EXPLORE THE TEXT

Broken Rules (Matt. 15:1-6)

Application Point:

Honor God’s laws above all other rules.

1 Then Jesus was approached by Pharisees and scribes from Jerusalem, who asked,
2 “Why do your disciples break the tradition of the elders?
For they don’t wash their hands when they eat.”
3 He answered them,
“Why do you break God’s commandment because of your tradition?
4 For God said:
Honor your father and your mother;
and, Whoever speaks evil of father or mother must be put to death.
5 But you say, ‘Whoever tells his father or mother,
“Whatever benefit you might have received from me is a gift committed to the temple,”
6 he does not have to honor his father.’
In this way, you have nullified the word of God because of your tradition.”

Context:

This encounter took place in Galilee, though the leaders had come from Jerusalem.
Share, to help identify Jesus’s opponents:

The Pharisees were the leading religious party in Israel
and were strict adherents to the law of Moses.
Even more radical was their personal interpretation and application of the law.
Their interpretation, or oral law as it was called,
took precedent over the law given by God to Moses.
Many of these Pharisees were also scribes who were learned scholars and copyists of the law.
As such, they joined the Pharisees in a constant scrutiny of every word and move of Jesus. (PSG, p. 20)

Scribes. Claim Ezra as the first scribe.
Handwrote copies of Scripture. Acted as lawyers and judges to execute the law.

High priest.
Descendents of the Maccabees, who fought against a liberal class of landowning elites that wanted to integrate Israel culture into Greek culture.
By the time of Christ, they had become an elite ruling class that tended toward secularism. Oral traditions,
commentary on the Scripture. Began during the time before the high priest.
Developed by the Pharisees, and considered as binding as Scripture.
By the time of Christ, scribes leaned strictly to the law, while Pharisees had a more progressive leaned towards oral tradition.

Sadducees (Hasidic Jews).
Leaned strictly to law. They did not believe in the supernatural. No afterlife, no evil or good spirits.
Rejected oral traditions.
Politically influential, but not popular with the people.

Pharisees (the separated).
Stood in the ancient traditions of the Scripture.
Was concerned about sanctification of life, through the joyous following of the law.
Tried to stay out of matters involving politics.
Questioned the authority of the high priests. Popular with the people.
Not as numerous as the Sadducees.
Taught resurrection, angels and demons and Satan.
Resurrection of the body, future rewards and punishment, and hope and a future Messiah.

Discuss:

Pack Item 10 (Handout: Traditions of the Elders).
briefly discuss the difference between man-made traditions and God’s Word.

Notes from the handout.

• handwashing does not appear as a command in Scripture.
• It was a tradition of man. Where did it come from?
• although laws had instructions, they were often vague about application.
• Pharisees took it upon themselves to expand on the laws.
• Jesus challenged their tradition to expose the conflict with honoring parents.

Share:

Jesus had little use for man-made rules,
so He pointed out the hypocrisy of His accusers.
The leaders were encouraging people to break God’s laws.

Ask:

• Why is it easy to confuse human rules with God’s commands? (PSG, p. 22)