Matthew 15:5 - Printer Friendly

ESV: But you say, ‘If anyone tells his father or his mother, "What you would have gained from me is given to God,"

NIV: But you say that if anyone declares that what might have been used to help their father or mother is ‘devoted to God,’

NASB: But you say, ‘Whoever says to his father or mother, 'Whatever I have that would help you has been given to God,'

CSB: But you say, ‘Whoever tells his father or mother, "Whatever benefit you might have received from me is a gift committed to the temple,"

NLT: But you say it is all right for people to say to their parents, ‘Sorry, I can’t help you. For I have vowed to give to God what I would have given to you.’

KJV: But ye say, Whosoever shall say to his father or his mother, It is a gift, by whatsoever thou mightest be profited by me;

NKJV: But you say, ‘Whoever says to his father or mother, “Whatever profit you might have received from me is a gift to God”—

In response an accusation that His disciples don't follow a tradition about handwashing, Jesus is leveling a counter-charge. The Pharisees who attack Jesus for ignoring a human tradition are guilty of using human traditions to ignore actual commands of God!

The example Jesus has raised is the fifth of the Ten Commandments: Honor your father and mother (Exodus 20:12). He also adds the follow-up from Exodus 21:17, that anyone who speaks evil against his parents must be put to death. These commands both came to Israel directly from God through Moses. They reveal how seriously the issue of honoring one's parents was to God for His people.

From God's perspective, one of the ways that children were expected to honor their parents was to care for them as they aged. This may have included paying expenses for them or taking aging parents into their own home to live with them. Jesus is showing that God expected the Israelites to care for their parents in this way.

Religious leaders such as the Pharisees, however, had a tradition which allowed for someone to declare that some of their possessions or money were korban, meaning a gift devoted to God. This is the spiritual equivalent of a tax write-off: a way to shield resources from being taken for some other purpose. That loophole in tradition apparently allowed such a person to continue to hold on to these valuable items and make use of them. Alternatively, they could claim the goods were devoted to God—as of today—then later annul the vow. In this way, they could avoid the responsibility to care for parents either to save the cost or because of resentment.

In stern terms, Jesus calls out the Pharisees. He not only criticizes them for hypocrisy, but also for enabling those under their instruction permission to openly violate the clear intention of God's original command. He says they allow for people to tell their parents, "What you would have gained from me is given to God."

Matthew 15:1–9 describes Pharisees and scribes from Jerusalem challenging Jesus. Their complaint: Christ's disciples have apparently ignored the Pharisees' practice of ritualized washing before eating. In response, Jesus asks them why they allow people to break the actual command of God about honoring one's parents. He says they have made God's Word void for the sake of their tradition. In truth, they criticize those who ignore their commands, but ignore those of God. He applies to them words from the Lord to Isaiah about the Israelites of his day, saying that these Pharisees honor the Lord with their words while their hearts are far away. They worship God in vain, teaching man-made commands as doctrines.

Pharisees and scribes come from Jerusalem to challenge Jesus. They are offended that His disciples break the religious leaders' tradition about ritual handwashing before meals. Jesus turns that attack upside down, pointing out that His critics honor tradition above God's actual commands! He insists that nobody is defiled by what goes in the mouth—by the literal matter itself—but by the overflow of the spirit, such as the words that come out of the mouth. He and the disciples travel out of the country. Jesus casts a demon out of the daughter of a persistent Canaanite woman. They travel to the southeast side of the Sea of Galilee where Jesus feeds thousands of people from a few loaves and fishes. These last two events set up the eventual spread of the gospel beyond the people of Israel.

Matthew 15 begins with a confrontation between some Pharisees and Jesus. They ask why His disciples break the traditional practice of ritual handwashing. Pointedly, Jesus asks why they allow the obvious intent of God's commandments to be broken through their traditions. Jesus and the disciples travel out of Israel, encountering a Canaanite woman. He praises her faith and casts a demon from her daughter. They travel to the southeast side of the Sea of Galilee where Jesus heals more people and feeds thousands more from another few loaves and fishes. This sets up another confrontation with religious leaders, warnings about their teachings, and predictions of Jesus' death in the next chapter.

The Gospel of Matthew clearly shows the influence of its writer's background, and his effort to reach a specific audience. Matthew was one of Jesus' twelve disciples, a Jewish man, and a former tax collector. This profession would have required literacy, and Matthew may have transcribed some of Jesus' words as they were spoken. This book is filled with references to the Old Testament, demonstrating to Israel that Jesus is the Promised One. Matthew also includes many references to coins, likely due to his former profession. Matthew records extensive accounts of Jesus' teaching, more than the other three Gospels.