BIBLE IN TEN

• Matthew 15:5

  Sunday, 14 December 2025   But you say, ‘Whoever says to his father or mother, “Whatever profit you might have received from me is a gift to God”—Matthew 15:5   “And you, you say, ‘Whoever, he should say to father or mother, “Gift – whatever if from me you should benefit”’” (CG).   In the previous verse, Jesus cited the fifth commandment and then a penalty found in Exodus for cursing one’s father or mother. He continues His words to the scribes and Pharisees, emphatically saying, “And you, you say.”   The stress indicates a teaching of these men that will come into conflict with the laws just cited from Exodus 20 and 21. In essence, “God says this, and you, you say this...” The treacherous teaching they say is, “Whoever, he should say to father or mother, ‘Gift – whatever if from me you should benefit.’”   A new word is seen in this verse, ópheleó, to be useful, to benefit, to profit, etc. The parents could have received benefits from the child, but that is no longer the case because it has been given as a gift.   The words make little sense to us because the idea has to be understood from the cultural practices of the people. The inserted words of many translations, to God, help provide clarity. A person has parents he is required by law to tend to. However, if he gives the gift to God, it becomes sacred and can no longer be used for common purposes. Charles Ellicott gives a suitable explanation –   “If he had once devoted his property once said it was ‘corban,’ or a gift to God - it could not be appropriated even to the support of a parent. If a parent was needy and poor, and if he should apply to a son for assistance, and the son should reply, though in anger, ‘It is devoted to God; this property which you need, and by which you might be profited by me, is “corban” - I have given it to God;’ the Jews said the property could not be recalled, and the son was not under obligation to aid a parent with it. He had done a more important thing in giving it to God. The son was free. He could not be required to do anything for his father after that. Thus, he might, in a moment, free himself from the obligation to obey his father or mother.”   In the end, this shows a mean-spirited attitude towards one’s parents by giving a gift to God, something the leaders would be all too happy to receive, and thus denying the parents what was otherwise commanded by God. Once it was devoted to God, even though it violated the law by denying the parents what he was responsible for, it was henceforth out of reach for that proper purpose.   Life application: There are all kinds of ways of getting around obligations. Some are good and some are devious. Some are legal, the legality of some may be questionable, and some are obviously illegal. Man has contrived many ways of getting around what they are directed to do.   In some cases, the government itself makes allowances for getting around paying taxes. These usually benefit people who have the money to do so, such as gift and inheritance taxes. However, some countries allow money to be given to churches or other charitable organizations that would otherwise have been taken as taxes.   These usually start with good intent. A charitable organization, such as a food ministry to the poor, is set up. People can give to it and get a tax deduction. The problem is that the food organization begins funneling money off to other things, still legally, that really have nothing to do with helping others.   This has gotten completely out of control in the US, where organizations like BLM were receiving millions of dollars for really perverse purposes. All the while, the people who set the organization up were pocketing millions.   At the same time, because of the hard left ideology of those in the government, real charitable organizations, based on Christian values, were being targeted or denied tax-exempt status in order to frustrate their efforts.   The path people will normally take is the bad one. Tax exemption programs are a great place for people to do devious things. When you give to such organizations, be sure to check them out thoroughly. Don’t just assume that what you are giving is being handled properly.   If a preacher has a Learjet, you can bet he also has a giant house, maybe two or three. Is that where you want your money to go? Be wise and discerning in how you give. It is important.   Lord God, help us to have discernment in how we spend our money. There are a lot of teachers and preachers of Your word who have hidden agendas that do nothing to further the gospel or an understanding of Your word. We pray that You direct us so that we don’t get duped by those who appear one way but are not at all what they seem. Amen.  

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• Matthew 15:4

  Saturday, 13 December 2025   For God commanded, saying, ‘Honor your father and your mother’; and, ‘He who curses father or mother, let him be put to death.’ Matthew 15:4   “For God, He enjoined, saying, ‘You honor your father and your mother,’ and the ‘disparaging father or mother,’ death – he expires!” (CG).   In the previous verse, Jesus challenged the scribes and Pharisees, asking why they sidestepped the commandment of God because of their traditions. He now explains how they were doing this, beginning with, “For God, He enjoined.”   There is a difference in source texts here. Some use the word legó, to speak or say. Others use the word entellomai, to enjoin. Either way, the word of God, when spoken to the people as a matter of law, is to be taken as a command. As for what God enjoined, Matthew continues, “saying, ‘You honor your father and your mother.’”   Another new word, timaó, to prize, is seen. The sense is to fix a valuation upon, and thus to reverence or honor. One will fix a value on something based on how he perceives its value.   If someone finds a stick, if he has need of it for a fire, the value set upon it is that it will be burned. However, if he finds a Van Gogh painting and knows what it is worth, he will put a high value on it and give it an honorable place on his wall.   Jesus cites the fifth commandment, that of honoring the parents. In Exodus 20:12, as the people gathered before God at Mount Sinai, they were commanded that parents are to be highly esteemed in the eyes of His people. This was repeated by Moses in Deuteronomy 5:16.   As a command of God, the parents are to be honored. And more, as this was His command, there were penalties for not upholding the edict. That is seen in His next words, “and the ‘disparaging father or mother,’ death – he expires!’”   Still another new word is seen, kakologeó, to revile. It is derived from kakos, worthless, and logos, something said. As such, it would be to speak a word of worthlessness about another. A good word to match the intent is to disparage.   This precept is explicitly stated in Exodus 21:17. In this command of God to His people, to ensure that reverence was paid to the parents, the penalty for disparaging them was that their lives were forfeit. They were to be put to death. The forceful way Jesus states this penalty to these men is a clear indication to them that when He finishes, they will understand this is what they deserve.   Life application: When a person is given a word from a higher up that he is expected to be obedient to, how he responds to that word is an implicit assignment of value to the Lord who gave the word.   When a person is given a word from a boss to do something, he may ignore it, showing contempt for what he was told to do, and thus contempt for the boss who told him to do it. The same is true with parents, an official statute from a city, county, state, or national body, or even God.   In Jesus’ words, and as will be analyzed in just a few verses, it will be seen that these people honor (the same Greek word, timaó) Him with their lips, but their hearts are far from Him. In other words, they pay lip service to Him, but their will and intent, as it is worked out, actually disparage Him.   We could say, “Well then! They got what they deserved when the temple was destroyed and the people were carried away in the Roman dispersion.” However, every time we are disobedient to the word that has been given to us, meaning the directives that apply in any given dispensation, and as the context demands, we are doing exactly what Jesus rebukes the leaders of Israel for.   But more to the point, we may not even know what the Lord’s word to us is. So, we could say, “I wasn’t disparaging God. If I had known, I would have done what the word said.” This is a feeble excuse, and it actually shows a contempt for the word of God, and thus Him, because we didn’t even bother to check and know what God expects of us.   For us, the old saying, “Ignorance of the law is no excuse,” could more rightly be stated, “Ignorance of God’s word is inexcusable.” Think the matter through. We heard the word of salvation. We accepted the proposition and Jesus saved us, sealing us with the Holy Spirit. Our eternal state has now been changed from condemnation to salvation.   Does this eternity-changing state mean anything at all to us? In ages past, not knowing God’s precepts may have been excusable. There were no Bibles at hand, and those who believed were at the mercy of the competency and caring of the one who possessed maybe the only copy of the word for many miles.   Today, however, a Bible can be obtained for free anywhere and at any time. If you are connected to the internet, you have no excuse. If you have a church you attend that cares about the word, it is certain they will give you a copy of the Bible. A used Bible that has never been opened can usually be picked up at a Goodwill for a dollar or two, meaning less than you spend on the cheapest of your daily purchases.   Don’t make excuses! Get a Bible, pick the thing up, and read it, honoring God as you do. And then, be sure to do what it says, meaning in the proper context of the church age, thus honoring God through obedient adherence to what He expects of you. Anything less is truly unacceptable.   “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord. 17 And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.” Colossians 3:16, 17   Glorious God, may our honoring of You be in spirit and in truth, not with lip service but no heart for You and what You expect of us. You are God. May we remember this and understand our lowly state before You without Your kind mercies as extended to us in the Person of Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.

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• Matthew 15:3

  Friday, 12 December 2025   He answered and said to them, “Why do you also transgress the commandment of God because of your tradition? Matthew 15:3   “And answering, He said, to them, ‘Through what – also you, you sidestep the ‘God’s commandment’ through your tradition?’” (CG).   In the previous verse, the scribes and Pharisees came to Jesus and asked why His disciples transgressed the tradition of the elders because they didn’t wash their hands when they ate bread. Matthew next records, “And answering, He said, to them, ‘Through what – also you, you sidestep.   Jesus returns the same word they just used, parabainó, to sidestep, to them. In doing this, He doesn’t defend His apostles, nor does He condemn the traditions they practice, as if they are contrary to God’s laws. Rather, in doing so, He elevates the gravity of the matter, noting that in their own lives, they are sidestepping “the ‘God’s commandment.’” The word entolé signifies an injunction that is authoritative in nature and that focuses on the end result of a command. As it is God’s injunction, the end result is that His people are to obey it. And yet, these hypocrites stood there arguing over a manmade precept, which, as Jesus says, is “through your tradition?”   Jesus stood on the word of God. There was no suitable evidence for a second oral code. And even if it existed, it would have become so corrupted that whatever was originally spoken would have been lost eons earlier. This is why the law was written down. It was a safeguard to protect what God intended for His people.   Despite this, these scribes and Pharisees sidestepped what God had authored through Moses. Instead, they placed their own corrupt, self-serving, and self-aggrandizing traditions above God’s word.   Life application: The Bible does not forbid traditions. Nor does it find fault in having traditions. An example of Jewish traditions being followed by Jesus is found in the gospels. In Matthew 26:30, it says, “And when they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.”   This is generally accepted as a note concerning the singing of the Hallel, which is found in Psalms 113-118, and which is followed by the Great Hallel, where Psalm 136 is sung. If this is so, it is a tradition. There is nothing in Scripture instructing the people to do this. As such, it cannot be considered mandatory. Rather, it is a cultural tradition that became accepted and standard.   Rather than getting bogged down in a verbal tiff with the scribes and Pharisees over such things, He directly accused them of violating God’s laws. No matter what right they had to impose their human precepts on others in such matters, they had no right to ever violate one of God’s laws.   As an example, a woman in a congregation may stand up and complain about how the Lord’s Supper is no longer served at that church on a rectangular silver platter. However, the denomination may have prescribed that all Lord’s Supper presentations would be the same at each church so that visitors would always feel at home.   In this tradition, a rectangular silver platter was mandated, and each church was given one. Regardless of the reason why it was no longer being used (for all we know, it got stolen by the lady’s son, who was a noted thief!), she has stood up and accused the church of violating the denomination’s tradition, instructing the pastor that he was not shepherding the church as a sound leader. Instead of addressing the issue of the platter itself or the tradition that prescribed it, the pastor says, “And why are you violating God’s laws over a tradition? Go read the pastoral epistles and you will find that your instruction to me violates Scripture!”   This is what Jesus has done. He has maintained the integrity of God’s word without getting bogged down in a verbal spat over a far less important issue. When the crime of violating God’s law is presented, no further argumentation by the accuser will hold any weight at all.   When debating things with people, there is no need for a tit-for-tat verbal exchange. If someone makes a claim that is inappropriate, address the issue of greater weight and ignore what will lead to pointless argumentation.   Heavenly Father, give us the wisdom to carefully consider our interactions with others so that when we have a dispute between ourselves, we can quickly end it without it getting out of hand. This does take wisdom, and we come to You asking for it so that we will be free of shameful words that could otherwise arise. Amen.

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• Matthew 15:2

  Thursday, 11 December 2025   “Why do Your disciples transgress the tradition of the elders? For they do not wash their hands when they eat bread.” Matthew 15:2   “Through what – Your disciples, they sidestep the tradition of the elders? For they wash not their hands when they may eat bread” (CG).   In the previous verse, Chapter 15 began with the scribes and Pharisees from Jerusalem coming to Jesus. Matthew next records the question they asked Him, “Through what – Your disciples, they sidestep the tradition of the elders?”   Two new words are seen here. The first is parabainó, to go contrary to. It is derived from para, near or to the side, and the base of basis, a step. Thus, it literally signifies to sidestep. This is what the disciples were being accused of, sidestepping a tradition.   The next new word is paradosis, a transmission, and thus a tradition that is orally communicated.   The elders held to certain traditions that went beyond the law, but which they meticulously adhered to. Jesus’ disciples didn’t observe those traditions, and this had the scribes and Pharisees miffed. These “oral traditions” were claimed to have been handed down from Moses and were held to be on the same level as the written instruction.   This is nonsense, and it gave these leaders the opportunity to heap whatever burdens on the people they desired. As for the particular tradition they held to, Matthew continues, saying, “For they wash not their hands when they may eat bread.”   Mark 7:2 adds information to provide clarity –   “Now when they saw some of His disciples eat bread with defiled, that is, with unwashed hands, they found fault.”   These leaders were upset that the washing traditions, which were very cumbersome, were not observed by the disciples. To them, it was an act of uncleanliness that was intolerable to behold. But these were not God’s laws. They were only man-made traditions. Because of their stand, Jesus will have strong words of condemnation for them.   Life application: Nothing has changed in many churches in relation to traditions being raised in importance to the level of Scripture. In fact, tradition has replaced the word of God to the extent that the Bible is almost an afterthought.   This is especially so in Roman Catholic and Orthodox denominations, where the Bible is rarely or never read or taught. It may be in the church, but it sits unopened and is a showpiece. This is true to some extent in many other denominations as well. Many of the older mainstream denominations might pay lip service to Scripture, but that is about all one will get.   Think of it! The only source that tells us about the basis for our faith, meaning God in Christ, is ignored. So, where does their source of religion come from? The answer is from the heads of men, just like the traditions of the Jews.   This is a deplorable place to be. God has intricately woven together the pages of Scripture to give us information about ourselves and our relationship to Him. Instead of searching out His word, and thus searching out Him and what He is doing in redemptive history, we make stuff up, call it church, and the people never come to a right understanding of who Jesus is and why He is so important to us.   May we never be found in such a deplorable state. May our eyes be opened to the goodness of God as found in Jesus Christ, and as is conveyed to us in the pages of Scripture.   Lord God, give us the wisdom to pursue You and Your precious word all the days of our lives. It is a treasure of wisdom, knowledge, and blessing for those who will open it and consider its words. Yes, Lord, may we spend our days of this life wisely, learning what You have conveyed to us about Yourself. Amen.

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• Matthew 15:1

  Wednesday, 10 December 2025   Then the scribes and Pharisees who were from Jerusalem came to Jesus, saying, Matthew 15:1   “Then they came to Jesus from Jerusalem, scribes and Pharisees, saying,” (CG).   In the previous verse, Chapter 14 closed by noting that the people in the area surrounding Gennesaret came to Jesus and were healed. It next says, “Then they came to Jesus from Jerusalem, the scribes and Pharisees, saying...”   Some texts leave out the word “the” before scribes and Pharisees, and the words are switched, saying “Pharisees and scribes.” The verse ending in the middle of the thought is not unprecedented, but it is unusual, as if it begs the reader to stop and consider who these men are. Charles Ellicott does a nice job of summing up Matthew’s history of them thus far in the book –   “The presence of these actors on the scene is every way significant. They had been prominent in like accusations. It was by them that our Lord had been accused of blasphemy in forgiving sins (Matthew 9:3), of eating and drinking with publicans and sinners (Matthew 9:11), of disregarding fasts (Matthew 9:14), of casting out devils by Beelzebub (Matthew 12:24), of Sabbath-breaking (Matthew 12:2; Matthew 12:10). It was, we may believe, their presence in the synagogue of Capernaum which led our Lord to adopt (as in John 6:26-65) a form of teaching so unlike the usual tenor of that of His Galilean ministry. And now they return to the charge again with a new and characteristic accusation.”   As can be seen from those references, these men are legalistic, self-righteous snobs who look down on others without regard to Scripture, but according to their own standards of what should be done. Their precepts may have started with Scripture, but they go beyond what is written, setting up impossible standards for the daily conduct of most people who have lives to live.   Life application: Law is something given to control and regulate the actions of the disobedient. Paul explains this to Timothy –   “But we know that the law is good if one uses it lawfully, 9 knowing this: that the law is not made for a righteous person, but for the lawless and insubordinate, for the ungodly and for sinners, for the unholy and profane, for murderers of fathers and murderers of mothers, for manslayers, 10 for fornicators, for sodomites, for kidnappers, for liars, for perjurers, and if there is any other thing that is contrary to sound doctrine, 11 according to the glorious gospel of the blessed God which was committed to my trust.” 1 Timothy 1:8-11 Therefore, a law (whatever law is given) should be considered in how not issuing it will negatively affect the society. Despite this, the scribes and Pharisees issued religious rulings that harmed the people’s ability to positively affect their society.   Thus, they hindered the people’s ability to get by without changing their habits in a negative way to conform to the burdensome rules laid upon them. Jesus referred to this in Matthew 23 –   “Then Jesus spoke to the multitudes and to His disciples, 2 saying: ‘The scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat. 3 Therefore whatever they tell you to observe, that observe and do, but do not do according to their works; for they say, and do not do. 4 For they bind heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on men’s shoulders; but they themselves will not move them with one of their fingers.’” Matthew 23:1-4   Every precept set forth by the Lord had a purpose. Sometimes it was expressly explained. Other times, the purpose can be inferred or understood apart from an explanation. But nothing was superfluous. For example –   “Speak to the children of Israel: Tell them to make tassels on the corners of their garments throughout their generations, and to put a blue thread in the tassels of the corners. 39 And you shall have the tassel, that you may look upon it and remember all the commandments of the Lord and do them, and that you may not follow the harlotry to which your own heart and your own eyes are inclined, 40 and that you may remember and do all My commandments, and be holy for your God.” Numbers 15:38-40   An explanation was provided for what might otherwise seem like a pointless law. The scribes and Pharisees had a way of inserting their own pet peeves and legalistic demands upon the people, forcing them to conform to their will, whether it made sense for society at large or not.   As you look around the world, and in particular your own city, state, county, or government, which political party is the one that imposes unnecessary, vindictive, or personally gratifying laws upon the people? When you see which it is, you know those are the enemies of a free-functioning, common-sense society. That will also be a party that works against what is godly and honoring of the Creator.   Which party is it that works to deregulate, clear the books of nonsense, and allow the people to function freely and with human dignity, while at the same time ensuring morality plays a key role in ensuring the people remain focused on what is healthy and good? These are the friends of the society at large.   Be sure to pay attention to these things. Despite any other supposedly positive benefits you will (at least in the short term) derive from the first category, you will ultimately suffer oppression and a failing society under them. Be sure to vote those scoundrels out before it is too late.   Lord God, we live in a world where we must interact with the authorities who are above us. If it is in our ability to have good and godly people above us, why would we not get engaged in the process? You have ordained that we live in this world. Therefore, You certainly expect us to participate in the world we live in. Help us to think clearly on this. Amen.

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