Matthew 15:4

"He answered them, “Why do you also disobey the commandment of God because of your tradition?"

Key Reflection

Jesus rebukes the Pharisees for prioritizing their own traditions over God's commandments, highlighting the importance of genuine faith and obedience to divine law rather than empty rituals. This confrontation foreshadows the tension between tradition and true worship that Jesus would continue to address throughout his ministry.

From the Scholars: Barnes' Notes

Verse 4. For God commanded, etc. That is, in the fifth commandment, Ex 20:12; 21:17. To honour is to obey, to reverence, to speak kindly to, to speak and think well of. To curse is to disobey, to treat with irreverence, to swear at, to speak ill of, to think evil of in the heart, to meditate or do any evil to a parent. All this is included in the original word. Let him die the death. This is a Hebrew phrase, the same as saying, let him surely die. The Jewish law punishes this crime with death. This duty of honouring and obeying a parent was what Christ said they had violated by their traditions. He proceeds to state the way in which it was done.

Related Verses

More from Matthew 15

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40

Go deeper with Bible.talk - your AI Bible study companion