Hypocrites! Well did Isaiah prophesy about you

Then the scribes and Pharisees who were from Jerusalem came to Jesus, saying, "Why do Your disciples transgress the tradition of the elders?  For they do not wash their hands when they eat bread."  He answered and said to them, "Why do you also transgress the commandment of God because of your tradition?  For God commanded, saying, 'Honor your father and your mother'; and, 'He who curses father or mother, let him be put to death.'  But you say, 'Whoever says to his father or mother, "Whatever profit you might have received from me is a gift to God" -- then he need not honor his father or mother.'  Thus you have made the commandment of God of no effect by your tradition.  Hypocrites!  Well did Isaiah prophesy about you, saying:

'These people draw near to Me with their mouth,
And honor Me with their lips,
But their heart is far from Me.
And in vain they worship Me,
Teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.'"

When He had called the multitude to Himself, He said to them, "Hear and understand:  Not what goes into the mouth defiles a man; but what comes out of the mouth, this defiles a man."  Then His disciples came and said to Him, "Do You know that the Pharisees were offended when they heard this saying?"  But He answered and said, "Every plant which My heavenly Father has not planted will be uprooted.  Let them alone.  They are blind leaders of the blind.  And if the blind leads the blind, both will fall into a ditch."  Then Peter answered and said to Him, "Explain this parable to us."  So Jesus said, "Are you also still without understanding?  Do you not yet understand that whatever enters the mouth goes into the stomach and is eliminated?  But those things which proceed out of the mouth come from the heart, and they defile a man.  For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies.  These are the things which defile a man, but to eat with unwashed hands does not defile a man."

- Matthew 15:1-20

On Saturday, we read that, immediately after feeding five thousand in the wilderness, Jesus made His disciples get into the boat and go before Him to the other side, while He sent the multitudes away.  And when He had sent the multitudes away, He went up on the mountain by Himself to pray.  Now when evening came, He was alone there.  But the boat was now in the middle of the sea, tossed by the waves, for the wind was contrary.  Now in the fourth watch of the night Jesus went to them, walking on the sea.  And when the disciples saw Him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, "It is a ghost!"  And they cried out for fear.  But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, "Be of good cheer!  It is I; do not be afraid."  And Peter answered Him and said, "Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water."  So He said, "Come."  And when Peter had come down out of the boat, he walked on the water to go to Jesus.  But when he saw that the wind was boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink he cried out, saying, "Lord, save me!"  And immediately Jesus stretched out His hand and caught him, and said to him, "O you of little faith, why did you doubt?"  And when they got into the boat, the wind ceased.  Then those who were in the boat came and worshiped Him, saying, "Truly You are the Son of God."  When they had crossed over, they came to the land of Gennesaret.  And when the men of that place recognized Him, they sent out into all that surrounding region, brought to Him all who were sick, and begged Him that they might only touch the hem of His garment.  And as many as touched it were made perfectly well.

Then the scribes and Pharisees who were from Jerusalem came to Jesus, saying, "Why do Your disciples transgress the tradition of the elders?  For they do not wash their hands when they eat bread."  He answered and said to them, "Why do you also transgress the commandment of God because of your tradition?  For God commanded, saying, 'Honor your father and your mother'; and, 'He who curses father or mother, let him be put to death.'  But you say, 'Whoever says to his father or mother, "Whatever profit you might have received from me is a gift to God" -- then he need not honor his father or mother.'  Thus you have made the commandment of God of no effect by your tradition.  Hypocrites!  Well did Isaiah prophesy about you, saying:  'These people draw near to Me with their mouth, and honor Me with their lips, but their heart is far from Me.  And in vain they worship Me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.'"  The tradition of the elders refers to the interpretations of the Law by Jewish teachers.   In today's passage, Jesus refutes their views about ritual purity and its dependence upon outward actions.  He will emphasis the state of the heart (further down, in verse 8) instead.  Here Jesus shows that the commandment of God can't be superseded by religious traditions of man.  He cites the practice of dedicating one's wealth to be given posthumously to the temple while one is still living, and then using that dedication as excuse for refusing to help elderly parents in need.  The devotion to God, my study bible tells us, includes both obedience to God's commandments and also service to others.  These two things cannot be separated (see also James 2:14-18; 1 John 4:7-21).  Jesus uses Scripture to condemn the hypocrisy of such practices, quoting from Isaiah 29:13.

When He had called the multitude to Himself, He said to them, "Hear and understand:  Not what goes into the mouth defiles a man; but what comes out of the mouth, this defiles a man."  Then His disciples came and said to Him, "Do You know that the Pharisees were offended when they heard this saying?"  But He answered and said, "Every plant which My heavenly Father has not planted will be uprooted.  Let them alone.  They are blind leaders of the blind.  And if the blind leads the blind, both will fall into a ditch."  Then Peter answered and said to Him, "Explain this parable to us."  So Jesus said, "Are you also still without understanding?  Do you not yet understand that whatever enters the mouth goes into the stomach and is eliminated?  But those things which proceed out of the mouth come from the heart, and they defile a man.  For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies.  These are the things which defile a man, but to eat with unwashed hands does not defile a man."  We recall that the passage began with the Pharisees' criticism of Jesus disciples, that they do not follow ritual washing practices.  Here, Jesus emphasizes the heart as the center of the person, and it is there that purity must be practiced in obedience and dedication to God.  He condemns the leadership, with their emphasis on outward practice -- which He says will only cause their followers also to stumble.

What constitutes hypocrisy?  Hypocrisy is a form of impurity.  That is, in the typical language of the Scriptures, to be of mixed motivation.  Hypocrisy comes from the word hypocrite, which in ancient times, meant "actor."   The word literally means "beneath the mask," as actors in the ancient Greek plays all wore masks to delineate the character they were playing.  Thus, a seemingly pious action can mask internal motives contrary to the good.  Jesus gives the example of the practice of dedicating wealth to the temple one may continue to use during one's lifetime, and the refusal to help dependent elderly parents, going against a commandment of God.  The example here is not about commandments per se -- it's about the traditions built up around the Law, that have the effect of circumventing the purposes of the Law.  Jesus, on the other hand, emphasizes the state of the heart, the internal reality of a person.  In Scriptural language, the heart is the center of being.  It includes the soul and all things that make up who we are as persons: intelligence, emotions, consciousness altogether, what makes us eat, breathe, and sleep, and defines our entire outlook on life.  Jesus cites examples of what also comes from the heart and may be nurtured there:  "evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies."  One may conform outwardly to traditions that seem good, and yet continue to harbor and cultivate these things in the heart.  It is the state of the heart, Jesus tells us, that truly determines the good or ill that we do.   As a result, Christian monastic tradition has always emphasized the need for the internal work of asceticism, the awareness of ourselves and the state of the heart.  It's also important to guard the heart against these things.  The state of the soul depends upon what we feed it.   Ascetic practice, therefore, has as its purpose the cultivation of purity of heart -- for this is what truly leads to righteousness, a relationship to all of Creation which is "God-like."  If God is love, then our devotion to God is in order to cultivate in us a likeness to the virtue of our Creator.  Our faith is actually quite a psychological faith, one that from the beginning emphasizes an awareness of our own internal condition.  Modern science teaches us that the condition of the brain quite literally depends upon social interaction.  But in the psychological model that comes from our faith, what we might call "neuroplasticity" (to borrow a modern word from science) applies to the heart and soul, and is dependent upon relationships not only with all of creation around us, but also with Creator.  We have (in the traditional ascetic and theological language of the Church) a "synergy" with Creator.  Who we are categorically depends not only upon our own choices and actions, but also most deeply on a cooperative relationship with grace at work in us.  That "the kingdom of heaven is within you" is a statement about the internal work of cooperation implied here.  Selfishness is the act of refusal of this grace, thus affecting all ways one relates to creation and to self.  In effect, hypocrisy becomes a way of life when only outward effect is considered, and not the state of the heart.  We live in a world that exceptionally values image and appearance, particularly in a media-saturated life.  We might live in a period where actions that become signifiers of moral character and identity -- a modern version of the "commandments of men" -- are as intensively emphasized as ever, and perhaps more so.  It is simple to convey one is on the "right side" with a touch of a donation button in social media, or one's expressed moral indignation at those who don't conform to a preferred image, regardless of the scale or issue involved.   The language used in social media is more scathing that than of the Pharisees when it comes to condemnation of others.  Judgment of others has become frequent and extreme.  With revelations of abusive personal and private behavior coming by the minute among those who are very careful to cultivate public image, our technology only heightens the capacity for hypocrisy.  Thus, Jesus' words about the heart become even more important, and perhaps more urgent as care for a modern world.   His love and faith -- a devotion to the praise of God rather than the praise of men as our highest moral calling -- remain the model and antidote for what ails us.