Tag Archives: Matthew 15

Traditions: Serious and Silly

April 23, 2025 Tom Vander Well Leave a comment

Then some Pharisees and teachers of the law came to Jesus from Jerusalem and asked, “Why do your disciples break the tradition of the elders? They don’t wash their hands before they eat!”
Matthew 15:1-2 (NIV)

Traditions are a funny thing.

On one hand, I am a lover of history and so it easy for me to wax nostalgic about certain traditions. I can find incredible meaning and a depth of emotion within them. I can’t hear a horn blowing Taps without tearing up.

On the other hand, my individualist nature rebels when people take traditions too seriously.

In today’s chapter, there is an undercurrent that is easily lost on the casual reader. Matthew is careful to point out that some teachers of the law came from Jerusalem to inspect Jesus. Jerusalem was the home office. These officials were the big dogs sent to check up on all the rumors about an the upstart preacher who was #trending in flyover country by the Sea of Galilee.

The first thing that the grand inquisitors notice is that Jesus and His followers don’t follow the tradition of ceremonially washing their hands before they eat. This is a serious tradition that continues to this day. When I had the honor or visiting Jerusalem and enjoying a Sabbath feast at the King David hotel, there was a sink right there in the dining room for people to ceremonially wash their hands before the meal.

Traditions die hard.

Jesus pokes back at the inquisition, pointing out that they are rabid about the “tradition” of ceremonially washing their hands before a meal while completely ignoring God’s command to honor their parents if they can profit from it.

The more things change, the more they stay the same.

I mentioned in a recent post that I like hats. Growing up, I was forever getting in trouble with my father for wearing my hat at the dinner table. I always thought this odd because my friend Chef Alex is required to wear a hat around food to avoid hair falling into it. So the chef must wear a hat around the food but if I wear a hat at the table I’m offending people.

Even a year or so ago I stopped at my local church to pray during the lunch hour during our local gathering’s regularly scheduled Thursday prayer time. One of the sisters who serves by praying over people came by to ask if she could pray for me, which was kind of her. She, however, asked me to remove my hat as she was offended I would wear it inside the church. But, when I was in Jerusalem and attended synagogue or approached the Wailing Wall I was required to cover my head.

People are silly about traditions.

Jesus makes this point in today’s chapter though I have observed that it never gets much airplay on Sunday mornings. Poking at people’s sacred cows is a bit like poking a stick at a rabid dog. I’m not the sick one, but I’m probably going to get bit and I have to ask myself if it’s really worth it. When my sister asked me to remove my hat before she would pray over me I respectfully honored her request, though everything inside of me wanted to press her as to why she was offended. She probably would have quoted Paul’s letter to the believers in Corinth in which he says that, “Every man who prays or prophesies with his head covered dishonors his head.” But he follows that up by stating, “But every woman who prays or prophesies with her head uncovered dishonors her head.” I noticed that my sister was not wearing a head covering.

Perhaps I should have offered her my hat.

I also noticed that Paul wrote to believers in four different letters to “greet one another with a holy kiss.” My prayer sister didn’t so much as pucker her lips as she asked me to remove my hat, dangit.

People are silly about traditions.

In the quiet this morning, I love the fact that Jesus poked the big dogs from Jerusalem regarding their rabid hypocrisy when it came to their traditions. Less than a week after Good Friday, I’m equally reminded that these same rabid, big dogs will quite literally kill Him for it.

People get very serious about their traditions.

As a disciple of Jesus, I personally prefer to care more about the heart issues Jesus was concerned about and less about human traditions that make little or no sense in the grand scheme of things. But, that’s just me.

“Down, Cujo. Down!”

If you know anyone who might be encouraged by today’s post, please share.

These chapter-a-day blog posts are also available via podcast on all major podcast platforms including Apple, Google, and Spotify! Simply go to your podcast platform and search for “Wayfarer Tom Vander Well.” If it’s not on your platform, please let me know!

Chapter-a-Day

“Leave Them”

January 31, 2022 Tom Vander Well Leave a comment

“Leave them; they are blind guides. If the blind lead the blind, both will fall into a pit.”
Matthew 15:14 (NIV)

A cult favorite among theatre types is the movie Waiting for Guffman. It’s a “mockumentary” gem from Christopher Guest about a small-town community theatre troupe who are producing an original musical for their little town’s big anniversary. The members of the production come to believe that a major Broadway producer named Guffman is coming to see their show and it leads them into dreams of grandeur. For anyone who has experienced small-town community theatre, it’s a hoot.

Waiting for Guffman popped into my head as I was reading the chapter this morning because some teachers of the law and Pharisees travel from Jerusalem to observe Jesus. The importance of this statement is often lost on a casual 21st-century reader. Jerusalem was the epicenter of the Hebrew religious machine. The fact that envoys from Jerusalem had traveled to back-water, fly-over country to check out Jesus for themselves meant that word about Jesus had spread. Jesus was making waves and all of the squabbles He’d had with the local religious powers had finally rippled all the way to the seat of religious power.

It’s like a Broadway producer traveling from New York to the midwest to check out a local community theatre production.

It’s like a rural, Iowa high-school kid having a scout from Alabama show up to watch him play football.

It’s like having the FBI showing up to take over the scene of a small-town crime.

Being part of a Fundamentalist religious system, these high-powered envoys are more interested in protecting their religious system than they are in Jesus’ miracles or teaching. They’re the rule police sent to find evidence that will discredit Jesus so the system can proclaim to the people that Jesus is a heretic to be avoided. Thus, the first thing they do is to scold Jesus and His disciples for not following the mandated hand-washing rules before eating.

In response, Jesus points out their hypocrisy. These teachers of the Law had created a legal loophole in their system so that families who had savings built up to provide for their parents in old age could legally use those funds to make a contribution to the Temple. It was essentially robbing from the needy to line the pockets of the wealthy power-brokers running the Temple system. Jesus calls out the hypocrisy: “You’re worried about my disciples not washing their hands before eating, while your heart and hands are permanently stained with greed and corruption.”

Jesus, the podunk country preacher, just pissed off some of the most powerful people from Jerusalem, and it was fascinating to read the disciples’ swift admonishment. “Doesn’t Jesus know that these guys could make or break His career? Doesn’t He know that these are connected men? These lawyers and officials have the power to make life miserable for Jesus, for us, and for our families? They could tell the local officials to throw us out of the synagogue!“

“Jesus! You don’t talk to these men that way!“

Jesus response? “Leave them. This is a no-win situation. It’s not worthwhile going down the rabbit hole of debate with these Jerusalem big shots. They’re willfully blind and have no desire to see the Light. Walk away.“

In the quiet this morning, this quick decision of Jesus to walk away from further debate and conflict resonated with me. Over the years, I occasionally have had individuals comment, criticize, argue, and even threaten me in comments online. I have experienced the rabbit hole of worthless online exchanges. I have also experienced the value of honest conversation and debate of thought and ideas with someone truly interested in understanding, discovering, and growing. The difference is in the motivation, and I’ve increasingly prayed for greater wisdom and discernment to know when to speak, and when to be silent.

I endeavor to respond to everyone who reaches out, but there are times when Jesus’ directive to His disciples resonates within me.

“Leave them.”

If you know anyone who might be encouraged by today’s post, please share.

Chapter-a-Day

Getting to the Heart of the Matter

March 30, 2017 Tom Vander Well Leave a comment

“Are you still so dull?” Jesus asked them. “Don’t you see that whatever enters the mouth goes into the stomach and then out of the body? But the things that come out of a person’s mouth come from the heart, and these defile them. For out of the heart come evil thoughts—murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander. These are what defile a person; but eating with unwashed hands does not defile them.”
Matthew 15:16-20 (NIV)

Religion has always been good at making a lot of rules. This was certainly true in Jesus’ day and we read about it in today’s chapter. Jesus’ followers didn’t ceremonially wash their hands before they ate. The religious leaders were appalled that Jesus’ followers didn’t follow their rules. Jesus rolled His eyes. This was one of many religious rules that Jesus and His followers broke from not picking grain on the Sabbath day of rest, to healing on the Sabbath, to fraternizing with sinners, and on and on and on.

Rules aren’t necessarily a bad thing. God gave the initial set of rules through Moses, and they were a guide for life lived decently and in order. Of course, over time the religious people took the basic rules and made even more rules to clarify the original rules. Then they added more rules labeled “traditions.” Rules, upon, rules, upon rules that moved things away from the heart of the matter until rule keeping became a religious, behavioral litmus test. But, at the core the original rules meant to guide life still hold true. Jesus said, “I didn’t come to abolish the law, but to fulfill it.”

In today’s chapter, Jesus makes it very clear where He is coming from on the subject of rules. He tells us that it all comes down to the spiritual condition of our hearts. If my spirit is diseased with pride, anger, hatred, grudges, greed, lust, prejudice, bitterness, envy, malice, jealousy, impurity, et al than it doesn’t matter how well I follow the religious rules about propriety and what to eat, what to wear, or what not to do. And, simply following a labyrinth of religious rules is not going to change the spiritual condition of my heart.

Jesus came to do heart surgery for humanity. He came to change our hearts, knowing that a heart that is spiritually healthy and connected to God’s Spirit will continually beat with love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, gentleness, goodness, faithfulness and self-control. It will be motivated to naturally fulfill the only important rules. Out of that healthy, Spirit-connected heart will flow thoughts, words, and actions marked by that same love, joy, peace, kindness, gentleness, consideration, faithfulness, and self-discipline.

This morning I’m reminded that rules of behavior are impotent to change the condition of my heart, but my heart, transformed by Jesus, will powerfully and perpetually change my behaviors and relationships for the betterment of myself and others.

Chapter-a-Day

Chapter-a-Day Matthew 15

April 8, 2011 Tom Vander Well Leave a comment

organically grown vegetables — Image by cafemama via Flickr

He then called the crowd together and said, “Listen, and take this to heart. It’s not what you swallow that pollutes your life, but what you vomit up.” Matthew 15:10-11 (MSG)

I’ve watched with interest the growing craze for natural, organic, and healthy foods. Even companies who make relatively unhealthy foods have their marketing departments working overtime to find ways to tout what little health benefit their product has in it. The cereal aisle, in particular, always makes me chuckle. All of these sugary, chemically infused breakfast foods touting how much Niacin you get in every box.

I think that eating healthy is a good thing. Nevertheless, I thought Jesus’ admonition in today’s chapter was an interesting one. You can eat all of the healthiest, most organically grown natural foods that you can find – but it won’t change a spotted soul. The true test of our soul’s health is not what we put into our mouths and bodies, but what comes out of our mouths and lives.

If what comes out of our mouths is anger, malice, selfishness, jealousy, slander, profanity, criticism, and judgement – then perhaps we should worry less about the health of our bodies and worry more about the health of our souls.