Nullification – Mark 7:1-23
This morning, I’d like to invite you to look into chapter seven of Mark’s gospel with me, and to consider what God may want to say to you from this portion of his word. But before I begin, I’d like to explain something. You may have noticed that I’m wearing jeans this morning. L.L. Bean relaxed fit denim, to be precise. Yes, relaxed fit. And that’s appropriate. Because I have a relaxed body. It seems to be getting more relaxed all the time. Now, the last time I spoke from this pulpit, I wore a suit and tie. Jim usually wears slacks or maybe chinos. And so, as I was walking up here, you may have wondered, why jeans? Well, let me tell you. It’s because I’m just an open, friendly, informal guy. I’m relaxed and easygoing and approachable, and what I’m wearing reflects that about me. [pause] No, that’s not really the reason. Confidentially, I’m wearing jeans because I don’t respect the house of God, and in fact, I don’t really respect God, period. I don’t dress up for church because I’m not willing to give him my best. [pause] No, that’s not true either. OK, the real reason I’m wearing jeans is because I’m a rebel. I live by my own rules. I defy convention. I don’t have to follow any stinkin’ dress code, and I’m going to wear what I please. I could care less what you or anybody else thinks. [pause]
Now, in fact, none of those is the real reason I wore jeans this morning. But if any of those thoughts ran through your mind as you saw me walk onto the pulpit this morning, then congratulations—you’re a Pharisee. Or at least you’re thinking like a Pharisee. Because one of the characteristics of a Pharisee is making judgments about someone’s character or spiritual condition based on appearances. Specifically, based on whether they comply with religious norms of behavior. Like wearing a certain type of costume when participating in a worship service. The Pharisees, of course, went further. They not only judged others based on outward appearances, but they manipulated their own appearance and behavior, in order to influence the judgment of others about themselves. In order to project an image of piety and holiness, an image that in many cases was false. And what I would like to suggest to you this morning is that we all have these tendencies. We all have a bit of Pharisee in us. We all tend to make judgments about what’s inside based on what we see on the outside. And we all try to look better than we really are. It’s human nature. But knowing that about ourselves, it’s also something that we can resist and work against as we seek after true holiness and true spiritual maturity, the kind that isn’t based on mere outward appearance.
So in today’s text, we find Jesus being confronted by the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, the religious establishment of his day, over a point of religious practice. “Why don’t your followers wash their hands before they eat?” Now, was that their real concern? If Peter had responded, “oops, sorry, I was late for dinner, I didn’t have time to wash; my apologies,” would the Pharisees have been satisfied? Would they have said, “Well, all right, then,” and walked away, and left Jesus to teach and preach in peace? No, of course not. As is often true when conflicts arise between people—between husbands and wives, between parents and children, between brothers and sisters, between church members—the apparent reason for the conflict was not the real reason. Many times, in conflict, the root cause is subterranean; it’s hidden, it’s concealed, it’s unspoken. And yet that’s where the negative energy comes from, those tensions deep below the surface which build and build until they break loose and produce earthquakes and tsunamis of conflict on the surface of our relationships.
Such was the case here. This isn’t the first time that Jesus has been challenged by the Pharisees. From the beginning of his public ministry, as his reputation and influence have grown, and as the crowds around him have multiplied, the Pharisees have regarded him, first with suspicion, then with concern, and then with alarm and growing hostility. In the beginning, he was an irritation to them. Then he became a problem that had to be dealt with, and finally, he became a threat which had to be eliminated by any means necessary.
Why was that? First of all, he undermined their authority. He undermined their intellectual authority as interpreters of the Scriptures, by challenging their understanding of the law.
“Jesus replied, ‘You are in error because you do not know the Scriptures or the power of God.’” (Matthew 22:29)
In other words, “You don’t know what you’re talking about.” Now these were men whose knowledge of the Bible, our Old Testament, was extensive. These were the seminary professors of Jesus’ day. They studied the Bible. They memorized it. They debated it. They taught it in the synagogues. They knew their Bibles forwards and backwards. But Jesus is openly challenging their authority, saying that they have not understood it. At the most fundamental level, they have misread and misunderstood and misapplied every single verse of the Scriptures. They look into this book, and instead of seeing God, they see their own reflection. [holding up Bible] “Mirror, mirror, on the wall, who’s the holiest one of all?” And they hear, “You are”. But it’s not the voice of God they are hearing.
And even more directly, Jesus undermined their moral authority as examples of faithfulness to the Scriptures, by exposing the hypocrisy of their lives, their false piety, their greed, and pride, and malice.
“Then Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples: ‘The teachers of the law and the Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat. So you must obey them and do everything they tell you. But do not do what they do, for they do not practice what they preach’” (Matthew 23:1-3)
“‘Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of dead men’s bones and everything unclean. In the same way, on the outside you appear to people as righteous but on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness.’” (Matthew 23:27-28)
But every time they attack Jesus, and try to trip him up, he turns the tables on them—makes them look petty, and foolish, and incompetent. “Should we pay taxes to Caesar?” “Give to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s”. “This woman was caught in adultery. What should we do with her?” “Let him who is without sin cast the first stone.” Every time they go head to head with Jesus, he puts the beat down on them. He wipes the floor with them. He humiliates them. They’re like District Attorney Hamilton Burger, who loses every case to Perry Mason. Or the Washington Generals, who lose every game to the Harlem Globetrotters. Or like Wile E. Coyote, Super Genius, who is outsmarted every time by the Road Runner, his elaborate schemes always backfiring, like the jet-powered unicycle that propels him over the side of a cliff, or the giant catapult that drops the boulder on him instead of the Road Runner. That’s how the Pharisees must have felt, after going up against Jesus a few times. They just can’t catch a break. It’s almost comical. But they’re not laughing.
And so the Pharisees, and the Sadducees, and the teachers of the law, all opposed Jesus, at first with words, but ultimately with the violence of the Roman state. At first, they pretended to be polite and respectful, laying subtle theological traps for him. But in the end, they gave up and just had him killed. They opposed him because they envied the respect and influence which he enjoyed among the people. They opposed him because he threatened their position and their authority. And they opposed him because he revealed what they truly were, because he exposed the contradiction between their holy words and their unholy hearts.
Which brings us to the conflict which is at the center of the passage. “Why don’t your disciples live according to the tradition of the elders instead of eating their food with ‘unclean’ hands?” Now, the Pharisees knew nothing of viruses, or the transmission of disease. It would be another sixteen centuries before the Dutch scientist Antony Van Leeuwenhoek would look into his homemade microscope and discover bacteria. No, for them, washing with water was symbolism; it represented cleansing from sin. It was a ritual act, a “ceremonial” washing as verse three tells us, not an act of physical hygiene. And this was only one cleansing ritual among many. Verse four tells us that they observed “many other traditions, such as the washing of cups, pitchers and kettles.” They washed their hands after sleeping. Before praying. Before eating. After eating. After touching an insect or animal. After visiting a cemetery. After cutting their hair or fingernails.
But here’s the key point: none of this was commanded by God. None of this was required by the Scriptures. It was derived by inference from a few passages, such as this one:
“Vindicate me, O LORD, for I have led a blameless life; I have trusted in the LORD without wavering. Test me, O LORD, and try me, examine my heart and my mind; for your love is ever before me, and I walk continually in your truth. I do not sit with deceitful men, nor do I consort with hypocrites; I abhor the assembly of evildoers and refuse to sit with the wicked. I wash my hands in innocence, and go about your altar, O LORD” (Psalm 26:1-6)
Now, as you read that passage, what is it about? Trusting in the Lord. Examining our hearts. Celebrating the love of God. Walking in the truth of God. Avoiding the influence of ungodly people. But when the Pharisee read this passage, all he saw was “hand washing”. That’s it. That’s where they got it from. Kind of a stretch, to say the least. But you might say, “What’s wrong with washing our hands? What harm would it do?” I mean, they did seem to wash their hands an awful lot—to someone not raised in that tradition it seems a bit OCD, but as we know today, it does help to prevent the spread of disease, and there’s nothing wrong with reminding yourself of the need for moral purity. Why wouldn’t the disciples do that?
Well, a couple of reasons. There’s nothing wrong with following a social or religious custom in order not to give offense. But there comes a time when complying with an unbiblical religious requirement would compromise the clarity of the gospel, and we must in good conscience refuse. For example, when the apostle Paul wanted to take Timothy with him on a mission journey among the Jews, he had Timothy, a Gentile, circumcised in order not to give offense. But later, when some false teachers tried to make circumcision a requirement for Christians, he refused to allow Titus to be circumcised. Because in that case, the principle of grace was at stake. And I think that’s what was going on here. It was necessary in this case for Jesus and his disciples to resist these regulations. For two reasons.
First, because the Pharisees were using ritual purity as a weapon, as a tool of personal power. They made the rules, they interpreted and enforced the rules, and they set themselves up as the supreme examples of adherence to those rules, and therefore, as the tutors and moral superiors of everyone else. They claimed for themselves the right to make law, to interpret law, to judge, and to condemn. In effect, they put themselves in God’s place. And make no mistake, if you can persuade other people that you have a unique understanding of God’s will, if you can persuade them that you are on a different spiritual plane than they are, if you can persuade them (or coerce them) into accepting your moral authority to judge them and to establish the rules which govern their lives, then you will be in a position of great power. But in order to have real power over people, you need to maintain the illusion of moral superiority. Otherwise, they may stop listening to you, and start listening to God. Instead of living according to man-made traditions, they may start living according to the word of God. Instead of submitting to you, they may start submitting to God. And then where will you be? Down on the same level as everyone else, just a sinner before God. And for someone who desires power over other people, who desires the respect and honor of other people, that is intolerable. That won’t do at all.
Friends, be wary when someone claims to have unique insight into the will of God, an insight not available to ordinary Christians, an insight that can’t be gleaned by simply studying the Scriptures. Watch out when someone claims the authority to direct your life. And run the other way when a preacher or teacher holds themselves out as being on a different spiritual plane, as being anything other than what you and I are, sinners saved by grace. Because those kinds of claims are the tools of tyranny. And false teachers use them to manipulate, and exploit, and control others. For the others’ own good, of course.
Let me pause here and ask, “are you doing this?”. Are you relinquishing to some authority figure the responsibility of making moral decisions about your own life? Some well-known writer, or celebrity preacher, or perhaps someone who is “discipling” you? Do you rely on someone else to tell you what the Bible means and how you should apply it to your life? If so, you’re setting yourself up to be a victim. Each of us is responsible before God to read and understand the Scriptures, and to apply them to our lives. We can’t hand over that responsibility to anyone else, and can’t allow someone else to take that responsibility from us.
On the other side, let me ask you, Do you use the Scriptures to manipulate and control other people? Do you “pull rank,” appealing to your education, or your years in the faith, or your supposedly superior spiritual attainments, in order to bend others to your will? Do you use shaming, or criticism, or condemnation, or pious language, to get other people to do what you want them to do? What you think they should do? What they would have chosen for themselves, if only they understood the will of God for their life as well as you do? Then stop. Because you are putting yourself in the place of God. It is the Holy Spirit who will convict them of sin, and righteousness, and judgment. You focus on your own sin, and on what God is calling you to do. That’s enough to keep anyone busy.
And that takes us to the second reason why the Pharisees’ focus on hand-washing was itself impure. Because they used it, not as a symbol, to remind themselves of the need for actual moral purity, but as a replacement for moral purity. They focused on the appearance, rather than the reality. And in fact, they allowed the appearance to replace the reality. Instead of practicing the things that hand-washing was supposed to represent, such as justice, and love, and kindness, and holiness, they used ritual hand-washing, and the other rituals of their religion, as a cover for greed, and ambition, and pride. They had turned the original purpose of the practice on its head, so that instead of promoting holiness, it provided a cover for sin. As Jesus said in Matthew 23:23-26:
“Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your spices—mint, dill and cummin. But you have neglected the more important matters of the law—justice, mercy and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former. You blind guides! You strain out a gnat but swallow a camel. “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence.”
In our present passage, Mark seven, Jesus tells them, “You have let go of the commands of God and are holding on to the traditions of men.” (v. 8) And “Thus you nullify the word of God by your tradition that you have handed down. And you do many things like that.” (v. 13).
What a terrible indictment. Can you imagine hearing those words from Christ? Not merely that they were mistaken about this law, or that regulation, or that tradition, but that their whole approach to the Scriptures was faulty? Listen again, “Thus you nullify the word of God by your tradition . . . And you do many things like that.” But here’s the shocker. I don’t think we have to imagine hearing Jesus say that. I don’t think we have to use our imaginations. Because I think he is saying that to us. No, we may not be Pharisees, who had only the appearance of religion, and nothing of its heart reality. We may be saved people who have a relationship with God through faith in Jesus Christ. Nevertheless, far too frequently we do allow culture, and tradition, and habit, and human authority to trump the Scriptures. Like the Pharisees, we “let go of the commands of God” and hold on to the traditions of men. In effect, we “nullify” God’s word, either by ignoring it, or by allowing other influences to override it.
Let me give you an example. The Jews of Jesus’ day had very specific dietary restrictions. A long list of things that you could and could not consume. Disregarding those restrictions would mark you immediately as either a gentile, or an unfaithful Jew. And the Pharisees followed those restrictions scrupulously. Yet, with the tongues and mouths that would never touch pork, they slandered Jesus and planned his murder. Let me attempt a couple of parallels for us. Do we have Christian dietary restrictions? Are there unofficial restrictions on what we can consume? [pause] Of course. How about tobacco? Ever notice that we have no ashtrays at the front doors of the church? Why? Because They’re not needed. Because Christians don’t smoke, right?. We learn pretty quickly in evangelical churches that smoking is something that Christians simply don’t do. It’s a behavioral norm. What would you think if you saw a pastor smoking? Or another Christian? Would you question their spiritual maturity? Or whether they were even saved? What would you think if I lit one up right now? [Hold up a pack of cigarettes and take one out, as if to light it]. Some of you are offended that I even brought a pack of cigarettes into this holy building. And others are saying, “He’s not going to need those after the service. Maybe I can bum some smokes.”
Even though the Scriptures say nothing about smoking, we’ve made it into a Christian taboo, something that Christians just don’t do. Now, should Christians smoke? I personally don’t recommend it, although not for religious or spiritual reasons. But that’s not my point. My point is that we will use our mouths, and our throats and our lungs, which we would never think of using to inhale tobacco smoke, to exhale slander against one another. To exhale bitter and malicious statements against other believers. To exhale accusations and gossip. We won’t inhale the smoke of a burning tobacco leaf, but we will exhale the sulfurous smoke of deceitful speech, and judgmental speech, and proud speech, and arrogant speech, and condemning speech. The stench of ungodly speech we will tolerate, but the smell of tobacco smoke on someone’s clothing we would regard as evidence of backsliding. True?
“If anyone considers himself religious and yet does not keep a tight rein on his tongue, he deceives himself and his religion is worthless.” (James 1:26)
“With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in God’s likeness. Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers, this should not be.” (James 3:9-10)
“Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.” (Eph. 4:29)
“Brothers, do not slander one another.” (James 4:11)
“Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.” (Colossians 4:6)
Think about your private conversations recently with your husband or wife, or your close friends. When you speak about other believers, is your speech pleasing to God? Is it full of grace? Is it helpful for building others up? Or does it reek of malice, and slander, and gossip, and a judgmental, condemning spirit? If we had to choose between the two, I think God cares less about Marlboros than he does malicious speech. Which one passes through your lips?
Let me ask the question a different way. How carefully do you monitor what goes into your mouth, compared to what comes out of it? For example, do you follow a low-fat diet? Do you obsessively track the grams of fat going into your body? Do you watch the number of calories that you consume? Do you avoid refined sugars? Do you limit your caffeine? Do you eat only dolphin-safe tuna? Are you a locavore, someone who eats only food grown locally? Are you a vegetarian or a vegan? Do you eat only free-range chicken? Do you shun high fructose corn syrup? Do you buy organic milk? Organic fruit? Organic soap? Heirloom tomatoes? Do you use sea salt instead of table salt? Purchase only beef that’s produced without the use of bovine growth hormone? Cook with olive oil instead of Crisco? Drink bottled water from the island of Fiji? The bad news is that you can do all of those things, and you’ll still die. Their value is limited. These practices may make you a little healthier, and definitely a little poorer, but their value is temporary. None of the foods that you are avoiding or limiting can defile you. They can’t soil you spiritually. They can’t make you any less pleasing to God. Now, compared to the care you take in controlling what goes into your mouth, how careful are you to control what comes out of your mouth? Do you apply as much energy, and planning, and self-discipline to controlling your speech as you apply to controlling your calories, or your fat grams, or your carbohydrates? If not, then you’re focusing on the wrong thing. Because Jesus says that what comes out of your mouth can defile you.
Let’s step back a bit. Fundamentally, what is this passage about? What is God saying to us through this portion of his word? Jesus says in verse fifteen that “nothing that enters a man from the outside can make him ‘unclean’”, thus declaring all foods clean, but his point isn’t really the food itself. His point is in the next verse, verse sixteen, “For it doesn’t go into his heart but into his stomach, and then out of his body.” Nothing you eat can make you clean or unclean, pure or defiled, in the sense that matters to God. Why not? Because it doesn’t go into our heart. Are you concerned about your heart? I’m speaking now of the pump in the center of your chest. Are you concerned about how the foods you eat affect your heart? Do you avoid fatty foods, foods high in cholesterol, because you are concerned that they will get into your heart and clog it up, cause it to malfunction? If so, are you equally concerned about the condition of your heart from a spiritual perspective? Do you spend as much time and effort safeguarding the health of your “heart” in a spiritual sense?
What does Jesus say to the Pharisees? “Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you hypocrites; as it is written: ‘These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me.’” (Mark 7:6) And that’s really the point of the passage. The Pharisees were very concerned about following all the rules and regulations, all the traditions and customs. They tithed a tenth of all their income, including even the tiniest of spices: mint, and dill, and cummin. They were scrupulous about washing their hands in the prescribed manner, and at the appointed times. They were careful not to take too many steps on the Sabbath. And yet they completely missed the point, because their hearts were far from God.
But that’s not the end of the story. Because although the message of the gospel starts with law, it ends with grace. It starts with the knowledge that we’re all hypocrites, that we have all failed to meet God’s holy requirements. But it ends in the good news that we don’t have to. Instead, we can receive the righteousness of Christ, credited to our account, through faith. That’s grace. And there is grace in this passage, if you have ears to hear it. It’s found in verse 13: “Thus you nullify the word of God by your tradition that you have handed down. And you do many things like that.” Yes, that’s an indictment. It’s a terrible indictment. But it’s also an invitation. Because he stops. You expect that Jesus will go on to list the “many things” they do which demonstrate the emptiness of their religion, which demonstrate how they focus on rules, and laws, and fine words, and overt displays of religiosity, while everything they do contradicts the spirit of those laws. Honoring God with their lips, and with their hand-washing, and with their dietary regulations, while their hearts were far from him. But he doesn’t. He says, “you do many things like that.” And then he stops. Why? I think he leaves those words hanging in the air as an invitation to them, to reflect. To ask themselves the question, “I wonder what he meant by that? Many things” like what? What things is he talking about? Do I do that? Is my heart far from God?” Jesus could have named, one by one, all of their sins, every single one. The Bible tells us that Jesus knew what was in men’s hearts. But he didn’t. And I believe that’s because he was leaving a space, spiritually, for them to look into their own hearts. To search their own hearts. And perhaps to repent. To stop, and turn around, to leave the path they were on, and to follow him. And that’s where law turns to grace.
And that’s my challenge to you this morning. Are you seeking after God? Are you actively seeking to honor him, not only avoiding major sins like theft, murder and adultery, but also by conforming your speech and even your attitudes to the pattern laid out in the Scriptures? Where is your heart? Does God get lip service only? Does he get only the outward appearance of godliness? Does he get from you only a “respectable” Christian life? Or does he have your heart? You may have everyone else in your life fooled, but you know the truth. You may have everyone around you fooled, everyone in this room, everybody in your flock group, your friends, your family, but God knows your heart. Do you love him with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength? Or are you just going through the religious motions?
If it’s the latter, I have good news for you. There’s so much more to knowing Christ than you ever imagined. You don’t have to settle for a dry, lifeless, superficial Christianity. You don’t have to be satisfied with just trying to look good, to keep the rules, to meet others’ expectations. There’s more. So much more. And the more which God desires you to have is a living, vital, relationship with him. All you have to do in order to have that is to seek him with all your heart.
“Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.” (Jeremiah 29:12-13)
“I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.” (Ephesians 4:16-19)
Will you do that today? Will you confess to God the ways in which you’ve just been going through the motions, and ask him to show you the riches of his grace in Christ Jesus? Don’t be a Pharisee. Seek God, not religion. Seek his approval, not the approval of men. If you seek him, you will find him, the one who is life. And you will be so glad that you didn’t settle for the empty shell of religion, as so many in our day have done.
