Matthew 15:3
in Matthew 15Jesus replied, “And why do you break the command of God for the sake of your tradition?
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And he answered and said unto them, Why do ye also transgress the commandment of God because of your tradition?
KJV
But he answered and said unto them, Why do ye also transgress the commandment of God by your tradition?
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This verse in Matthew 15
Commentary
15 notes on this verseA commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
But he answered and said unto them, Why do ye also transgress the commandment of God by your tradition?--The charge is retorted with startling power: "The tradition they transgress is but man's, and is itself the occasion of heavy transgression, undermining the authority of God's law."
This site's exposition
transgress the commandment of God by your tradition
on Matthew 15:3-4
Jesus answers a question about ritual with a countercharge about ethics, and the countercharge is the heavier one: their tradition does not merely add to God's law, it can void it. He quotes the fifth commandment and its Exodus penalty clause together, honor father and mother, and he that curses father or mother let him die the death, so the ground he stands on is the Decalogue itself, not a private opinion. Henry observes that this is the pattern of the whole chapter, Jesus never disputing the value of law but exposing how a fence built around it can become a wall against it.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers5 voices
(cont. Adv. Leg. et Proph. ii. 1.) Christ here clearly shows both that that law which the heretic blasphemes is God's law, and that the Jews had their traditions foreign to the prophetical and canonical books; such as the Apostle calls profane and vain fables.
(cont. Faust. xvi. 24.) The Lord here teaches us many things; That it was not He that turned the Jews from their God; that not only did He not infringe the commandments, but convicts them of infringing them; and that He had ordained no more than those by the hand of Moses.
Since ye because of the tradition of men neglect the commandment of God, why do ye take upon you to reprove my disciples, for bestowing little regard upon the precepts of the elders, that they may observe the commands of God?
(V. 3.) But he, answering, said to them: Why do you also transgress the commandment of God for the sake of your tradition? He refutes false slander with a true response. For, he says, you disregard the precepts of the Lord for the sake of human tradition, why do you think that my disciples should be accused, because they disregard the commands of the elders, in order to maintain the knowledge of God?
A commentator
John ChrysostomHomily on the Gospel of Matthew 51 · Written in the 5th century.
proposed
What then saith Christ? He did not set Himself against it, neither made He any defense, but straightway blames them again, plucking down their confidence, and signifying that he who commits great sins ought not to be strict with others concerning small matters. "What? when you ought to be blamed," saith He, "do ye even blame?" But do thou observe, how when it is His will to set aside any of the things enjoined by the law, He does it in the form of an apology; and so He did in that case. For by no means doth He proceed at once to transgress it, nor doth He say, "It is nothing;" for surely He would have made them more audacious; but first He clean cuts away their boldness, bringing forward the far heavier charge, and directing it upon their head. And He neither saith, "they do well in transgressing it," lest He should give them a hold on Him; nor doth He speak ill of their proceeding, lest He should confirm the law: nor again, on the other hand, doth He blame the elders, as lawless and unholy men; for doubtless they would have shunned Him as a reviler and injurious: but all these things He gives up, and proceeds another way. And He seems indeed to be rebuking the persons themselves who had come to Him, but He is reprehending them that enacted these laws; nowhere indeed making mention of the elders, but by His charge against the Scribes casting down them also, and signifying that their sin is twofold, first in disobeying God, next in doing so on men's account; as though He had said, "Why this, this hath ruined you, your obeying the elders in all things." And He said not, "the elders' tradition," but "your own." And, "ye say;" again He said not, "the elders say:" in order to make His speech less galling. That is, because they wanted to prove the disciples transgressors of the law, He signifies that they themselves are doing so, but that these are free from blame. […]
8 more voices on this verse
The Medieval Church2 voices
But he answering, said to them. The Lord does two things: he does not respond by excusing the disciples, but shows that they themselves are not worthy to reprehend them. Above, 7:5: you hypocrite, cast out first the beam from your own eye. It is …
The Pharisees were accusing the disciples of transgressing the commandment of the elders, but Christ shows that the Pharisees were transgressing the law of God (See Ex. 20:12; 21:16). For they were teaching sons to give nothing to their parents but to offer whatever they …
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
They wash not their hands when they eat bread - Food in general is termed bread in Hebrew; so that to eat bread is the same as to make a meal.
You transgress the commandment of God. Note, Those who are most zealous of their own impositions, are commonly most careless of God's commands; which is a good reason why Christ's disciples should stand upon their guard against such impositions, lest, though at first they seem only to infringe the liberty of Christians, they come at length to confront the authority of Christ.
But he answered and said unto them,....
The Nineteenth Century3 voices
We have in these verses a conversation between our Lord Jesus Christ and certain scribes and Pharisees. The subject of it may seem, at first sight, of little interest in modern days; but it is not so in reality. The principles of the Pharisees are principles that never die. There are truths laid down here which are of deep importance. We learn for one thing that hypocrites generally attach great importance to mere outward things in religion. The complaint of the scribes and Pharisees in this place is a striking case in point.
We have in these verses a conversation between our Lord Jesus Christ and certain scribes and Pharisees. The subject of it may seem, at first sight, of little interest in modern days; but it is not so in reality. The principles of the Pharisees are principles that never die. There are truths laid down here which are of deep importance. We learn for one thing that hypocrites generally attach great importance to mere outward things in religion. The complaint of the scribes and Pharisees in this place is a striking case in point. They brought an accusation to our Lord against his disciples, but what was its nature? It was not that they were covetous or self-righteous. It was not that they were untruthful or uncharitable. It was not that they had broken any part of the law of God. But they transgressed the traditions of the elders. They did not wash their hands when they ate bread!” They did not observe a rule of merely human authority, which some old Jew had invented! This was the head and front of their offense! Do we see nothing of the spirit of the Pharisees in the present day? Unhappily we see only too much. There are thousands of professing Christians who seem to care nothing about the religion of their neighbors provided that it agrees in outward matters with their own. Does their neighbor worship according to their particular form? Can he repeat their shibboleth, and talk a little about their favorite doctrines? If he can, they are satisfied, though there is no evidence that he is converted. If he cannot, they are always finding fault, and cannot speak peaceably of him, though he may be serving Christ better than themselves. Let us beware of this spirit: it is the very essence of hypocrisy. Let our principle be, “The kingdom of God is not a meat and drink, but righteousness, and peace and joy in the Holy Ghost.” ( Romans 14:17 ).
Why do ye - transgress the commandment - Ye accuse my disciples of transgressing the traditions of the elders - I accuse you of transgressing the commands of God, and that too in favor of your own tradition; thus preferring the inventions of men to the positive precepts of God. Pretenders to zeal often prefer superstitious usages to the Divine law, and human inventions to the positive duties of Christianity.
How the passage was read
On Matthew 15:1-20On Matthew 15:1-20
Handwashing, korban, and which tradition weighs more
“Why do thy disciples transgress the tradition of the elders? for they wash not their hands when they eat bread.” The washing in question is netilat yadayim, a ritual pouring of water over the hands before eating bread. It was never about hygiene: it extends to the ordinary table the purity washing the Torah requires of priests before they eat holy food, one more piece of the Pharisaic program to make every table an altar. The Mishnah devotes a whole tractate to it (Yadayim 1:1 opens with the required quantity of water), and observant homes keep the practice before bread to this day.
Jesus answers with a harder case from the same tradition: korban. Property declared korban (“an offering”) was barred from ordinary use as if dedicated to God, and the vow formula could be used to lock a son's goods away from his own parents; the Mishnah records the substitute formulas people spoke (Nedarim 1:2). Jesus weighs that vow against the commandment “honor thy father and mother” and rules that no vow can cancel it. The tradition itself wrestled with the same tension: its vow-release discussions include a debated question about opening a release by appeal to the parents' honor (Nedarim 9:1 records the rabbis divided over exactly that move). Jesus' ruling cuts where the tradition circled.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Sources: Mishnah Yadayim 1:1 (the handwashing rite) · Mishnah Nedarim 1:2 (the korban formulas) · Mishnah Nedarim 9:1 (release of vows and the parents' honor, a recorded dispute)
The words behind it
18 Greek wordsEvery Greek word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Greek | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ὁ | ho | <the> | G3588 → | 19766 times |
| δὲ | de | And | G1161 → | 2765 times |
| ἀποκριθεὶς | apokritheis | answering | G611 → | 231 times |
| εἶπεν | eipen | He said | G2036 → | 925 times |
| αὐτοῖς· | autois | to them; | G846 → | 5565 times |
| διὰ | dia | Because of | G1223 → | 664 times |
| τί | ti | why | G5101 → | 563 times |
| καὶ | kai | also | G2532 → | 9120 times |
| ὑμεῖς | humeis | you yourselves | G4771 → | 2973 times |
| παραβαίνετε | parabainete | break | G3845 → | |
| τὴν | ten | the | G3588 → | 19766 times |
| ἐντολὴν | entolen | commandment | G1785 → | 67 times |
| τοῦ | tou | <the> | G3588 → | 19766 times |
| θεοῦ | theou | of God | G2316 → | 1312 times |
| διὰ | dia | on account of | G1223 → | 664 times |
| τὴν | ten | the | G3588 → | 19766 times |
| παράδοσιν | paradosin | tradition | G3862 → | 13 times |
| ὑμῶν; | humon | of you? | G4771 → | 2973 times |
Ὁ<the>
hoG3588 →19766 times
δὲAnd
deG1161 →2765 times
ἀποκριθεὶςanswering
apokritheisG611 →231 times
εἶπενHe said
eipenG2036 →925 times
αὐτοῖς·to them;
autoisG846 →5565 times
διὰBecause of
diaG1223 →664 times
τίwhy
tiG5101 →563 times
καὶalso
kaiG2532 →9120 times
ὑμεῖςyou yourselves
humeisG4771 →2973 times
παραβαίνετεbreak
parabaineteG3845 →
τὴνthe
tenG3588 →19766 times
ἐντολὴνcommandment
entolenG1785 →67 times
τοῦ<the>
touG3588 →19766 times
θεοῦof God
theouG2316 →1312 times
διὰon account of
diaG1223 →664 times
τὴνthe
tenG3588 →19766 times
παράδοσινtradition
paradosinG3862 →13 times
ὑμῶν;of you?
humonG4771 →2973 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Colossians 2:8See to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deception, which are based on human tradition and the spiritual forces of the world rather than on Christ.
it leads to
- Galatians 4:9
But now that you know God, or rather are known by God, how is it that you are turning back to those weak and worthless principles? Do you wish to be enslaved by them…
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- 1 Timothy 6:20
O Timothy, guard what has been entrusted to you. Avoid irreverent, empty chatter and the opposing arguments of so-called “knowledge,”
- Ephesians 5:6
Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of such things the wrath of God is coming on the sons of disobedience.
- Matthew 7:15
Beware of false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves.
- 1 Corinthians 3:18–19
Let no one deceive himself. If any of you thinks he is wise in this age, he should become a fool, so that he may become wise.
- Galatians 4:9
Through
Colossians 2:23Such restrictions indeed have an appearance of wisdom, with their self-prescribed worship, their false humility, and their harsh treatment of the body; but they are of no value against the indulgence of the flesh.
it leads to
- Colossians 2:22
These will all perish with use, because they are based on human commands and teachings.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Colossians 2:22
Through
Mark 7:13Thus you nullify the word of God by the tradition you have handed down. And you do so in many such matters.”
it leads to
- Mark 7:9
He went on to say, “You neatly set aside the command of God to maintain your own tradition.
- Mark 7:9
Through
Titus 1:14and will pay no attention to Jewish myths or to the commands of men who have rejected the truth.
it leads to
- 2 Timothy 4:4
So they will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths.
- 2 Timothy 4:4
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Matthew
This page draws on 13 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Gospels; Augustine of Hippo, Catena Aurea by Aquinas; J.C. Ryle, Expository Thoughts on the Gospels: Matthew; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jerome, Catena Aurea by Aquinas; Jerome, Commentary on Matthew; John Chrysostom, Homily on the Gospel of Matthew 51; John Gill, Exposition of the New Testament (1746-1748); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament; Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible; Theophylact of Ohrid, Commentary on Matthew and Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on Matthew.