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I. ALTHOUGH ALL FABLES IN MATTER OF RELIGION ARE TO BE REJECTED, YET ESPECIALLY HE MENTIONETH THESE OF THE JEWS, BECAUSE THEY WERE MOST DANGEROUS OF ALL.

1. Because they directly opposed themselves as the overthrowers of the whole doctrine of the gospel and the merit of Christ.

2. They were persuaded under most strong pretences, for they came as from God's own mouth, and from His own people, from such as were born under the law, so as they were urged as things of surest ground and strongest authority from God Himself and His greatest prophet Moses.

II. BUT WHAT WERE THESE FABLES?

1. Under this head may be comprehended all the false glosses and false interpretations of the law of Moses, urging the external and literal, but not the internal and spiritual meaning of the law; for which corruption Christ challengeth the Jewish teachers (Matthew 5; Matthew 6; Matthew 7).

2. All their fabulous invention in their Talmud, such as that concerning the coming of the Messiah, and the great feast at His coming; and of the fruitfulness of the earth, which at that time shall bring forth instead of ears of corn, loaves of bread; and a number such, of which St. Paul saith, they are for number infinite, and for use unprofitable.

3. But the context in the verse following pointeth us to expound them of some other than these, namely, of all those doctrines of the Jews which conceived the legal and ceremonial observation of days, meats, drinks, garments, washings, persons and peoples: for the Jews taught that the same difference remained to be obtained still, as Moses from the Lord commanded it; so as yet some meats were common and some clean; some days were more holy than others; so garments and persons much more lay open to legal pollution by issues, touchings, etc., whereas the appearing of Christ procured final freedom from all such impurity, so as, according to Peter's vision (Acts 10), no man, no thing is to be called polluted or unclean.

III. BUT WHY DOTH THE APOSTLE CALL SUCH DOCTRINES FABLES seeing —

1. They were from God.

2. Necessarily imposed upon God's own people in pain of death and cutting off from His people in case of contempt, yea or omission.

3. They included in them that evangelical truth whereby both they and we are saved.Yet for all this he termeth them so.

1. Because even these legal constitutions of God Himself, when they were at the best, were but actual apologies, or shadows of things to come, carrying a show or figure of truth, but not the body, nor the truth itself: to the same effect, saith Paul (Galatians 4:24), that they were allegories; that is, being the things that they were, signified the things that they were not.

2. Because those constitutions, although they had their times and seasons, yet now were they dated: and now to teach or urge them was as vain, as void of ground out of Scripture, as void of profit, as void of truth, as if they had taught the most vain, fictious, and unprofitable falsehoods that men could possibly devise.

(T. Taylor, D. D.)

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KJV: Not giving heed to Jewish fables, and commandments of men, that turn from the truth.

WEB: not paying attention to Jewish fables and commandments of men who turn away from the truth.