Good morning.
Laws are important in any society in order to keep peace and order. But there are laws and then there are laws. Here are some laws that are still on the books in our state of Kansas.
• In Derby, it is illegal to hit a vending machine that stole your money.
• In Dodge City, it is illegal to spit on the sidewalk.
• In Lawrence, it is illegal to wear a bee in your hat…and all cars entering Lawrence must sound their horn to warn the horses of their arrival.
• In Topeka, it’s illegal to sing the alphabet on the streets at night…and dead chickens cannot be hauled across Kansas Ave…and finally, in Topeka, you cannot yell at haunted houses.
• Oh…one more…In Wichita, before proceeding through the intersection of Douglas and Broadway, a motorist is required to get out of their car and fire three shotgun rounds into the air. That is if you can get to that intersection with a loaded gun in your car, now-a-days.
There are some pretty silly laws that are still on the books, and I’m sure there was a reason for each one of them at the time. I’m also sure there are lots of people breaking these laws each day in those towns…probably at this very moment…law-breakers whether they know it or not.
And usually, Christians don’t think of themselves as law-breakers, but believe it or not, followers of Christ have been and still are people who will break the law. This morning, I’m breaking the law. I’m wearing an illegal T-shirt. Just wearing this apparel in certain countries could result in my torture and death. Throughout history, from the first century right up to the present day, confessing Christ can be a flagrant act of breaking the law and even considered as insurrection in some countries and punishable by death.
Let me take a moment and tell you about one law-breaker. This story comes from a publication called, Jesus Freaks’, a book of true stories published by the organization Voice of the Martyrs. It is a story also found in our Bible.
Across the courtroom, the young man on trial continued preaching. The jury fidgeted nervously as he told of their religious heritage and forefathers. What did Abraham and Moses have to do with this Jesus? Another young man in the audience, about the same age as the defendant, seemed not to be listening. His mind was already made up on the matter of this Jesus follower. The crowd of Jewish leaders, however, grew more agitated at every word from the young defendant.
Suddenly the preacher turned to the audience. ‘You stubborn and hardheaded people! You’re always fighting against the Holy Spirit, just like you ancestors did. They killed the prophets who told about the coming of the Righteous One. And now you have turned against Him and Killed Him. You have received the law of God, but you have not kept it.’
When the crowd heard this, they were even more furious, but the defendant ignored their growing anger. His face glowed like that of an angel, and he stopped talking and pointed to the ceiling. ‘Look! I see heaven open and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.’
This was too much. Yelling at the top of their voices, they all rushed at him. They dragged him out of the city to stone him. He continued preaching all the way.
The young man who had been in the audience, one Saul of Tarsus, followed after them. He stood a short distance away from the defendant, looking steadily at the sky as the mob grew larger. The cries grew more heated now. A man handed Saul his coat, then stooped to pick up a stone as though waiting for a signal from Saul. Saul lowered his gaze, then looked directly in the man’s eyes and nodded. It was time to silence the young preacher.
Stephan, the defendant, continued despite the crowd’s jeers, because the Man he was telling them about was so important to him. He couldn’t stop talking about Him. Several more men had now removed their coats, handed them to Saul, and began gathering rocks.
‘This blasphemer must be dealt with!’
‘He speaks against Moses!’
‘We don’t want to hear about your Jesus anymore!’
A rock sailed past Stephan’s head. He ducked, dazed for a moment, then stood and continued. The second rock caught him near the temple and he fell to his knees. Another hit his shoulder…then there were too many to count.
‘No more Jesus talk!’, they shouted.
‘Let this be a lesson to all who would proclaim this Jesus.’
As each rock found its mark and the blood began to drip from Stephan’s wounds, he began to pray. ‘Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.’ Then he scanned the crowd until his eyes locked with those of the young man who held a bundle of coats…’and Lord,’ he said, ‘do not hold this sin against them.'
When he said those words, Stephen died.’
We’ve all heard this story of the first Christian law-breaker, haven’t we? And we have some understanding and knowledge of the commitment of others in history that have been Christian law-breakers.
In a little while, I’ll tell you about some others who dare to be law-breakers for Christ.
In our scripture this morning, Jesus is speaking in such a way as to outrage and shock the orthodox Jewish religious leaders. And in what he says about these scribes and Pharisees and their religion, represents a head-on clash with existing religious tradition and law. What Jesus is saying could be construed by some as promoting and encouraging the crowds to break the religious laws and traditions of their time.
But breaking of these traditions of the Jewish law could result for the common worshipper being expelled from the synagogue, in other words, being kicked out of the church. If this would happen to someone, it could have serious consequences for them and their families. It would mean being shunned by everyone in the Jewish community; it would mean not being able to do business in the market place. And if you were a shunned Jew, turning to the gentile community for your daily needs, was not an option either…for the gentiles hated the Jews. This hate was so passionate that the gentiles would sometimes spit in the footsteps of the Jews as they passed.
The power and influence that the Pharisees held over the Jewish community was truly great…and what they said and required of the people was the law by which the Jewish community would and must live their lives.
The basic importance of this passage is not so much a clash between Jesus and the Pharisees, in a personal way…it is something far more than that…it is the collision of two views of religion and two views of the demands of God. William Barclay in his commentary on this passage calls it, ‘…one of the supreme religious contests in history.’
So, in order to understand why what Jesus said was so radical…why it so outraged and shocked the Scribes and Pharisees, we must take a quick look at the Jewish religion. For saying what he said, Jesus was in essence encouraging those that were listening to break the laws of Jewish tradition.
In Matthew 15, verse 10…it says, ‘Then he called the crowd to him and said to them, ‘Listen and understand: it is not what goes into the mouth that defiles a person, but what comes out of the mouth that defiles.’
With this statement, Jesus has pretty much eliminated the book of Leviticus in the Bible. This book of laws was part of the Jewish Pentateuch. This is book that the Pharisees used as a basis for many of their other laws and teachings. It set the standard for how to remain, ‘clean’.
When was the last time you read the book of Leviticus in the Old Testament? Well if you haven’t lately, let me give you just a taste of what it says…
Leviticus 3:17 (New International Version)
17 “‘This is a lasting ordinance for the generations to come, wherever you live: You must not eat any fat or any blood.’”
Leviticus 11:1-3 (New International Version)
1 The LORD said to Moses and Aaron, 2 “Say to the Israelites: ‘Of all the animals that live on land, these are the ones you may eat: 3 You may eat any animal that has a divided hoof and that chews the cud.
Leviticus 11:26-27 (New International Version)
26 “‘Every animal that does not have a divided hoof or that does not chew the cud is unclean for you; whoever touches the carcass of any of them will be unclean. 27 Of all the animals that walk on all fours, those that walk on their paws are unclean for you; whoever touches their carcasses will be unclean till evening.
This idea of being clean and unclean was a big deal for the Jews. For a man to be considered as unclean, it meant that he could not be touched by others, it meant that he would be considered unclean, dirty…even infectious to those around him. And what he touched or used would also be considered as unclean. He would not be able to interact with others. He would not be able to go to the marketplace, or do business or go to worship…not until be had waited a specified amount of time or cleansed himself in some other way that was prescribed by the Pharisees.
Do you remember the plight of the lepers in Jesus’ time? If they were walking down the street and met another person, they would have to yell out, ‘Unclean, Unclean’ so the other person would know to stay away from them. The lepers were ostracized from society. These poor persons would have to leave all family and friends and go to live in the leper colonies…living in virtual poverty. The New Testament tells of Jesus healing the lepers several times and his compassion for them.
And so you can see, these are just a few of the ramifications of becoming unclean. And then when you find that the Jews considered the Gentiles as unclean, you then might understand the animosity and hatred between the Jews and Gentiles and why it existed.
What Jesus was seeing was that the Pharisees and religious leaders had made the worship of God a matter of rules and traditions, not of praise and worship. The laws had gotten in the way of worshipping God. And so what Jesus said could be considered breaking the law, but he said it for the sake of God.
Now let me stress that even today, we might, after reading the book of Leviticus see some very understandable instructions for proper hygiene and cleanliness. What we take for granted today, with the availability of indoor plumbing and the ease of washing and cleaning ourselves and our surroundings, this was not so easily achieved in the time of Jesus. Out in the desert with Moses, I’m sure water was a valuable commodity and cleanliness needed to be a priority in order to avoid sickness and death.
But, as the centuries passed, and these traditions were passed down and became laws of the Jewish religion…these traditions became the law of the Jewish way of life, they then twisted and obscured the true meaning and importance of being and becoming clean…clean in mind and heart. That’s what was important.
Jesus said, ‘What goes into someone’s mouth does not defile them, but what comes out of their mouth, that is what defiles them.’ Jesus had identified religion with the state of man’s heart, and said bluntly that these Pharisaic and Scribal regulations had nothing to do with religion.
We now understand that Jesus was concerned with what was in our hearts and minds. Jesus knew that God was holy and that coming into His presence demanded a clean heart and a pure mind. He told us to ‘Listen and Understand’…understand what he was saying.
And yet, It’s interesting to me the response of the Disciples. As they were there with Jesus during this occasion, they evidently witnessed the shock and anger of the Pharisees. Peter came to Jesus then, to let him know that the Pharisees were offended by what he had just said. It shows to me that the Disciples were still a little worried about what the Pharisees could do and the power that they held over them.
To this, Jesus replied, ‘“Every plant that my heavenly Father has not planted will be pulled up by the roots. Leave them; they are blind guides. If the blind lead the blind, both will fall into a pit.”
Even after Jesus explained through this short parable, the Disciples still did not understand. Were they not listening? They asked Jesus to explain further. You can see in our scripture today that Jesus was a little frustrated with his Disciples, for he said to them…’Are you still so dull?’
Whew!...Jesus was being pretty blunt that day, for sure. It’s like when I was trying to understand Calculus in High School. The teacher would get frustrated many times when we couldn’t understand a problem and after he had explained it several ways, would finally say, ‘Are you really that slow that you can’t understand?’
Were the Disciples slow in their understanding? Didn’t they know by now, after having been with Jesus for years that he was more concerned about saving their souls than making sure they obeyed the Jewish laws and regulations?
‘For out of the heart come evil thoughts—murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander. These are what defile a person.’
This is our message this morning, that we ‘Listen and Understand’ that what is important to our very salvation by and through Jesus is the purity of our heart and mind. What we must take home with us today is the urgency of becoming clean in heart and mind.
In our world today, this isn’t easy. We are bombarded each day with programs on television showing murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony and slander’ Our newspapers relate stories of people who are living examples of a defiled life. Even in our own families, we see our children and grandchildren making decisions that we know will lead them away from the light of God and into the darkness of this world. Being Christian isn’t easy…is it?
But the Good News is that Jesus understands this. He understands that we are weak and that we will continue to fail. And that’s what so great about Jesus…it is his loving compassion and forgiveness toward us…even as yet we are still sinners. He allows us to come back to him and continue to try to become more like him. It really is beyond our understanding.
We must continue to be vigilant in our faith. We must continue to stand in the gap and speak the truth to our friends, relatives, acquaintances and neighbors. It is the truth that Jesus reveals to us that will bring us back to God.
An American journalist in 1993, interviewed a group of children from a Sunday school in southern Sudan where Arab Muslims regularly raided their village and slaughtered Christians. Many of their relatives had already been killed.
The journalist asked, ‘Would you turn to Islam? Or would you prefer to die for Christ! And if so, why?’
The children replied, ‘We will remain Christians because that is the truth.’ As they spoke, their faces seemed to glow with light, just like Stephan’s, Christianity’s first martyr.
So many people today portray Jesus as weak, the out-of-date artifact hanging on a church wall or in a stained-glass window hoping for a brighter day. But Jesus was the non-conformist of all time. He took the conventions of religion, tradition, law and love and turned them upside down. He faced the political and religious leaders of His day and spoke truths they had never heard before. He walked in our world as the human voice of God
Yes, Jesus broke the law…for God’s sake. He stood in that gap and blocked the way of a twisted and misunderstood religion and relationship with God. Jesus was speaking the truth that day…and he speaks the truth to us this day. And it is a truth that we must pass on…even if it possibly means …breaking the law.
Let us pray…
Have mercy upon us, O Lord. Continue to be with us when we fail. Help us to stand again and continue to mature in Your ways, speaking the truth to others. Give us the strength to stand in the gap and proclaim the name of Jesus Christ, Your only begotten Son, our Savior, brother and friend…whatever it might mean. In Jesus name, Amen.
