Matthew 15:9
ESV
in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’"
NIV
They worship me in vain; their teachings are merely human rules.’ "
NASB
AND IN VAIN DO THEY WORSHIP ME, TEACHING AS DOCTRINES THE COMMANDMENTS OF MEN.’?'
CSB
They worship me in vain, teaching as doctrines human commands."
NLT
Their worship is a farce, for they teach man-made ideas as commands from God.’ '
KJV
But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.
NKJV
And in vain they worship Me, Teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’ ”
What does Matthew 15:9 mean?
In response to criticism that He does not honor their manmade traditions, Jesus has boldly declared a group of scribes and Pharisees as hypocrites. This would not have been the reaction they expected when they came from Jerusalem to confront Jesus about the behavior of His disciples (Matthew 15:4–8).Jesus is quoting a passage they likely know quite well: Isaiah 29:13. It contains words the Lord said to Isaiah about the Israelites of that generation. This exchange with Jesus reveals that the words of Isaiah's prophecy apply to Israel's current religious leaders, as well. The hearts of the Israelites in Isaiah's day were far from God, despite honoring the Lord with their words.
Now Jesus completes the quote by declaring that their worship of God is useless: it is ineffective and pointless. This is because they are teaching their own preferences, their traditions, as if they were the doctrines given by God.
This accusation from Jesus is impossible to dodge: the last part of the quote from Isaiah is exactly why Pharisees had come. They were attacking Jesus and His followers for ignoring their traditional, manmade, ritual version of handwashing before meals. This was never commanded by God in Scripture. It was one of the "commandments of men," and Jesus treated it that way, revealing the Pharisees' hypocrisy.
Matthew 15:1–9 describes Pharisees and scribes from Jerusalem challenging Jesus. Their complaint: Christ's disciples have apparently ignored the Pharisees' practice of ritualized washing before eating. In response, Jesus asks them why they allow people to break the actual command of God about honoring one's parents. He says they have made God's Word void for the sake of their tradition. In truth, they criticize those who ignore their commands, but ignore those of God. He applies to them words from the Lord to Isaiah about the Israelites of his day, saying that these Pharisees honor the Lord with their words while their hearts are far away. They worship God in vain, teaching man-made commands as doctrines.
Pharisees and scribes come from Jerusalem to challenge Jesus. They are offended that His disciples break the religious leaders' tradition about ritual handwashing before meals. Jesus turns that attack upside down, pointing out that His critics honor tradition above God's actual commands! He insists that nobody is defiled by what goes in the mouth—by the literal matter itself—but by the overflow of the spirit, such as the words that come out of the mouth. He and the disciples travel out of the country. Jesus casts a demon out of the daughter of a persistent Canaanite woman. They travel to the southeast side of the Sea of Galilee where Jesus feeds thousands of people from a few loaves and fishes. These last two events set up the eventual spread of the gospel beyond the people of Israel.
