experts arrived from Jerusalem. They had not come to be healed or taught, but to find fault. Their complaint was about hand washing; Jesus’ answer went to the heart of the matter: the difference between the commandment of God and the traditions of men.
- “Pharisees and scribes came to Jesus from Jerusalem”
Jerusalem was the center of religious authority. That these men came all the way to Galilee shows that the leaders were watching Jesus closely. The Pharisees were a movement devoted to careful observance of the Law, and the scribes were the experts who copied, studied and taught it. Mark describes the same visit (Mark 7:1-5).
- “Why do your disciples disobey the tradition of the elders?”
The “tradition of the elders” was a large body of oral teaching that had grown up around the Law of Moses. Its purpose was to protect the Law by building a fence around it, but over time the fence itself was treated as if it were the Law. Mark explains for his readers that “the Pharisees and all the Jews, don’t eat unless they wash their hands and forearms, holding to the tradition of the elders” (Mark 7:3). This was not about hygiene, but ritual purity. The Law required washings for priests serving at the altar, but it did not require every Israelite to wash in this way before ordinary meals.
- “Why do you also disobey the commandment of God because of your tradition?”
Jesus answered their question with a question. They accused the disciples of breaking a human tradition; he showed that they were breaking a divine command. He quoted the fifth commandment, “Honor your father and your mother” (Exodus 20:12; Deuteronomy 5:16), and the law that protected it: “Anyone who curses his father or his mother shall surely be put to death” (Exodus 21:17; Leviticus 20:9). In the Bible, to honor parents includes caring for them in old age. The penalty in the second law shows how seriously God took the relationship.
- “It is a gift devoted to God”
Jesus then exposed one of their traditions. A son could declare that the money or goods that might have supported his parents were “a gift devoted to God”. Mark gives the Hebrew word, “Corban”, and says that after such a vow “you no longer allow him to do anything for his father or his mother” (Mark 7:11-12). The property was not necessarily given to the temple at once; it was simply withdrawn from the parents. What sounded like devotion became a way to escape a clear duty. Jesus goes on to say, “You have made the commandment of God void because of your tradition” (Matthew 15:6).
The Significance of Matthew 15:1-5
- God’s word above human rules
Traditions can be helpful, but they must never take the place of God’s commands. Paul warned, “Be careful that you don’t let anyone rob you through his philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men” (Colossians 2:8). Every custom must be tested by Scripture.
- Honoring parents in practice
Jesus took the duty to care for parents seriously. The New Testament says, “But if anyone doesn’t provide for his own, and especially his own household, he has denied the faith” (1 Timothy 5:8). Religious activity can never excuse neglect of family.
- Looking at the heart
The Pharisees noticed unwashed hands but ignored hard hearts. God cares less about outward ritual than about obedience and love.
Cross-References:
Exodus 20:12: "Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long in the land which Yahweh your God gives you." The commandment Jesus quoted.
Mark 7:13: "making void the word of God by your tradition, which you have handed down." Mark’s parallel account.
Colossians 2:8: "after the tradition of men, after the elements of the world, and not after Christ." A warning against human tradition.
Conclusion: Pharisees and scribes from Jerusalem accused Jesus’ disciples of breaking the tradition of the elders by eating with unwashed hands. Jesus replied that they were breaking the commandment of God by their tradition, allowing a son to call his support for his parents “a gift devoted to God” and so leave them without help. The passage teaches us to place God’s word above human rules and to honor our parents in practical love.
PIB Scriptures are derived from the World English Bible