What is the meaning of Matthew 15:8?

These people

• Jesus is addressing the scribes and Pharisees (Matthew 15:1–2), but He is also speaking to anyone who substitutes tradition for true devotion.

• Isaiah’s prophecy, “These people draw near with their mouths” (Isaiah 29:13), shows that this problem spans generations.

• Paul points out a similar condition among Israelites of his day: “For they are not all Israel who are descended from Israel” (Romans 9:6), reminding us that belonging to a faithful community does not guarantee personal faith.

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honor Me

• God alone deserves honor (1 Samuel 2:30), and Christ receives the same honor as the Father (John 5:23).

• Words of praise, rituals, and even rigorous obedience can appear to honor God, yet He weighs the reality behind them (Proverbs 21:2).

• Jesus contrasts empty honor with true worship “in spirit and truth” (John 4:24).

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with their lips

• Outward expressions—prayers, songs, creeds—are valuable only when they align with inner conviction (Psalm 51:15–17).

• The tongue can bless God yet reveal duplicity if the heart is unchanged (James 3:9–10).

• Israel often recited God’s law while ignoring its intent (Deuteronomy 6:6–9 compared with Amos 5:21–23).

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but their hearts

• Scripture views the heart as the control center of thoughts, affections, and will (Proverbs 4:23).

• God searches the heart, not appearance (1 Samuel 16:7), exposing any divide between profession and reality.

• When the heart is misaligned, worship becomes vain (Mark 7:6–7, the parallel passage to Matthew 15).

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are far from Me

• Distance from God is primarily relational, not geographical (Psalm 10:1).

• Sin creates separation (Isaiah 59:2), while repentance brings nearness (James 4:8).

• Jesus indicts the Pharisees for elevating human tradition over God’s command (Matthew 15:3–6); that choice pushes the heart away from Him even in the midst of religious activity.

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summary

Matthew 15:8 exposes the danger of external religiosity divorced from inward loyalty. God desires congruence between lips and heart. Formal devotion, no matter how polished, must spring from genuine love, obedience, and nearness to the Lord, or it is merely a pious façade.