Verse 9 says, “But in vain do they worship Me, teaching as teachings the commandments of men.” This reveals that some worship to God may be in vain. The main cause of this is the teaching of the commandments of men. We must worship God according to His word, which is the truth. Many of those who condemn our meetings for being too noisy have no heart for God. Again I say, in the eyes of God it is not a matter of the outward appearance, but a matter of the inward reality, not a matter of what we say, but a matter of what we are. Consider the so-called Christian services in which solos are sung by beautiful young ladies in short skirts. Where is the heart of many who are listening to them? It may be in fornication. Why are not these solos sung by old ladies instead of by attractive young women? Is this the worship of God? No, it is an abomination to our holy God! But our noise is not an abomination to Him. Let us make a joyful noise to the Lord (Psa. 100:1) from the spirit. We like to shout, “Praise the Lord! Amen! Jesus is Lord!” We do not care for the outward appearance; we care for the inward reality.
In verse 11 the Lord said that it is not “that which enters into the mouth” that “defiles the man, but that which goes out of the mouth, this defiles the man.” In the kingdom of the heavens defilement is not of material things but of moral matters. Material things have nothing to do with the heavenly ruling, but moral matters do. All the evils that issue from the heart prove that we are not under the heavenly ruling.
In verse 13 the Lord said, “And He answered and said, Every plant which My heavenly Father has not planted shall be rooted up.” This word of the heavenly King indicates that the hypocritical Pharisees were not planted by the heavenly Father. By their rejection of the heavenly King, they were uprooted from the kingdom of the heavens.
Verse 14 says, “Leave them alone; they are blind leaders of the blind; and if a blind man leads a blind man, both will fall into a pit.” The self-righteous and arrogant religionists thought they were clear concerning the way to serve God, not realizing that they were blind leaders of the blind. Their eyes were veiled by their religious traditions; hence, they could not see Christ and the reality of God’s economy that they might enter into the kingdom of the heavens. Their blindness led them to fall into a pit.
Those who follow the traditions are blind leaders of the blind. This is true today. Many opposers are also blind leaders of the blind. They may claim to know the Bible, but actually they are completely blind and have no light at all. Hence, they lead others into blindness. I feel very sad about all those who are being misled. I appeal to your conscience and ask this question: Can you deny that there is some amount of reality in the Lord’s recovery? In the recovery genuine help has been rendered to assist you to experience Christ in a subjective way and to enjoy Him. I think that you all can say from your conscience that never before and in no other place were you helped so much to enjoy Christ. Nevertheless, a number are opposing us. But they have missed the blessing and enjoyment. As the Lord Jesus said, these blind leaders have not been planted by the Father. Rather, they are self-assuming ones, not God-planted ones. Their blindness will cause them to be uprooted. Their follies, quackery, and errors will uproot them.
Again we see that we are following the same way taken by the Lord Jesus and His disciples. They suffered rejection, experienced the lack of necessities, faced the stormy sea, and were accused by the traditionalists and religionists. It is the same with us today. This is the pathway to glory.