Jesus was offensive to the pharisees

JESUS WAS OFFENSIVE TO THE PHARISEES
EDITED BY GLENN PEASE
Matthew 15:13 13
He replied, "Every plant that my
heavenlyFather has not planted will be pulled up by
the roots.
BIBLEHUB RESOURCES
Pulpit Commentary Homiletics
The Source Of Defilement
Matthew 15:11
W.F. Adeney The religious people in the time of Christ were right in being
anxious to avoid defilement, but they made a greatmistake in their idea as to
its source, and therefore they went wrong in their notions of the evil thing
itself.
I. THE AWAKENED CONSCIENCEDESIRES TO BE FREE FROM
DEFILEMENT.
1. On its ownaccount. Children who have been brought up in the gutter have
no idea of cleanliness and no desire for it; and souls that have habitually
wallowedin filth do not perceive their owndegradation until a new and better
influence has been brought to bear upon them. Nevertheless,man, made in the
image of God, cannot attain his true end while the Divine image is corrupted
and befouled, and when a gleamof his better nature awakeshe longs to be
pure. The cultivation of the spiritual life brings a horror of defilement. For its
own sake the soul then longs to be clean.
2. Becauseofthe effects of defilement.
(1) Shame. The first perception of defilement seenside by side with purity
sends a shock of shame through the awakenedsoul.
(2) Banishment from God. Without holiness no one can see God. Nothing
unclean can enter heaven, i.e. the presence of God(Revelation21:27).

(3) Blindness. The defiled soul is dark; it cannot perceive spiritual truth.
II. THE PERVERTEDCONSCIENCEMISTAKES THE SOURCE OF
DEFILEMENT.The root error of the Phariseeswas externalism. The prim
propriety of demeanour which characterizedthe professionalsaints of
Jerusalemcoveredhearts as corrupt as any of the publicans' and sinners'. Yet
the Phariseesthought themselves clean. They dreaded contactwith a corpse,
but they had little scruple in entertaining a corrupt thought. They would stop
their ears at the sound of blasphemy, but they would give the reins to their
tongues in malignant words. The evil of Pharisaismis by no means extinct
today. Religious people dread to be found in associationwith questionable
characters. Theyare anxious to be perfectly correctin the external
observancesofworship. They do not go to the extreme of the folly of the
Pharisees,but they too often manifest the same spirit.
III. THE ENLIGHTENED CONSCIENCE PERCEIVES THE TRUE
SOURCE OF DEFILEMENT WITHIN ITSELF. It is part of the work of
Christ to arouse and guide the consciencesofmen. Thus he shows us that the
real origin of defilement is in our own hearts. A black fountain will always
pour out a black flood, do what we may to cleanse the stream; on the other
hand, a spring of pure waterwill quickly wash awayany casualdefilement
that falls into it. A man is not his environment. It is dangerous to be in the
midst of corrupting influences; and yet a bed of lilies may grow out of foulest
mire. A herd of swine will not be converted into a troupe of pure virgins by
entering temple; they will only convert the sanctuaryinto a sty. The
corruption of a bad heart will be detectedin language and conduct. When
these are unworthy they will reflectshame on the debased heart from which
they come. It is the greatlessonofChrist, neededmuch in our own day, that
as the root of all evil in the world is the evil heart of man, the only radical
cleansing must be that which washes the heart. We must have done with the
superficial treatment of mere appearances. Christ's method is to renew the
life within. - W.F.A.

Biblical Illustrator
Every plant, which My heavenly Fatherhath not planted, shall be rootedup.
Matthew 15:13
Plants God has not planted
B. Keach.1. Whatis meant by plants.
(a)Every doctrine:
(b)Every practice:
(c)Every person.
2. Some plants God never planted.
(a)What is meant by planting? Planting is setting or putting things into the
ground, as trees, herbs, flowers. So mystical planting denotes the
transplanting (in a spiritual way) this or that person, from a course of open
profaneness into a visible profession.
(b)Who is it that plants people in the gospelChurch? God, and gospel
ministers.
3. Run a parallelbetween an external planting; and a spiritual planting.
(a)A planter, as one instructed into the mystery of that art, has wisdom and
skill in planting which others have not; so a minister of Christ is one God hath
taught the mysteries of the gospelunto.
(b)A planter must have a call by the ownerof the vineyard; so every minister
must be called and regularly empowered.
(c)A planter must have fit and proper instruments for his work.
(d)A planter doth not know infallibly the difference there is in plants.
(e)A skilful planter knows that a wild, ungrateful tree never bears goodfruit.
(f)A planter observes the proper seasonfor planting.
(g)He doth not only plant, but water.
(h)He greatly rejoices to see his plants grow, thrive, and bear much fruit.As to
plants.
(a)They must be well-rooted.
(b)They must be pruned and purged.
(c)Some plants, who promised well, prove barren and goodfor nothing.
(d)Plants that prove utterly barren, are rootedup or cut down.

4. Why shall every plant God hath not planted be rootedup?
(a)Becausethey are wild plants.
(b)Because allplants that God hath not planted, have no right to be planted in
his vineyard.
(c)Becausethey do but cumber the ground.
(d)Because they are goodfor nothing but the fire.The plants which God
Himself has planted shall stand and never be rooted up.
(a)Becausethey are ordained to bring forth fruit:
(b)They are planted into Christ:
(c)The love of Godto them is everlasting and unchangeable.
(B. Keach.)
On the efficacyof the Gospelin the extirpation of error
Habakkuk Crabbe.I. How far has this prophetic declarationbeen already
accomplished?
II. There are certain circumstances whichhave impeded the progress of
Christianity, and suspendedits moral and sanctifying influence.
III. We have reasonto believe that the final issue of the gospelkingdom will
be very glorious indeed, and that the prediction of the text will then be
fulfilled, in a sense hitherto unknown to the world.
(Habakkuk Crabbe.)
Rooting up plants
John Webster.I. That 'tis the heavenly Father's own hand that plants every
plant that must grow and prosper.
II. That every plant which is planted by any other hand or power, shall not
prosper, but be rootedup.
III. That those which see not things so, and cannot leave them to God. they
bring upon themselves much trouble and unquietness.
(John Webster.)
Difficult and questionable rules of conduct
Zollikoper.Whenwe speak ofprinciples and rules of life, which every one
knows and every one believes, by which the young and the old, the learned
and the ignorant, the prince and the labourer, are regulated, and these
principles and rules of life are false, or only true in part, the mischief thence

arising is incalculable, is immense. These are "plants which the heavenly
Father hath not planted."
I. Mostmen are of opinion, that we cannot pass a day without sinning and
acting wickedly.
II. We think we cannot be perfect; and with this we not unfrequently excuse
all the sins and errors we commit, howevervarious and gross.
III. We argue that we should merrily enjoy life, particularly youth, which so
rapidly passes by; we should not embitter it by unseasonable gravity, by
unnecessarysorrow orcare. This may be true, but the consequences drawn
from it with reference to virtue and religion are false.
IV. We say, We are after all, weak naturally corrupt beings, of whom not
much is to be expected, and whom God, in His mercy, will not judge with
rigour.
V. We say, We should not be particular; we should not aspire to be wiser and
better than others. We should regulate ourselves by the persons and the
societies, in which and with whom we live.
VI. We have false conceptions concerning daily repentance. How frequent we
hear it said: "If I sin every day, I howeverrepent every day, and at any rate
we must repent daily." VII. It is imagined that a certain devotion, or rather,
certain acts of Divine worship can supply the defectof a virtuous life, or atone
for the disorderly life we lead, and the sins which we commit. Or,
VIII. We rely upon Divine grace, andby it hope to be saved, though we are
not so virtuous and holy as we ought to be.
(Zollikoper.)
The weeding of the garden
C. H. Spurgeon.I. PLANTS THAT GOD has not planted.
1. Some have been planted by the minister's hand. Some conversions are of
human, not Divine, origin.
2. Some were planted by their fathers and mothers. They have gota kind of
family religion.
3. Many professors ofreligion are self-planted.
II. THEIR UPROOTING. Itsometimes comes in this life.
III. THE WORK OF SELF-EXAMINATION. Am I a plant of God's
planting?

1. If I am of the Lord's planting, there was a time when I had to be takenout
of the place where I once grew.
2. If planted by God there will be sorrow that we were ever anything else.
3. We have learnt our utter helplessness.
4. We are all planted on one soil, and indeed on one rock.
(C. H. Spurgeon.)
God's plants grow everywhere
Dr. Maclaren.Otherplants which the "Heavenly Father hath not planted"
have their zones of vegetation, and die out of certain degrees oflatitude, but
the seedof the kingdom is like corn, an exotic nowhere, for whereverman
lives it will grow, and yet an exotic everywhere, for it came down from heaven.
(Dr. Maclaren.)
Plants not planted by God are very beautiful
C. H. Spurgeon.Ifyou go into the fields, there are many plants that grow there
that are quite as lovely as those in the garden. Look at the foxglove and the
dog rose;look at many of the blossoms we pass by as insignificant, they are
really beautiful; but they are not plants that have ever been planted. Now,
how many we have in our congregations thatare really beautiful; yet they are
none of God's planting — men and women whose characteris upright, whose
manners ate amiable, whose life is irreproachable. They are not immoral, they
neither cheatnor lie; but they are exemplary; their disposition is kind, tender-
hearted, and affectionate. Yes, but there must be something more than this,
for Jesus says, "Everyplant which My heavenly Father hath not planted, shall
be rooted up." Though it be a lovely plant, though it seemto be a fair flower
externally, yet since the root of it hath suckedits nourishment out of the wild
wastes ofsin, whether of infidelity or of lawlessness, it is evil in the eye of God,
and it must be plucked up.
(C. H. Spurgeon.)
Wild plants fruitful
C. H. Spurgeon.Further, how many there are of our wild wood plants that
even bring forth fruit. The schoolboyin the country can tell us that the wood
is an orchard, and that often he has had many a luscious meal from those wild
fruits that grew there. Yet, mark you, though the birds may come and satisfy
their hunger from those wild fruits, and though the seeds may be in the winter
the sparrow's garner, and the linnet's storehouse, yetthey are not planted,
and they do not come under the description of the text — plants that have

been planted. So, too, there may be some of you who really do some goodin
the world. Without you a mother's wants might not be provided for; from
your table many of the poor are fed. Oh! this is good, this is good; I would that
all of you did more of it, but I pray you remember that this is not enough;
there must be God's planting in you, or else the fruits you bring forth will be
selfishfruits. You will be like Israelwho was denounced as being an empty
vine, because,forsooth, he brought forth fruit unto himself. Charity is good.
Noble charity, be thou honoured among men! But there must be faith, and if
we have no faith in Christ, though we give our bodies to be burned, and
bestow our goods to feed the poor, yet where Christ is, we certainly can never
come.
(C. H. Spurgeon.)
Many of those wild plants have very strong roots
C. H. Spurgeon.Ifyou were to go and try to dig them up, you would have a
task before you not easilyaccomplished. Look at the wild dock:did you seek
to pull it up? Piece afterpiece it breaks away, and you have to send some
sharp instrument deep into the soilbefore you can root it out, and even then,
if there be but a piece left, it springs up and thrives again. Oh how many there
are who have as much tenacity of life in their false confidence, as there is in
the dock — in its root! Some of you cannotshake. "I never have a doubt,"
said one, "I never had a doubt or a misgiving." You remember Robert Hall
said, "Allow me to doubt for you, sir," because he knew the man to be an ill-
liver. And so we have some — they are not in trouble as other men, neither
are they plagued like other men; they speak with an air of satisfaction:their
language sounds like assurance,but it is presumption; it looks like confidence
in Christ, but it is confidence in themselves. And such will strike their roots
very deep, and they will be very strong indeed, so that you cannot shake them;
yet, alas for them! they are not plants of the Lord's right-hand planting, and
therefore the sentence is passed;and ere long it shall be executedwithout pity
— "they shall be rooted up."
(C. H. Spurgeon.)
Uprooted plants
J. T. Lamont.1. That system of philosophy which ignores Divine Truth, or
contradicts the plain statements of God's Word, cannot endure.
2. In the various departments of science those views whichare the offspring of
glaring misconceptionor of uncertain hypothesis, necessarilypossessthe
element of perishability.

3. A like course ofreasoning may be applied to the different religions of the
world. Considersome of the plants which the Fatherhath planted: —
1. Every disciple of Christ.
2. The Church.
3. The Bible.
4. In the gardenthere are also many tender little plants which, though not
conspicuous, are equally the objectof the Father's solicitude.
5. God is pledged to establishthe goodand to eradicate the evil. The rose will
not always have its thorn.
(J. T. Lamont.)
COMMENTARIES
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers(13)Every plant, which my
heavenly Father hath not planted.—The disciples could hardly fail to connect
the words with the parable which they had heard so lately. The systemand the
men that they had been taught to regard as pre-eminently religious were, after
all, in their Master’s judgment, as the tares and not as the wheat(Matthew
13:37-38). So far as they were a sector party, His Fatherhad not planted
them. They, too, were left, according to the teaching of that parable, to grow
until the harvest, but their end was sure—theyshould be “rootedout.” The
words which proclaim their doom were, however, intentionally generalin
their form. In that divine judgment which works through the world’s history,
foreshadowing the issues of the lastgreatday, that doom is written on every
system, party, sectwhich originates in man’s zeal, in narrowness, in self-will.
It has not been planted by the Father, and therefore it is doomed to perish.
Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary15:10-20Christ shows that the
defilement they ought to fear, was not from what entered their mouths as
food, but from what came out of their mouths, which showedthe wickedness
of their hearts. Nothing will last in the soulbut the regenerating gracesofthe
Holy Spirit; and nothing should be admitted into the church but what is from
above; therefore, whoeveris offended by a plain, seasonable declarationofthe
truth, we should not be troubled at it. The disciples ask to be better taught as
to this matter. Where a weak headdoubts concerning any word of Christ, an

upright heart and a willing mind seek forinstruction. It is the heart that is
desperatelywicked, Jer17:9, for there is no sin in word or deed, which was
not first in the heart. They all come out of the man, and are fruits of that
wickednesswhichis in the heart, and is wrought there. When Christ teaches,
he will show men the deceitfulness and wickednessoftheir own hearts; he will
teachthem to humble themselves, and to seek to be cleansedin the Fountain
opened for sin and uncleanness.
Barnes'Notes on the BibleEvery plant ... - Religious doctrine is not inaptly
compared to a plant. See 1 Corinthians 3:6-8. It is planted in the mind for the
purpose of producing fruit in the life, or right conduct. Jesus here says that all
those doctrines of which his Fatherwas not the author must be rooted up or
corrected. The false doctrines of the Pharisees,therefore, must be attacked,
and it was no wonder if they were indignant. It could not be helped. It was his
duty to attack them. He was not surprised that they were enraged;but,
notwithstanding their opposition, their doctrine should be destroyed.
Jamieson-Fausset-BrownBible Commentary13. But he answeredand said,
Every plant, which my heavenly Father hath not planted, shall be rootedup—
They are offended, are they? Heed it not: their corrupt teaching is already
doomed: the gardenof the Lord upon earth, too long cumbered with their
presence, shallyet be purged of them and their accursedsystem:yea, and
whatsoeveris not of the planting of My heavenly Father, the great
Husbandman (Joh 15:1), shall share the same fate.
Matthew Poole's CommentarySee Poole on"Matthew 15:13".
Gill's Exposition of the Entire BibleBut he answered, and said,.... As being
unconcernedat their rage, and having nothing to fear from them; and being
well satisfied, that what he had saidwas right, and would produce proper
effects, he gave his disciples this for answer:
every plant which my heavenly Fatherhath not planted, shall be rootedup;
which may be understood either of things, or of persons:it may have regard
to doctrines and ordinances;and the meaning be, that whateverdoctrine is
not delivered by God, or whatever ordinance is not instituted by him;
whateveris not of heaven, but of man, of man's devising, and of human
imposition, as the traditions of the elders, must be opposedand rejected; and
sooneror later will be utterly rootedup, and destroyed; as will all the false
notions, corrupt worship, and errors, and heresies ofmen, in God's own time:
or it may respectpersons. There are some plants, which are planted by
Christ's Father, which is in heaven; these are the electof God, who are trees
of righteousness;the planting of the Lord, that he might be glorified. These

are planted by the river of God's love, in the person of Christ, in the likeness
of his death and resurrection;they are transplanted out of a state of nature,
are ingrafted into Christ, have the graces ofthe Spirit implanted in their
souls, and are themselves planted in the courts of the Lord, in a Gospelchurch
state;and being wateredwith the dews of grace, appearto be choice plants,
plants of renown, pleasantones, very fruitful, and which shall never perish, or
be rooted, and plucked up, but there are others, like these Pharisees,
hypocrites, formal professors, andheretics, who pretend to much religion and
holiness, make a show of the leaves ofprofession, but have not the fruit of
grace;these getinto churches, and are outwardly and ministerially planted
there; but being never rootedin Christ, nor partake of his grace, in time they
wither, and die away;or persecutionarising because ofthe Word, or truth
being dispensed in so clearand glaring a light, that they cannot bear it; they
are offended with it, and so are detected, discovered, and rooted up and it is
necessarythat truth should be freely spoken, as it was here by Christ, that
such plants might be rooted out; for these words are said by Christ in
justification of his conduct. So the Jews speak ofGod, as a planter, and of
rooting up what he does not like.
"The holy, blessedGod(say they (e)), "plants" trees in this world; if they
prosper, it is well; if they do not prosper, , "he roots them up", and plants
them even many times.''
And elsewhere itis said(f),
"let the master of the vineyard come, and consume its thorns: the gloss on it
is, the holy, blessedGod; for the vineyard of the Lord of hosts, is the house of
Israel, and he will consume, and take away the thorns of the vineyard.''
(e) Zohar in Gen. fol. 105. 3.((f) T. Bab. Bava Metzia, fol. 83. 2.
Geneva Study BibleBut he answeredand said, Every plant, which my
heavenly Father hath not planted, shall be rooted up.
EXEGETICAL(ORIGINAL LANGUAGES)
Meyer's NT CommentaryHYPERLINK "/matthew/15-13.htm"Matthew
15:13. The correctinterpretation is the ordinary one (being also that of Ewald
and Keim), according to which φυτεία is takenas a figurative way of
expressing the teaching. The fact of Jesus having attackedtheir teaching, in
Matthew 15:11, had given offence to the Pharisees. ConsequentlyHe now
explains why it is that He does not spare such teaching: every doctrine, He
says, that is not of God, that is merely human in its origin, will pass awayand
perish, as the result, that is, of the Messianic reformationwhich is in the
course of developing itself. Nothing is said about the Pharisees personally

(whom Chrysostomsupposes to be included in what is said about the
teaching)till Matthew 15:14. This in answerto Fritzsche, Olshausen, de
Wette, Hilgenfeld, Bleek, who find in the words a prediction of the extirpation
of the Pharisees (“characters ofthis stamp will soonhave played out their
game,” de Wette). What is expressedfiguratively by means of πᾶσα φυτεία, ἣν
οὐκ ἐφύτευσεν ὁ πατήρμου, is the same thing that, in Matthew 15:9, is
designatedliterally as διδασκαλίας ἐντάλματαἀνθρώπων.
On φυτεία, planting (Plat. Theag. p. 121 C; Xen. Oec. vii. 20, xix. 1), i.e. in this
instance:something planted, comp. Ignatius, ad Philad. III. ad Trall. xi,
where, however, it is not used with regardto false teaching, but with reference
to false teachers. In classic Greek the form is φύτευμα, orφυτόν.
Expositor's Greek TestamentHYPERLINK"/matthew/15-13.htm"Matthew
15:13. ὁ δὲ ἀποκριθεὶς, etc.:the disciples were afraid, but Jesus was indignant,
and took up high ground.—φυτεία for φύτευμα, a plant, “not a wild flower
but a cultivated plant” (Camb. G. T.), refers to the Rabbinical tradition;
natural figure for doctrine, and so used both by Jesus and Greeks (vide
Schöttgenand Kypke). Kypke remarks: “pertinet huc parabola περὶ τοῦ
σπείροντος”.—ὁ πατήρμου:the statementin the relative clause is really the
main point, that the tradition in question was a thing with which God as Jesus
conceivedHim had nothing to do. This is an important text for Christ’s
doctrine of the Fatherhoodas taught by discriminating use of the term πατήρ.
The idea of God implied in the Corban tradition was that His interest was
antagonistic to that of humanity. In Christ’s idea of God the two interests are
coincident. This text should be setbeside Matthew 12:50, which might easily
be misunderstood as teaching an opposite view.—ἐκριζωθήσεται.This is what
will be, and what Jesus wishes andworks for: uprooting, destruction, root and
branch, no compromise, the thing wholly evil. The response of the
traditionalists was crucifixion.
Cambridge Bible for Schools andColleges13. Everyplant] Not a wild flower,
but a cultivated plant or tree; the word occurs here only in N. T.; in LXX.
version of O. T. it is used of the vine, the most carefully cultivated plant; 2
Kings 19:29; Ezekiel17:7; Micah1:6; and in one other passage, Genesis
21:33, of the tamarisk. Here the plant cultivated by human hands—the vine
that is not the true vine of Israel—is the doctrine of the Pharisees.
Bengel's GnomenHYPERLINK"/matthew/15-13.htm"Matthew 15:13.
Φυτεία, plant) Doctrine, or rather man. The φυτὸνis so by nature, the φυτεία
by care.—Πατὴρ, κ.τ.λ.,Father, etc.)See John15:1-2.—ἐκριζωθήσεται, shall

he rooted up) And this shall be the result of their being offended with Christ.
Such a plant, howeverfair in appearance, is without Christ (extra Christum).
Pulpit CommentaryVerse 13. - Every plant, etc. The answerof Christ signifies
- Do not be alarmed by the displeasure of the Pharisees,and at my opposition
to their teaching; the system which they support is ungodly and shall be soon
destroyed. Christ, as often, puts the statementin a parabolic form, using two
images, one derived from the vegetable kingdom in this verse, and one from
human life in ver. 14. Plant (φυτεία);plantation. The actof planting, and then
by metonymy the thing planted. It here signifies the sectand doctrine of the
Pharisees,the persons themselves, and that which they taught. The
comparisonof men and trees, plant and doctrine, is a common biblical
metaphor (comp. Psalm1; Isaiah 5:7; Matthew 7:16-20;Luke 6:43, 44, etc.).
The traditions of the rabbis were plants which my heavenly Father hath not
planted. They were of human, not Divine, growth; and the men themselves,
even though originally planted in holy soil, had degenerated, and become not
only unfruitful, but pernicious. So the Lord speaks by Jeremiah (Jeremiah
2:21), "I had planted thee a noble vine, wholly a right seed:how then art thou
turned into the degenerate plant of a strange vine unto me?" Shall be rooted
up. Our Lord is not referring to the judgment of the last day (Matthew 3:10),
nor to any forcible destruction effectedby human agency;he means that the
system must pass awayentirely to make room for a better growth, even the
gospel. The Jews wouldnot see that the Law was a schoolmasterto bring men
to Christ; they deemed that their ceremonies andrites were to be permanent
and universal; and this, more than anything, impeded the reception of
Christ's claims, and made men utterly averse from his teaching. It was in vain
that Jesus proclaimed, "If ye believed Moses, ye would believe me; for he
wrote of me" (John 5:46). The very Law, as handled and obscuredby the
Pharisees,was made an obstacle to the truth.
The Weeding Of The Garden
“But He answered and said, Every plant, which My heavenly Father has not
planted, will be uprooted.”
Matthew 15:13

JESUS CHRIST had spoken certain truths which were highly objectionable to the
Pharisees. Some of His loving disciples were in great fright and they came to Him and said,
“Know you not that the Pharisees are offended?” Now, our Savior, instead of making any
apology for having offended the Pharisees, took it as a matter of course and replied in a
sentence which is well worthy to be called a Proverb–“Every plant, which My heavenly
Father has not planted, will be uprooted.”
Now we have, oftentimes, as Mathew Henry very tritely remarks, a number of good and
affectionate but very weak hearers. They are always afraid that we shall offend other
hearers. Hence, if the Truth be spoken in a plain and pointed manner and seems to come
close to home to the conscience they think that surely it ought not to have been spoken–
because So-and-So and So-and-So and So-and-So took offense at it. Truly, my Brethren, we
are not all slow to answer in this matter. If we never offended, it would be proof positive
that we did not preach the Gospel.
They who can please man will find it quite another thing to have pleased God. Do you
suppose that men will love those who faithfully rebuke them? If you make the sinner’s
heart groan and waken his conscience, do you think he will pay you court and thank you
for it? No, not so. In fact, this ought to be one aim of our ministry–not to offend–but to test
men and make them offended with themselves so that their hearts may be exposedto their
own inspection. Their being offended will make known of what sort they are.
A ministry that never uproots will never water. A ministry that does not put down will
never build up. He who knows not how to pluck up the plants which God has not planted
scarcely understands how to be a worker of God in His vineyard. Our ministry ought
always to be killing as well as healing one–a ministry which kills all false hopes, blights all
wrong confidences and weeds out all foolish trusts–while at the same time it trains up the
feeblest shoot of real hope and tends comfort and encouragement evento the weakest of the
sincere followers of Christ.
Do not, then, be needlessly alarmed about our ministry. Just give us plenty of elbow room
to strike right and left. Let not our friends encumber us. Whether they are friends or foes,
when we have to strike for God and His Truth, we cannot spare whoever may stand in our
way. To our own Masterwe stand or fall but to no one else in Heavenor on earth.
Well now. Our Savior was thus led from the remark of His disciples to utter this
memorable Proverbial saying. If we understand it right, it applies to every doctrine and to
every false system of religion. Whatever God has not planted will be uprooted. As for
heretical teachers–let them alone–they are blind leaders of the blind. And if the blind lead
the blind they shall both fall into the ditch. Many good people are greatly concerned about
the growth of papacy in England. They fear the day will come when papacy shall have
quenched the light of Gospel grace. I trust, my Brothers and Sisters in Christ, you will not
get nervous upon that point. It is of little consequence what men are if they are not saved–if
they are not brought to know the Lord.
I do not know that it is a very important item what kind of religion they have if they have
not got the true one. They may receive the awful doom of unbelievers in Christ and enemies
to the Gospel, as Romanists or Mohammedan. Or like too many in this land being merely
professing Christians who deceive themselves and others, they may incur the same wrath of

God and inherit the same condemnation. But do not think for a moment that the harlot of
the sevenhills will everprevail against the bride of Christ. Not she.
The Lord will, by-and-by, when her iniquity is full, utterly destroy her. Only be sure in
your heart that God has not planted it and you may be equally sure that He will pluck it
up. Prophets may plant it with their pretended revelations, martyrs may water it with their
blood, confessor after confessor may defend it with his learning and with his courage–time
may endear it, literature may protect it–and kings may keepguard about it, but He that
rules in the heavens and cares nothing for human might shall certainly grasp its trunk and,
pulling it up, eventhough it is strong as a cedar, shall hurl it into the fire because He has
not planted it.
Yes, every hoary systemof superstition, every ancient form of idolatry, every venerable
species of will-worship, shall be as certainly overturned, as God is true. Leave them alone.
Be not over-anxious. He shall come by-and-by who shall cry, “Overturn, overturn,
overturn.” And He shall pluck up by the roots everything which His own hand has not
planted. The advice of the Jewish orator was very sensible, when he said concerning certain
men, “Refrain from these men and let them alone, for if this counsel or this work is of men,
it will come to nothing. But if it is of God you cannot overthrow it.”
When you see a new enterprise, some Brethren very enthusiastically attempting something
you cannot quite approve of, do not stand in their way. Let them have a fair trial. There is
One at the helm who understands how to manage better than we do. Let them alone. If God
has not the work in hand, it will come to nothing and if it should be God’s work then surely
it will stand. I am so constantly referred to for advice from all parts of the country that I
am very often in the position of the Delphic oracle–not wishing to give wrong advice and
therefore hardly able to give any.
Among others, some time ago I had an inquiry from a Brother as to whether he ought to
preach or not. His minister told him he ought not and yet he felt he must. So I thought I
would be safe and I said to him just this–“My Brother, if God has opened your mouth the
devil cannot shut it. But if the devil has opened it, I pray the Lord to shut it directly.” I was
quite certain to be safe there. He took it as an encouragement to preach on. I think we may
say the like with regard to all modern enterprises. Whenever a Brother comes with
something new that is to revive the Church and to do good, we may say, “Well, if God has
opened your mouth, I will not help Satan to shut it. But if Satan has opened your mouth,
may God shut it. But it is not mine to do that work. I must leave it to Him. To your own
Masteryou shall stand or fall.”
But, while I have no doubt that this is the drift of the text and what the Savior specially
aimed at, beyond a doubt we may read this sentence as having reference to our own souls.
And here may the Spirit of God give to us a deep solemnity of spirit that we may be led to
ask ourselves and honestly to answer the inquiry whether we are plants of God’s right
hand planting or not. May God the Holy Spirit have personal dealings with many of our
souls tonight and may this be a heart-searching and rein-trying hour!
First, I shall have something to say about those plants that God has not planted. Secondly,
we will consider a little about their being uprooted. And then we will come to the
examination as to whether we are plants that God has planted.

1. The Greek word not only signifies plants–for you know we are in the habit of calling
a thing a plant which grows in the woods–but the Greek word has nicer
discrimination. As Tyndal very well remarks, it is not merely a plant, but a root that
has been designed to be put into the ground and taken care of. We must not only be
comparable to dying plants. We must be comparable to those which come under the
gardener’s care, which are planted in the soil, tended by his skill and looked upon
with interest as being his own.
Now there are many professors who are like wild plants–they were never planted by any
servant of God, much less by God Himself. They are thorns and briers. They bring forth
wild fruits that are noxious, bitter, poisonous, acrid and deadly to the taste. They grow in
abundance. This London is like some wild field that is covered with its ferns and shrubs
and evenwith something worse than these–wild plants that spring up spontaneously. Now,
these will have to be uprooted. When the day comes for God to clear His commons there
will be a blaze indeed, when He shall say, “Gather them together in bundles to burn. But
gather the wheat into My garner.”
The drunkard, the swearer, the adulterer. Those who live by cheating and robbing their
neighbors. Those who never darken the walls of God’s sanctuary. Those to whom Sunday
is the busiest day in the week–those who are without God and without hope and without
Christ–these we may call self-sown plants. Uncared for, untutored–and they must be
uprooted–for He will say, “Gather out of My kingdom all things that offend and they that
do iniquity.” There are other plants, however, that have evidently been planted by some
hand. Some have been planted by the minister’s hand. There are the signs and marks about
them that some pruning-knife has been at work. You know to what I refer.
We all of us have some converts. God has His thousands I hope, in this place. But I have
some of my own here that I could do better without. A man’s converts are always a
disgrace to him. It is only those that God converts that will last. When we go fresh into a
place there is always a number of people who hear with a degree of profit and who are
affected by us. But let that minister be taken away and they go back again. One wave
washes them up on the shore and the return wave sucks them back again into the great
deeps.
Why, see how it was with this congregation in years gone by when they were smaller and
fewer in number. When my worthy predecessor, Mr. James Smith, preached the Word
there was a number of those who professed conversion. And what became of many when he
went away? God alone knows–save that we found some of them no better than they should
be. And if I should die, there would be some of you that would do the same. Take away the
leader and the soldier slinks back into his quarters. He has no objection to follow his
captain while he sees him. But the man being the captain–if the standard-bearer falls–then
he flees himself out of the conflict and is seenno more.
I do not know who planted you–but if you are only planted by man–though he were the
best man that ever lived you will be uprooted. If your conversion is only human, if you are
only brought to God by mere moral sessionand have never been operated upon by the
holy, Divine, supernatural energy of the Holy Spirit you will go back like the dog to his
vomit and like the sow that was washed to her wallowing in the mire.

There are some, too, that were not planted by ministers–they were planted by their fathers
and mothers. They have got a kind of family religion. Well, I like to see the child follow his
parent when the parent walks in the footsteps of Christ. It is a blessedthing when the old
oak falls off to see half-a-dozen saplings sprung up round the spot where he stood. But we
must recollect that we have nothing to do with hereditary godliness for hereditary godliness
is not worth a straw. We must be personally saved. We cannot be savedin our father’s
loins. What if the blood of martyrs be in my veins tonight and if I traced back my pedigree,
as I might do through a hue of preachers of the Word–what matters it if I myself make
shipwreck concerning faith and be a castaway?
It shall be but the sorer condemnation for a child of the saints to perish as an heir of wrath.
Ah, there are many of you who have fathers and mothers in the Church who look for your
everlasting welfare with anxious desire. I pray you do not imagine that your father’s
religion will save you! We will not baptize you if you should have that thought in your
head. Till you have got religion of your own we have nothing to do with you. Not until you
have a personal faith dare we give you a baptism. We would not have you make a
profession by proxy, nor would we have profession made for you while you are an
unconscious babe.
True religion is personal to every man–it is a matter of his own consciousness. He must in
his own soul be lost or be saved. The battle of life can be fought in no battlefield but in our
own personal consciousness and he that attempts to shift the work or to shift the
responsibility to another goes on a fool’s errand. And he will surely fail in it. If you have
not been planted thus, you will be uprooted. And oh, how many there are of even
professors of religion who are self-planted. By their own good deeds and their own efforts
and their own strivings and their own praying they hope to be saved.
And having an experience which was not worked in them but which they borrowed from
books, they have come–and oftentimes have they deceived the minister and been added to
the Church. Ah, souls! You may paint yourselves as you will but unless you have the
genuine matter you will never be able to pass the Judgment Seat of God. You may gild and
varnish, but He will say, “Take it away,” and like the painted face of Jezebel which the
dogs did eat, despite the paint–so shall you yourselves be utterly devoured–despite the fair
picture that you made.
There may be some such in this Church. Human judgment cannot discover them. May the
candle of the Lord search them out tonight! Soul, a homespun religion and a homemade
godliness will fail us. We must have that which is the workmanship of God by the Holy
Spirit. “Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” And, “Except a
man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of Heaven.”
Take care, you self-planted trees lest when the Mastercomes by He shall say, “How came
that plant there? I never put it in the garden. Pluck it up.” And He shall throw it over the
wall of the garden, just as the gardeners throw away their rubbish which is afterwards
gathered up and burned in the fire.
Before I leave this point, I want to say two or three things. I speak in humble language, so
that I may be understood–for in these solemn matters any soaring after fine language is but
mocking the souls of men. Let me just notice that some of those plants that God never did
plant are very beautiful. If you go into the fields there are many plants that grow there that

are quite as lovely as those in the garden. Look at the foxglove and the dog rose. Look at
many of the blossoms we pass by as insignificant–they are really beautiful. But they are not
plants that have ever been planted.
Now, how many we have in our congregations that are really beautiful yet they are none of
God’s planting–men and women whose character is upright, whose manners are amiable,
whose life is irreproachable. They are not immoral, they neither cheat nor lie. They are
exemplary–their disposition is kind, tender-hearted and affectionate. Yes, but my dear
Hearer, there must be something more than this, for Jesus says, “Every plant which My
heavenly Father has not planted will be uprooted.” Though it is a lovely plant, though it
seemto be a fair flower externally, yet since the root of it has sucked its nourishment out of
the wild wastes of sin, whether of infidelity or of lawlessness it is evil in the eye of God–and
it must be plucked up.
Further, how many there are of our wild wood plants that evenbring forth fruit. The
schoolboy in the country can tell us that the wood is an orchard and that often he has had
many a luscious meal from those wild fruits that grew there. Yet, mark you–though the
birds may come and satisfy their hunger from those wild fruits and though the seeds may
be in the winter the sparrow’s garner and the linnet’s storehouse–yet they are not planted.
They do not come under the description of the text–plants that have been planted. So, too,
there may be some of you who really do some good in the world. Without you a mother’s
wants might not be provided for. From your table many of the poor are fed.
Oh, this is good, this is good! I would that all of you did more of it, but I pray you
remember that this is not enough. There must be God’s planting in you or else the fruits
you bring forth will be selfish fruits. You will be like Israel who was denounced as being an
empty vine, because, he brought forth fruit unto himself. Charity is good. Noble Charity,
be you honored among men! But there must be faith and if we have no faith in Christ–
though we give our bodies to be burned and bestow our goods to feed the poor–yet where
Christ is we can never go.
And I would hint just once more that many of those wild plants have very strong roots. If
you were to go and try to dig them up you would have a task before you not easily
accomplished. Look at the wild dock–did you seek to pull it up? Piece after piece it breaks
away and you have to send some sharp instrument deep into the soil before you can root it
out. And eventhen, if there is but a piece left, it springs up and thrives again. Oh how
many there are who have as much tenacity of life in their false confidence as there is in the
dock–in its root!
Some of you cannot shake. “I never have a doubt,” said one, “I never had a doubt or a
misgiving.” You remember Robert Hall said, “Allow me to doubt for you, Sir,” because he
knew the man to be an fornicator. And so we have some–they are not in trouble as other
men–neither are they plagued like other men. They speak with an air of satisfaction–their
language sounds like assurance–but it is presumption. It looks like confidence in Christ but
it is confidence in themselves. And such will strike their roots very deep and they will be
very strong indeed, so that you cannot shake them.
Yet, alas for them! They are not plants of the Lord’s right-hand planting and therefore the
sentence is passed. And before long it shall be executed without pity–“they will be
uprooted.”

II. And now, very briefly indeed, upon my second point–for time will fail us if we dwell
long upon it–THEIR UPROOTING.
This uprooting sometimes comes in this life. Perhaps they are tempted and they foully fall.
Or persecution comes and they desert the standard by which they swore to stand or die. Or
if not, they come to die and then death comes and takes hold of their profession and strikes
it to and fro like some great giant who is able to rend up an oak by its roots. Perhaps for
weeks the man holds his confidence and says, “It is well with me! It is well with me!”
And we have known some plants with the roots so deep that Death himself could not tear
them up. They have died deceived. They have perished with a false hope and they have
gone into the next world dreaming of Heavenand expecting to see the face of God. But oh
their mistake! “Where am I?” said the soul, “this is not Heaven.” And the mask was pulled
off and the man saw himself all loathsome and leprous and he said, “I thought I was fair
and lovely.” Some rude hand plucked off his garment and he saw his running sores and
ulcers and he said, “I thought I was soundly healed.”
And he heard the voice of conscience saying, “You hypocrite! God never had a work in
your soul–you did deceive yourself. You did mislead yourself into a pretended hope and
now where are you? The songs of the sanctuary changed for the wailings of Hell. Your
sittings at the Lord’s Table and in dolorous feastings at the table of devils. Cast out, lost,
banished–because God never planted you–therefore are you plucked up.”
III. This leads me to my final task–the WORK OF SELF-EXAMINATION.
Dear Friends, let not any aged, confirmed Christians here stand back from self-
examination. Minister–you, too! O my own soul and you, deacon, elder, aged professor–let
each man among us put himself into the scale. Am I or am I not a plant of the Lord’s right-
hand planting? Well then, first and foremost, if I am a plant of the Lord’s planting, there
was a time when I had to be taken out of the place where I once grew.
Can I remember a time when He dug about me and dug me up till the roots of my heart
began to bleed? A time when my soul was loosenedfrom the earth and the soil which it had
loved? And though I did cling tenaciously to it, yet was I drawn out by superior power,
taken out of the kingdom of darkness and separated from the earthiness of my own works
and self-righteousness. Can I remember that? Yes, blessedbe God, some of us can say, “I
can.” “One thing I know, whereas I was once blind now I see.” “Old things have passed
away, behold all things have become new.”
These must be a change. No matter how moral you may have been, there must be a change.
There must be a change, too, which you can feel yourself eventhough others cannot see it.
And when such a change does not amount–I will not merely say to the change in a sick man
when he gets well, but to the change in a dead man when he comes to life–if there is no such
change as this we must fear that we are not plants of the Lord’s planting.
Again–if I have been planted by God I do most thoroughly and unfeignedly mourn that I
everwas anything but what I am. And I do most heartily pant to be made like Christ and
to be conformed unto His image. If you have any love in your heart towards sin so as
willingly to choose it–take care that you deceive not yourself as to the love of God being in
you. He that is savedhates sin and loathes it–and though he commits sin, it is by infirmity.
And evenwhen his will gives consent unto the sin, yet it gives a still deeper and more

confident assent unto the Law. And after it has sinned it mourns and bemoans itself
exceedingly on account of sin.
If you saw a fish in a tree you would know it was not in its element. And if you see a
Christian in sin you will be able to discover that he is not in his element. If sin is a pleasure
to you, if you can sail down its stream and rejoice in it, can drink its draughts and make
merry with those that make merry therein–then deceive not yourself–for you are not a
plant of the Lord’s right-hand planting.
Again–if you are such as God has made you, then you have learned your utter helplessness
and emptiness apart from Christ as your righteousness. And the Spirit of God as your
strength. Have you anything of your own to boast of?–He never planted you. Have you
done anything that you can bring before God and claim as your own?–He has had no
dealings with you. About this we are quite sure, for here the Lord makes clean work. Self-
righteousness must not merely be wounded in the leg. It must have its brains dashed out.
And he that still clings to himself and his strength and his works has to begin anew–for he
has not yet begun in God’s way.
Another essential mark of the plants of God’s planting is that they are all planted in one
soil and, strange to say, all on a Rock. They whom God have planted put their trust in
Jesus only. They have not the shadow or a shade of a suspicion of an idea of a hope
anywhere but in Christ. They say of Christ’s wounds, “They are the clefts of the Rock in
which we hide ourselves.” They say of Christ’s blood, “This has cleansed our sins.” They
say of Christ Himself, “He is our Law.” They say of His presence, “It is our delight.” They
say of His Gospel, “It is our joy.” They say of His Heaven, “It is our sure and everlasting
reward.”
I would that we had longer time–I knew not that the time was speeding at so great a rate. I
would we had longer time to be testing and trying ourselves in this matter. But Scripture is
so explicit as to what a believer is and what he is not that I need not enlarge. I would rather
stir up your hearts to make sure work here. Professor, what if you should be deceived? If
you should be, do not say, “But.” I tell you again–it is possible–for others have been
deceived. I beseechyou, suppose it possible.
O that you may say in your soul, “Well, if it is possible, if I am deceived, yet I am a sinner–
and as a sinner I will go to Christ afresh tonight–if I am not a saint, I am a sinner. And
‘this is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the
world to save sinners, of whom I am chief,’ so I will go to Him again.” But if you refuse to
say this, I will put the “if” again. Jonathan Edwards remarks that in the great revival in
New England there were sinners of all sorts converted, except unconverted professors.
And, says he, “these unconverted professors are in the most dangerous state in which men
can be.”
Well, take that warning to yourselves. Some of you say, “But I am not a professor.” Ah, but
you are always here and people consider you such. Though you are not baptized and do not
join the Church, yet your constantly coming here identifies you with us and they consider
that you made a profession. And so you do after a sort. Mark this–if you are still
unconverted and keepon attending the means of grace year after year–you are getting into
a more dangerous state. It is not often we hear of men being converted when they have
been hearing the Word twenty or thirty years without its having taken effect.

Do then, I pray you, try yourselves. Make sure work for eternity. Build with stone and not
with plaster. Build on the Rock and not on the sand. “I counsel you that you buy of Me gold
tried in the fire,” says the Spirit. Oh, let not your faith be a mere spasm, the mere action of
a moment. O that you may have the faith of God’s elect which is of the operation of God
the Holy Spirit! Do you say, “How is this to be had? How can I be saved?” Soul, I have a
free Gospel to preach to you. A full Christ to empty sinners. A precious Christ for lawless
outcasts. A rich Christ to beggarly and starving souls.
“Whosoever will,” says Jesus, “let him come and take of the water of life freely.” “He that
believes on the Son has everlasting life.” He that trusts Christ is a plant of God’s right-
hand planting. O that you would trust Jesus now! I know there is something which holds
you back and you say, “I am not fit.” He wants no fitness. Come as you are. Any man is fit
to be washed that is black with sin. Any man is fit to be made whole that is sick. Any man is
fit to be relieved that is poor. Ah, you have got the fitness in your unfitness–for your
unfitness is all the fitness that He wants!
“But may I come?” you say. May you? Yes, if you need the Savior, you may come. Just as
you may go to the fountain which stands in the street and sends forth its sparkling streams,
that he who is thirsty may drink, so may you come now. “The greater the wretch,” said
Rowland Hill in his hymn–“the more welcome here.” Christ loves to save big sinners. Black
sinners. Double-dyed sinners. Crimson-dyed sinners–Jesus Christ delights to wash. Oh, is
there such an one here tonight? Is there a heart here that longs to have Christ to be his All
in All?
Soul, if you are longing for Christ, He is longing for you. Let the match be made tonight
since you are both agreed. Since you are agreed to have Christ and He wills to have you–
here–strike hands tonight and take Him “to have and to hold, for better for worse, for life
and for death.” Yes, for all eternity! What do you say? “Oh, I am not worthy.” “Ah,” says
He, “you are black with sin but you are comely in Me if you are but willing to come to Me
now.” Has the Holy Spirit made you willing to come to Christ? In Christ’s name, come. He
bids you come. From Heaven He speaks to you tonight through His ambassador, “Come
and welcome, Sinner, come!”
The door is opened and the Masterstands outside and He says, “My oxen and My fatlings
are killed. Come to the supper!” Trust Jesus, Sinner! Down with you, down with you, flat
on your face before Him! Trust Him with your soul just as it is! Away with your “but” and
“of” and with your “tomorrow” and “perhaps,” and your carnal reasoning! Now, with an
empty hand, take a full Christ. Now, with empty, hungry mouths receive the living Food,
“for He is able to save unto the uttermost them that come unto God by Him!”
One may grow hoarse in calling after poor souls but they will never come unless our
heavenly Father comes after them by His Spirit. But He often does come when the Word is
preached with faithfulness and affection, God is in the Word–God wrestling with the souls
of men and going after the souls of men and fetching in souls, as our Church-books testify
every week.
Oh, I am loath to leave off tonight. Let me plead with you another moment! Poor Heart! Do
you go away and say, “There is nothing for me”? How can this be? How can it be? Even if
the text condemns you, still the Gospel is preached to you. Christ Jesus says, “Come unto
Me, all you that labor and are heavy laden and I will give you rest.” There is something for

you–you that cannot see the preacher down yonder in the lobbies–there is something for
you. In your ears the Word sounds. “Lo, everyone that thirsts, come you to the waters and
he that has no money come, buy and eat. You all, come, buy wine and milk without money
and without price.”
Trust Christ, Sinner and your soul is saved. A plant of the Father’s right-hand planting is
that soul who has come to put his trust in Jesus. And the devil himself shall not be able to
pluck you up.
PRECEPT AUSTIN RESOURCES
"Blind Guides"
Matthew 15:12-14
Theme: Jesus warns us of the dangers of following the leaders of 'man-made' systems of religion.
(Delivered Sunday, April 15, 2007 at Bethany Bible Church. Unless otherwise noted, all
Scripture references are taken from The Holy Bible, New King James Version; copyright 1982,
Thomas Nelson, Inc.)
Many years ago, I was on a retreat at the Sunriver Resort with a small company I had just started
working for. Obviously, I was eager to make a good impression on my new boss; and so, when
he suggested that the two of us go together on a bike hike, I readily agreed. I thought about that
bike hike as I studied this morning's passages, because it was during that short hike that I learned
an important practical lesson in life: Never follow someone who doesn't really know where
they're going.
* * * * * * * * * * *
As we started off together in our exploration of the many routes and paths of Sunriver, I was
given lots of instructions and directions about the different places we were going to go, and when
we could expect to return. Dark clouds were beginning to form overhead; but I was told not to
worry. My new boss said that we were only going a short distance and that we would be back in
time for supper—long before the rains came. I, naturally, believed him.
I remember one particular point on our hike when we were overlooking a bluff where other folks
were riding their bikes in the direction of the dark storm clouds that were rolling their way. "See
those folks out there?" my boss asked me. "They're inexperienced in being outdoors. They're
going to get drenched; because they're not planning ahead . . . like we are." And of course, I
agreed. "Well; let's get on back home," he said. And off we went.
You can kind of tell where this story is going in advance, can't you? As you are probably
figuring out, we both got so pathetically and hopelessly lost that we seriously began to doubt that
we'd ever get back to our rental house before it was time to check out. We were hours late for
dinner; and of course, they didn't keep dinner for us. But that was fine, because we were too wet
and far too cold to eat anyway.

Now, to my credit, I never said a single word the whole time we were lost and disparately trying
to find our way back. But I did do a lot of thinking. I thought things like, "'Short-trip,' eh?",
"'Planning ahead,' is it?" My former boss and I are good friends to this day; but the experience
did help to fix a principle in my mind: Never follow someone who doesn't really know where
they're going.
Now; that was a pretty harmless misadventure. All that I ended up getting from it was 'wet' and
'hungry'. We all laughed about it later. But that same principle, when applied to matters of the
soul, is unspeakably serious.
It that very principle that I believe the Lord Jesus would have us learn from this morning's
passage from the fifteenth chapter of Matthew. It's a lesson that, sadly, very few people in this
world learn—that when it comes to spiritual things, it is inexpressively dangerous to follow
someone who doesn't really know where he or she is going. You can end up getting far worse
than just cold and wet. (Actually, you can end up getting quite the opposite!)
* * * * * * * * * *
The broad subject in this section of Matthew's Gospel is “religion”. As followers of Jesus Christ,
we know that we are not saved by a "religion". God does not call us into a "religion"; but rather
into a "relationship"—a saving relationship with Himself through faith in His Son Jesus. People
don't always understand the difference.
A "religion”, in the distinction I'm speaking of, is a system of man-created beliefs, and man-
made rules and regulations, by which I seek to do something for God. And such a system of
“religion” will never save me. But by contrast, the saving faith that the Bible calls us to is a
matter of being in a "relationship" in which, by grace, I have placed my trust in what God has
done for me through the cross of Jesus Christ. You might say that the key word in religion is
“DO”; and the key word in a relationship with God through faith in Christ is “DONE”.
In this portion of Matthew's Gospel, Jesus is in a confrontational situation with the religious
leaders of the day. Their focus is on the “DO” aspect of religion—what they believe they can
"do" to earn God's favor. And as we have found in our study of this passage, it has much to teach
us about the subject of "religion" in general.
It begins with the Pharisees and scribes confronting Jesus because of His failure—in their
estimation, and according to their system—to hold to the ancient religious traditions of Judaism:
Then the scribes and Pharisees who were from Jerusalem came to Jesus, saying, “Why
do Your disciples transgress the tradition of the elders? For they do not wash their hands
when they eat bread.” He answered and said to them, “Why do you also transgress the
commandment of God because of your tradition? For God commanded, saying, ‘Honor
your father and your mother’; and, ‘He who curses father or mother, let him be put to
death.’ But you say, ‘Whoever says to his father or mother, “Whatever profit you might
have received from me is a gift to God"—then he need not honor his father or mother.’
Thus you have made the commandment of God of no effect by your tradition. Hypocrites!
Well did Isaiah prophesy about you, saying:
‘These people draw near to Me with their mouth,
And honor Me with their lips,
But their heart is far from Me.

And in vain they worship Me,
Teaching as doctrines the commandments of men’” (Matthew 15:1-9).
The first subject that Jesus touches on in this passage is that of "religious traditions". Jesus shows
them that their "traditions"—which were strictly "man-made" religious traditions—had become
so important to them, that they disobeyed the clear commands of God in order to keep those
traditions. Thus, in this first portion, Jesus teaches us that—if we're not careful—religious
"traditions" can actually became "transgressions" of the law of God.
After He spoke these words to the Pharisees and scribes, Jesus then turns to the crowds who were
there and overheard this confrontation; and He corrected the misunderstanding that the religious
teachers had instilled in the minds of the people through their tradition of ceremonial washing:
When He had called the multitude to Himself, He said to them, “Hear and understand:
Not what goes into the mouth defiles a man; but what comes out of the mouth, this defiles
a man" (vv. 10-11).
Jesus spoke this strange-sounding parable to the crowds—right there in front of the Pharisees
who had just rebuked Him. And later on, Peter asked Him to explain what it meant:
Then Peter answered and said to Him, “Explain this parable to us.” So Jesus said, “Are
you also still without understanding? Do you not yet understand that whatever enters the
mouth goes into the stomach and is eliminated? But those things which proceed out of the
mouth come from the heart, and they defile a man. For out of the heart proceed evil
thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies. These are
the things which defile a man, but to eat with unwashed hands does not defile a man" (vv.
15-20).
And there, Jesus touches on another important subject when it comes to "religion": the subject of
what it is that truly "defiles" someone. Jesus clarified the matter and brought it all into proper
focus; teaching us that true defilement before God isn't a matter of what we put in our mouths—
the foods we eat or abstain from. Rather, He shows us that it's a matter of what comes out of our
mouths—that is, our words. What comes out of our mouths is a product of what's truly in our
heart; and it's the stuff that comes out of our mouths that truly defiles us in God's sight.
These are very important principles to keep in mind when it comes to practices of "religion".
And tucked between these two principles is the one that we'll focus on this morning. It has to do
with the "teachers" and "leaders" of man-made systems of religion. And Jesus' words here warn
us to keep in mind that spiritual principle that was suggested to me—the hard way—on my bike
hike: that it's dangerous to follow someone who doesn't know where they're going.
Then His disciples came and said to Him, “Do You know that the Pharisees were
offended when they heard this saying?” But He answered and said, “Every plant which
My heavenly Father has not planted will be uprooted. Let them alone. They are blind
leaders of the blind. And if the blind leads the blind, both will fall into a ditch" (Matthew
15:12-14).
* * * * * * * * * *
If the Lord wills, we will be spending more of our attention on that third principle next week—
that true defilement comes, not from without, but from within. But before we do, let's look again
at Jesus' first articulation of that principle. It sets the context for our passage this morning; and

from it, we can glean some wonderful spiritual truths that relate to the whole subject of “leaders”
and “teachers” in man-made religions.
First, notice that, after the Pharisees and scribes rebuked Jesus for not keeping to their man-made
traditions of ceremonial washing—and after Jesus then rebuked them in return for placing their
man-made traditions over the clear commandments of God—Jesus then turns from them and
speaks directly to the crowds and teaches them the spiritual truth that the religious leaders had
failed to either grasp or teach.
That alone was a very bold move on Jesus' part. He was demonstrating a characteristic about His
teaching ministry that had previously amazed those who heard Him. After the Sermon on The
Mount, people were astonished at His teaching, "for He taught them as one having authority, and
not as the scribes" (Matthew 7:29). He didn't look to the long-held traditions of scriptural
interpretation and application that the Pharisees and scribes had developed and codified. He
didn't quote 'Rabbi So-and-so', or Rabbi Such-and-such', in order to authorize what He said. He
spoke as who He Himself was—the Son of God in human flesh, who taught divine truth under
the direct authority of His heavenly Father. I can't help but think that this had a dramatic impact
on those who saw it—that Jesus would, as it were, go 'over the heads' of the religious leaders and
speak directly to the crowds.
What's more, I believe it showed the compassion and grace of our Lord that He would do so. He
didn't speak these words of truth to the Pharisees and scribes—the learned and religious elite of
the day. Rather, He called the common people to Himself and spoke to them. This reminds me of
another wonderful truth about our Savior's redeeming love—one that's spoken of by Paul in 1
Corinthians 1:26-31;
For you see your calling, brethren, that not many wise according to the flesh, not many
mighty, not many noble, are called. But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to
put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame
the things which are mighty; and the base things of the world and the things which are
despised God has chosen, and the things which are not, to bring to nothing the things that
are, that no flesh should glory in His presence. But of Him you are in Christ Jesus, who
became for us wisdom from God—and righteousness and sanctification and
redemption—that, as it is written, “He who glories, let him glory in the LORD" (1
Corinthians 1:26-31).
We also notice that Jesus begins with an invitation: "Hear and understand . . ." That's a very
remarkable invitation. Jesus doesn't just invite them to "hear" this parable; but He also invites
them to "understand" it.
Please stop and think about that. To "hear" what Jesus has to say, but to not "understand", is a
very condemning thing. That was all that the Pharisees were able to do. They were like those
whom Jesus had indicted before; saying,
For whoever has, to him more will be given, and he will have abundance; but whoever
does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him. Therefore I speak to them
in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they
understand. And in them the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled, which says:
‘Hearing you will hear and shall not understand,
And seeing you will see and not perceive;
For the hearts of this people have grown dull.

Their ears are hard of hearing,
And their eyes they have closed,
Lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears,
Lest they should understand with their hearts and turn,
So that I should heal them'" (Matthew 13:12-15).
The proud Pharisees and scribes "heard", but their minds were closed. They had not been given
the ability to "understand." Only by an act of God's grace can anyone be enabled to both "hear"
AND "understand"; and Jesus here offers that grace, not to the “proud” and “learned” religious
leaders, but to the simple folk who had gathered around Him. The apostle Peter himself
exemplifies the attitude that we should have—one that humbly seeks to be granted the ability to
understand what Jesus says; because he, later on, asks Jesus, "Explain this parable to us" (v. 15).
I believe all of these things help us to appreciate the warnings that Jesus is about to give us
concerning the "teachers" and "leaders" in man-made systems of "religion". In all of this, Jesus
boldly sets Himself above the religious teachers of the day, and speaks the truth directly to His
people. He corrects the errors of the teachers of man-made religion; and brings spiritual things
back into their proper priorities. He shows us in this not to follow "unspiritual" and
"unredeemed" men in matters of the Spirit. He warns us not to follow "leaders" who do not really
know where they themselves are going.
I believe that this was what the apostle John was speaking of when he wrote,
These things I have written to you concerning those who try to deceive you. But the
anointing which you have received from Him abides in you, and you do not need that
anyone teach you; but as the same anointing teaches you concerning all things, and is
true, and is not a lie, and just as it has taught you, you will abide in Him (1 John 2:26-
27).
“Teachers” and “leaders” are a necessary part of the church that Jesus has established on earth.
The Bible tells us that Christ Himself “gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some
evangelists, and some pastors and teachers . . .” (Ephesians 4:12). But they are “teachers” and
“leaders” who teach us and lead us in truths that God has already authoritatively established—
once for all-in the sure words of Scripture.
By contrast, teachers and religious leaders who invent something new for us have done so
because they first departed from the truths given to us in God's word. And no matter how
persuasive or convincing such teachers may be, it's dangerous to follow someone who—in the
end—doesn't really know where they're going!
* * * * * * * * * *
So then; this is the context for the warnings Jesus is about to teach us in this passage. And
apparently, the disciples were disturbed by it all. They came to Him and said, "Do You know
that the Pharisees were offended when they heard this saying?" (v. 12). They, no doubt, knew of
the growing animosity that the religious leaders held toward Jesus. They must have known that
the Pharisees had already "plotted against Him, how they might destroy Him" (Matthew 12:14).
As they read the feeling of "offense" on the faces of the Pharisees, they were very possibly
concerned for their own safety and that of the Lord. And so, they let Jesus know what they
thought He didn't know—that He had offended them when He countered their traditions by
turning to the crowd and saying what He said to them.

Now; I suspect that the Lord DID know that He offended them. He spoke what He said in a very
public manner. But whether Jesus knew that He had offended the scribes and Pharisees or not,
He goes on to address the matter to the disciples. And it's here that He gives us some basic
principles we need to keep in mind concerning "teachers" and "leaders" of man-made religious
systems.
First, notice how He speaks of . . .
1. THE DOOM OF 'MAN-MADE' SYSTEMS OF
RELIGION.
Jesus answered them and said, "Every plant which My heavenly Father has not planted will be
uprooted" (v. 13).
What did He mean by "every plant"? There have been a variety of opinions. Some have said that
it refers to the "teachers" or "leaders" themselves, who teach in contradiction to God's revealed
will. Others have said that it refers to systems of religion that they develop. Still others say it
refers to the doctrines and teachings that they disseminate. And others still, because of the
immediate context, believe that it refers to the traditions that are developed as a result of those
false systems. It may be that the phrase is intentionally broad, and that we should take it to mean
that everything which our heavenly Father did not establish will one day be, as it were, "pulled
up by the roots"—like a weed that is to be discarded.
I suspect that these words may have reminded the disciples of another parable that Jesus had
already told them:
Another parable He put forth to them, saying: “The kingdom of heaven is like a man who
sowed good seed in his field; but while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares
among the wheat and went his way. But when the grain had sprouted and produced a
crop, then the tares also appeared. So the servants of the owner came and said to him,
'Sir, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have tares?' He said to
them, 'An enemy has done this.' The servants said to him, 'Do you want us then to go and
gather them up?' But he said, 'No, lest while you gather up the tares you also uproot the
wheat with them. Let both grow together until the harvest, and at the time of harvest I
will say to the reapers, “First gather together the tares and bind them in bundles to burn
them, but gather the wheat into my barn”'” (Matthew 13:24-30).
The point is clear, though; isn't it? Even though the Pharisees and scribes may have been
offended at His rebuke of their system of religion—with all its trappings and traditions and
teachings—it didn't matter. Their "system" was not something that the Father had planted; and
so, it was ultimately doomed to be pulled up by the roots on the great day of judgment.
What strong words these are! And how great a warning they should serve to make sure that we
give ourselves over exclusively to following Christ and obeying the commandments of God's
word! What a warning it is that we not to allow ourselves to be associated with that which is not
of God—with that which is doomed to be pulled up and cast away! These words remind us of
Paul said in 1 Corinthians 3:11-15;
For no other foundation can anyone lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ.
Now if anyone builds on this foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay,
straw, each one’s work will become clear; for the Day will declare it, because it will be

revealed by fire; and the fire will test each one’s work, of what sort it is. If anyone’s work
which he has built on it endures, he will receive a reward. If anyone’s work is burned, he
will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire (1 Corinthians 3:11-
15).
We must be discerning, dear brothers and sisters; and make sure that our faith is built on the
foundation that will last—and not on that which is doomed to be pulled up by the roots!
* * * * * * * * * *
So then; Jesus first speaks of the doom of those systems of religion or tradition or philosophy
that are not of God. That alone should be enough of an admonishment to keep away from them.
But next, we see that Jesus speaks of . . .
2. THE BLINDNESS OF THE LEADERS OF THOSE
SYSTEMS.
It's interesting to me that, when the disciples came to Jesus to tell Him that He had offended the
scribes and Pharisees, He didn't seek—in any way—to remove the offense. He didn't apologize,
or try to explain Himself to them. Instead, He told the disciples, "Let them alone" (v. 14); or, as
it's translated in the NIV, "Leave them."
Now; this wasn't because Jesus didn't care about offending people. Clearly, in some cases, He
cared very much! For example, there was once a controversy about Jesus and the paying of the
temple tax that was required of every Jewish person. Jesus maintained that it was not necessary
for Him to pay the tax, because He—and those who followed Him—were the full realization of
that for which the temple was meant to symbolize. And yet, He said, "Nevertheless, lest we
offend them . . ."; and He then sent Peter off to "fish" for the tax money (Matthew 17:27).
But here, the situation was different. The scribes and Pharisees were not put-off because of some
innocent misunderstanding or offense. Rather, they were setting themselves in opposition to the
clear teaching of God's word. Jesus had cut it straight with them; and utterly countered their false
teaching—and rather than repentant, they were offended. Their hearts were hardened toward the
truth. And Jesus' response was to leave them in a state of offense. He neither sought their
acceptance, nor feared their disapproval. And as we read on, we see why. Jesus said, "They are
blind leaders of the blind" (v. 14).
You see; it was typical of the Jewish religious leaders to think of themselves as 'guides to the
spiritually blind'. They held that it was their task to lead those who were without spiritual
understanding, and guide them to the light. The apostle Paul once referred to them in those very
terms in Romans 2:17-19;
Indeed you are called a Jew, and rest on the law, and make your boast in God, and know
His will, and approve the things that are excellent, being instructed out of the law, and
are confident that you yourself are a guide to the blind, a light to those who are in
darkness . . . (Romans 2:17-19).
But the fact is that, in reality, these religious leaders were themselves spiritually blind. Just think!
There was the Son of God standing before them; and yet, they were opposing Him in every way.
And that's what made them particularly culpable; because they were not only spiritually blind,

but were also in a state of arrogant denial about their blindness—setting themselves up to be
"guides" to others who were blind.
Perhaps you remember the time when Jesus actually healed a man who was physically blind. It
was a wonderful miracle; and yet, the Pharisees opposed Jesus for it because he healed the man
on the Sabbath. The apostle John writes;
And Jesus said, “For judgment I have come into this world, that those who do not see
may see, and that those who see may be made blind.” Then some of the Pharisees who
were with Him heard these words, and said to Him, “Are we blind also?” Jesus said to
them, “If you were blind, you would have no sin; but now you say, ‘We see.’ Therefore
your sin remains (John 9:39-41).
And so; Jesus warns us to think rightly about those who, in arrogance, set themselves up to be
"teachers" and "spiritual leaders" in opposition to faith in Christ and obedience to the teaching of
God's word. They may 'speak' impressively and in what appears to be a credentialed manner;
they may even sound 'reasonable' and 'intelligent'. But the fact is that they are, themselves,
spiritually blind. And they are worse than just "blind". They are "blind leaders of the blind".
* * * * * * * * * *
To be "blind" is bad. But to be a "blind leader of the blind" is nothing short of deadly! This leads
us to a final thing Jesus tells us about these "teachers" and "leaders" of man-made systems of
religion . . .
3. THE DANGER TO THOSE WHO FOLLOW THOSE
LEADERS .
Jesus says it plainly; "and if the blind leads the blind, both will fall into a ditch". Literally, He
says that they will both fall into a pit or a well—a fall that leads to utter destruction.
Perhaps in this respect, it would be good to remember the words of Psalm 1:
Blessed is the man
Who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly,
Nor stands in the path of sinners,
Nor sits in the seat of the scornful;
But his delight is in the law of the LORD,
And in His law he meditates day and night.
He shall be like a tree
Planted by the rivers of water,
That brings forth its fruit in its season,
Whose leaf also shall not wither;
And whatever he does shall prosper.
The ungodly are not so,
But are like the chaff which the wind drives away.
Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment,
Nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous.

For the LORD knows the way of the righteous,
But the way of the ungodly shall perish (Psalm 1).
* * * * * * * * * *
So then; as followers of Jesus Christ, let's be circumspect. Let's be very careful that we do not
follow after so-called "teachers" and "religious leaders" and "spiritual advisors" and "counselors"
who are—in actuality—"blind leaders of the blind". As Jesus has already warned us, "You will
know them by their fruits" (Matthew 7:16). Just looking at our passage this morning, you can tell
them by two things: (1) they lead and teach in a way that is contrary to God's word and in such a
way as to cause people to be in disobedience to God's clear command; and (2) they become very
offended when you point out their error, and when you clearly speak forth God's truth. Jesus'
counsel to us, in such cases, is very simple and straight-forward: "Let them alone."
Instead, let's be sure we measure teachers and their teachings by the sure standards that God has
given us. First, let's measure them against Christ, and against His command to follow obediently
after Him. It's not wrong to be ministered to by a teacher or a leader who is following Jesus
faithfully. Paul himself was able to tell the Corinthians, "Imitate me, just as I also imitate Christ"
(1 Corinthians 11:1). And second, let's be sure we measure what we hear against the faithful
teaching of Scripture. Let's be like the noble Bareans in the Book of Acts; who, we're told, when
they heard the teachings of Paul and Silas, "seared the Scriptures daily to find out whether these
things are so" (Acts 17:11).
Let's always be on the alert; dear brothers and sisters! Let's beware and be forewarned! Let's
make very sure not to follow someone who does not know where they are going!
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Matthew 15:1-20: “Pharisees Come To Jesus And Ask Him Why His Disciples Don’t Wash
Their Hands When They Eat Bread, And Jesus Condemns Religion That Is Only External”
by
Jim Bomkamp
Back Bible Studies Home Page
1. INTRO:

1.1. In this next section of the gospel of Matthew, we see that Jesus is confronted by a group of
Pharisees and Scribes who have come from Jerusalem because of His’ disciples not following the
traditions of the elders
1.1.1. These Pharisees and Scribes are offended that Jesus’ disciples do not wash their hands
according to the laws and traditions established by the Pharisees
1.1.1.1.They are confronting Jesus’ disciples as if they have sinned by not following these
traditions which were not commanded by God but were made up by men
1.1.2. Jesus further offends the Pharisees by condemning them
1.1.2.1.He says that their religion consists only of external rituals performed by rote, not from the
heart
1.1.2.2.He says that their worship is in vain
1.1.2.3.He teaches that the things that defile a person come from within, from his heart, not from
without his body
1.1.2.4.He points out how that through their traditions the Pharisees circumvent the Law of God
1.1.3. It is sad how that often in the church today issues are made to be of utmost importance that
shouldn’t either be issues at all or they shouldn’t be of nearly such importance
2. VS 15:1-6 - “15:1 Then some Pharisees and scribes *came to Jesus from Jerusalem, saying, 2
“Why do Your disciples transgress the tradition of the elders? For they do not wash their hands
when they eat bread.” 3 And He answered and said to them, “And why do you yourselves
transgress the commandment of God for the sake of your tradition? 4 “For God said, ‘Honor
your father and mother,’ and, ‘He who speaks evil of father or mother, let him be put to death.’ 5
“But you say, ‘Whoever shall say to his father or mother, “Anything of mine you might have
been helped by has been given to God,” 6 he is not to honor his father or his mother.’ And thus
you invalidated the word of God for the sake of your tradition”. - Some Scribes and Pharisees
confront Jesus because His disciples transgressed the tradition of the elders by not washing their
hands before they ate
2.1. We see here in these verses a foreboding sign appearing as the Pharisees have now begun to
be so concerned with Jesus’ popularity as well as His condemnation and alienation of them that
they send representatives all the way from Jerusalem for the express purpose of trying to find
some way to charge Him of some violation of the law and have Him censored or put to death
2.2. As I mentioned earlier in this study, Jesus did not teach His disciples to respect and follow
the traditions and commandments of men, even those of the leaders of Israel
2.2.1. People have a hard enough time just obeying the commandments of God to have to worry
about other silly inventions of men

2.3. There is an insidious thing that tends to happen when people add to the scripture their own
rules and regulations, they begin to make their rules to be as important or more important than
the scripture, and then they also begin to minimize the importance of what scripture teaches
2.3.1. This is exactly what the Pharisees and scribes had done
2.3.1.1.They taught that their traditions were actually more important than the scriptures
2.3.1.2.They taught that Jehovah constantly studied their traditions
2.3.1.3.When their traditions conflicted with the Law their traditions actually became a means of
circumventing the obeying of the Law
2.4. The Pharisees and scribes had misunderstood the purpose of the ceremonial laws, and thus
they had become led astray from following the Lord as they should
2.4.1. They believed that the becoming unclean because of the ceremonial law (not to be
confused with the moral law) actually caused a person to have sinned, and that the things which
they were forbidden contact with under the ceremonial law were sinful in and of themselves
2.4.1.1.The ceremonial law was done away with during the period of the early church of the
book of Acts because those commandments were not permanent but only intended to create a
typology of sin and to make the people become sensitized to how easy it is to sin in one’s life
2.4.1.1.1.It is our hearts that must be cleansed from sin before our worship is acceptable to God
that ceremonial cleansing was supposed to typify and teach
2.5. The Pharisees’ misunderstanding of the purpose of the ceremonial laws led them to the
conclusion that since many things on the earth were evil in and of themselves that it would be
best to take it upon themselves to try to innumerate as accurately as possible what activities and
contacts caused a person to sin
2.5.1. Thus, the Pharisees and scribes added hundreds of their own commandments to the
commandments of God
2.5.2. After creating their own laws, instead of teaching the people God’s Word they primarily
taught them their own commandments
2.6. In these verses here, the Pharisees confront Jesus because His disciples were eating their
meals without washing their hands according to the traditions of the Pharisees, for their laws
taught that a person would sin if he ate with unwashed hands
2.6.1. The Pharisees had instituted numerous traditions concerning hand washing since they
believed that a person must be washed and purified after coming in contact with many things
which they believed to be sinful in and of themselves. John MacArthur writes about these rituals
of washing performed by the Pharisees, “The value of ceremonial rinsing was held so high that
one rabbi insisted that ‘whosoever has his abode in the land of Israel and eats his common food
with rinsed hands may rest assured that he shall obtain eternal life’. Another rabbi taught that it

would be better to walk four miles out of the way to get water than to eat with unwashed hands.
A certain rabbi who was imprisoned and given a small ration of water used it to wash his hands
before eating rather than to drink, claiming he would rather die than transgress the tradition. God
had instituted certain prescribed ceremonial washings as part of the covenant given through
Moses, but those were never more than outward symbols or pictures of spiritual truths. The Old
Testament nowhere holds them up as having any merit, value, or blessing in themselves. Water
jars were kept ready to be used before every meal. The minimum amount of water to be used was
a quarter of a log, enough to fill one and a half egg shells. The water was first poured on both
hands, held with the fingers pointed upward; and it must run down the arm as far as the wrist and
drop off from the wrist, for the water was now itself unclean, having touched the unclean hands.
And if it ran down the fingers again it would render them unclean. The process was repeated
with hands held in the downward direction, the fingers pointing down. And finally each hand
was cleansed by being rubbed with the fist of the other. A strict Jew would do this before every
meal and between every course in every meal”.
2.7. At their confrontation of Him, Jesus rebuked the Pharisees and scribes for setting aside the
obeying of God’s Law for their own traditions
2.7.1. The Old Testament Law taught that we are to ‘honor’ our father and mother
2.7.1.1.By saying what He said, Jesus infers that honoring our father and mother means that we
are obliged to help them out financially and take care of them when they grow old
2.7.2. The tradition of the Pharisees taught that if a person declared any of his wealth to be
‘corban’ (Mark 7:11) that he could give it to the temple instead of using it to help out his elderly
parents in their time of need
2.7.2.1.Thus, the people followed the teaching and example of the Pharisees and scribes and
abandoned their elderly parents in their time of need
2.8. We Christians ought to be challenged because of this study to consider how that we might
help out our parents in their old age since we are called to ‘honor’ our father and mother
3. VS 15:7-9 - “7 “You hypocrites, rightly did Isaiah prophesy of you, saying, 8 ‘This people
honors Me with their lips, But their heart is far away from Me. 9 ‘But in vain do they worship
Me, Teaching as doctrines the precepts of men.’”” - Jesus rebukes the Pharisees for being
hypocrites and honoring God with their lips while their hearts were far from Him
3.1. Jesus tells the Pharisees and scribes assembled there before Him this day that Isaiah rightly
prophesied concerning them
3.1.1. In the first chapter of Isaiah, Isaiah 1:10-17, the Lord tells the Israelites that He is tired of
their mere external religion which consisted of rituals, and their ‘solemn assemblies’ which He
could stand no longer, “10 Hear the word of the Lord, You rulers of Sodom; Give ear to the
instruction of our God, You people of Gomorrah. 11 “What are your multiplied sacrifices to
Me?” Says the Lord. “I have had enough of burnt offerings of rams, And the fat of fed cattle.
And I take no pleasure in the blood of bulls, lambs, or goats. 12 “When you come to appear

before Me, Who requires of you this trampling of My courts? 13 “Bring your worthless offerings
no longer, Incense is an abomination to Me. New moon and sabbath, the calling of assemblies—I
cannot endure iniquity and the solemn assembly. 14 “I hate your new moon festivals and your
appointed feasts, They have become a burden to Me. I am weary of bearing them. 15 “So when
you spread out your hands in prayer, I will hide My eyes from you, Yes, even though you
multiply prayers, I will not listen. Your hands are covered with blood. 16 “Wash yourselves,
make yourselves clean; Remove the evil of your deeds from My sight. Cease to do evil, 17 Learn
to do good; Seek justice, Reprove the ruthless; Defend the orphan, Plead for the widow”
3.1.1.1.God tells us through these verses that if we are to be His people, the Lord wants us to
have our hearts and minds cleansed from sin and to live truly righteous lives
3.1.1.2.These words of condemnation were true for the people of Isaiah’s day and they apply to
all of those of any era who claim to be God’s people and yet are living hypocritical lives
3.1.2. Jesus quotes directly from Isaiah 29:13 when He tells them that Isaiah prophesied correctly
concerning them, “13 Then the Lord said,“Because this people draw near with their words And
honor Me with their lip service, But they remove their hearts far from Me, And their reverence
for Me consists of tradition learned by rote…””, and then Isaiah goes on to prophesy the coming
judgment upon the Israelites because of their hypocrisy of religion
3.2. I like what John MacArthur writes concerning formalism and ritual in religion amongst
God’s people, “From the time the Old Covenant was first given to them, God’s people were
more concerned with outside ritual than with inside righteousness. Ritual requires no change of
heart, no forsaking of sin, no repentance before God. It allows a person to display symbols of
religion while holding on to his sins. It is religion of form rather than faith, and is therefore
empty and hypocritical”
3.3. Jesus tells these Pharisees and scribes that they were worshipping Him in vain
3.3.1. Their worship would not count towards eternity one iota
3.3.2. Jesus condemns them by saying that they teach for doctrine the ‘precepts of men’,
referring to ‘the tradition of the elders’ or the laws of the Pharisees
3.4. I grew up in a church which I attended for the first 15 or 16 years of my life, and it was very
formal and everything in the church was ritual oriented. I memorized and prayed the canned
prayers from the prayer book rather than pray to God from my heart, memorized the proper way
to receive communion, memorized some old hymns that had a semblance of truth in them, and I
even went all the way through the process of confirmation into the church. Yet, I never once was
confronted with the realities of an eternity to be lived in either heaven or hell, the need to repent
of my sins in order to be forgiven, and the possibility of being born again and regenerated to live
a total new life through the power of the Holy Spirit. And I know that had I died prior to January
of 1973 when finally at the age of 18 I turned my life completely over to Jesus Christ and
repented of all of my sins, that I would have gone to hell. A church which does not teach and
preach the only message that will save a soul for eternity, and which does not teach and live a
life of holiness that forsakes every wrong and false path that goes against the teaching of
scripture, is every bit as deadly as the false religion of the Pharisees condemned by Jesus.
4. VS 15:10-11 - “ 10 And after He called the multitude to Him, He said to them, “Hear, and
understand. 11 “Not what enters into the mouth defiles the man, but what proceeds out of the

mouth, this defiles the man.”” - Jesus teaches the multitude that what defiles a man is not what
enters him, but rather what proceeds out of his mouth
4.1. As I mentioned at the beginning of this chapter, the Pharisees had the wrong notion that
some things on this earth were evil in and of themselves, however Jesus teaches them those
things that come into a man from without are not what defile the man
4.2. What does defile a man is the sin that is within him, and thus Jesus teaches that a person’s
mouth speaks of the things which fill his man heart (Luke 6:45; Matt. 12:34)
4.2.1. Remember in Matthew 12:42 that Jesus rebuked the Pharisees for their speech when He
said that the mouth speaks out of that which fills the heart, “34 “You brood of vipers, how can
you, being evil, speak what is good? For the mouth speaks out of that which fills the heart”
4.2.2. In James 3:2-9, James talks about the fact that the tongue is like a rudder that guides our
entire life, directing us in every way in which we go, and since it reflects our true character, if we
could tame it we would be a ‘perfect man’, “2 For we all stumble in many ways. If anyone does
not stumble in what he says, he is a perfect man, able to bridle the whole body as well. 3 Now if
we put the bits into the horses’ mouths so that they may obey us, we direct their entire body as
well. 4 Behold, the ships also, though they are so great and are driven by strong winds, are still
directed by a very small rudder, wherever the inclination of the pilot desires. 5 So also the tongue
is a small part of the body, and yet it boasts of great things. Behold, how great a forest is set
aflame by such a small fire! 6 And the tongue is a fire, the very world of iniquity; the tongue is
set among our members as that which defiles the entire body, and sets on fire the course of our
life, and is set on fire by hell. 7 For every species of beasts and birds, of reptiles and creatures of
the sea, is tamed, and has been tamed by the human race. 8 But no one can tame the tongue; it is
a restless evil and full of deadly poison. 9 With it we bless our Lord and Father; and with it we
curse men, who have been made in the likeness of God”
4.3. Mark chapter 7 includes this same incident recorded here in Matthew, and in Mark 7:19,
Mark comments that by Jesus saying this that there was a forward reaching conclusion that they
would soon reach, because in Jesus’ saying this He, “declared all foods clean”
4.3.1. Later in the book of Acts we will find that soon in the history of the early church it was
decreed that the Lord had freed believers in Christ from the ceremonial laws which effected diet
and other things (see Acts 10:15; 11:9)
5. VS 15:12-14 - “12 Then the disciples *came and *said to Him, “Do You know that the
Pharisees were offended when they heard this statement?” 13 But He answered and said, “Every
plant which My heavenly Father did not plant shall be rooted up. 14 “Let them alone; they are
blind guides of the blind. And if a blind man guides a blind man, both will fall into a pit”” - The
disciples are concerned about Jesus’ having offended and alienated the Pharisees and come to
Him to warn Him about doing this

Jesus was offensive to the pharisees

Jesus was offensive to the pharisees

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