Jesus is on a bit of a tirade at the start of Matthew chapter 15. He has got to be pretty sick of the Pharisees! But when he quotes from Isaiah to them in verses 8 and 9, I wonder if we fall into this trap too, and how frustrated he might feel with us at times.
8 “‘These people honor me with their lips,
but their hearts are far from me.
9 They worship me in vain;
their teachings are merely human rules.’”
I have been doing some reading on church history earlier this year, and it seems this was some of the problem that started the reformation back in the 1500s. Some brave individuals stood up to the churches that led culture at the time and said that people were no longer following the word of God, but rather they were just following the church’s rules which were made by people, often for political reasons.
Are we still doing this? Teaching things that are merely human rules rather than focusing on God?
While we are to follow the laws of the land that were created by people (as long as they don’t contradict God’s laws), we should not be so focused in our churches on following a set of rules of how a worship service should be set up, or the exact number of times per year you should have communion that we miss out on looking at the heart. There is a difference between Jesus’ teachings and a tradition set up in a church.
Traditions can be good, but when we focus so much on them that we don’t pay attention to the results of what is being done or said, they have no purpose. If someone new comes in from another church and they ask “why are you doing things this way?” people tend to get defensive even when the question is asked with a genuine desire to understand rather than to criticize. The truth is, we should be able to answer that question, or if we can’t, consider the practice to determine if what we are doing does still make sense, or if it has become an outdated tradition that could be changed to better serve people.
After Jesus speaks, the disciples come out like “hey, did you know what you said upset the Pharisees?” Jesus doesn’t care if they were offended by what he said. He spoke the truth and wants people to realize the meaning and intent of things. Yes, washing your hands before you eat is a good practice. You are less likely to consume bacteria that way. But not doing that doesn’t defile you spiritually. The things that come out of your mouth (which come from your heart) do – evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander.
~Stephanie Fletcher