Matthew 15:1-20
The Isaiah quote (Mt. 15:8-9) caught my eye. Surprisingly, it was the Isaiah quote that I noticed two years ago. Those of you who were raised in the Catholic faith or some other denomination, see if you agree.
Today, something different in that quote… This time I went back to the Isaiah text; here’s the quote: And the Lord said: “Because this people draw near with their mouth and honor Me with their lips, while their hearts are far from Me, and their fear of Me is a commandment taught by men…, (Isaiah 29:13) Jesus leaves off the next verse: therefore, behold, I will again do wonderful things with this people, with wonder upon wonder; and the wisdom of their wise men shall perish, and the discernment of their discerning men shall be hidden.” (Isaiah 29:14) With this second verse the Lord is telling the Jewish people that He is going to do something wonderful and that wonderful thing is silencing their leaders who are misleading them! Jesus does not say anything about silencing the Jewish leaders. But He is fulfilling Isaiah’s prophecy by His own words in the next many verses – His words silence the Jewish leaders!
My Study Bible pointed out a small item. In the first few words of the Isaiah quote the Lord refers to “this people”. That is, “this people”, not “My people”… Interesting!! I hope and pray that our Father thinks of us as “His people”.
See also: May 27 / Matt. 15:1-20
Your reference to traditions of the Catholic Church becoming Church law is right on target. We sometimes place too much attention to traditions, and not enough attention to finding a personal relationship with God. Thanks for reminding me what is most important!
*(I will, however, during this time of Covid, continue to religiously wash my hands – and food – before putting anything into my mouth…)