Legalism and Lip Service

By Danny Saavedra

“Then some Pharisees and teachers of the law came to Jesus from Jerusalem and asked, ‘Why do your disciples break the tradition of the elders? They don’t wash their hands before they eat!’ Jesus replied, ‘And why do you break the command of God for the sake of your tradition? For God said, “Honor your father and mother” and “Anyone who curses their father or mother is to be put to death.” But you say that if anyone declares that what might have been used to help their father or mother is “devoted to God,” they are not to “honor their father or mother” with it. Thus you nullify the word of God for the sake of your tradition. You hypocrites! Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you: “‘These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. They worship me in vain; their teachings are merely human rules.’”’ Jesus called the crowd to him and said, ‘Listen and understand. What goes into someone’s mouth does not defile them, but what comes out of their mouth, that is what defiles them.’”—Matthew 15:1–11 (NIV)

Have you ever heard the term “lip service”? According to the dictionary, it’s “verbal but insincere expression of agreement or support; advocacy or allegiance expressed in words but not backed by deeds.” It’s insincere, fake, and empty. To call a spade a spade, it’s a straight-up lie!

Today, we see Jesus called out by the Pharisees because His disciples broke “the tradition of the elders” by not washing their hands before they eat. To be clear, this wasn’t something done for hygiene; this was about ceremonial purity. Get this: One rabbi actually claimed that eating with unwashed hands was akin to laying with a prostitute.

I want to point this out as well: This practice wasn’t prescribed by Scripture; it wasn’t part of the Mosaic law. These were additional traditions the Pharisees imposed upon the people. It’s almost as if they were saying that God’s law wasn’t good enough or strict enough and they needed to improve it by taking that which was internal in nature and making it all about the external practice and appearance.

I have to imagine the Pharisees probably thought to themselves, “Buahaha we’ve got Him on the ropes now! We’re going to make Him look bad and expose Him as a fraud!” So, they were probably caught completely off guard when Jesus responded with this haymaker: “And why do you break the command of God for the sake of your tradition?”

He pointed out that what they’re actually doing is deceiving people into breaking the commandments of God in favor of extra-biblical and unbiblical traditions! And then He summarizes their entire practice of religion by saying, “These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me.” It’s legalism and lip service!

Now, I can’t say for sure, but I don’t think this encounter played out how the Pharisees thought it would. After this interaction, Jesus explained to the crowd that what goes into your body doesn’t defile you spiritually; instead, defilement actually flows out of your heart. This is where true defilement, impurity, and sinfulness come from . . . from deep within the self. Tomorrow, we’ll explore this idea in greater detail as we unpack how Jesus explained the heart behind the statement to His disciples.

So, what can we glean from this interaction? Well, what the Lord has impressed upon me through this passage is a conviction about how many little things I do, say, and think that mirrors the mentality of the Pharisees. He gently reminded me that I (and the church in general) are often so fixated on traditions, practices, voting habits and political ideologies, philosophies of ministry, and on our way of doing things that we a) try to impose them upon every believer and church and b) allow division and dissension to take place over these things that aren’t defined, outlined, or prescribed in Scripture.

Way too often, we major in the minors while ignoring the major things that are essential, beneficial, and life giving in our walk with Jesus. We deemphasize that which works from the inside out and transforms the heart because we’re so concerned with external appearances of holiness and tradition. Friends, let Jesus’ admonition of the Pharisees here serve as a reminder to us that when the internal is truly fixed on glorifying the Lord, then it will make its way outward to the external, but the same can’t be said about the reverse approach.

Pause: What makes the Pharisees’ way of living and approach to God backwards? How does it actually do damage to your walk with Him? How have you seen this to be true in your own life?

Practice: Read the short, six-chapter letter of Galatians today. It’s all about how legalism and lip service actually cut you off from walking in the power of the gospel and the grace of God in your life.

Pray: Father, by the power of Your Spirit and the grace of Your Son, I pray You’d cut out anything in my life that actually cuts me off from experiencing Your power, presence, and grace in increasing measure each day. Root out pride, legalism, divisiveness, and self-righteousness so I may walk humbly with You, worship You in spirit and truth, and be transformed from the inside out more and more into the image of Your Son. In Jesus’ name, I pray. Amen.