365 Days in the Gospels and Spirit of Prophecy
Rule Breaking: Jesus Responds to Criticism — May 5 [Description]
Bible discovery
Matthew 15:1-20 365D 125.1
1 Then the scribes and Pharisees who were from Jerusalem came to Jesus, saying, 365D 125.2
2 “Why do Your disciples transgress the tradition of the elders? For they do not wash their hands when they eat bread.” 365D 125.3
3 He answered and said to them, “Why do you also transgress the commandment of God because of your tradition? 365D 125.4
4 For God commanded, saying, ‘Honor your father and your mother’; and, ‘He who curses father or mother, let him be put to death.’ 365D 125.5
5 But you say, ‘Whoever says to his father or mother, “Whatever profit you might have received from me is a gift to God ”— 365D 125.6
6 then he need not honor his father [a] or mother.’ Thus you have made the [b] commandment of God of no effect by your tradition. 365D 125.7
7 Hypocrites! Well did Isaiah prophesy about you, saying: 365D 125.8
8 ‘These people [c] draw near to Me with their mouth, And honor Me with their lips, But their heart is far from Me. 365D 125.9
9 And in vain they worship Me, Teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’ ” 365D 125.10
10 When He had called the multitude to Himself, He said to them, “Hear and understand: 365D 125.11
11 Not what goes into the mouth defiles a man; but what comes out of the mouth, this defiles a man.” 365D 125.12
12 Then His disciples came and said to Him, “Do You know that the Pharisees were offended when they heard this saying?” 365D 125.13
13 But He answered and said, “Every plant which My heavenly Father has not planted will be uprooted. 365D 125.14
14 Let them alone. They are blind leaders of the blind. And if the blind leads the blind, both will fall into a ditch.” 365D 125.15
15 Then Peter answered and said to Him, “Explain this parable to us.” 365D 125.16
16 So Jesus said, “Are you also still without understanding? 365D 125.17
17 Do you not yet understand that whatever enters the mouth goes into the stomach and is eliminated? 365D 125.18
18 But those things which proceed out of the mouth come from the heart, and they defile a man. 365D 125.19
19 For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies. 365D 125.20
20 These are the things which defile a man, but to eat with unwashed hands does not defile a man.” 365D 125.21
1 Then the Pharisees and some of the scribes came together to Him, having come from Jerusalem. 365D 125.23
2 Now [a] when they saw some of His disciples eat bread with defiled, that is, with unwashed hands, [b] they found fault. 365D 125.24
3 For the Pharisees and all the Jews do not eat unless they wash their hands [c] in a special way, holding the tradition of the elders. 365D 125.25
4 When they come from the marketplace, they do not eat unless they wash. And there are many other things which they have received and hold, like the washing of cups, pitchers, copper vessels, and couches. 365D 125.26
5 Then the Pharisees and scribes asked Him, “Why do Your disciples not walk according to the tradition of the elders, but eat bread with unwashed hands?” 365D 125.27
6 He answered and said to them, “Well did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written: ‘This people honors Me with their lips, But their heart is far from Me. 365D 125.28
7 And in vain they worship Me, Teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’ 365D 125.29
8 For laying aside the commandment of God, you hold the tradition of men— [d] the washing of pitchers and cups, and many other such things you do.” 365D 125.30
9 He said to them, “ All too well you [e] reject the commandment of God, that you may keep your tradition. 365D 125.31
10 For Moses said, ‘Honor your father and your mother’; and, ‘He who curses father or mother, let him be put to death.’ 365D 125.32
11 But you say, ‘If a man says to his father or mother, “Whatever profit you might have received from me is Corban”—’ (that is, a gift to God ), 365D 125.33
12 then you no longer let him do anything for his father or his mother, 365D 125.34
13 making the word of God of no effect through your tradition which you have handed down. And many such things you do.” 365D 125.35
14 When He had called all the multitude to Himself, He said to them, “Hear Me, everyone, and understand: 365D 125.36
15 There is nothing that enters a man from outside which can defile him; but the things which come out of him, those are the things that defile a man. 16 If [f] anyone has ears to hear, let him hear!” 365D 125.37
16 365D 125.38
17 When He had entered a house away from the crowd, His disciples asked Him concerning the parable. 365D 125.39
18 So He said to them, “Are you thus without understanding also? Do you not perceive that whatever enters a man from outside cannot defile him, 365D 125.40
19 because it does not enter his heart but his stomach, and is eliminated, [g] thus purifying all foods?” 365D 125.41
20 And He said, “What comes out of a man, that defiles a man. 365D 125.42
21 For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, 365D 125.43
22 thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lewdness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness. 365D 125.44
23 All these evil things come from within and defile a man.” 365D 125.45
John 7:1 365D 125.46
1 After these things Jesus walked in Galilee; for He did not want to walk in Judea, because the [a] Jews sought to kill Him. 365D 125.47
Spirit of Prophecy Reading
The Desire of Ages pp.395-398: 365D 125.48
This chapter is based on Matthew 15:1-20; Mark 7:1-23. 365D 125.49
The scribes and Pharisees, expecting to see Jesus at the Passover, had laid a trap for Him. But Jesus, knowing their purpose, had absented Himself from this gathering. “Then came together unto Him the Pharisees, and certain of the scribes.” As He did not go to them, they came to Him. For a time it had seemed that the people of Galilee would receive Jesus as the Messiah, and that the power of the hierarchy in that region would be broken. The mission of the twelve, indicating the extension of Christ's work, and bringing the disciples more directly into conflict with the rabbis, had excited anew the jealousy of the leaders at Jerusalem. The spies they sent to Capernaum in the early part of His ministry, who had tried to fix on Him the charge of Sabbathbreaking, had been put to confusion; but the rabbis were bent on carrying out their purpose. Now another deputation was sent to watch His movements, and find some accusation against Him. 365D 125.50
As before, the ground of complaint was His disregard of the traditional precepts that encumbered the law of God. These were professedly designed to guard the observance of the law, but they were regarded as more sacred than the law itself. When they came in collision with the commandments given from Sinai, preference was given to the rabbinical precepts. 365D 125.51
Among the observances most strenuously enforced was that of ceremonial purification. A neglect of the forms to be observed before eating was accounted a heinous sin, to be punished both in this world and in the next; and it was regarded as a virtue to destroy the transgressor. 365D 125.52
The disciples noted the rage of the spies as their false teaching was exposed. They saw the angry looks, and heard the half-muttered words of dissatisfaction and revenge. Forgetting how often Christ had given evidence that He read the heart as an open book, they told Him of the effect of His words. Hoping that He might conciliate the enraged officials, they said to Jesus, “Knowest Thou that the Pharisees were offended, after they heard this saying?” 365D 125.53
He answered, “Every plant, which My heavenly Father hath not planted, shall be rooted up.” The customs and traditions so highly valued by the rabbis were of this world, not from heaven. However great their authority with the people, they could not endure the testing of God. Every human invention that has been substituted for the commandments of God will be found worthless in that day when “God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil.” Ecclesiastes 12:14. 365D 125.54
The substitution of the precepts of men for the commandments of God has not ceased. Even among Christians are found institutions and usages that have no better foundation than the traditions of the fathers. Such institutions, resting upon mere human authority, have supplanted those of divine appointment. Men cling to their traditions, and revere their customs, and cherish hatred against those who seek to show them their error. In this day, when we are bidden to call attention to the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus, we see the same enmity as was manifested in the days of Christ. Of the remnant people of God it is written, “The dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.” Revelation 12:17. 365D 125.55
But “every plant, which My heavenly Father hath not planted, shall be rooted up.” In place of the authority of the so-called fathers of the church, God bids us accept the word of the eternal Father, the Lord of heaven and earth. Here alone is truth unmixed with error. David said, “I have more understanding than all my teachers: for Thy testimonies are my meditation. I understand more than the ancients, because I keep Thy precepts.” Psalm 119:99, 100. Let all who accept human authority, the customs of the church, or the traditions of the fathers, take heed to the warning conveyed in the words of Christ, “In vain they do worship Me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.” 365D 125.56