A Harsh Indictment Series

A Harsh Indictment

Mark 7:1-7, Isaiah 29:13, Joshua 24:15

Introduction

- Jesus is demonstrated in this book as a “servant”

-- Key verse: Mark 10:45, “For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

- I could preach this lesson every week, for months and we’d still not get all of it

-- Very important that we see ourselves in this; see our current status in life

-- This is a 100% teaching lesson and a chance to check your heart and intentions

- IMP: What God says to us here is critical application for living for Him

- Encouragement: When we encounter God’s truth, it should cause a change

-- We should feel uncomfortable in some areas of our life

-- Sometimes however, it IS our entire life that needs to change

-- The Gospel is not for the weak at heart, so count it an honor to be included

- Will re-preach some of this on Sunday to properly set the stage moving forward

- Read Mark 7:1-7

∆ Point 1 – An Indictment of Tradition (1-4)

- Once again we have the self-righteous imposing their views on others

-- What’s going on here is the Pharisees are now just waiting for Jesus to stumble

-- They are purposefully putting themselves into situations to gauge reactions

-- This, in all of its glory, is the nature of sin (waiting for others to fail and mock)

-- It shows where their heart is … and how much they’ve missed God

- Their being upset was because they weren’t following “their rules”

-- Re-read v3 … see the comparison? Don’t do this … unless you’ve done this

-- Mark’s explanation is to show that this is a customary practice

-- It’s an addition to the Law; a ritual that’s been handed down from generations

- Therefore, here is there approach: Our reputation is at stake!

-- “These people aren’t doing what we said, so how in charge can we be?”

- It’s an empty ritual that governs actions like this, and we need to see it

-- Why? Because we have the same problems in how we deal with others!

-- “Don’t do this because I feel convicted about it so you should as well …”

- v4 shows us the true reason: They might’ve been defiled “at the market”

-- They might’ve come in contact with someone unclean and need to be cleaned

-- IMP: What they’ve totally missed is the One who is teaching them IS clean!

- This is a huge comparison to note … what’s clean and what’s unclean

-- Their thinking: People are unclean because of who they are (Gentile, etc.)

-- God’s thinking: People are unclean because their hearts are sinful

- Therefore, this causes anger when they are in opposition to their thoughts

-- It is where we really find ourselves in this story; where religion gets crushed

-- The Pharisees believe it is all about them … God is therefore 2nd place

-- Although they cloak concern in religion, they have MISSED God totally

- IMP: Why can we say this? They have missed who the Messiah is!

- TRANS: I think we need to examine real briefly WHAT they’ve missed

-- For educated men, these guys really ought to get a refund from the school!

∆ Point 2 – Who Is the Messiah?

- APP: This is critical in KNOWING who we are following!

-- http://christianity.about.com/od/biblefactsandlists/a/Prophecies-Jesus.htm

- OT Prophecies about Jesus:

Messiah would be born of a woman. Genesis 3:15

Messiah would be born in Bethlehem. Micah 5:2

Messiah would be born of a virgin. Isaiah 7:14

Messiah would come from the line of Abraham. Genesis 12:3

Messiah would be a descendant of Isaac. Genesis 17:19

Messiah would be a descendant of Jacob. Numbers 24:17

Messiah would come from the tribe of Judah. Gen 49:10

Messiah would be heir to King David's throne. 2 Sam 7:12-13

Messiah's throne will be anointed and eternal. Psalm 45:6-7

Messiah would be called Immanuel. Isaiah 7:14

Messiah would spend a season in Egypt. Hosea 11:1

A massacre of children would happen at Messiah's birthplace. Jeremiah 31:15

A messenger would prepare the way for Messiah Isaiah 40:3-5

Messiah would be rejected by his own people. Psalm 69:8

Messiah would be declared the Son of God. Psalm 2:7

Messiah would be called a Nazarene. Isaiah 11:1

Messiah would bring light to Galilee. Isaiah 9:1-2

Messiah would speak in parables. Psalm 78:2-4

Messiah would be sent to heal the brokenhearted. Isaiah 61:1-2

Messiah would be a priest after the order of Melchizedek. Psalm 110:4

- TRANS: Now, let’s get back into the story and see why Jesus replies harshly

∆ Point 3 – A Harsh Response (5-7)