Following Jesus: Mark 7 Series

Following Jesus (8)

Scott Bayles, pastor

Scripture: Mark 7:1-23

Blooming Grove Christian Church: 2/19/2017

If you’ve been with us all this year, you know we’ve been talking about all about Jesus—seeing him more clearly and following him more nearly. As we’ve followed him through the Gospel of Mark, we’ve seen some remarkable things.

The heavens opened at his baptism and the Holy Spirit descended upon him. A few persistent people dug a hole in someone’s roof just to gain access to Jesus. He’s healed men and women all over Galilee and the surrounding countryside. He cast a legion of demons into a herd of pigs. He stilled the storm on the Sea of Galilee. And most recently, in Mark 6, Jesus provided and impromptu picnic for five thousand families. After that miraculous meal, Jesus sent his disciples across the lake and told them he would meet them on the other side.

He wanted some alone time to pray and connect with His Father. But then, late in the night and in the midst of another storm, Jesus returns to his disciples, walking on the water. This is one of the most memorable moments in the gospels, but you might be surprise that Mark leaves out one of the best parts of that story. Matthew tells us that, at Jesus command, Peter got out of the boat and walked on water as well. That is, until he became frightened by the wind and waves. Suddenly Peter began sinking and cried out for help. Jesus, of course, caught him but also criticized him, saying, “You have so little faith. Why did you doubt me?”

The question is—why would Mark leave that bit out? Well, remember that Mark’s gospel is essentially Peter’s gospel. Mark traveled with Peter and wrote down everything that Peter told him about Jesus. So it’s no wonder that Peter, probably a little embarrassed, decided to leave that little detail out.

You and I probably have some mistakes and missteps that we wouldn’t want recorded for everyone to read too. But it just goes to show you that—except for Jesus—pobody’s nefect. As we strive to follow in Jesus’s footstep, we’re bound to fail and fall from time to time. But, like Peter, we don’t give up. We get back up, lean on Jesus, and keep moving forward.

From this point forward in Mark’s Gospel we see the popularity of Jesus begin to decline. Moving toward the final year of His life, Jesus pours more time into the disciples while the religious leaders ramp up their hostility. As Jesus exposes their superficial spirituality, they become more agitated and attack Him relentlessly to discredit Him and eventually send Him to death.

Mark 7 opens with one such skirmish. If you have a Bible, open it to Mark 7:1-23. This is a longer section of Scripture, so we’ll read it in segments as we move through the story. Jesus’s conflict with the Pharisees unfolds in three parts—centering around three problems. The first is a hand problem.

• A HAND PROBLEM

One day a pack of Scribes and Pharisees traveled from Jerusalem to spy on Jesus. After a while, Mark says:

They noticed that some of his disciples failed to follow the Jewish ritual of hand washing before eating… So the Pharisees and teachers of religious law asked him, “Why don’t your disciples follow our age-old tradition? They eat without first performing the hand-washing ceremony.” (Mark 7:1-5 NLT)

Now, Mark includes a parenthetical explanation in verses 3 and 4, clarifying that this ritual had nothing to do with proper hygiene practices; rather, this was a spiritual ritual. This ceremonial washing cleansed a person not from germs or grime, but from any “defilement” that he or she may have contracted without knowing it.

This ceremonial washing originated in the Tabernacle, where priests washed their hands and feet prior to performing their sacred duties (Exodus 30:17-21). That was part of God’s Law. It was a symbolic purification prior to handling an animal sacrifice. The Pharisees, however, continually added their own traditions on top of God’s Word. They extended this law to all “descent” Jews to be performed before formal prayers and meals. Thus, before each meal, devout Jews performed a short ceremony, washing their hands and arms in a specific way. Perhaps this is where the idea “cleanliness is next to godliness,” comes from.

But this was just a tradition, not a requirement of God’s law. The Pharisees knew this. They even referred to it as “our age-old tradition.”

Traditions can be tricky.

Humans are by nature creatures of habit. Every church—every denomination or fellowship—has its own traditions. Everything from the order of worship to the type of music to “wearing your Sunday best” is a tradition. I can’t tell you how often I’ve heard the phrase “that’s the way we’ve always done it.” Some traditions are helpful, but others are harmful.