In the last two articles, we have explored how Jesus showed us in Matthew 14-15 how to live in the freedom of obedience to God versus the bondage of fear of displeasing men, especially those viewed as religious or cultural authorities. Remember that religious sensitivities are the outward requirements of conformity that are used to measure spiritual performance as well as to judge and condemn non-conformists. They are often developed out of a desire to please others, instead of God. In this final article, we will continue in Matthew 15 to see how religious traditions are frequently at the heart of men-pleasing instead of God-pleasing.

The Blinding Power of Human Ritual

“Then the disciples came to him and said, “Do you know that when the Pharisees heard this saying they were offended?” And he replied, “Every plant that my heavenly Father did not plant will be uprooted. Leave them! They are blind guides. If someone who is blind leads another who is blind, both will fall into a pit” (Matt. 15:12-14).

The Pharisees were offended because Jesus had called out the emptiness of their religious ritual (ceremonial washing of hands before eating), which was not ordained by God, but by “the elders.” Jesus contrasted this ritual with the Pharisees’ failure to obey God’s command to honor parents, which they excused through another one of their “traditions.” Jesus called out the hypocritical irony that handwashing was more important to the Pharisees than honoring parents. Effectively, that meant it was more important to them to please men than to please God. This is why ritual (i.e. ceremonial or rote) religious practices can be meaningless and frequently prevent true spiritual progress. Therefore, as such, these practices deserve little or no consideration and their proponents are to be ignored and not honored, –even if such neglect is the cause of great personal offense to their proponents!

The admonition, “If thy brother sin against thee” (Matt. 18:15ff) is not a blank check for every offense one may feel, whether real or imagined. Jesus had offended the Pharisees, but this offense was the result of the truth confronting their error. The admonition of Jesus to His nervous disciples was to leave the offended Pharisees alone and let God deal with them, like weeds by a gardener. To paraphrase Jesus, “Let them exclude you, but do not be intimidated by their rejection of you!”

Now there’s a real test against men-pleasing!

The Fear of Man is a Snare

“But Peter said to him, “Explain this parable to us.” Jesus said, “Even after all this, are you still so foolish? Don’t you understand that whatever goes into the mouth enters the stomach and then passes out into the sewer? But the things that come out of the mouth come from the heart, and these things defile a person. For out of the heart come evil ideas, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander. These are the things that defile a person; it is not eating with unwashed hands that defiles a person” (Matt 15:15-20 NET).

“Even after all this, are you still so foolish?”
Jesus’ rhetorical question is startling. Apparently, the fear of man is such a snare (see Proverbs 29:25) that it can thoroughly inhibit the simple understanding of God’s Word and trusting Him. How often do you limit the straight-forward reading of the biblical text by the doctrinal teachings you have embraced? Never let the “group think” of your religious beliefs replace the Spirit’s instructions from God’s Holy Word.

We have huge inward needs for spiritual transformation! Don’t waste time in scholarly interpretations of the Scriptures that minimize and mute the sharp two-edged sword of The Word (Hebrews 4:12-13)! Rather, let the Scriptures enter deeply into your inward man and “interpret you!”

Lip Service v. Heart Service Personified

“And Jesus went away from there and withdrew to the district of Tyre and Sidon. And behold, a Canaanite woman from that region came out and was crying, “Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David; my daughter is severely oppressed by a demon.” But he did not answer her a word. And his disciples came and begged him, saying, “Send her away, for she is crying out after us.” He answered, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.”

But she came and knelt before him, saying, “Lord, help me.” And he answered, “It is not right to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs.” She said, “Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters’ table.” Then Jesus answered her, “O woman, great is your faith! Be it done for you as you desire.” And her daughter was healed instantly.

Jesus went on from there and walked beside the Sea of Galilee. And he went up on the mountain and sat down there. And great crowds came to him, bringing with them the lame, the blind, the crippled, the mute, and many others, and they put them at his feet, and he healed them, so that the crowd wondered, when they saw the mute speaking, the crippled healthy, the lame walking, and the blind seeing. And they glorified the God of Israel” (Matt 15:21-31 ESV).

This is a remarkable account of the immunity from offending religious sensitivities by those who are humbly seeking God’s help from their heart! In fact, it personifies Lip Service v. Heart Service. The woman seeking out Jesus’s help for her daughter could have readily withdrew from Him, affronted at His apparent insensitivity. But she did not. Unlike the Pharisees, any religious sensitivity she had was less important to her than her spiritual need. And instead of getting offended at her encounter with a tough Truth-teller, she got a miracle.   

To be sure, there was a prioritization, based on heavenly strictures, for how Jesus conducted His ministry. His explanation that He was “sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel” was the keystone for why the Gospel was required to go, “to the Jew first!” (Romans 1:16). But, properly understood, that initial restriction genuinely promoted heart-service and not lip-service both within and without Judaism. People like this Canaanite mother showed that coming to God humbly because of my need is a wholesome antidote to coming to God in the pride of my well-groomed religious sensitivities which I have put on full display so as to be seen of men. That’s something the Pharisees could not understand, too blinded by the pride of their offense.

Come to Jesus

Meanwhile, the crowds swarmed to Jesus again! (Matt. 15:30). Never underestimate the power of the attraction of having your deepest needs met and resolved in Jesus Christ! There is no approval in men-pleasing that can equal or overcome the attraction of being made whole from the inside out! And that’s what makes the Gospel so attractive to the needy! “When Jesus heard [it], he saith unto them, They that are whole have no need of the physician, but they that are sick: I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance” (Mark 2:17).

“Come unto me, all [ye] that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest” (Matt. 11:28).

Lay aside your own religious sensitivities, and the fear of offending the religious sensitivities of others. Stop worshipping at the empty altar of religious traditions, and instead kneel at the foot of the Cross.  There are no men-pleasers found there –just the crowd of those seeking the deep consolation of the soul! Run there to Jesus today, He will never cast you out! If you do, you too will, “glorify the God of Israel!”