Spring Warrior Church of Christ

7432 S. Red Padgett Road

Perry, FL 32348
584-5176

WHAT wOULD JESUS dO? No. 13

WHICH TRADITIONS WOULD JESUS OBSERVE? By Bill Blue

Jesus would condemn the “teaching as doctrines the commandments

of men” (Matt. 15:9). In Matthew 15, Jesus criticized the scribes and
Pharisees for binding two traditions found no where in the Scriptures. We
can we be guilty of the same conduct today.

In Jesus’ day, Jews were divided into different sects, each with their
own unique combination of beliefs. They were known as the Pharisees,
Sadducees, Essenes, and Zealots. (One example in the difference in beliefs
is that the Pharisees believed in the resurrection from the dead, while the
Sadducees did not. Matt. 22:23-32; Acts 23:6-8). Today, Christianity has its
own sects, or “faiths,” each with its own unique combination of beliefs and
practices and each with its own name, such as Baptist, Catholic,
Episcopalian, Greek Orthodox, Lutheran, Methodist, Mormon, Presbyterian,
Seventh Day Adventist, etc.

Beliefs, practices, and traditions which are not found in the Bible either
add to or take from God’s word in violation of Jesus’ own teaching (Rev.
22:18-19). Consider two examples from Matthew 15. The Scriptures
contained no requirement that men wash their hands before eating, yet the
Pharisees declared the disciples’ failure to wash a “transgression,”
essentially creating a new commandment (Matt. 15:1-9). Men bind new
beliefs today. Some faiths teach that an infant that dies before baptism does
not go to heaven even though there is neither a command to baptize infants,
nor an example of infants being baptized found in the Bible. The Bible
actually says that belief, something an infant is incapable of, is a prerequisite
to baptism (Acts 8:36-37).

In Matthew 15, the Pharisees also created an exception to God’s law by

excusing a son’s obligation to care for his parents if he donated a gift to the
temple; thus taking from God’s word (Matt. 15:6). Men make the same
mistakes today. The Bible has consistently condemned homosexuality (Lev.
18:22; Lev. 20:13; Rom. 1:26-27; 1 Cor. 6:9-10; 1 Tim. 1:10), yet nearly 2000
years after Christ’s death, some faiths are now beginning to accept
homosexuals as preachers. Jesus would not let political correctness
determine which acts are sinful.

In Matthew 15, Jesus did not condemn the washing of one’s hand
before eating, but rather the presumptuous creation of a new
commandment. Similarly, Jesus was not opposed to people donating gifts to
the temple, but the arrogant belief that a man could excuse someone from
obeying God’s law to care for one’s own family, essentially making God’s law
of “no effect” (Matt. 15:6; Mark 7:10), by “laying [it] aside,” and “reject[ing]
the commandment of God” (Mark 7:8-9).

Jesus also criticized the Pharisees for going beyond God’s law when
they drew distinctions between the types of oaths one could swear to (Matt.
23:16-22). Isn’t this similar to “ranking” sins when God has not, or
classifying God’s commands as those essential to salvation and others not?

Jesus refused to obey traditions that were inconsistent with the letter
and intent of the Scriptures. In Matthew 12, Jesus refused to honor the
traditions of the elders with respect to the Sabbath in two different contexts:
the plucking of grain and healing (Matt. 12:1-14). In both instances, the
tradition sought to restrict activities where God’s law did not (Matt. 12:7, 12).

Jesus would adhere only to the doctrine, teachings, and traditions

found in the New Testament. We have observed in earlier articles that Jesus
would answer religious questions with Bible answers (WWJD no. 2; see also
Matt. 4:1-10), and because He sent the Holy Spirit to His Apostles to divinely
inspire them with all truth and bring to their remembrance the things He said
and did in their presence (John 14:26, 16:13), the Apostles could be trusted
to declare God’s will accurately (Matt. 16:19; see also WWJD no. 4). Thus,
Jesus would have us follow Apostolic traditions (1 Cor. 11:2; 2 Thess. 3:6), but
not the traditions of men which contradict the Bible (Col. 2:8).

Jesus says that the teachers and followers of commandments and

traditions not found in the Bible are blind (Matt. 15:14). They “transgress the
commandment of God” (Matt. 15:3), and worship Him “in vain” (Matt. 15:9).

In Matthew 15:8-9, Jesus quotes the prophet Isaiah, “These people

draw near to Me with their mouth, And honor Me with their lips, But their
heart is far from Me. And in vain they worship Me, Teaching as doctrines the
commandments of men.” The whole idea behind emphasizing WWJD (“What
Would Jesus Do?”) is to draw nearer to Christ by becoming more Christ-like.
However, Jesus says we cannot draw nearer to Him by moving farther from
God’s word.

This article is reprinted online at http://www.bibleweb.com.