And He answered and said to them, “Why do you yourselves transgress the commandment of God for the sake of your tradition?”

My name is Abraham Hamilton III, and this is the Hamilton Minute.

In Matthew 15, Jesus exposed the Pharisees’ pernicious wickedness by contrasting their tradition with God’s command. 

God said, “Honor your father and mother.”  The Pharisees’ tradition was to refuse material support to their biological parents by declaring corban.  What would have been given to parents is dedicated to God.  Since they functioned in the priestly role, the Pharisees’ corban declaration meant that they simply kept the money for themselves.

Heart conditions can be revealed by how we treat our parents, especially as they age.  God’s command rivals our culture’s tradition.