Matthew 15:2

Why do thy disciples transgress the tradition of the elders? for they wash not their hands when they eat bread. WHY DO THY DISCIPLES TRANSGRESS THE TRADITION OF THE ELDERS? FOR THEY WASH NOT THEIR HANDS WHEN THEY EAT BREAD....

2._Why do thy disciples transgress? _When we speak of human traditions, this question has no reference to political laws, the use and object of which are widely different from enjoining the manner in which we ought to worship God. But as there are various kinds of human traditions, we must make some distinction among them. Some are manifestly wicked, for they inculcate acts of worship which are wicked and diametrically opposed to the word of God. Others of them mingle profane trifles with the worship of God, and corrupt its purity. Others, which are more plausible, and are not chargeable with any remarkable fault, are condemned on this ground., that they are imagined to be necessary to the worship of God; and thus there is a departure from sincere obedience to God alone, and a snare is laid for the conscience. To this last description the present passage unquestionably relates; for the _...

1-9 Additions to God's laws reflect upon his wisdom, as if he had left out something which was needed, and which man could supply; in one way or other they always lead men to disobey God. How thankful ought we to be for the written word of God! Never let us think that the religion of the Bible can be improved by any human addition, either in doctrine or practice. Our blessed Lord spoke of their traditions as inventions of their own, and pointed out one instance in which this was very clear, that of their transgressing the fifth commandment. When a parent's wants called for assistance, they pleaded, that they had devoted to the temple all they could spare, even though they did not part with it, and therefore their parents must expect nothing from them. This was making the command of God of no effect. The doom of hypocrites is put in a little compass; "In vain do they worship me." It will...

Verse Matthew 15:2. _ELDERS_] Rulers and magistrates among the Jews. _FOR THEY WASH NOT THEIR HANDS_] What frivolous nonsense! These Pharisees had nothing which their malice could fasten on in the conduct or doctrine of our blessed Lord and his disciples, and therefore they must dispute about washing of hands! All sorts of Pharisees are troublesome people in religious society; and the reason is, they take more pleasure in blaming others than in amending themselves. _THE TRADITION OF THE ELDERS_] The word παραδοσις, _tradition_, has occupied a most distinguished place, both in the Jewish and Christian Church. Man is ever fond of mending the work of his Maker; and hence he has been led to put his finishing hand even to Divine revelation! This supplementary matter has been called παραδοσις, from παραδιδομαι, to delive

See also Mark 7:1. THEN CAME TO JESUS ... - Mark says that they saw the disciples of Jesus eating with unwashed hands. Matthew 15:2 TRANSGRESS THE TRADITION OF THE ELDERS - The world “elders” literally means “old men.” Here it means the “ancients,” or their “ancestors.” The “tradition of the elders” meant something handed down from one to another by memory; some precept or custom not commanded in the written law, but which scribes and Pharisees held themselves bound to observe. They supposed that when Moses was on Mount Sinai two sets of laws were delivered to him: one, they said, was recorded, and is that contained in the Old Testament; the other was handed down

EXPOSITION MATTHEW 15:1 _Discourse concerning ceremonial pollution. _(Mark 7:1.) MATTHEW 15:1 THEN. This is after the third Passover, which whether our Lord attended or not, has been a matter of some dispute. Moral considerations would make us infer that he was present, fulfilling all righteousness, though there is no direct statement in our narratives on the subject. CAME TO JESUS SCRIBES AND PHARISEES, WHICH WERE OF JERUSALEM, SAYING. The Sinaitic, B, and some other manuscripts read, _Came to Jesus from Jerusalem scribes and Pharisees. _This, which is virtually the reading of the Revised Version, whether origina

WHY DO THY DISCIPLES TRANSGRESS THE TRADITION OF THE ELDERS?.... Having observed, for some little time, the conduct of Christ and his disciples, they thought proper to take no notice of him as yet, but of them; and of them, not as transgressing any command of God, but of men; not being able to charge them with any breach of the law of God: and could they have done this with any show of truth, yet they might choose rather to accuse them of breaking the rules of the elders; by whom they mean, not the elders of the present sanhedrim, but Hillell and Shammai; the two heads of their famous schools, and other ancient doctors; from whom were delivered by one to another, certain rules and laws of their own devising, which had no foundation in the word of God; and of these the Scribes and Pharisees were more tenacious, than of the Scriptures; and indeed they preferred them before them: most extra...

Matthew 15:1. _Then came to Jesus scribes and Pharisees, which were of Jerusalem, saying, Why do thy disciples transgress the tradition of the elders? for they wash not their hands when they eat bread._ A very wonderful omission certainly, but it seems to have struck them as a very great crime. «They wash not their hands when they eat bread» as if the commands of God were not enough, men must overload us. with their own commands, and sometimes the very people who would see us break God's commands without being at all distressed are dreadfully shocked if we do not keep theirs, showing clearly that they have a higher estimate of themselves than they have of God. Matthew 15:3. But he answered and said unto them, Why do ye also transgress the commandment of God by your tradition? Fo

3. THE CORRUPTION OF THE SCRIBES AND PHARISEES; THE CANAANITISH WOMAN AND HER FAITH; THE MULTITUDES HEALED. CHAPTER 15 _ 1. The Question of the Scribes and Pharisees.(Matthew 15:1 .) 2. His Answer. (Matthew 15:3 .) 3. The Multitude Called.(Matthew 15:10 .) 4. The Disciples Instructed.(Matthew 15:12 .) 5. The Canaanitish Woman. (Matthew 15:21 .) 6. The Multitudes Healed. (Matthew 15:29 .)_ This chapter introduces us more fully

THE WASHING OF HANDS AND THE TRADITIONS OF THE ELDERS (Mark 7:1 *). Mt. is again briefer than Mk. He omits the parenthetical explanation Mark 7:3 f. and the technical term Corban, turns the statement of Mark 7:9 into a question (Matthew 15:3), and puts the quotation from Isaiah as a climax after the Corban passage. He also substitutes God (Matthew 15:4) for Moses (Mark 7:10) to heighten the antithesis with But _you_ say ...