Matthew 15:4
in Matthew 15For God said, ‘Honor your father and mother’ and ‘Anyone who curses his father or mother must be put to death.’
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
For God said, Honor thy father and thy mother: and, He that speaketh evil of father or mother, let him die the death.
KJV
For God commanded, saying, Honour thy father and mother: and, He that curseth father or mother, let him die the death.
⋯
This verse in Matthew 15
Commentary
13 notes on this verseFor God hath said, Honour thy father and thy mother. Honour in the Scriptures is shown not so much in salutations and courtesies as in alms and gifts. Honour, (1 Tim. 5:3.) says the Apostle, the widows who are widows indeed; here 'honour' signifies a gift. The Lord then having thought for the infirmity, the age, or the poverty of parents, commanded that sons should honour their parents in providing them with necessaries of life.
This site's exposition
break the command of God
on Matthew 15:3-4
Jesus answers a question about ritual with a heavier charge, that they break the command of God for the sake of their tradition. He cites the fifth commandment and the penalty of Exodus 21:17, Anyone who curses his father or mother must be put to death.
This site's exposition
Honor your father and mother
Jerome and Adam Clarke explain that honor in Scripture included material support, as when Paul tells Timothy to honor widows in 1 Timothy 5:3. Matthew Henry notes that Jesus passes over the promise attached to the command and cites its penalty. That choice marks the duty as binding.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers2 voices
(Verse 4 onwards) For God said, 'Honor your father and mother, and whoever curses his father or mother, let him be put to death.' But you say, 'Whoever says to his father or mother, Whatever help you would have received from me is given to God,' and does not honor his father or mother, you have made void the commandment of God because of your tradition. Hypocrites, well did Isaiah prophesy of you, saying, 'This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me' (Exodus 20, Leviticus 20). But they worship me without cause, teaching doctrines and commandments of men. And, calling the multitude to him, he said to them: Hear and understand. Honor in the Scriptures is not only felt in greetings and deference to offices, but also in acts of charity and the offering of gifts (Exodus 20:12, 21 and Leviticus 20). The Apostle says, 'Honor widows who are truly widows' (1 Timothy 5:3); here honor is understood as a gift. And in another place: Elders are to be honored with double honor, especially those who labor in the word and doctrine of God (ibid., 17). And by this command we are commanded not to close the mouth of the ox that is treading out the corn (Deut. XXV) . And may the worker be worthy of his wage (Luke X) . The Lord had commanded, considering the weaknesses, ages, and hardships of parents, that children should honor their parents even in providing for their basic needs. […]
And since this had no shade of contrariety to the law, to command men to wash their hands, He brings forward another tradition, which is opposed to the law. And what He saith is like this. "They taught the young, under the garb of piety, to despise their fathers." How, and in what way? "If one of their parents said to his child, Give me this sheep that thou hast, or this calf, or any such thing, they used to say, 'This is a gift to God, whereby thou wouldest be profited by me, and thou canst not have it.' And two evils hence arose: on the one hand they did not bring them to God, on the other they defrauded their parents under the name of the offering, alike insulting their parents for God's sake, and God for their parents' sake." But He, omitting the first, the reward appointed for them that honor their parents, states that which is more awful, the punishment, I mean, threatened to such as dishonor them; desiring both to dismay them, and to conciliate such as have understanding; and He implies them to be for this worthy of death. For if he who dishonors them in word is punished, much more ye, who do so in deed, and who not only dishonor, but also teach it to others. "Ye then who ought not so much as to live, how find ye fault with the disciples?" "And what wonder is it, if ye offer such insults to me, who am as yet unknown, when even to the Father ye are found doing the like?" For everywhere He both asserts and implies, that from Him they began with this their arrogance. But some do also otherwise interpret, "It is a gift, by whatsoever thou mightest be profited by me;" that is, I owe thee no honor, but it is a free gift from me to thee, if indeed I do honor thee. […]
The Medieval Church2 voices
Then when he says for God said etc., he presents what this commandment is, which is about honoring parents. And first he presents the commandment; second, the punishment. Hence he says for God said: honor your father and your mother. And it should be noted …
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 Awakening1 voice
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.
5 more voices on this verse
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
The sanction of this law in the fifth commandment, is, a promise, that thy days may be long; but our Saviour waives that, lest any should thence infer it to be only a thing commendable and profitable, and insists upon the penalty annexed to the breach of this commandment in another scripture, which denotes the duty to be highly and indispensably necessary;
For God commanded, saying,.... That he might not be thought to suggest this without any foundation, he gives them an instance, wherein a command of God was transgressed, by the observance of their tradition: the command he refers to, stands in Exo 20:12 and is this; Honour thy father and mother.
The Nineteenth Century3 voices
Honor thy father and mother - This word was taken in great latitude of meaning among the Jews: it not only meant respect and submission, but also to take care of a person, to nourish and support him, to enrich. See Num 22:17; Jdg 13:17; 1Ti 5:17. And that this was the sense of the law, as it respected parents, see Deu 27:16, and see the note on Exo 20:12.
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 ).
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 |
| γὰρ | gar | For | G1063 → | 1039 times |
| θεὸς | theos | God | G2316 → | 1312 times |
| εἶπεν | eipen | commanded | G2036 → | 925 times |
| τίμα | tima | 'do honor | G5091 → | 20 times |
| τὸν | ton | the | G3588 → | 19766 times |
| πατέρα | patera | Father | G3962 → | 410 times |
| καὶ | kai | and | G2532 → | 9120 times |
| τὴν | ten | the | G3588 → | 19766 times |
| μητέρα, | metera | mother’, | G3384 → | 83 times |
| καὶ | kai | and | G2532 → | 9120 times |
| ὁ | ho | The [one] | G3588 → | 19766 times |
| κακολογῶν | kakologon | speaking evil of | G2551 → | |
| πατέρα | patera | father | G3962 → | 410 times |
| ἢ | e | or | G2228 → | 342 times |
| μητέρα | metera | mother | G3384 → | 83 times |
| θανάτῳ | thanato | in death | G2288 → | 120 times |
| τελευτάτω. | teleutato | should end.’ | G5053 → | 11 times |
ὁ<the>
hoG3588 →19766 times
γὰρFor
garG1063 →1039 times
θεὸςGod
theosG2316 →1312 times
εἶπενcommanded
eipenG2036 →925 times
τίμα'do honor
timaG5091 →20 times
τὸνthe
tonG3588 →19766 times
πατέραFather
pateraG3962 →410 times
καὶand
kaiG2532 →9120 times
τὴνthe
tenG3588 →19766 times
μητέρα,mother’,
meteraG3384 →83 times
καὶand
kaiG2532 →9120 times
ὁThe [one]
hoG3588 →19766 times
κακολογῶνspeaking evil of
kakologonG2551 →
πατέραfather
pateraG3962 →410 times
ἢor
eG2228 →342 times
μητέραmother
meteraG3384 →83 times
θανάτῳin death
thanatoG2288 →120 times
τελευτάτω.should end.’
teleutatoG5053 →11 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
Exodus 20:12Honor your father and mother, so that your days may be long in the land that the LORD your God is giving you.
it leads to
- Ephesians 6:1–3
Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Colossians 3:20
Children, obey your parents in everything, for this is pleasing to the Lord.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Mark 7:10
For Moses said, ‘Honor your father and your mother’ and ‘Anyone who curses his father or mother must be put to death.’
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Deuteronomy 5:16
Honor your father and your mother, as the LORD your God has commanded you, so that your days may be long and that it may go well with you in the land that the…
- Proverbs 23:22–25
Listen to your father who gave you life, and do not despise your mother when she is old.
- Ephesians 6:1–3
Through
Deuteronomy 5:16Honor your father and your mother, as the LORD your God has commanded you, so that your days may be long and that it may go well with you in the land that the…
it leads to
- Exodus 20:12
Honor your father and mother, so that your days may be long in the land that the LORD your God is giving you.
- Exodus 20:12
Through
Leviticus 20:9If anyone curses his father or mother, he must be put to death. He has cursed his father or mother; his blood shall be upon him.
it leads to
- Deuteronomy 27:16
‘Cursed is he who dishonors his father or mother.’ And let all the people say, ‘Amen!’
Reached by 3 separate paths from here.
- Proverbs 20:20
Whoever curses his father or mother, his lamp will be extinguished in deepest darkness.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Deuteronomy 27:16
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Matthew
This page draws on 10 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; J.C. Ryle, Expository Thoughts on the Gospels: Matthew; 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); Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible; Theophylact of Ohrid, Commentary on Matthew and Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on Matthew.