Matthew 15:7 - 9

7 Hypocrites! Well did Isaiah prophesy about you, saying:

8 ‘These people draw near to Me with their mouth, And honor Me with their lips, But their heart is far from Me.

9 And in vain they worship Me, Teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’ ”

A hypocrite is one who claims to be something he knows he isn't. Isaiah did well in prophesying about these scribes and Pharisees.

Usually the lips and mouth refer to the outer or fleshly man while the heart refers to the inner man or the soul or the mind of man which is where the thoughts of an individual originates.

These hypocrites were continually claiming to follow Jesus and worship Him with their mouth, but in reality they despised him.

To worship Jesus means to revere or worship him, these people He is speaking of professed with their lips to have a great respect for Him but they really did not so it is said they worshiped Him in vain or fruitlessly.

By pretending to honor him but their reactions of rejecting Jesus teaching would not bring any favor from Jesus.

In the previous verses Jesus had expounded on how these people frequently placed traditions above the rule of the Law of Moses.