MOST MISINTERPRETED BIBLE VERSES #4

But he answered and said, “Every plant, which my heavenly Father hath not planted, shall be rooted up”

Matthew 15:13

There is virtually no one who has ever attended a Pentecostal charismatic church in this part of the world that hasn’t heard the above-quoted verse being used. And most often, it happens during prayer meetings. The preacher would ask the congregation to pray and uproot every plant that the Father has not planted in their lives, businesses, families, jobs and the nation. 

It is believed, among believers especially Pentecostal/Charismatic Christians that the enemy, Satan, puts obstacles in their lives that hinder their progress. They hold it that enemies both human and spiritual plant stuff that block them from getting promotion at work, success in business, marriage and any other human endeavor they might involve in. It is commonly accepted that before one can experience any joy of life or progress, these things that have been planted must be exorcised and uprooted. 

Two basic methods are widely recognized and used to ‘uproot every plant that the father hasn’t planted.

You could do that by shouting at the top of your voice, “Every plant that my father has not planted! I uproot it right now in the name of Jesus!” Keep shouting it until you feel satisfied, exhausted and tired or you feel that the plants that my father has not planted have been uprooted.

You could get a pastor, prophet or evangelist to go with you to your ancestral compound or any places where the enemies have actually planted charms and amulets that are hindering your progress in life. One there, the Man of God will go round the place and pour anointing oil or water while shouting at the top of his voice, “Everything that the enemy has planted that are stopping the progress of……..put your name there… I uproot it in the name of Jesus.” And the people would answer, “Amen”

But is that what Jesus meant when he made that statement? Definitely not!

Considering the context from verse 1 of Matthew chapter 15, one would see that what Jesus meant was that every teaching that the father had not ordained or ordered would be cancelled and nullified. 

The Pharisees and the scribes had replaced the teaching of the word of God with the traditions of the elders and were forcing it on the people. They had placed obedience to the true word of God on par or below submission and allegiance to the traditions of their ancestors. It was better as far as they were concerned to observe the traditions of the elders than to obey the word of God. The commandments of God were neglected for the sake of their traditions. They had been offended by the fact that Jesus and his disciples ate with unwashed hands which was against the tradition of the elders. (Verse 1-5)

Jesus rebuked and termed them hypocrites who honored God with their lips while their hearts were far away. They worshipped God in vain teaching as doctrines the rules and commandments of men. (Verse 7-9)  As they left Jesus, they were angry. The disciples asked Jesus whether he had noticed that the Pharisees were annoyed because of the answers he had given. On this, Jesus called them,” Blind guides” who would guide their followers into a ditch. (Verse 14) He went further to tell the people and the multitudes, referring to the tradition of the elders, what makes a person unclean is not what goes into the mouth but what comes out of it. (Verses 11-19)

What is the plant that my Father has not planted? Before we answer that question, let us look at the plant that the Father has planted. The plant that the Father has planted is the true word of God revealed to Israel through the prophets. God gave his truth to his people. But the people decided either through deceit or deliberate actions to replace the word of God with men’s traditions, philosophy and falsehoods. That is what Jesus referred to as the plant that My Father has not planted. 

False teachings that originate from men or demons are unhealthy plants that must be uprooted. Jesus rebuked the Pharisees’ false doctrines and uprooted it by exposing and debunking it before the people. He redirected the people to the true teaching of the word of God by telling them that obeying the traditions of the elders leads to a worship that is vain and unacceptable before the Lord. (Verse 9-10)

So, as you can see, the plant that my Father has not planted doesn’t refer to something that the devil planted in your life in order to make progress impossible to you. The plant refers to false teachings, demonic and human doctrines used by false teachers to replace the truth of God as revealed by his servants, the prophets. And Jesus attacked such with passion and anger. He didn’t care that the Pharisees were upset by his attacks on their false teachings. He left an example for us to ensure that whatever the Father has not planted should be uprooted.