How to make traditions meaningful

1. EMPTY TRADITIONS

2. GRACIOUS JESUS
(MATTHEW’S PERSPECTIVE WITH GOSPEL PARALLELS)
1. Presenting the King (Matt 1-4)
2. Winning Attitudes (Matt 5:1-12)
3. Kingdom Lifestyle – Part 1 (Matt 5:13-
48)
4. Kingdom Lifestyle – Part 2 (Matt 6)
5. Kingdom Lifestyle – Part 3 (Matt 7)
6. The King’s Touch (Matt 8)
7. The King Calls (Matt 9)
8. The King Commissions (Matt 10)
9. Wisdom and Greatness (Matt 11)
10. Servant Leadership (Matt 12)
11. Hidden Wisdom (Matt 13:1-43)
12. Hidden Treasures (Matt 13:44-14)
13. Gates of Heaven and Hell
(Matt 15-17:9)
14. Winning Others Over (Matt 17:10-
18:35)
15. Kingdom Values, Kingdom Wealth
(Matt 20)
16. The Royal Entry (Matt 21)
17. The Chosen Few (Matt 22)
18. The King’s Glorious Coming (Matt
24:1-44)
19. The Final Reckoning (Matt 24:45 –
25:46)
20. The King’s last days (Matt 26)
21. The King Conquers (Matt 27)

3. GATES OF HEAVEN AND HELL
(MATTHEW 15:1-17:9)
68. Empty Traditions
69. Persistent faith
70. Compelled by Compassion
71. Viral Influences
72. Keys to the Kingdom
73. Death Prediction
74. Discipleship
75. A glimpse of glory

4. Matthew 15:1 Then some Pharisees and
teachers of the law came to Jesus from
Jerusalem and asked, 2 “Why do your
disciples break the tradition of the elders?
They don’t wash their hands before they eat!”
3 Jesus replied, “And why do you break the
command of God for the sake of your
tradition? 4 For God said, ‘Honor your father
and mother’ and ‘Anyone who curses their
father or mother is to be put to death.’
EMPTY TRADITIONS

5. EMPTY TRADITIONS
Matthew 15:5 But you say that if anyone declares
that what might have been used to help their father
or mother is ‘devoted to God,’ 6 they are not to
‘honor their father or mother’ with it. Thus you
nullify the word of God for the sake of your
tradition. 7 You hypocrites! Isaiah was right when
he prophesied about you:
8 “‘These people honor me with their lips,
but their hearts are far from me.

6. EMPTY TRADITIONS
Matthew 15:9 They worship me in vain;
their teachings are merely human rules.’”
10 Jesus called the crowd to him and said,
“Listen and understand. 11 What goes into
someone’s mouth does not defile them, but
what comes out of their mouth, that is what
defiles them.”

7. EMPTY TRADITIONS
OVERVIEW
Passages: Matt 15:1-20; Mark 7.1-23; Luke
11.37-41; 6.39
Background
Jewish and biblical perspective on
handwashing in the Old Testament
Christ’s perspective

8. BACKGROUND
Exodus 30:17–20
requires the priests to
wash their hands and
feet before offering
sacrifices or entering
the Tabernacle.
According to 1 Kings
7:38, Solomon's
Temple contained ten
brazen lavers to allow
for this washing.

9. JEWISH TRADITIONS
RITUAL WASHING
The Jews added more to the requirement of the law.
Occasions for hand washing included:
• Before eating bread
• After eating bread
• Before eating dipped fruit or vegetables
• Before worship
• Before the Priestly Blessing
• After sleeping
• Other occasions

10. LAWS OF WASHING
Laws of washing
included:
• Blessing said before
washing
• Manner of pouring
the water
• Quantity of water

11. JEWISH TRADITION
OF WASHING
Before eating bread
Halakha requires the hands to be washed before
eating a meal containing bread. This washing was
initially known as mayim rishonim (first waters) but
is now commonly known simply as netilat yadayim
(hand washing).
This only applies to bread made from one of the
five chief grains (wheat, cultivated barley, spelt,
wild barley, and oats).The washing is performed by
pouring water from a cup over each hand. [1]

12. JEWISH TRADITION
OF WASHING
The Gemarah of the Babylonian Talmud
contains homiletic descriptions of the
importance of the practice, including an
argument that washing before meals is so
important that neglecting it is tantamount
to unchastity, and risks divine punishment
in the form of sudden destruction or
poverty.[Rabbinic law requires that
travelers go as far as four biblical miles (1
biblical mile is around 4 furlongs or half a
mile) to obtain water for washing prior to
eating bread if there is a known water

13. JEWISH TRADITION
OF WASHING
This applies only to when the water source lies in
one's direction of travel. However, had he already
passed the water source, he is only obligated to
backtrack to a distance of one biblical mile.The
one exception to this rule is when a man or a party
of men are encamped while on a journey, and there
is no water to be found in the vicinity of their
camp, in which case the Sages of Israel have
exempted them from washing their hands prior to
breaking bread.[1]

14. CHRIST’S
PERSPECTIVE
Your elaborations of God’s law
Are often violations of God’s law.
You claim that serving God is an excuse to
disobey Him.
Your lips appear to honour God while your
heart is far from Him
You are BLIND GUIDES

15. EMPTY TRADITIONS
Matthew 15:8 “‘These people
honor me with their lips, but
their hearts are far from me. 9
They worship me in vain; their
teachings are merely human
rules.’”
Superficial speech
empty hearts
wasted rituals
Deceptive teaching

16. PHARISEES’ RESPONSE
Instead of conviction there
was objection and offense

17. CHRIST’S RESPONSE
LET THEM BE
Don’t let them bother you
Don’t bother with them
They’re going to be
plucked out
Along with those they
lead who are also blind as
they are
They will self destruct

18. GOD’S PERSPECTIVE
When two powerful kings threaten to destroy
the Davidic line, here’s God’s perspective:
Isaiah 7:3 Then the LORD said to Isaiah, “Go
out, you and your son Shear-Jashub,[b] to meet
Ahaz at the end of the aqueduct of the Upper
Pool, on the road to the Launderer’s
Field. 4 Say to him, ‘Be careful, keep calm and
don’t be afraid. Do not lose heart because of
these two smoldering stubs of firewood—
because of the fierce anger of Rezin and Aram
and of the son of Remaliah.

19. GOD’S PERSPECTIVE
When we have Jesus with us,
the worst enemies are
smouldering stubs in God’s
sight.
Isaiah 41:11 Behold, all who rage
against you will be ashamed and
disgraced; those who contend with you
will be reduced to nothing and will
perish. 12You will seek them but will
not find them. Those who wage
war against you will come to nothing.

20. GOD’S PROMISE
Subsequent to God minimizing the danger of
the two opposing Kings He reiterates the
promise of the Messiah from the Davidic line
they were trying to destroy.
Isaiah 7:13 Then Isaiah said, “Hear now, you
house of David! Is it not enough to try the
patience of humans? Will you try the patience
of my God also? 14 Therefore the Lord himself
will give you a sign: The virgin will conceive
and give birth to a son, and will call him
Immanuel.

21. CLEANSING WITHIN
Jesus then concludes by saying:
Matthew 15:11 Not that which goeth into the
mouth defileth a man; but that which
cometh out of the mouth, this defileth a
man.
We are defiled from within and need to be
cleansed from within. The external is just a
symbol

22. OUR RESPONSE
We fight for so many causes
Revolt at so much injustice.
The only one cause worth fighting for is the cause of the
Commission of Christ – to make disciples
In order to do that we need to be worthy disciples
Cleanse our insides of the trash and defilement
Not unduly polish our exteriors.
Then God’s hand will rise in power to fulfil His purposes
through us and those around us.

23. DISCUSSION
1. What are some good traditions that have
turned negative? Elaborate.
2. How can we make something positive
out of them and help others to do so.
3. What are occasions our prayers and
worship is only physical and not from
the heart? How can we change it?

24. REFERENCES
1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Handwashing_in_Judaism