‘The King is confronted about laws and traditions’ (Matthew 15:1-20)

As soon as Jesus was back in the midst of the Jewish people, the Scribes and Pharisees questioned him about his lack of enforcement of the traditions around hand washing. Rather than explain himself directly, Jesus in turn, responded with questions as to why the Pharisees and Scribes failed to comply with God’s commandments about honouring their parents, so that they might escape the full force of their responsibilities. He also went on to explain that external hand washing (as well as any kind of food) does nothing to deal with the problem of our sinful hearts, reminding them that only a complete transformation from within, from the heart, is what God ultimately requires.

Message

Outline

• From miracles and action to debate
• Hand washing?
• Was Jesus a traditionalist just for the sake of it?
• See how the text tells us about traditions, and …

The confrontation that began (v.1-2)

The critique that followed (v.3-9)

The clarification that resulted (v.10-20)

Traditions and us!
Caring more about the externals than the internals…