NEW TESTAMENT CONTEXTUAL COMMENTARY

by Dr. Robert R. Seyda

GOSPEL OF MATTHEW

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

Part II

Verses 3-4: Jesus answered, “And why do you refuse to obey God’s directives so that you can follow those traditions you have? God said, “You must respect your father and mother.”¹ And God also said, “Whoever says anything bad to their father or mother must be killed.”²

This illustrates one of the issues Jesus constantly dealt with when debating with the Jewish teachers and Pharisees. They were looking at the verbal traditions in their Mishnah for guidance, while Jesus was constantly pointing to the written laws in their Torah. He begins His response by quoting the fifth commandment. Then He follows with a quote from the supplemental directives given to Moses. He then compares them to the verbal traditions being followed by the Pharisees and scribes. For instance, in the Mishnah we find eleven chapters dealing with vows or oaths. And this is no doubt the part that Jesus was paraphrasing to show man’s interpretations of this commandment in their verbal tradition.³

Someone once asked a Rabbi: “To what extent does the requirement of honoring the father and mother extend? He said to them, ‘Why are you asking me? Go and ask Damah ben Netinah. He is the chief of the patroboule⁴ of his city. One time his own mother was slapping him before the entire council, and the slipper she was beating him with fell from her hand, so he bent down and gave it back to her, so that she would not be more upset.’”⁵ The respect for parents was so great that one Rabbi lamented: “Would that I had a father and a mother, whom I might honor, and so inherit the Garden of Eden.”⁶ And the Rabbi goes on to say: “This is how Scripture compares the reverence one owes to their father and mother with the reverence they owe to the Omnipresent One.”⁷

But a different Rabbi taught: “So great is the honor one owes to father and mother, that the Holy One, blessed be He, gave it preference, even over the honor owed to God.” This Rabbi then adds: “When it comes to the matter of honoring father, and mother, whether you have sufficient food or whether you do not, you must honor your father and mother, even if you have to go begging at door to door.”⁸ So it is clear that Jesus chose a very time honored and sensitive teaching from the Law. But now comes the stark reality of how such a sacred trust had been corrupted by these same Rabbis.

Verse 5: But you teach that a person can say to their father or mother, “I have something I could use to help you. But I will not use it for you. Instead, I am going to give it to God.”

Early Church theologian Origen, who lived among the Jews in Alexandria, offers his understanding of what Jesus said about the Rabbi’s teaching on how children can avoid their legal responsibilities of taking care of their father and mother just by making a vow, called Korban, to do so. He makes a very valid argument pointing out that while the Jewish teachers had found a way around the commandment to honor one’s father and mother at all cost, they did not address the second part of what Jesus said, and that was: If you speak maliciously against your father or mother you are to be put to death for doing so. No doubt Jesus wanted to know how could they ignore the one but forget about the other?⁹

Origen then goes on to say that what the scribes and Pharisees were really doing is this: That by giving an exemption of the law to honor one’s father and mother at all cost by making a vow that instead of giving to their parents they were giving to God, they were in fact violating the second commandment that forbid speaking maliciously against one’s father or mother. Origen says: But you, Jesus says, are setting aside two commandments of God by your one tradition. Then you are not even ashamed when you accuse my disciples when they are not transgressing any commandment. For they were walking blamelessly in all the commandments and ordinances.’¹⁰”¹¹

So the Pharisees and scribes knew exactly what Jesus was talking about when He referred to what they called “Korban,” which means “gift.” But even more, it was a gift tied to an oath of loyalty and fulfilling the law. This word was even used to identify a sacrifice of any kind brought in devotion to God. Some Jewish scholars have rebutted Jesus’ charge by saying: “The charge of hypocrisy, or lip-service, raised against the Pharisees in this connection is entirely unfounded; for pharisaic tradition did actually provide a remedy against rash vows by empowering any sage consulted to dissolve the vow in case it could be shown that it was not made with a full consideration of all its consequences; this very power ‘to loosen that which is bound’ by the Law being declared to be a privilege of the Rabbis, derived from the spirit of the Law while seemingly against the letter of the Law.”¹²

However, Jesus would have never made this accusation were this not being practiced in His day to circumvent the law. Not only that, once something was considered to be Korban, even the giver could not then use it for himself.¹³ Yet, such circumvention was often encouraged so that the Temple received these gift offerings instead of giving them to what some might consider undeserving or unworthy parents. So, what Jesus saw was that even though these vows were considered unbreakable, the Rabbis had adopted a law that would allow for such a vow to be annulled, even though they claimed it could only be done with the corroboration of a sage after consultation.¹⁴

Jesus’ main point is that by allowing for such breaking of the vows of Korban by children to their parents, their man-made laws were in fact breaking the Laws God had established. After all, Rabbis clearly taught that such vows to one’s parents were in fact vows to God.¹⁵ So by honoring them, a person was honoring God. In Jewish literature we find this story given as an illustration: “It once happened in Bet Horon¹⁶ that a father was forbidden to receive a benefit through his son. Now the father was marrying off his son and wanted the grandfather to participate, so he said to his son: May the courtyard and the banquet be a gift to you, on the condition that my father come and feast with us at the banquet. Then the son said, if it is truly mine then let it all be consecrated to God! His father said to him: But I did not give it to you so that you consecrate it to God. The son responded: I know, you gave it to me so that you and grandfather may eat and drink together and become reconciled with one another. So then, the sin of breaking my vow will be on his head. When the matter came before the Sages they ruled: Any gift which is not given in a manner so that it can be consecrated to God is no gift at all and therefore is not valid.”¹⁷ Sound confusing? That’s what Jesus was up against. When trying to avoid one obligation by making up rules to do so, it only leads to violating other obligations.

What child today would think of selling an extra car they are not using, or a vacation home they no longer need, or a coin collection that is only taking up space, but not consider helping their parents who are struggling on fixed income, unable to feed themselves properly, without any transportation, and living in filthy accommodations, and then claim no fault because they gave all the proceeds to their local church for a missions project? This would in no way cover up their lack of parental respect. Surely, they cannot really believe that God is pleased with such a so-called sacrifice for His cause. This certainly seems to be what Jesus adresses next.

Verse 6: You are teaching them not to respect their father. So you are teaching that it is not important to do what God said. You think it is more important to follow those traditions you have.

Jewish theologian Maimonides comments: “The following rules apply with regard to a male minor who is twelve years and one day old and a female minor who is eleven years and one day old who take an oath or a vow, whether a vow forbidding them to keep something or a vow giving something away. We investigate them and ask them questions. If they know for whose sake they took the vow or for whose sake they consecrated the article, their vows and their consecration are binding. But if they do not know, then their vows and their statements are not valid.”¹⁸ Maimonides further explains, that someone cannot take a second oath until the first oath is carried out. Yet, you may make a second vow even before the first vow has been fulfilled. Also, a person who takes an oath may extend the boundaries of that oath, thereby enlarging what they plan to carry out. But, they will not be held responsible if they ultimately fail to reach their larger goal. On the other hand, if a vow to extended or enlarged is made and then not even tried, they are responsible and will suffer the consequences.¹⁹

This is what Jesus had to deal with because the Jewish teachers and leaders had gotten so far away from the original law. They thought they were improving the law, when in fact they were making it more complicated and harder to follow and obey. The same has happened in many segments of Christianity where teachers have strayed from the original Gospel of Jesus Christ. What has developed is what we call today, “co-dependency.” This is where excessive emotional and psychological reliance is placed on a partner, especially by those who feel they cannot take care of themselves on their own. In the spiritual world, this is the case of many believers who depend on the church and it’s ministers to assure their salvation instead of believing in God and on His Son Jesus Christ for their forgiveness and salvation. That’s why Jesus told these religious experts that by their establishment of man’s word above God’s Word they had in fact made God’s Word irrelevant.

This is what the Psalmist feared, “Lord, it is time for you to do something. The people do what is against your teachings. I love your commands more than gold, more than the purest gold. I carefully obey all your commands. So I hate anything that leads people the wrong way.”²⁰ We should have that same prayer today. The prophet Jeremiah felt the same frustration with the people to whom he was sent, “You keep saying, ‘We have the Lord’s teachings. So we are wise!’ But this is not true, because the scribes have lied with their pens. These ‘wise people’ refused to listen to the LORD’S teachings. So they are not really wise at all.”²¹ The prophet Hosea pointed to the priests, “My people are destroyed because they have no knowledge. You priests have refused to learn, so I will refuse to let you be priests for me. You have forgotten the law of your God…”²²

By Malachi’s time, things had not gotten any better, “A priest should know God’s teachings. People should be able to go to a priest and learn God’s teachings. A priest should be the Lord’s messenger to the people. But you priests stopped following me! You used the teachings to make people do wrong. You ruined the agreement with Levi. This is what the Lord All-Powerful said. You don’t live the way I told you. You have not accepted my teachings.”²³ So you can imagine some 400 years later, when Jesus came, not only had nothing improved, things had only gotten worse.

Early church seminarian Theodore of Mopsuestia has this commentary about what Jesus was trying to say, not only against the Pharisees, but for His own disciple’s understanding and compliance. He writes: “The scribes were entirely preoccupied with something else. The Lord instead was teaching them to take care of the needs of the body, so long as they were encouraged to cultivate virtue. When the Pharisees observed His disciples unconcerned about washing, they censured Him on the grounds that He had not taught them with enough care that it was a matter of utmost importance that they not eat what they had not washed. What reply, then, does the Lord make to this? ‘Why do you transgress the commandments of God for the sake of your tradition?’”²⁴

Theodore then goes on: “Thus Jesus re-frames the question into an even more severe accusation. They had not only broken God’s command but also misused it for ulterior motives. The metaphor shifts: God had commanded that parents be honored by their children. That honor was owed to them to such an extent that whichever of their children sinned stubbornly against them merely by word would be condemned. “But you say, ‘If anyone tells his father or his mother, What you would have gained from me is given to God, he need not honor his father. You say that it is up to the children whether to honor their parents or not. You imply that a son says nothing out of bounds to a father when he says, “I will give a thank offering instead of taking care of you, my own father, and no further care is to be taken of you.’ In this way, by your own peculiar traditions, you yourselves are dishonoring the gifts of almighty God.”²⁵

Verses 7-9: You are hypocrites! Isaiah was right when he spoke for God about you: “These people honor Me with their words, but I am not really important to them. Their worship of Me is worthless. The things they teach are only human rules.”²⁶

Here, Jesus points to the prophet Isaiah to prove His point. Also, God’s message to Ezekiel, who attempted to teach the people the truth, certainly applies to Jesus trying to help the scribes and Pharisees see the truth: “And now about you, son of man. Your people lean against the walls and stand in their doorways talking about you. They tell each other, ‘Come on, let’s go hear what the LORD has to say.’ So they come to you as if they were my people. They sit in front of you as if they were my people. They hear your words, but they will not do the things you say. They only want to do what feels good. They only want to cheat people and make more money.”²⁷ In turn, when Jesus spoke to His disciples He was following a concept presented by Solomon: “My son, listen closely to what I am saying. Let my life be your example.”²⁸

In addition, God issues an indictment on Israel about their worship and teaching that certainly applied to those who lived in Jesus’ day.²⁹ Unfortunately, there are many today who would be found guilty of the same insensitivity to God’s Word and will for their lives. Jesus was trying to point out to these haughty religious leaders what Solomon warned against: “You can trust this: Every word that God speaks is true. God is a safe place for those who go to Him. So don’t try to change what God says. If you do, He will punish you and prove that you are a liar.”³⁰ And what the prophet Isaiah warns about can be applied to many people today, “The Lord says, ‘These people come to honor me with words, but I am not really important to them. The worship they give Me is nothing but human rules they have memorized.”³¹

All of this was like a weight pulling down their spirits so that they could not worship the LORD in spirit and in truth. Another well-known Rabbi joins in his response to the prophet Isaiah by commenting: “They came close to raising themselves up to the heavens. They showed themselves as though honoring God with mouth and lip, but in their hearts they had drawn far away from Him. And their reverence of Him is not done wholeheartedly, but by the instructions of those who teach them.”³² No wonder Rabbi Nathan made this remark about his fellow Jews: “If the hypocrites were divided into ten parts, nine would be found in Jerusalem, and one in the world outside.”³³

Early Church preacher Chrysostom gives us his summary on how those who followed the verbal traditions were attempting in vain to worship God. He writes: “Did you notice that prophecy agrees exactly with what was said here and that it long ago predicted their evil? For this very thing with which the Messiah now indicts them was also said long ago by Isaiah. Isaiah said that they despise the things of God: ‘They worship me in vain.’ But Isaiah also said that they place great value on their own concerns: ‘They teach as commandments the teachings of human beings.’ Therefore, it was on reasonable grounds that the disciples did not keep these teachings. Jesus thus strikes them with a mortal blow. He does this on the basis of the circumstances, on the basis of their own covenant to which they had consented, and on the basis of the prophet who had intensified the grounds of the accusation.

Jesus does not talk with the scribes at all because they had ceased to accept any more correction. Instead, He directed His message to the crowds so that He could introduce doctrine that is high and great and full of philosophical insight. He took this as His starting point and finally wove in that which was greater, even throwing out the observance of kinds of food. But note in what sequence these events happen. After He cleansed the leper; after He nullified the Sabbath; after He displayed Himself as King of land and sea; after He instituted laws; after He forgave sins; after He raised dead people; after He supplied them with many examples of His deity. It is then that He talks to them about food laws. For all of Judaism is held together by this; and if you take this away, you also have taken away the whole thing.”³⁴

There is a lesson here for all believers, regardless of what denomination they belong to. When man-made rites, rituals, and other forms of worship are demanded above and beyond what Jesus said, that we are to worship God in spirit and in truth, then those who do so are usurping God’s authority and such worship will be in vain. God is not against any form or custom that is meant to honor and praise Him with a sincere heart, but He has no time for such things when they are arrogantly reported to be from Him when they are in fact from the mind man. God made it clear that we are not to pretend when worshiping Him. To do so is only satisfying our religious commitments, formalities, and beliefs.³⁵