NOTES for Mat 15:1-20

For the audience of Matthew the Evangelist, the Law of Moses is not merely a collection of incomprehensible rules and ordinances. Matthew quotes the Lord Jesus as saying that “until heaven and earth pass away, not one stroke of a letter will pass from the law” (Matt 5:18). What, then, is the nature of the conflict between Christ and the Pharisees? It seems that for the Pharisees the Law is a set of commandments which, by fulfilling them, a person can please God, draw closer to Him, and fulfill His will for humanity. This is the general approach of every religious consciousness for which the essence of the relationship between God and the human person lies in performing certain actions that God prescribes. A familiar approach, is it not? What, then, does Christ say about the Law? In His interpretation, love for one’s parents is placed above an offering to the Temple, and purity of heart is more important than clean hands. This is what the Law of Moses is directed toward. Thus, to live according to God’s Law, we must pay more attention to the heart and to our relationships with God and other people than to the observance of laws or rules.