In the Bible

Faith and Tradition

Matthew 15: 1-20

  1 Then some Pharisees and scribes came to Jesus from Jerusalem and said, 

  2 “Why do Your disciples break the tradition of the elders? For they do not wash their hands when they eat bread.” 

  3 And He answered and said to them, “Why do you yourselves transgress the commandment of God for the sake of your tradition? 

  4 For God said, ‘Honor your father and mother,’ and, ‘He who speaks evil of father or mother is to be put to death.’ 

  5 But you say, ‘Whoever says to his father or mother, “Whatever I have that would help you has been given to God,” 

  6 he is not to honor his father or his mother.’ And by this you invalidated the word of God for the sake of your tradition. 

  7 You hypocrites, rightly did Isaiah prophesy of you:

10 After Jesus called the crowd to Him, He said to them, “Hear and understand. 

11 It is not what enters into the mouth that defiles the man, but what proceeds out of the mouth, this defiles the man.”

12 Then the disciples came and said to Him, “Do You know that the Pharisees were offended when they heard this statement?” 

13 But He answered and said, “Every plant which My heavenly Father did not plant shall be uprooted. 

14 Let them alone; they are blind guides of the blind. And if a blind man guides a blind man, both will fall into a pit.”

15 Peter said to Him, “Explain the parable to us.” 

16 Jesus said, “Are you still lacking in understanding also? 

17 Do you not understand that everything that goes into the mouth passes into the stomach, and is eliminated? 

18 But the things that proceed out of the mouth come from the heart, and those defile the man. 

19 For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, slanders. 

20 These are the things which defile the man; but to eat with unwashed hands does not defile the man.”

Matthew 23: 1-12

 ¹ Then Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples, 

 ² “The scribes and the Pharisees sit on Moses’ seat; 

 ³  therefore, do whatever they teach you and follow it; but do not do as they do, for they do not practice what they teach.

 ⁴ They tie up heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on the shoulders of others; but they themselves are unwilling to lift a finger to move them.

 ⁵ They do all their deeds to be seen by others; for they make their phylacteries* broad and their fringes long.

 ⁶ They love to have the place of honor at banquets and the best seats in the synagogues,

 ⁷ and to be greeted with respect in the marketplaces, and to have people call them rabbi.

 ⁸ But you are not to be called rabbi, for you have one teacher, and you are all students.

 ⁹ And call no one your father on earth, for you have one Father—the one in heaven. 

¹⁰ Nor are you to be called instructors, for you have one instructor, the Messiah. 

¹¹ The greatest among you will be your servant. 

¹² All who exalt themselves will be humbled, and all who humble themselves will be exalted.

*A phylactery is a small box that is used to store an important verse from the Torah (Jewish 'bible') that are worn during prayers.  It can also mean an amulet or charm that signifies supernatural powers.  What Jesus is saying is that instead of following this tradition in a humble way, the Pharisees and Sadducees make their phylacteries very fancy and flashy so that everyone will know how much more important they are than are the ordinary people with their simple phylacteries.

October 2017
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