Matthew 15:7 - Printer Friendly

ESV: You hypocrites! Well did Isaiah prophesy of you, when he said:

NIV: You hypocrites! Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you:

NASB: You hypocrites, rightly did Isaiah prophesy about you, by saying:

CSB: Hypocrites! Isaiah prophesied correctly about you when he said:

NLT: You hypocrites! Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you, for he wrote,

KJV: Ye hypocrites, well did Esaias prophesy of you, saying,

NKJV: Hypocrites! Well did Isaiah prophesy about you, saying:

The Pharisees who traveled from Jerusalem to Galilee to confront Jesus may have been wishing they stayed home after this exchange. Not only did their accusation about ritual handwashing not land with Jesus, He turned it into an opportunity to call out their own practice of putting tradition above an actual command of God.

Traditional interpretation of God's commands about charity became a loophole: allowing people to declare some of their money and goods as being devoted to God, while keeping those things and using them. It may even have been possible to annul their vow later if they chose to. The problem was that if something was devoted to God in this way, people were free not to use it to care for their aging parents. It was a dodge, giving the people a way to avoid providing for their father and mother in their later years.

Jesus called out this attempt to avoid the spirit of the fifth commandment. For the sake of this tradition, the Pharisees are making void the Word of God. He calls these respected men hypocrites, right to their faces. He applies to them Isaiah's condemnation from the Lord of the Israelites of his day. That passage from Isaiah 29:13 fits these Pharisees perfectly. It was likely a passage they knew well.

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.