Traditions of Men
By Richard P. Joseph
4/25/2026
In Matthew chapter 15 we find that a group of priests from Jerusalem came all the way to Galilee to confront Jesus about their traditions. They had observed the disciples eating without washing their hands first.
15 Then some 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 bread.”
They then asked Jesus why he is allowing his followers to not observe the “traditions” of the elders. Notice that they never mentioned the scriptures. As if the law wasn’t stringent enough, the Pharisees and Sadducees created hundreds of man made traditions that they thought would bolster the law that Moses had given. Think Catholic for a moment. While this isn’t a Catholic bashing article, you can sort of get the idea. The Catholic Catechism and other traditions will give you an idea of what the Jewish leadership had done. The long robes, the outward appearances, the many do’s and don’ts, the observances, the multiple sacraments and rules. None of which was ever commanded by God. This was a bad taste in Jesus’ mouth. So when they confronted Jesus about their silly man-made traditions he put them in their place.
3 And He answered and said to them, “Why do you yourselves also break the commandment of God for the sake of your tradition?
While religious people focus on the outward appearances, God is focusing on the inward appearances. Religion is the exact opposite of Godliness. Jesus told them on one occasion to wash the inside of the cup first, then the outside would be clean also. They didn’t understand that simple truth back then and most today still cannot figure that “complicated’ statement out today. It really should not be that hard but let’s take a quick look at where the Pharisees went awry.
While the Levitical law did have strict dietary laws, it was not really about physically eating necessarily. The Jews were commanded by the law to not eat certain foods as this would defile them. However, the meaning of that was to keep the Israelites from defiling themselves with the idol worship that was rampant all around them. It is funny how they kept the dietary laws perfectly but somehow fell right into idolatry and pagan worship. They completely missed the point. So, it fell upon the Messiah to explain this to them.
10 After Jesus called the crowd to Him, He said to them, “Hear and understand! 11 It is not what enters the mouth that defiles the person, but what comes out of the mouth, this defiles the person.”
In fact, his very Jewish disciples were also having a hard time understanding it. We need to remember context, which is vital for understanding this passage. A Jew was taught from birth to strictly observe their dietary laws and to never let unclean food touch their lips, or hands or utensils. Eating any of the forbidden food would cause a person to become defiled, at which time they would have to go through a strict cleansing process in order to become clean again. So, as I mentioned earlier, they observed the dietary laws but gobbled up the pagan rituals that the unclean food represented. Jesus drew them back to the real meaning of the law and told the Pharisees that it really isn’t what goes in you that defiles you, it’s what comes out of you.
15 Peter [f]said to Him, “Explain the parable to us.” 16 [g]Jesus said, “Are you also still lacking in understanding? 17 Do you not understand that everything that goes into the mouth passes into the stomach, and is [h]eliminated? 18 But the things that come out of the mouth come from the heart, and those things defile the person. 19 For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murders, acts of adultery, other immoral sexual acts, thefts, false testimonies, and [i]slanderous statements. 20 These are the things that defile the person; but to eat with unwashed hands does not defile the person.”
What is strange to me is the state of our current religious community, especially in the area of eschatology. While the scripture is clear about what is expected of us, it is also very clear about the End Times, both of which have succumbed to the traditions of men. Jesus summed up the law by saying “Love God and love your neighbor” and he summed up the End Times by completely leveling all vestiges of Judaism in AD 70. But none of that seems to matter to modern academic Christianity. We are in no better of a state now than they were back then. Only a few will ever understand it plain and simple. It is our inner soul that must be kept pure. Outward traditions will only make us think that we are clean but will do nothing for our inner self. Perhaps that is where that statement came from “Character is what you do when nobody is watching”. Let’s focus on that pure inner character and be holy unto God, not man. Once you are holy to God, you can then be generous to your neighbor. No tradition of man can accomplish that!
