Jesus replied, “And why do you, by your traditions, violate the direct commandments of God? Matthew 15:3 (NLT)
Jesus challenged the religious status quo. I’m not saying that Jesus rebelled against God. In Matthew 5:17 He said, “I did not come to abolish the law of Moses or the writings of the prophets. No, I came to accomplish their purpose”. Jesus fulfilled the law because He never sinned. But He did break all sorts of man-made religious rules.
For example, during Jesus’ first miracle, He turned water into wine in water jugs that were reserved for rituals of sacred hand washing (John 2:6). He healed people on the Sabbath. When the law dictated that a woman who had been caught in adultery was to be stoned, Jesus cut to the heart of the issue and said, “let the one who has never sinned throw the first stone!” (John 8:7)
The legalistic, religious people seemed eager to stone the woman for her sin. People today still do terrible things in the name of religion. Lost, hurting people who are searching for answers are judged harshly and rejected by Christians who won’t see past their mistakes. But the truth is, those Christians are just as imperfect.
I’m not saying that we should automatically trust every person who walks in the door, regardless of their choices. I understand that we don’t want our kids to be influenced negatively. But that doesn’t mean we have the right to judge others assuming we know their intentions. We need to love, accept, and forgive like Jesus.
Jesus challenged man-made rules because He valued people more than rules. Let’s make sure we do the same.