Matthew the apostle wrote, “Then came to Jesus scribes and Pharisees, which were of Jerusalem, saying, Why do your disciples transgress the tradition of the elders? for they wash not their hands when they eat bread. But he answered and said unto them, Why do you also transgress the commandment of God by your tradition? For God commanded, saying, Honor your father and mother: and, He that curses father or mother, let him die the death. But you say, Whosoever shall say to his father or his mother, It is a gift, by whatsoever you might be profited by me”, and in chapter fifteen and verse six of his book, Matthew shares how Jesus told the Scribes and Pharisees, “you made the commandment of God of none effect” where we read:
And honor not his father or his mother, he shall be free.
Thus have you made the commandment of God of none effect by your tradition.
The verse reads, “And honor not his father or his mother, he shall be free”. Matthew began with the words, “and honor not” which means “and do not revere, fix a valuation upon and venerate” “his father” which means “the person's generator or male ancestor” “or his mother” which means “or the person's female ancestor”, “he shall be free” or “that person whether male or female will even, also and indeed be exempt, at liberty and able to escape”. Matthew shared how the “scribes and Pharisees” concluded that a person would be “exempt” from God's law of “honoring their father and mother” if they declared what they said was “a gift” to them.
The verse goes on to say, “Thus have you made the commandment of God of none effect by your tradition.” Matthew continues with the words, “thus have you made” which means “therefore and then the scribes and Pharisees have rendered, deprived of force and authority” “the commandment” which means “the order, charge, precept and injunction” “of God” or “belonging to the Godhead bodily and trinity which is comprised of God the Father, Christ the Son and the Holy Spirit” “of none effect” which means “rendered void, dis-annulled, made of none effect and deprived of force and authority” “by your tradition” or “through and by means of the scribes and Pharisees' writing, instruction, narrative and precept”. Matthew shared how the “scribes and Pharisees” made God's “commandment” to “honor your father and mother” “void” because their own man-made “rule” superseded God's.
When we meditate upon Matthew's words in this verse, we see how Jesus told the “scribes and Pharisees” that their own personal “rules” for operation were taking the place of God's commandment to “honor” their “father and mother”. This should not be, and anyone who fabricates “rules” that “make void and dis-annul” God's law are wrong and against the authority of God Himself. God desires a loving relationship with every person, and His laws are meant for people's good and not evil. Any detraction from them pridefully replaces God's law for human law, and that is displaced authority. Let all who read these words be certain their “traditions” do not “make void” the commands of God, and may all who see these words realize the value of a relationship with Jesus Christ.
Next time Matthew shares how Jesus calls the Scribes and Pharisees, “hypocrites”, so read ahead, and we shall join together then.
Until
tomorrow…there is more…
Look for the daily devotional book
“Equipped for Battle – From Generation to Generation”, the
marriage book “So, You Want to Be Married”, “One Year in the
Sermon on the Mount” and the new poetry book "Random Mushrooms
Volumes I and II" and the new novel "Elizabeth County"
in all major bookstore sites, http://www.amazon.com
; http://www.barnesandnobles.com
; download to e-books, and find it locally at
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