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Matthew 15:1-9
In Matthew 15:1-9 the scribes and Pharisees (the religious leaders of the day) came to Jesus and questioned Him as to why He did not teach His disciples to follow the traditions that the elders had set. The response from Jesus was a wake-up call for the scribes and Pharisees as Jesus then questions them as to why they would make their own commandments instead of simply following the commandments that God had given through Moses. Jesus explains His answer to them by quoting the Prophet Isaiah in response to the hearts and teachings of the elders. Isaiah 29:13 states,
‘These people draw near to Me with
Their mouth,
And honor Me with their lips,
But their heart is far from Me.
And in vain they worship Me,
Teaching as doctrines the
Commandments of men.’
Jesus goes as far as to refer to the scribes and Pharisees as “Hypocrites!” (Matthew 15:7, NKJV).
This is an example of how man twists the commandments of God into their own likeness.
We are all guilty of seeking to find a way in which to make the teachings of the Bible fit into our own desires for it to be. We want to rewrite the Bible to fit our own views of it. This is not following what God is teaching us through His Word. We are not to change the meaning of God’s Word to a false view of it so that we do not have to change our lives to follow it. It is the reverse that is true; we are to make the changes in our lives to follow what the Bible teaches us. We are to repent (turn) from living in the sinful nature to living a new life in the forgiven gift that God gives us through the sacrifice that His One and only Son Jesus gave on the cross for us as He paid for our sins, so that, through believing in Him, we are set free from the sins that cause us to rebel against God in our desires to change His Word for our own selfish benefit. This is what Jesus is referring to in Matthew 10:39 as He declares, “He who finds his life will lose it, and he who loses his life for My sake will find it.” To be set free from sin, we must put our faith in Him and rid ourselves of our “self.”
Dear LORD,
Please help us to see that we cannot change Your Word to our whatever we desire it to be in our selfish views of it. Some of Your teachings are hard for us, but it is when we change our lives to Your will for us that we begin to grow in our relationship with You. Please help us to let it be so LORD. In Jesus name I pray, amen.