Matthew 15:1-3 - Why do you break the command of God for the sake of your tradition

15:1,2

The religious hierarchy had heard about what Jesus was doing, and the crowds that He was attracting. Some of the religious leaders came from Jerusalem to investigate, and came with an agenda of wanting to find fault. Here they do this indirectly by focusing on Jesus’ disciples, and asked Jesus why they didn’t wash their hands before eating. Note that they are concerned about the disciples breaking not the Law, but the “tradition of the elders”. A multitude of rules had been added on to the Law by the religious leaders.

15:3

Jesus turns the attack right back onto the Pharisees. The religious leaders were putting their rules above the Law, the command of God, even to the point of breaking the Law. We need to be very careful that we do not do this, it is so easy for us to put our traditions or our customs above God’s commands. It probably won’t be deliberate, but it is what we will do.