Religious Money-Washing — Andrew Forrest

The Matthew Part 3 books are here! When I turned in my final draft I was pretty discouraged and thought, “The commentary I’ve written isn’t very good.” But, after I made the final edits with my designer, I totally changed my opinion: I think these Part 3 books are the best ones yet! I’m really looking forward to jumping in with everyone on Monday, 10/30. Here’s how to get your copy:

Pick one up at Asbury;
Email Sandie Tomlinson and she’ll mail you a copy;
If you live in Dallas, you can pick one up for yourself. Email Sandie and she’ll give you the info;
The pdf file is available here.

Let’s GO.

Matthew 15:1-20

15 Then 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.” 3 He answered them, “And why do you break the commandment of God for the sake of your tradition? 4 For God commanded, ‘Honor your father and your mother,’ and, ‘Whoever reviles father or mother must surely die.’ 5 But you say, ‘If anyone tells his father or his mother, “What you would have gained from me is given to God,” 6 he need not honor his father.’ So for the sake of your tradition you have made void the word of God. 7 You hypocrites! Well did Isaiah prophesy of you, when he said:
8 “ ‘This people honors me with their lips,
but their heart is far from me;
9 in vain do they worship me,
teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’ ”
10 And he called the people to him and said to them, “Hear and understand: 11 it is not what goes into the mouth that defiles a person, but what comes out of the mouth; this defiles a person.” 12 Then the disciples came and said to him, “Do you know that the Pharisees were offended when they heard this saying?” 13 He answered, “Every plant that my heavenly Father has not planted will be rooted up. 14 Let them alone; they are blind guides. And if the blind lead the blind, both will fall into a pit.” 15 But Peter said to him, “Explain the parable to us.” 16 And he said, “Are you also still without understanding? 17 Do you not see that whatever goes into the mouth passes into the stomach and is expelled? 18 But what comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart, and this defiles a person. 19 For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, slander.
20 These are what defile a person. But to eat with unwashed hands does not defile anyone.”

The Pharisees followed oral teaching and equated it with the written Bible. Here, they complain that the disciples of Jesus don’t wash their hands in the correct ritual manner. Jesus, who never backs down, gives it right back to them and cites an example that shows their hypocrisy. See, there was a practice whereby you could declare your possessions “given to God” and meant to be dedicated as Temple offerings. Here's the catch, though: some people would declare the lion's share of their resources “given to God” but not actually donate them until later, perhaps upon their death. So, one way of avoiding the financial responsibility of caring for aging parents was to declare your resources “given to God” and then say to your parents, "Sorry, folks: I just can't afford it—I've given everything away to God."

See what’s happening? They are using the letter of the Law as a way of avoiding the spirit of the Law. This is why Jesus is so concerned about the disposition of the heart in his disciples.