Matthew 15:1 — Community Reflections

MATTHEW 15:1 — KING JAMES VERSION 0

“Then came to Jesus scribes and Pharisees, which were of Jerusalem, saying,”

Then Pharisees and scribes came to Jesus from Jerusalem and said. The delegation of Pharisees and scribes from Jerusalem — the religious capital — represents a formal official challenge rather than a local Galilean dispute. The journey from Jerusalem communicates the seriousness with which the religious establishment views the threat that Jesus represents. The question they bring is about ritual handwashing — a tradition of the elders, not a biblical command.

Church Fathers on Matthew 15:1

The men of Gennezareth and the less learned believe; but they who seem to be wise come to dispute with Him; according to that, 'Thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes.' Whence it is said, 'Then, came to him from Jerusalem Scribes and Pharisee.'
Rabanus Maurus · 9th century

The Evangelist thus constructs the order of his narrative, 'Then came unto him,' that, as appeared in the passage over the lake, the order of the events that followed that might be shewn.
Augustine · 4th century · de Cons. Ev., ii, 49

For this reason also the Evangelist marks the time that He may shew their iniquity overcome by nothing; for they came to Him at a time when He had wrought many miracles, when He had healed the sick by the touch of His hem. That the Scribes and Pharisees are here said to have come from Jerusalem, it should be known that they were dispersed through all the tribes, but those that dwelt in the Metropolis were worse than the others, their higher dignity inspiring them with a…
Chrysostom · 4th century

Read all 23 entries in the readerCatena Aurea · St. Thomas Aquinas, tr. J. H. Newman · public domain

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