Daily Devotional

A Ministry of the Kerwin Baptist Church

April 26, 2019

by Pastor Hawtree

BIBLE READING; MATTHEW 15

1 Then came to Jesus scribes and Pharisees, which were of Jerusalem, saying,
2 Why do thy disciples transgress the tradition of the elders? for they wash not their hands when they eat bread.
3 But he answered and said unto them, Why do ye also transgress the commandment of God by your tradition?

Don’t you just love how Jesus always handled Himself. Jesus was always one step ahead. Jesus truly is wisdom. Jesus was never intimidated. He was in the minority while He was here on earth, but Jesus was always the one really in control.

The Pharisees come thinking they have a legitimate complaint. “Why do thy disciples transgress the tradition of the elders? for they wash not their hands when they eat bread.” Here they go on their traditions again. This time they thought they were ahead of things. A real big complaint, this one, the disciples not washing their hands. Their indictment was “why do the disciples transgress our tradition”? Jesus response was “why do you transgress God by your tradition”? See what Jesus did there? Jesus placed God as more important than their tradition, as He should be.

You and I need to be careful to be more worried about pleasing God, than keeping a tradition. The Pharisees were governed by their traditions, we need to be governed by God. We should live our life, not worried if we are breaking some rule, but if we are breaking God’s heart. What was worse in this passage, the disciples having dirty hands, or the Pharisees having dirty hearts?