Hearing of the increasing impact of Jesus' ministry, the religious leaders in Jerusalem decided to send an informal emissary to Galilee. The Pharisees and scribes were two of several different categories of Judaism in the first century. Choosing a visible, but relatively minor issue from their oral tradition, the Pharisees question Jesus about hand-washing (v 2). Jesus, employing the exact same phrase, rebut them with a superior question, "Why do you break the commandment of God for the sake of your tradition" (v 3)? In verses 4-6 Jesus chooses the fifth of the Ten Commandments (Ex 20:12) to point out their hypocrisy. Though the penalty could not be higher, these leaders had little regard for the welfare of their parent. Instead they employed a religious form of money laundering, by dedicating what might have helped their parents to the Temple. Unable to touch the dedicated property because of their vow (corban), they would wait until the death of their parents and then reclaim it. For the sake of their tradition-which most often was put in place to satisfy their greed-they had voided the truth of God's words and thereby incurred the title, "hypocrites" (lit. one who wears a mask or an actor, the word has been transliterated instead of translated from Greek = hupokritai). Jesus' indictment is reminiscent of God's judgment on Judah during their rebellion and subsequent punishment at the hand of Babylon found in Isaiah 29 (vv 8,9). Seizing the teaching moment, Jesus explains the straightforward principle at hand. It is not what goes into a person that defiles them (destroys their integrity), but what comes out (see Eph 4:29; Js 3:6; vv 10,11). Quickly interrupting the flow of the lesson, His disciples warned Jesus that He was "offending" (fr. skandalizo, later scandal) His opponents (v 12). Thinking back to the wheat and the tares, Jesus reminds His disciples of God's sovereign control (v 13). Besides, they are nothing more than the "blind leading the blind" (v 14). Apparently frustrated by Peter's lack of understanding (perhaps acting too much like the Pharisees, "also" v 15, 16), Jesus provides an explanation. Things that are eaten end up in the latrine (v 17), but words and attitudes come from the center of one's being, the heart ( kardia) to bless or to curse Js 3:9, 10. Bringing the discussion full circle, Jesus returns to the priority of the commandments of God above the traditions of men by listing at least four more of the Ten Commandments (murder, adultery, stealing, and lying; v 19). Lest the life principle be lost in the details of the object lesson, Jesus returns to the original accusation by stressing these offenses defile a person because they demonstrate their true nature, but to eat with unwashed hands does not (v 20). In the fight for truth where did these religious people go wrong and what will keep us from doing the same thing? 1. They took fatal steps concerning the Word of God. A. They Forgot the Word of God. B. They Added to the Word of God. C. They Fabricated a new Word of God. 2. They replaced a heart for God for the works of men. A. The home of the Word is the Heart Isa. 51:1-8; Ps. 119:11 B. God will be found when we search with our whole Heart Jer. 29:13 C. A man is not justified with works but with his Heart Rom. 10:13 Jewish Sects A. Hasidim = Pious Ones, those who were loyal to the covenant and rejected Hellenization during the reign of Antiochus IV. The group is mentioned in 1 Macc. 2:42; 7:14 and 2 Maac. 14:6. These were leading men of Israel who joined the Maccabean Revolt. B. Pharisees = Separated Ones 1. There name first appears during the time of Hyracanus I (134-105 BC) 2. There name probably refers to the zeal for the Law 3. The held to the doctrine of foreordination 4. The believed in the immortality of the soul and the resurrection of the body 5. The had a highly developed view of angels and demons 6. They maintained the authority of the Hebrew Scriptures as well as the oral tradition 7. Pharisaism is the final result OT that conception of religion which makes religion exist in conformity to the Law. (they were not all hypocrites) C. Saducees = Origin of name uncertain, probably from the priestly lineage of Zaddok 1. Began during the same period as Pharisees 2. The denied that history was controlled, insisting that the individual was free to direct his own life and thereby his own history 3. They rejected the doctrine of two kingdoms (angels etc.) 4. They only accepted the Pentateuch (not the oral law) 5. The Saducees were much more prone to Hellenization 6. They were a small group of aristocratic land owners in NT times 7. They were theologically conservative and politically liberal D. Essenes = Not mentioned in the NT 1. A small group of 4,000 recorded in Pliny, Philo, and Josephus 2. They lived a simple ascetic life ( the more strict ones were celibate) 3. They lived in communal groups 4. Their property was held in common 5. They h