PLEASE, WASH YOUR HANDS

M AT T H E W S E R I E S | J U N E 2 4 , 2 0 1 2

MATTHEW 15: 1-20

1 Then some Pharisees and teachers of the law came to Jesus from Jerusalem and asked 2 Why do your disciples break the tradition of the elders? They dont wash their hands before they eat! 3 Jesus replied,

MATTHEW 15: 1-20

And why do you break the command of God for the sake of your tradition? 4 For God said, Honor your father and mother and Anyone who curses his father or mother must be put to death. 5 But you say that if a man says to

MATTHEW 15: 1-20

his father or mother, Whatever help you might otherwise have received from me is a gift devoted to God, 6 he is not to honor his father with it. Thus you nullify the word of God for the sake of your tradition.

MATTHEW 15: 1-20

7 You hypocrites! Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you: 8 These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. 9 They worship me in vain, their teachings are but rules taught by men.

MATTHEW 15: 1-20

10 Jesus called the crowd to him and said, Listen and understand. 11 What goes into a mans mouth does not make him unclean, but what comes out of his mouth, that is what makes him unclean. 12 Then the

MATTHEW 15: 1-20

disciples came to him and asked, Do you know that the Pharisees were offended when they heard this? 13 He replied, Every plant that my heavenly Father has not planted will be pulled up by the roots. 14 Leave them;

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they are blind guides. If a blind man leads a blind man, both will fall into a pit. 15 Peter said, Explain the parable to us. 16 Are you still so dull? Jesus asked them. 17 Dont you see that whatever enters the mouth goes

MATTHEW 15: 1-20

into the stomach and then out of the body? 18 But the things that come out of the mouth come from the heart, and these make a man unclean. 19 For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality,

MATTHEW 15: 1-20

theft, false testimony, slander. 20 These are what make a man unclean; but eating with unwashed hands does not make him unclean.

TRADITION OF MEN vs COMMANDS OF GOD

Why do your disciples break the tradition of the elders? They dont wash their hands before they eat! Jesus replied, And why do you break the command of God for the sake of your tradition?

MARK 7: 9-13

9 He was also saying to them, You are experts at setting aside the commandment of God in order to keep your tradition. 10 For Moses said, Honor your father and your mother; and he who speaks evil of

MARK 7: 9-13

father or mother, is to be put to death; 11 but you say, If a man says to his father or his mother, whatever I have that would help you is Corban (that is to say, given to God), 12 you no longer permit him to do

MARK 7: 9-13

anything for his father or his mother; 13 thus invalidating the word of God by your tradition which you have handed down; and you do many things such as that.

CORBAN

I. WE GIVE TITHES & OFFERINGS

ACTS 5: 1-5

1 Now a man named Ananias, together with his wife Sapphira, also sold a piece of property. 2 With his wifes full knowledge he kept back part of the money for himself, but brought the rest and put it at the apostles feet. 3 Then Peter said, Ananias, how is it

ACTS 5: 1-5

that Satan has so filled your heart that you have lied to the Holy Spirit and have kept for yourself some of the money you received for the land? 4 Didnt it belong to you before it was sold? And after it was sold, wasnt the money at your disposal? What made you

ACTS 5: 1-5

think of doing such a thing? You have not lied to men but to God. 5 When Ananias heard this, he fell down and died. And great fear seized all who heard what had happened.

II. WE GO TO MISSIONS

III. WE FIGHT INJUSTICES

To give to someone in need can make us feel good. We can even gain much more than we give in these situations. But what if our real job is not to give to those who are poor but to help create a world where the poor do not exist? What if the Church

should be less concerned with creating saints than creating a world where we do not need saints? A world where people like Mother Teresa and MLK would have nothing to do.
- PETER ROLLINS

WHATS EASIER?

WASHING HANDS OR WASHING THE FEET OF THOSE WHO WERE UNCLEAN AND OUTCASTED?

WHATS EASIER?

PAYING THE CORBAN OR EMBRACING THE RESPONSIBILITY OF HONORING YOUR PARENTS BY TAKING CARE OF THEM AT THEIR OLD AGE?

WHATS EASIER?

GOING TO CHURCH OR BEING A CHRISTIAN 24/7?

WHATS EASIER?

NOT DRINKING DURING CHURCH FUNCTIONS OR PRAYING ABOUT WHY YOU NEED A DRINK IN ORDER TO HAVE FUN?

CORBAN | exposes our lack of desire to forgive and to reconcile.

If you had known what these words mean, I desire mercy, not sacrifice, you would not have condemned the innocent.
- MATTHEW 12: 7