Matthew 15:1-9, #2

Matthew 15:1-9 #2
Notice the contrasting statements in this text. The Pharisees challenged Jesus by saying, “Why do your disciples break the tradition of the elders?” Jesus reply is, “And why do you break the commandment of God for the sake of your tradition?” Jesus pits God’s commands against tradition proving that the Jews had made a huge mistake by enforcing their traditions as if they were laws of God. This is so typical among Christians. A church finds what they believe to be a good (or maybe even a superior) way of serving the Lord. Even though “their way” is not explicitly found in scripture, soon it is believed that anyone who does not follow their way must not be a very spiritual person. This evolves into believing that their way is the only way and any other way is a transgression of God’s law. Let me illustrate.
God commanded that we dress in “modest” apparel with a sense of “shame” (1 Tim. 2:9-10). Therefore, some good-intentioned Christian concludes that revealing anything above the knee is immodest. Certainly, few Christians would argue that wearing short shorts, swimsuits, and the like are modest. So, we all decide that the knee is a good standard and we begin to condemn anyone who shows any skin above the knee. Someone else then comes along and says that if the knee is modest, it would be even more modest for apparel come to the ankle. Soon it is decided that the really “spiritually-minded” people wear their clothes to the ankle.Everyone comes up with a line, but what did God say? God could have easily made a line, but instead, God spoke to the heart: dress modestly with a sense of shame. Any Christian who wants to please God will know what that means. By making rules God did not make, Christians end up starting a pattern of presuming to speak for God. This is exactly what the Pharisees did and Jesus condemned them for it.
Berry Kercheville