Charles Spurgeon Commentary Matthew 15:7-8

"Ye hypocrites, well did Isaiah prophesy of you, saying, This people honoreth me with their lips; But their heart is far from me." — Matthew 15:7-8 (ASV)

They well deserved the name which the indignant Savior fixed on them, “Ye hypocrites”. They were agitated about unwashed hands and yet laid their foul hands on God’s most holy law. The prophetic words of Isaiah were indeed descriptive of them. He had pictured them perfectly. Theirs was mouth-religion, lip-homage, and nothing more. Their heart never approached the Lord at all.

Thus, our Lord gave His opponents Scripture instead of tradition. He broke their wooden weapons with the sword of the Spirit. Holy Scripture must be our weapon against the Church of traditions. Nothing will overthrow Rome but the Word of the Lord.

When quoting from the prophecy of Isaiah, our blessed Lord not only used a translation, but He gave the sense freely, thus rebuking the mere word-chopping of the Rabbis. They could count the letters of a sacred book and yet utterly miss its meaning. He gave the soul and spirit of the inspired utterance. Jesus insisted on heart-worship and said nothing about the matter of washing or not washing hands before eating bread. That was too insignificant a point for Him to dwell on.