Matthew 15:1 says, Then came to Jesus scribes and Pharisees, which were of Jerusalem, saying,  The scribes and Pharisees were also following Jesus, but they weren't doing so because they believed in Him.  They were following looking for ways to discredit Him.  Some people are the same way with Christians today, watching everything they do hoping to discredit their faith.  Verse two states, Why do thy disciples transgress the tradition of the elders? for they wash not their hands when they eat bread.  Again, the scribes and Pharisees were attempting to discredit the disciples based on the tradition of the elders.  I don't believe that it was just a physical washing of the hands that they were referring to, but some spiritual relationship that been added to the hand washing.  Either way, we must be careful not to judge people by tradition instead of judging them by their relationship to Christ.  Not all Christians worship and live the same way, but that doesn't make them less of a Christian.  Verse three declares, But he answered and said unto them, Why do ye also transgress the commandment of God by your tradition?  The scribes and Pharisees had questioned the disciples actions based on tradition, and Jesus asked them why they transgressed the commandment of God based on their tradition.  We can never allow tradition to become more important than the commandments of God.  In verse four Jesus says, For God commanded, saying, Honour thy father and mother: and, He that curseth father or mother, let him die the death.  Jesus simply stated one of the Ten Commandments, which should have been very familiar to the scribes and Pharisees.  If we have a dispute with other Christians, then we should first see what the Bible has to say about the issue.  In verse five Jesus continues, But ye say, Whosoever shall say to his father or his mother, It is a gift, by whatsoever thou mightest be profited by me;  Jesus now adds what the tradition had become.  If a person declared what he did for his parents a gift, and not a requirement of the Ten Commandments, then he could say that his parents were indebted to him.  We cannot change God's law to suit our purposes.  In verse six Jesus says, And honour not his father or his mother, he shall be free. Thus have ye made the commandment of God of none effect by your tradition.  Jesus said that when someone made what they did for their parents more of a debt, then they could feel free to not honor them.  This put tradition above the law of God.  We do not need to look for ways to avoid God's law, but for ways to keep it.  In verse seven Jesus declares, Ye hypocrites, well did Esaias prophesy of you, saying,  Once more, Jesus referred to the scripture, particularly a prophecy by Isaiah.  When we disagree with other people who profess to be followers of Christ, we need to make sure that our position is based on scripture, and not on some tradition that has become a part of our worship.  Verse eight declares, This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me.  Jesus tells us that like the scribes and Pharisees, we cannot be right with God without a change of heart.  Simply professing Christ with empty words and vain, or meaningless, traditions is not enough.  In verse nine Jesus continues, But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.  Jesus said the scribes and Pharisees worshipped Him in vain, because they taught the commandments of man for doctrine.  Once more, we cannot allow the teachings or traditions of the world to take priority over the teachings of God.  Empty worship is not enough, but the word of God, empowered by the Holy Spirit, must be our guide.  Verse ten declares, And he called the multitude, and said unto them, Hear, and understand:  Jesus called the multitudes to hear and understand, then verse eleven tells them what, stating, not that which goeth into the mouth defileth a man; but that which cometh out of the mouth, this defileth a man.  Jesus said that what we say defiles us more than what we eat or drink, when what we say is not based on God's word.  The scribes and Pharisees were more concerned with ritual and tradition than they were with the word of God, and as followers of Christ, we must never allow ourselves to be the same as they were.