They worship me in vain; their teachings are merely human rules

 Matthew 15:1-9

Then some Pharisees and teachers of the law came to Jesus from Jerusalem and asked, “Why do your disciples break the tradition of the elders? They don’t wash their hands before they eat!”

Jesus replied, “And why do you break the command of God for the sake of your tradition? For God said, ‘Honor your father and mother’ and ‘Anyone who curses their father or mother is to be put to death.’ But you say that if anyone declares that what might have been used to help their father or mother is ‘devoted to God,’ they are not to ‘honor their father or mother’ with it. Thus you nullify the word of God for the sake of your tradition. You hypocrites! Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you:

‘These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. They worship me in vain; their teachings are merely human rules.’

From the first, Jesus' teaching on religion brought him into conflict with the Pharisees. For them 'tradition' the real teaching of the rabbis which supplemented and interpreted scripture was blinding. But Jesus never hesitated to denounce tradition wherever it watered down or undermined scriptural principles.

Why?

Some Pharisees follow the tradition of the elders but forgot the more important way of the Lord, the truth.

If honor the Lord with a lip but the hearts are far from God, this is not the worship, it is a ceremony. God likes to build a close relationship between us.

Am I reading the Bible, praying to the Lord, and worship in the church are ceremony or it may let me have more close relationship with the Lord?

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傳統與真理的問題。

14:33你真是神的兒子。14章上次耶穌平穩風浪：門徒說這人是誰?這麼有能力。門徒終於知道耶穌是神的兒子。

法利賽人不承認耶穌所行的來自神，耶穌所行的沒有照他們的條件，所行的要他們滿意。耶穌是神，卻要耶穌照人的標準，看看是否過關?

我們今天為我們所求的應允而感恩，如果神沒有照我們所求的是否也感恩?

即使耶穌行神蹟，法利賽人也不承認，不照他們要求的就是錯，他們關心的是傳統。因為傳統比較簡單，多數人知道，不會被責備，也是大家習慣的，感覺比較舒服。

傳統如果符合多數人的方式，習慣，因此不願改變，落入舒適圈內，以致落入人的感覺、想法，不是討神的喜悅。

吃飯洗手，奉獻禮物就可以不孝敬父母。洗手不是玩的因為衛生，反而是為了傳統。平常沾染不潔淨，大家不見得看得到，洗手人容易看得到，得到稱讚。奉獻禮物大家看到，照顧家裏外人看不到。用儀式代表生活的信仰、見證。這些是故意要人看見，既舒服又容易得到稱讚。

因此耶穌用以賽亞書的話來描述法利賽人的內心。我們是討神的喜歡，還是討人的喜歡?否則我們又落入舒適圈內，以自我為中心的生活態度。

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How?

Worship and honor the Lord with my heart and with my behavior.