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Introduction
Good morning and welcome back!
This morning we are going to return to our Journey Through Matthew, looking at the subject of “Who are you really worshipping?”
And we will be doing so in the context of , if you would like to start turning there in your Bibles.
In just a moment I will be reading from , verses 1-20.
And this morning we will be looking at the first 9 verses and tonight we will be looking at verses 10-20.
However, I want to read them all in context because in reality it all goes together.
In this passage we are going to find a lot going on and Jesus talking about a lot, but it is all going to center around one central theme.
And that theme is what is actually within our very hearts.
And, as we will see in a moment this is very important because it will actually determine the health and stability of our relationship with God.
So, if you have found in your Bible, I’d invite you to stand with me.
And again, I will be reading the first 20 verses of .
Matthew writes . . .
Scripture Focus
MORNING WORSHIP
Tradition Versus Worship (vs 1-9)
Now, just to bring us up to speed, remember that just prior to this, Jesus had been performing some pretty amazing miracles.
First, he had taken 2 fish and 5 loaves of bread and fed upwards of 10,000 people to be conservative about it.
Then after that he had saved the disciples from drowning and demonstrated his complete power over nature by both calming the water and walking on the water.
Then right after that event, we have more healings taking place.
In fact, the last verses we went through before Easter break was that tell us . . .
So, Jesus and the disciples were not missing a beat.
And where we are going to be picking up this morning is right in the midst of all of this.
Again, Matthew starts out . . .
A. Breaking the Traditions of the Elders (vs 1-2)
And I know that we have visited this scripture a few times but it is vitally important that we really get a good understanding of what Jesus is talking about here and how this relates to our own worship.
We know that the Jews were looking for any excuse they could find to accuse Jesus and to basically discredit him in any way that they could.
And what we have here is one more example of this going on.
Jesus and the disciples had just been healing people and in the process of that they were laying their hands on people.
So, when you touch sick people, you need to wash your hands, that’s a given.
However, this is not what the Jews here are talking about.
They are talking about ceremonially washing your hands.
They had all sorts of rules around how a person was to wash their hands before they touched food.
And this ritual went as far as to include a certain way to wash the cups and bowls before using them.
Also, this tradition that the Jews are citing is not a tradition found in the Mosaic law.
It is one that was specific for priests and rabbis, that they had made up to “ensure” that they were ceremonially clean.
So on the one hand they are acknowledging Jesus and his disciples as ones who had spiritual authority.
But on the other hand, they are trying to discredit this authority because Jesus and his disciples were breaking the tradition of the elders by not washing their hands (the right way) before they ate.
Which brings us to our first important point: For many tradition outweighs God.
And what I mean by that is over the years, the “Church” has developed all sorts of traditions.
The denominations have developed all sorts of traditions.
Individual congregations have developed all sorts of traditions.
And when these traditions were first started, they were done innocently enough.
They were done as a way to SUPPLEMENT the worship of God and our relationship with God.
The key word here is supplement.
But over time many have forgotten that these traditions were supplemental and not meant to be sacramental, in that they were related to commands of God.
And because we, over time have made them sacramental we have begun to move away from the worship of God and move toward the worship of traditions.
And in many ways, it is easier this way.
It can get uncomfortable to open yourself completely up to God.
He may tell you something you don’t want to hear.
But, if we wrap ourselves up in all of these good old traditions, then we’re in good shape.
All we have to do is learn to follow the rules, or at least follow them when others can see us.
Behind closed doors we can do whatever we want.
But, that’s not how it works.
B. Breaking the Commands of God (vs 3-6)
And Jesus going to confront the Jews with it, and in the process, confront us as well.
Matthew writes . . .
Matthew 15:
Which is exactly what I explained earlier.
The Jews were placing their traditions above God’s commands.
And in fact, they were using their traditions to circumvent God’s command.
They thought that those things that they had made up, were some how equal or even greater than what God’s law said.
And Jesus gives them an example . . .
Matthew 15:
Now what Jesus is referring to here is the 5th of the 10 commandments.
The first command that had a promise attached to it.
And notice that the command did not have conditions attached to it… “Honor your father and mother, IF ...”
It simply says honor them and part of honoring them is taking care of them.
But what the Jews had done is they had developed a nice rule that says, anything devoted or given to God can’t be used or sold for other purposes.
However, if it were something like a house, land, valuables, etc… the person held on to it until they died and then it went to the Levites.
So, these people were taking all of their possessions and dedicating them to God and then telling their parents that they couldn’t help them because they had no ability to do so.
But, all of the stuff that was supposed to be God’s they kept and used just like they always did and when they died, it didn’t matter, they were dead anyway.
So they were letting their parents die in destitute while they lived the big life.
And to them it was okay because they had developed this tradition and elevated it above what God actually said.
And it doesn’t have to be something this extreme either.
It can be absolutely anything that we elevate above God.
In the church it could be things like music styles, preaching styles, teaching styles, use of the facilities, the church van, carpet color, types of seats, and on and on and on.
Whenever our personal preferences get in the way of God moving and supercede what the Word of God actually says then we are no better off than these Jews.
C. Hypocrites and False Worship (vs 7-9)
And here is what Jesus tells them . . .
Now Jesus always had a way with words.
Jesus always knew how to address people in a way that would get their attention the most.
And this is no exception
First he calls the hypocrites, or “actors” or “fakes” in essence.
Those who act like something they are not.
They want everybody to think that they are good God fearing people, but in reality they are just putting on a show.
And really I probably don’t need to explain how this relates to the 21st century church in the United States.
We have a lot of people who are out there putting on a show.
Which is one of the many reasons why it is difficult for the younger generation to find what they are looking for in the Church.
They are looking for something real, something authentic and all they get are exactly what Isaiah prophesied about . . .
The Jews were really good about establishing rules, following rules, and ostracizing anyone who didn’t follow their rules or anyone who questioned them one little bit.
Anybody who was different was demonized and looked down upon.
In our modern Church we are also really good about establishing rules, regulations, and traditions.
And we are also really good about ostracizing those who do not conform to the way we “think” things should be done.
Key word here is “think.”
The newsflash here is God doesn’t care what we think.
God has been and is trying to get us to respond to what the Holy Spirit is telling us, not what we think is going on.
God is trying to get us to slow down and hear the small still voice that is talking to us.
But sometimes we let tradition and rules get in the way of that.
And heaven’s forbid someone ask some questions about their faith or about why we do what we do.
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