Matthew 15:10-20, Defilement

What made Israel special?  They were holy, belonging to the LORD, His special treasure above all nations, chosen not because they were great but because the LORD loved them (Deut. 7:6-8).  The point was: they were not “common;” they were special.

What makes Christians special?  They too are special, set apart (Titus 2:15), sharing a common life, the life of Christ.  Like Israel, so the Church can become very ordinary, very common, just like everyone else.  In today’s passage, the word is “defiled”.  Thus, an important question is, what defiled a person?  (It is interesting, is it not, that Jesus just fed 5000 people, almost certainly without proper handwashing.)

Jesus begins with the negative answer: it has nothing to do with how or even whether you wash your hands.  Let’s not be foolish here.  If your mother says, “wash up for dinner,” then washing up is a good idea.  If you have been working with the farm animals or petting the dog washing up is a great idea.  This has nothing to do with hygiene.  Among the Scribes and Pharisees, it had become major.  According to some rabbis, washing removed a demon.  Others saw it as a necessary distinction between Jews and the dreaded Gentiles.  The general rule was you poured the water on your hands, allowing it to run down to the wrist (Edersheim). 

Jesus answer to the Scribes and Pharisees (v3-9) got to the root of the issue.  Then Jesus answers the crowd (v10-11).  In Matthew’s account, Jesus’ word to them is short and to the point and should have been obvious: defilement, that which makes you “common,” robbing you of your special standing with God, is not what goes into a person’s mouth but what comes out of his mouth. 

Mark 7:19 notes that Jesus was hereby declaring all foods clean.  Levitical dietary laws (clean and unclean animals) were part of God’s special relationship with Israel.  But the traditions had taken this beyond what God said.  Furthermore, we must acknowledge that Jesus was in the process of leading His disciples from the old covenant (law) to the new covenant (the Holy Spirit).  He is taking them into His kingdom, and the kingdom of God is not about food or drink (Rom. 14:17).  Laws about diet will not help a believer to be holy or special to God (Col. 2:16-17,20-23).

Matthew does not record Jesus explaining this to the crowd but to His disciples in v15-20.  It is, of course, essential to their preparation for living between the two advents.  Jesus begins by challenging their ignorance, not realizing that the issue is the heart and not the externals (v16-17).  Then He renews their minds.  It all begins with our evil thoughts, and then proceeds to produce disobedience to God’s law.  Note that in v19 Jesus refers to sins that come from the Ten Commandments (murder, adultery, stealing, lying, blasphemy).  In other words, the Jewish tradition did not actually promote obedience to God; the way of Jesus did bring about obedience.

We are God’s treasured possession.  Let us not live as “commoners,” but let us be careful to remember that we cannot do this without a change of heart.