Traditions of Men
Today’s text is Mark 7:1-13.
7:1 Now when the Pharisees gathered to him, with some of the scribes who had come from Jerusalem, 2 they saw that some of his disciples ate with hands that were defiled, that is, unwashed. 3 (For the Pharisees and all the Jews do not eat unless they wash their hands, holding to the tradition of the elders, 4 and when they come from the marketplace, they do not eat unless they wash. And there are many other traditions that they observe, such as the washing of cups and pots and copper vessels and dining couches. ) 5 And the Pharisees and the scribes asked him, “Why do your disciples not walk according to the tradition of the elders, but eat with defiled hands?” 6 And he said to them, “Well did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written,
“‘This people honors me with their lips,
but their heart is far from me;
7 in vain do they worship me,
teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’8 You leave the commandment of God and hold to the tradition of men.”
9 And he said to them, “You have a fine way of rejecting the commandment of God in order to establish your tradition! 10 For Moses said, ‘Honor your father and your mother’; and, ‘Whoever reviles father or mother must surely die.’ 11 But you say, ‘If a man tells his father or his mother, “Whatever you would have gained from me is Corban”’ (that is, given to God) — 12 then you no longer permit him to do anything for his father or mother, 13 thus making void the word of God by your tradition that you have handed down. And many such things you do.”
There is really one point here – and really some very direct application. What should be in the realm of one’s conscience (washing of hands), has somehow come down the line as “law”. Today’s church is no exception. Much of the world sees the church as a “bunch of do’s and don’ts”, and for a large part – they’re exactly right! Although we are to be set apart – we are NOT to go beyond scripture in our quest for personal holiness to a point of being judgemental to the rest of mankind.
He quotes from Isaiah 29 this passage in Mark 7:6-8:
9 Astonish yourselves and be astonished;
blind yourselves and be blind!
Be drunk, but not with wine;
stagger, but not with strong drink!
10 For the Lord has poured out upon you
a spirit of deep sleep,
and has closed your eyes (the prophets),
and covered your heads (the seers).11 And the vision of all this has become to you like the words of a book that is sealed. When men give it to one who can read, saying, “Read this,” he says, “I cannot, for it is sealed.” 12 And when they give the book to one who cannot read, saying, “Read this,” he says, “I cannot read.”
13 And the Lord said:
“Because this people draw near with their mouth
and honor me with their lips,
while their hearts are far from me,
and their fear of me is a commandment taught by men,
14 therefore, behold, I will again
do wonderful things with this people,
with wonder upon wonder;
and the wisdom of their wise men shall perish,
and the discernment of their discerning men shall be hidden.”15 Ah, you who hide deep from the Lord your counsel,
whose deeds are in the dark,
and who say, “Who sees us? Who knows us?”
16 You turn things upside down!
Shall the potter be regarded as the clay,
that the thing made should say of its maker,
“He did not make me”;
or the thing formed say of him who formed it,
“He has no understanding”?
Here we see that the “book” is sealed from the understanding of those who it SHOULD be opened to. We see the people asking for understanding. This “book” IS the Word of God. You ever wonder why some people “get it” and some just don’t understand? This is the essence here. What’s the tie?
Look at what Jesus quotes in Mark from Isaiah 29:13,14: The extra-biblical “burdens”, or “laws”, or “tradition” actually numb and deafen people from the truth of Christ! There becomes a confusion of what actually saves. I’m not speaking intellectually, but spiritually. Intellectually, folks will say what saves, but spiritually, it’s a different matter entirely. I know some pretty Pharasaical legalists that are under the guise of the New Testament church….In fact, in many ways – I have been there myself. It is important to note this heated discussion by Jesus is reserved for very religious folks and not tax collectors or prostitutes. That should tell us something – it should put a warning out to us: Let us not make a fair show in the flesh – but be bond-servants to Christ!
Mark 7:9-12 give us a practical example. Let me give you a direct application: Folks who “tithe” to the church need to understand that giving to a church building or organization is not the same thing as “tithing”. I think this falls into the same thing as what Jesus talks about with ‘Corban’ in verse 11. If we see a member of the body of Christ struggling to eat, or having some issues medically, or in some other dire straits, should we not turn some money, time, and talent to them? Let us not say with conviction, “That money is dedicated to the church” – and then do nothing. This is in essence the same thing as Jesus’ example to the Pharisees in verses 9-12.
We’ve got to realize that the “church” is not where you “go to church”; rather, it is all those justified by the blood of Christ. Worried about your tax-deduction? Well – worry about something else that matters. Let’s strive to not be a Pharisee.
Meditation: Wow. This text hurts. How much easier it is to be a Pharisee than one who listens in obedience to Christ!! We should strive to be “fresh” in our conversion – that is – never get over the fact that He has brought me from death to life! What a merciful God.
This entry was posted on Tuesday, October 14th, 2008 at 8:07 am and is filed under Devotional. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
