THE SIGNIFICANCE OF CLEAN AND UNCLEAN

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Matthew 15:1-20
Lesson #38
THE SIGNIFICANCE OF CLEAN AND UNCLEAN

• Memory verse: Titus 2:1
• Read Mat 15:1-9 The collision of two views of religion
  • The scribes had come from Jerusalem just to question Jesus.
    • What specific tradition did the Pharisees accuse Jesus and his disciples of violating?
    • The practice of ceremonial washing before eating.
  • Background on things clean and unclean:
    • The idea of what was clean and what was unclean had nothing to do with hygiene.
    • It had everything to do with what they thought God demanded.
    • Why did God initiate a system of clean and unclean on which the Jewish leadership added hundreds of detailed instructions?
      • Originally God wanted to indicate to man that He is a Holy God and that sin puts man into a position where he cannot approach a Holy God.
      • In Gen 8:20 God designated some animals as clean and others as unclean after the flood of Noah’s time period. The clean animals could be used for animal sacrifice to worship God.
      • In Lev 5 God began to establish the rules regarding what was clean and what was unclean as part of the Law of Moses.
    • A man must be ceremonially “clean” to be able to approach and worship God.
      • The ways a person became unclean:
        • He was unclean if he came into contact with someone who was unclean.
        • Uncleanness was transferable from one person to another. For example touching the woman with the blood disease in Mat 9:20, or touching someone with leprosy, or touching a Gentile, or touching anything dead.
        • He was unclean if he ate animals that were considered unclean as specified in Leviticus 11. For example: Pigs
        • He was unclean if he ate from utensils that were not ritually cleansed.
        • He was unclean if he ate without the ritual cleansing of hands.
      • The idea of what is clean and unclean occurs in many other religions and cultures.
      • Obviously it was impossible to avoid all these kinds of contamination.
        • Maybe you could avoid eating and touching things that you knew were unclean, but you could not avoid touching people in a crowd when you did not know if they were unclean or not.
        • To cleanse you from unknown uncleanness, there was an elaborate Jewish system (tradition) of washing developed by the scribes and Pharisees.

There was hand washing when you got up in the morning and before each meal, and between each course of each meal.

The minimum amount of water was enough to fill one and a half egg-shells.

The water was poured on both hands, held with the fingers upwards.

It must run up the arm as far as the wrist.

It must drop off from the wrist. If it ran down the fingers again, it would cause the hands to be unclean again.

The process was repeated with the hands held in the opposite direction, with the fingers pointing down.

Then each hand was cleansed by being rubbed with the fist of the other hand.

• • Jesus’ response to the Pharisee accusation:
    • The specific laws of God that Jesus accused the Pharisees of violating:
    • As a counter argument against the Pharisees, Jesus wanted them to see how ridiculous they made the instructions that God initiated by carrying things to extreme with external actions that did not change the internal heart of man.
      • Jesus said that the religious leaders violated God’s law of giving honor to parents.
      • They gave honor to God with their lips but not their heart.
      • They taught man-made commandments instead of the Word and intent of God.
    • Incidentally, this is situation is always true of legalism. You make a law and man seeks ways to get around the law…violating the intent but keeping the letter of the law.
    • Jesus answered with an accusation that proved how you could observe the Law and contradict the Law at the same time.
    • Read Mark 7:5-13 The practice of “corban” (korban)
      • What was the practice of “corban“?
      • It has two meanings:
        • =1= Something dedicated to God.

Suppose your parents lived in great poverty.

God’s law says one should honor his parents by helping them.

However, there was a way you could avoid helping them.

You could officially dedicate all your money and property to God.

Therefore, everything you had was “corban“, dedicated to God.

When your parents came and asked for help, you would say, “I’m sorry, I have nothing to give you. It is all dedicated to God.”

• • • • • =2= The word “corban” was used as an oath.

For example, if you said to your parents, “I swear by corban I will never help you as long as I live.”

Later you might decide you spoke in anger and feel you would like to help your parents as God commanded.

However, an oath was unbreakable. (Num 30:2)

Therefore, Jesus accused them of using man-made traditions and interpretations to cause people to dishonor God’s commands.

• Read Mat 15:10-20 Diagnosis of the heart of man
  • What is true religion that makes a man clean so that he can approach and worship God?
    • The scribes and Pharisees were so concerned about being made unclean from something outside of themselves.
      • They viewed man as clean living in a dirty world.
      • In fact, man is dirty living in a dirty world. The Bible tells us we are all sinners come short of the glory of God. (Isa 64:6)
    • The religious leaders should have known by the Old Testament this truth, but they did not. They were shocked at Jesus’ view of religion.
      • They did not realize that all the Old Testament Laws in Leviticus were to point out the true nature of man’s uncleanness and Christ’s cleansing sacrifice on the cross.
      • The only way man can be made clean and approach God is through the blood of Christ that cleanses us from our sins. (Rev 1:5-6)
    • Jesus explains to his disciples God’s view of religions.
  • The Parable of the Uprooted Plant (Mat 15:12-13)
    • What is the plant? (17,18)
      • According to the context, Jesus is not talking about people but about teachings and doctrine.
        • The uprooted plant, then, is false doctrine or false teachings not planted by God.
        • It is every error that obscures the truth of God or hurts the soul of man.
      • What does Jesus mean by “rooted up“?
        • In God’s own time, all false doctrines and perverted truths will be judged and their roots exposed.
        • Some will be exposed in this life, some at the final judgment.
    • The central truth of the parable:
      • Like the disciples, we tend to get upset at false doctrines and errors floating about.
      • God is saying that He is in control.
      • In His time, all false doctrines and motives will be exposed.
  • Parable of the Blind Leaders (Mat 15:14)
    • Who are the blind leaders?
      • The Pharisees (12)
      • They chose to be blind. (Mat 13:15)
        • It was not just that they were deceived.
        • They knew the truth and purposely led people the other way.
    • Who are the blind that they lead?
      • The common Jewish people who followed and believed in what the Pharisees said.
      • The phrase, “leaders of the blind” was a phrase in common use to describe the ideal of a rabbi’s calling.
      • The Pharisees were to be a light to them that were in darkness.
      • Read Rom 2:17-24.
    • What is the ditch?
      • Both the leaders and those led fall into it.
      • In Jesus’ day it referred to the destruction of Jerusalem that was to come upon them in 70 AD.
      • Generally speaking it is the bondage and hopelessness of false doctrine that produces spiritual death and not life.
    • The central truth of the parable:
      • There will always be false teachers teaching false doctrine that lead themselves and others astray.
• Application:
  • Because there are false teachers and false doctrines everywhere, how can you know what is truth?
    • Only what is in the Bible is truth.
    • But the Pharisees knew the scriptures.
      • We need an open heart toward God and the Holy Spirit. (Joh 5:31-47)
      • It is the responsibility of every individual to discover the truth for himself. (2Tim 2:15)

Homework

Matthew 15:21-39

• Application of Mat 15:1-20
  • Consider the spiritual condition of your heart. Is it clean from sin? How was it made clean?
  • In what are you trusting to keep your heart clean so that you might stand before God clean?
  • Find a Bible verse to prove you are trusting in the true religion that makes you clean in the way God desires.
• Preparation for Mat 15:21-39
  • Read Mat 15:21-28 Healing the Canaanite woman’s daughter
    • What was it that proved to Jesus the woman had a great faith?
    • What do you learn about faith from this healing?
  • Read Mat 15:29-39 Feeding the 4,000
    • What new things do we learn from this miracle that we did not see when Jesus fed the 5000?
    • What do we learn about Jesus from this miracle?
    • What do we learn about faith from this miracle?
• Memory verse: Mat 23:12