You hypocrites! Well did Isaiah prophesy of 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 do they worship me, teaching as doctrine rules made by men.’ ”
Parallel Translations
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You hypocrites! Well did Isaiah prophesy of 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 do they worship me, teaching as doctrine rules made by men.’ ”
-
Ypocrites well prophesyed of you Esay sayinge:
This people draweth nye vnto me with their mouthes and honoureth me with their lippes howbe it their hertes are farre from me:
but in vayne they worshippe me teachinge doctrines whiche are nothing but mens precepts.
Show all 3 translations
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O hypocrites, Esaias prophecied well of you, saying,
This people draweth neere vnto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with the lips, but their heart is farre off from me.
But in vaine they worship me, teaching for doctrines, mens precepts.
Cross-references (34)
- Isaiah 29:13 (vv8–9) The Lord said, “Because this people draws near with their mouth and honors me with their lips, but they have removed their heart far from…
- Ezekiel 33:31 (v8) They come to you as the people come, and they sit before you as my people, and they hear your words, but don’t do them; for with their…
- Acts 8:21 (v8) You have neither part nor lot in this matter, for your heart isn’t right before God.
- 1 Peter 3:10 (v8) For, “He who would love life and see good days, let him keep his tongue from evil and his lips from speaking deceit.
- Jeremiah 12:2 (v8) You have planted them. Yes, they have taken root. They grow. Yes, they produce fruit. You are near in their mouth, and far from their heart.
Show all 33 cross-references
- Proverbs 23:26 (v8) My son, give me your heart; and let your eyes keep in my ways.
- Mark 7:7 (v9) But they worship me in vain, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’
- Hebrews 3:12 (v8) Beware, brothers, lest perhaps there might be in any one of you an evil heart of unbelief, in falling away from the living God;
- John 1:47 (v8) Jesus saw Nathanael coming to him, and said about him, “Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom is no deceit!”
- 1 Timothy 1:4 (v9) and not to pay attention to myths and endless genealogies, which cause disputes, rather than God’s stewardship, which is in faith—
- Titus 1:14 (v9) not paying attention to Jewish fables and commandments of men who turn away from the truth.
- Colossians 2:18-22 (v9) Let no one rob you of your prize by self-abasement and worshiping of the angels, dwelling in the things which he has not seen, vainly…
- 1 Timothy 4:6-7 (v9) If you instruct the brothers of these things, you will be a good servant of Christ Jesus, nourished in the words of the faith, and of the…
- Hebrews 13:9 (v9) Don’t be carried away by various and strange teachings, for it is good that the heart be established by grace, not by food, through which…
- Isaiah 58:1-3 (v9) “Cry aloud! Don’t spare! Lift up your voice like a trumpet! Declare to my people their disobedience, and to the house of Jacob their sins.…
- Mark 7:6 (v7) He answered them, “Well did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written, ‘This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is…
- James 2:20 (v9) But do you want to know, vain man, that faith apart from works is dead?
- Deuteronomy 12:32 (v9) Whatever thing I command you, that you shall observe to do. You shall not add to it, nor take away from it.
- Matthew 23:23-29 (v7) “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint, dill, and cumin, and have left undone the weightier matters of the law:…
- Exodus 20:7 (v9) “You shall not misuse the name of Yahweh your God, for Yahweh will not hold him guiltless who misuses his name.
- 1 Samuel 25:21 (v9) Now David had said, “Surely in vain I have kept all that this fellow has in the wilderness, so that nothing was missed of all that…
- Psalms 73:13 (v9) Surely I have cleansed my heart in vain, and washed my hands in innocence,
- 1 Timothy 4:1-3 (v9) But the Spirit says expressly that in later times some will fall away from the faith, paying attention to seducing spirits and doctrines of…
- Revelation 22:18 (v9) I testify to everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book, if anyone adds to them, may God add to him the plagues which are…
- Leviticus 26:16 (v9) I also will do this to you: I will appoint terror over you, even consumption and fever, that shall consume the eyes, and make the soul to…
- Leviticus 26:20 (v9) Your strength will be spent in vain; for your land won’t yield its increase, neither will the trees of the land yield their fruit.
- Psalms 39:6 (v9) “Surely every man walks like a shadow. Surely they busy themselves in vain. He heaps up, and doesn’t know who shall gather.
- Proverbs 30:5-6 (v9) “Every word of God is flawless. He is a shield to those who take refuge in him. Don’t you add to his words, lest he reprove you, and you be…
- Ecclesiastes 5:2-7 (v9) Don’t be rash with your mouth, and don’t let your heart be hasty to utter anything before God; for God is in heaven, and you on earth.…
- Isaiah 1:13-15 (v9) Bring no more vain offerings. Incense is an abomination to me. New moons, Sabbaths, and convocations: I can’t stand evil assemblies. My…
- Acts 28:25-27 (v7) When they didn’t agree among themselves, they departed after Paul had spoken one word, “The Holy Spirit spoke rightly through Isaiah the…
- Malachi 3:14 (v9) You have said, ‘It is vain to serve God;’ and ‘What profit is it that we have followed his instructions, and that we have walked mournfully…
- Matthew 7:5 (v7) You hypocrite! First remove the beam out of your own eye, and then you can see clearly to remove the speck out of your brother’s eye.
33 distinct cross-references across this passage (34 total citations).
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this passage (19 sources)
Historical commentary, presented as a primary source — not an endorsement.
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Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain On v7 The same men are condemned for hypocrisy and superstition,…
The same men are condemned for hypocrisy and superstition, because they made the kingdom of God to stand in outward things.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain On vv7–9 7 Ye hypocrites, well did Esaias prophesy of you,…
7 Ye hypocrites, well did Esaias prophesy of you, saying,
Ver. 7. Well did Esaias prophesy of you] Of such as you, and so of you too. The prophets and apostles then spake not of them only with whom they lived, and to whom they wrote (as the Jesuits blaspheme), but their oracles and doctrines do extend still to men of the same stamp and making. "In the volume of thy book it is written of me," saith David, Psa 40:7; he found his own name in God’s book. And where he spake with Jacob at Bethel, there he spake with us, saith Hosea; {Hos 12:4} and, "Whatsoever was written, was written for our learning," saith Paul, Rom 15:4.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain On v7 The Greek is, διδασκοντες διδασκαλίας, teaching doctrines, the commandments…
The Greek is, διδασκοντες διδασκαλίας, teaching doctrines, the commandments of men.
Ye hypocrites, who put on an outward vizard or appearance of holiness, but have nothing in your hearts of true and severe piety,
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well did Isaiah prophesy of you: Isaiah spake to the Jews that were then in being, but what he then said of your forefathers that lived in his age, is true of you who are their children.
Saying, This people, &c. The evangelist doth not quote the words of the prophet exactly, but his sense, and teacheth us this lesson, That whatsoever outward show and profession of religion be in and upon men, if their hearts be not right with God, and what they outwardly do proceed not from an inward principle of faith, love, and obedience in and to God, they are but hypocrites.
In vain do they worship me, &c.; that is, idly, and unprofitably, and to no purpose: I will not account what they do.
Teaching doctrines, the commandments of men: he means in the worship of God, for other commandments of men are not the preacher’s texts, nor doth he here mean by
commandments of men such as backed the commandments of God, and only served to enforce them, but such as he had been speaking of, human traditions, of which God had said nothing, as washing of hands; or such traditions as enervated the commandments of God; such were the last mentioned.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
William Burkitt 1703 · Public Domain On v7 Our Saviour reproves the hypocritical Pharisees for the same…
Our Saviour reproves the hypocritical Pharisees for the same things:
1. That they preferred human traditions before the divine precepts.
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2. That by their human traditions they made void the worship of God. It is God’s undoubted prerogative to prescribe all the parts of his own worship; and whoever presumes to add thereunto, they worship him in vain.
Our Saviour farther shews, that all this proceeded from the insincerity of their hearts: This people honoureth me with their lips, but their heart is far from me.
Whence learn, 1. That the removing the heart far from God in worship, is a great sin, and an high degree of hypocrisy.
2. That whatever outward shew and profession of religion men make, if their hearts be not right with God, and what they do proceeds not from an inward principle of love and obedience to God, they are under the reign and power of hypocrisy. Ye hypocrites, in vain do ye worship me.
Learn, 3. That we must not be forward, from Christ’s example, to pronounce men hypocrites; because we have neither that authority nor knowledge of the heart which Christ had, to authorize us so to do.
Christ here called the Pharisees hypocrites,
1. Because they placed holiness and religion in ceremonies of human invention.
2. Because being so superstitiously careful to avoid bodily pollutions, they left their hearts within; full of hypocrisy and iniquity.
William Burkitt's Expository Notes on the New Testament (1700–1703) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain On vv7–9 Ye hypocrites,.... After our Lord had given so full…
Ye hypocrites,.... After our Lord had given so full a proof of their making void the commandments of God by their traditions, he might very justly, as he does, call them hypocrites; who pretended to so much religion and holiness, and yet scrupled not, upon occasion, to set aside a divine command; who affected so much sanctity, as to be displeased with the disciples, for not complying with an order of their elders, when they themselves made no account of a divine precept; and plainly showed they had more regard to men than God, and to the precepts of men, than to the commands of God, and to approve themselves to men more than to God; and that they sought the praise and applause of men, and not the honour which comes from God; and that their religion lay in mere rituals and externals, and those of men's devising, and not in the spiritual worship and service of God. Nor can it be thought that Christ, in calling them hypocrites, bears too hard upon them; when one of their own doctors, who lived not very distant from this age, says (a) of the men of Jerusalem, that
"if the hypocrites of the world were divided into ten parts, nine of them would belong to Jerusalem, and one to the rest of the world.''
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Well did Esaias prophesy of you, saying, in Isa 29:13 which prophecy, though it was directed to, and suited with many in that generation in which the prophet lived, yet had a further view to the Jews in after times: their own writers (b) acknowledge, that the whole prophecy is spoken of that nation; for by Ariel they understand the altar at Jerusalem, the city in which David dwelt,
(a) R. Nathan in Rabba, sect. 1. (b) Abarbinel, Jarchi, Kimchi, & Aben Ezra.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain On vv7–9 Well did Isaiah prophesy of you, saying - That…
Well did Isaiah prophesy of you, saying - That is, the description which Isaiah gave of your fathers, is exactly applicable to you. The words therefore which were a description of them, are a prophecy with regard to you.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain On vv7–9 Verse 7. Hypocrites, well did Isaiah prophesy of you]…
Verse 7. Hypocrites, well did Isaiah prophesy of you] In every place where the proper names of the Old Testament occur, in the New, the same mode of orthography should be followed: I therefore write Isaiah with the Hebrew, not Esaias, with the Greek. This prophecy is found Isa 29:13. Our blessed Lord unmasks these hypocrites; and we may observe that, when a hypocrite is found out, he should be exposed to all; this may lead to his salvation: if he be permitted to retain his falsely acquired character, how can he escape perdition!
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain On v7 Mat 15:7-9. Ye hypocrites — To substitute superstitious observances…
Mat 15:7-9. Ye hypocrites — To substitute superstitious observances of man’s invention, in the place of obedience to God’s commands, is downright hypocrisy; it is, however, the prerogative of Him who searches the heart, and knows what is in man, to pronounce who are hypocrites. And as hypocrisy is a sin which only his eye discovers, so it is a sin which above all others he abhors. Well did Esaias prophesy of you — That is, the words which Isaiah addressed to your fathers are exactly applicable to you: his description of them is a prophecy with regard to you. Observe, reader, the reproofs of sin and sinners, which we find in the Scriptures, were designed to be applied to similar persons and practices to the end of the world; for they are not of private interpretation, 2Pe 1:20. Threatenings directed against others belong to us, if we be guilty of the same sins. This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouths, &c. — They make a great profession, and pretend to much devotion and piety; but their heart is far from me — They do not sincerely love and obey me. They do not give me their hearts; and, if the heart be not given to God, all outward worship is no better than a mockery of him. In vain they do worship me — That is, idly, unprofitably, and to no purpose. Their worship does not attain the end for which divine worship was appointed. It neither pleases God nor profits themselves. For if it be not in spirit, it is not in truth, and so it is all nothing. Teaching for doctrines the commandments of men — As equal with, nay, superior to, those of God. What can be a more heinous sin?
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain On v9 In vain they worship, or think they worship God,…
In vain they worship, or think they worship God, who neglect the divine commandments to observe the commands of men. We must not here suppose that Christ censures the commands of the Church, or the tradition of the apostles, because these are in nowise contrary to the divine law, but rather serve to enforce it, and reduce it to practice; nor are they so much the commands of men, as of God, delivered to us by his ambassadors. Christ censures such as are merely human, such as those mentioned here, which are vain and futile, as the superstitious washing of hands or erroneous, as that the soul is defiled by meat; or openly contrary to natural and divine law, as the defrauding parents of their just support. (Tirinus) --- It is evidently erroneous to argue from this text against apostolic traditions. St. Paul tells the Thessalonians, to stand fast, and hold the traditions which they had been taught, whether by word of mouth or by epistles. (2 Thessalonians ii. 14.) --- Commandments of men. The doctrines and commandments here reprehended, are such as are either contrary to the law of God, (as that of neglecting parents, under pretence of giving to God) or at least are frivolous, unprofitable, and no ways conducing to true piety, as that of often washing hands, &c. without regard to the purity of the heart. But as to the rules and ordinances of the holy Church, touching fasts, festivals, &c. these are no ways repugnant to, but highly agreeable to God’s holy word, and all Christian piety; neither are they to be counted among the doctrines and commandments of men, because they proceed not from mere human authority, but from that which Christ has established in his Church; whose pastors he has commanded us to hear and obey, even as himself. (Luke x. 16. Matthew xviii. 17) (Challoner)
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain On vv7–8 Ye hypocrites, well did Esaias prophesy of you, saying--…
Ye hypocrites, well did Esaias prophesy of you, saying-- (Isa 29:13).
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain On vv7–9 7. Ye hypocrites — For fabricating a religion without…
7. Ye hypocrites — For fabricating a religion without morality. Prophesy of you — Isaiah, by inspiration, describing such characters as yours beforehand. The class and the race are indeed foreseen by God as recurring, and are so predescribed once for all.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain On vv7–8 7. well did Esaias prophesy] A common Jewish formula…
7. well did Esaias prophesy] A common Jewish formula for quoting a saying of the prophets.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain On vv7–9 (7) Ye hypocrites.—See Note on Mat_7:5.
(7) Ye hypocrites.—See Note on Mat_7:5.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain On vv7–9 Ye hypocrites. He called them by this name because,…
Ye hypocrites. He called them by this name because, while they pretended that zeal for God"s glory led them to these explanations and amplifications of the Law, they were really influenced by covetousness and avarice, and virtually despised that which they professed to uphold. A Jewish proverb said that if hypocrites were divided into ten parties, nine of them would be found in Jerusalem, and one in the rest of the world. Well did Esaias prophesy of you. (Isa_29:13) That is, their conduct fulfilled the saying of the prophet, as Mat_13:14. Such "prophecies" were for all time, and were suitable for various circumstances, characters, and events. Christ is wont to fortify his arguments by the authority of Scripture, often rather explaining the mind of the Spirit than quoting the exact words.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Biblical Illustrator 1887 · Public Domain On v7 This people draweth near to Me with their mouth.
Mat_15:7-9
This people draweth near to Me with their mouth.
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Lip profession
I. Show who they are who answer to the description in the text. All merely nominal Christians. Formal, self-righteous persons. False professors.
II. Expostulate with them on their folly. Is not conformity to Christs demand of the heart practicable? Is not such consecration to Him necessary? Will not merely a feigned allegiance be disowned by Him? Shall we Hot wish at last that we had been sincere and upright? (Pulpit Studies.)
I. The text describes a great privilege.
II. Points out a serious abuse. (J. Rawlinson.)
Contrasts of sentiments and conduct
Words and works, believing and doing, confession of the mouth and confession of the life, a sense of religion and godliness in the Church, and a sense of religion and godliness in the world, are things that ought never to be separated.
I. Endeavour to convince you, that a various and manifest contrariety actually appears between the sentiments which we express in the Divine service, and particularly at the ordinance of the Sacred Supper, and our conduct in the ordinary course of life.
II. Endeavour to represent to you the absurdity and the danger of such a contradictions and inconsistent behaviour. (Zollikofer.)
True sanctity
I. True sanctity consists not in the knowledge of God and religion, however extensive, however just and perspicuous it may be. Although that knowledge may be necessary to sanctity, it is not, however, competent to it; and though it constitutes the basis of it, yet it is no more sanctity itself than the foundation of an edifice is the edifice itself.
II. Neither does true sanctity consist in A furious zeal for the known truth, or for the honour and glory of that religion which we profess.
III. Neither does true sanctity consist in the diligent or strict attendance on the rites and ceremonies which religion prescribes; nor in the observance, nor in the multiplication of the devotional exercises to which it advises its professors; nor in voluntary penances and mortifications, which they impose upon themselves.
IV. Neither does true sanctity consist in our occasionally omitting something which God has forbidden us, or doing something which he has commanded us; nor in our occasionally performing single good actions, whether of justice or beneficence, or of abstinence. True sanctity is a reigning, constantly active, disposition and bent of the soul, manifesting itself in the several parts of our inward and outward conduct, and making us always willing and ready to do what, and nothing else but what, is agreeable to God, and correspondent to His will. (Zollikofer.)
The heart far from God
I. The state described.
1. Marked by absence of sincerity and honesty.
2. Implies a state of alienation from God.
3. Try the meaning of the text by the common estimates we form of professed friendship. All stress is laid on motive and feeling.
II. The lessons of the state here referred to.
1. The need of repentance.
2. That in the midst of religious ordinances there may be spiritual insensibility.
3. Yet though the heart be far off the Good Shepherd seeks it. (W. D. Harwood.)
The vanity of human institution in religion
Show the equity and importance of this assertion of our Saviour, that they who ground their religious practices, or any part of them, upon human authority, do so far, or in that respect, worship God in vain-that is, they cannot reasonably expect any one good effect from such worship.
I. Rest this matter on our Saviours authority.
II. God is the supreme object of religious worship; and to Him all our devotions ought to be ultimately directed.
III. It is a matter of interest, as well as duty, for us so to do.
IV. The peace and wellbeing of mankind in general, and of every society in particular, are interested in it. (Wm. West.)
Teaching doctrines the commandments of men
Our Lord is here reproving the scribes and Pharisees for imposing on the people some commandments of their own, or traditions of their predecessors, as of equal obligations with the precepts of the law.
I. The objects of this censure or the persons specially affected by it. The objects of the reproof were the scribes and Pharisees, the public authorized teachers of the law. There must be public teachers who shall command and instruct; but this authority is committed to them under restrictions.
II. When are teachers and rulers of the church guilty of the crime here reproved of teaching for doctrines the commandments of men? For the better clearing of which it will be of use to consider-
1. What is meant by commandments of men. They are three sorts:
(1) Where the matter of the human command is the same action that God has enjoined by His law. For human authority ought to command what God has commanded; particularly in such a society as the Christian Church formed upon the laws of the gospel.
(2) A second sort of commandments of men are such whose matter contradicts or interferes with the prescriptions of the Divine law. And such are not only those which expressly forbid what God has commanded, or invert the prescribed order of Gods commands.
(3) A third sort of commandments of men are such whose matter is actions in their nature indifferent, and neither commanded nor forbidden by God; such as the washing hands before meat.
2. Then teaching these commandments of men as doctrines is proposing them as precepts of the Divine law, or of equal authority with them, and obliging the conscience as such.
Rules supposed to be indifferent but convenient and orderly may obtain in a society; but this authority may be abused:
1. When such things are prescribed as binding the conscience by direct obligation.
2. The prescription of indifferent things will be liable to the censure in the text, when it is taught that obedience to them will excuse disobedience to a law of God.
3. This censure will also be incurred when indifferent things are prescribed by men as means of grace, as having power to convey remission of sins, or any other spiritual or supernatural gifts of the Holy Ghost. They may he means of grace, but God only has authority to make them so.
III. What our Lord has here pronounced, that they worship God in vain. (J. Rogers, D. D.)
How may we cure distractions in holy duties
I. The greatness of the sin. Proved by three general considerations:-
1. How tender God is of His worship (Lev_10:3; Ecc_5:2).
2. The more sincere any one is, the more he maketh conscience of his thoughts.
3. Carelessness in duties is the highway to atheism.
Particularly:-
1. It is an affront to God, and a kind of mockery.
2. It grieveth the Spirit of God.
3. It is a spiritual disease.
4. It argueth the loss and non-acceptance of our prayers.
There is a threefold distraction prayer:-
1. An unwilling distraction.
2. A negligent distraction.
3. A voluntary distraction.
II. The causes of this roving and intrusion of vain thoughts.
1. Satan is one cause.
2. The natural levity of our spirits.
3. Practical atheism.
4. Strong and unmortified lusts.
5. Want of love to God anti holy things.
6. Slightness and irreverence, or want of a sense of Gods presence.
7. The curiosity of the senses.
8. Carking and distrustful cares.
III. The remedies.
1. GO to God and wait for the power of His grace.
2. Meditate on the greatness of Him before whom we are.
3. Mortify those lusts that are apt to withdraw our minds.
4. Before the duty there must be an actual preparation or a solemn discharge of all impediments, that we may not bring the world along with us.
5. Be severe to your purpose.
6. Bring with you to every holy service strong spiritual affections.
7. Remember the weight and consequence of the duties of religion.
8. Let every experimental wandering make you more humble and careful.
9. A constant heavenliness and holiness of heart.
10. Frequent and solemn meditation.
11. By use a man gets greater command over himself. (T. Manton, M. D.)
Heart-worship
As the strength of sin lies in the inward frame of the heart, so the strength of worship in the inward complexion and temper of the soul. Shadows are not to be offered instead of substance. God asks for the heart in worship, and commands outward ceremonies, as subservient to inward worship, and goads and spears unto it. What value had the offering of the human nature of Christ been, if he had not had a Divine nature to qualify Him to be the Priest? And what is the oblation of our bodies, without a priestly act of the spirit in the presentation of it? To offer a body with a sapless spirit, is a sacrilege of the same nature with that of the Israelities when they offered dead beasts. One sound sacrifice is better than a thousand rotten ones. (Charnock.)
Mere outward worship offensive to God
You would all judge it to be an affront to the majesty of God if a man should send his clothes stuffed with straw, or a puppet dressed up instead of himself, into the assemblies of Gods people, and think that this would do instead of his personal presence. Yet our clothes stuffed with straw would be less offensive to God than our bodies without our souls. The absence of the spirit is the absence of the more noble part. (T. Manton.)
Sincerity in worship
We may be truly said to worship God, though we want perfection; but we cannot be said to worship Him if we want sincerity: a statue upon a tomb, with eyes and hands lifted up, offers as good and true a service; it wants only a voice, the gestures and postures are the same-nay, the service is better; it is not a mockery, it represents all that it can be framed to. But to worship without our spirits is presenting God with a picture, an echo, voice, and nothing else-a compliment, a mere lie. (Charnock.)
Formalism in worship.
We have sometimes seen a tree which looked with its great spreading arms and massive trunk as strong as other trees. The storm beat upon it and it fell, and then we wondered that it could stand so long when little but the bark and outer fibre supported it, and within was nothing but decay. And do we not often find that where zeal has grown cold and the inner spiritual life has become dead, that habits of formal attention to religious duties are maintained for a long time before the crash comes that reveals the utter ruin and desolation of the spiritual life? (J. G. Pilkington.)
God only to be worshipped and loved
I. The true object of religious worship, which is here called drawing nigh unto God and honouring Him.
II. To direct the right manner of performing religious worship.
1. God is to be worshipped in the way of His own appointment.
2. God is to be worshipped with the whole man, with our bodies and spirits which are His.
3. God is to be worshipped by the assistance of His spirit.
4. God is to be worshipped in the exercise of all suitable graces under the influence of His spirit.
5. God is to be worshipped with an eye to His glory, as our ultimate end.
6. God is to be worshipped in the name of Christ as our only Mediator.
Reflections:
1. How must every one, more or less, stand reproved for defects in worship.
2. How becoming, glorious and delightful must it be to offer up such worship to God, as is agreeable to His will.
3. What glorious provision has God made in the gospel to assist this noble homage. (Dr. Guyse.)
Scriptural worship
All religion must be Scripture religion, all worship Scripture worship, all zeal Scripture zeal; so that let a man have never such sublime knowledge and such burning zeal, yet if it be not according to the law and the testimony, there is no light in them. It is but a vain worship of God, because God doth not require this; so that the sum of all, and that into which all religion must be resolved at last, is the Scriptures-the Word of God; for if you once lay this aside, why should not the Turkish devotion be as good as thine? Why should not the Mahommedan zeal be as acceptable as thine, but only this makes the difference. What may be proved by Scripture is approved of by GOD; so that all these arguments,-Its my conscience; I verily think I am bound to do thus; Its upon my spirit; I find much comfort and much sweetness in religion,-all this is nothing, for all false religions can and do say this; but hast thou the Word of God to warrant thee?doth that justify thee? all things else are but an empty shadow. (A. Burgess.)
The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
B. W. Johnson 1891 · Public Domain On vv7–9 7. Ye hypocrites. The word so rendered might mean…
7. Ye hypocrites. The word so rendered might mean one self-deceived as well as a deceiver, but was always a rebuke. Well did Isaiah prophesy of you. See Isaiah 29:13.
B. W. Johnson's The People's New Testament with Notes (1889–1891) — public domain. Electronic text from the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (CCEL) ThML edition.
Paul E. Kretzmann 1924 · Public Domain On v7 Christ substantiates His attack:
Christ substantiates His attack:
v. 7. Ye hypocrites, well did Esaias prophesy of you, saying,
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v. 8. This people draweth nigh unto Me with their mouth, and honoreth Me with their lips; but their heart is far from Me.
v. 9. But in vain they do worship Me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.
He does not mince words; their sham and deceit, their shallow acting at religion, must be branded as such. What the Lord had spoken of the hypocrisy of the Jews in the time of Isa 29:13; Eze 33:31; Isa 1:1-5, applies, in fullest measure, to the scribes and Pharisees. Mere lip-service is an abomination to the Lord. There is no faith, no real love in their hearts. Their supposed orthodoxy is a hallucination, their entire religion is vain. The injunctions which they laid upon men without Scriptural warrant resulted only in their own condemnation, Psa 4:2. "Out of these words of Christ thou mayest draw strong conclusions; first: Everything that is done without the Word of God is idolatry; secondly: Everything that is done according to the Word of God is true worship of God; also thirdly: All that is done without faith is sin; fourthly: All that is done in faith is a good work, for the Word and faith are indissolubly connected, as in holy marriage... We say also that the Pharisees were hypocrites and false pupils of Moses, because they held, if they only fulfilled the ceremonies outwardly, they would, for the sake of the mere work, obtain righteousness before God. This Moses truly did not want, but the ceremonies should be exercises of the pious, who previously were just by faith, and who thus kept the First Commandment before all. Furthermore, the reprobate people should, by external discipline, be held back and separated from the heathen. That is the meaning of Moses, if one understands him correctly."
Paul E. Kretzmann, Popular Commentary of the Bible (1921–1924) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On v7 Connecting Statement:
Connecting Statement:
Jesus concludes his response to the Pharisees and scribes.
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General Information:
In verses 8 and 9, Jesus quotes the prophet Isaiah to rebuke the Pharisees and scribes.
Well did Isaiah prophesy about you
"Isaiah told the truth in this prophecy about you"
when he said
It is implied that Isaiah is speaking what God told him. AT: "when he told what God said" (See: Assumed Knowledge and Implicit Information)
This people honors me with their lips
Here "lips" refers to speaking. AT: "These people say all the right things to me" (See: Metonymy)
me
All occurrences of this word refer to God.
but their heart is far from me
Here "heart" refers to a person's thoughts or emotions. This phrase is a way of saying the people are not truly devoted to God. AT: "but they do not really love me" (See: Metonymy and Idiom)
They worship me in vain
"Their worship means nothing to me" or "They only pretend to worship me"
the commandments of people
"the rules that people make up"
translationWords
hypocrite
Isaiah
prophet
honor
heart
worship
vain
doctrine
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On v7 15:7 You hypocrites! See study note on Matt 23:13.
15:7 You hypocrites! See study note on Matt 23:13.
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.