Our Traditions
Mark 7:1-23 (17-23)
Why would some people buy a cat and tie it to the bedpost to show their reverence to God?
Many years ago, a very poor holy man lived in a remote part of China. Every day before his time of meditation, in order to show his devotion, he put a dish of butter up on the window sill as an offering to God, since food was so scarce. One day his cat came in and ate the butter. To remedy this, he began tying the cat to the bedpost each day before the quiet time. This man was so respected for his piety that others joined him as disciples and worshipped as he did. Generations later, long after the holy man was dead, his followers placed an offering of butter on the window sill during their time of prayer and meditation. Furthermore, each one bought a cat and tied it to the bedpost. (source unknown, www.sermonillustrations.com).
Mark 7:17-23 And when he had entered the house and left the people, his disciples asked him about the parable (or difficult saying). 18 And he said to them, "Then are you also without understanding? Do you not see that whatever goes into a person from outside cannot defile him, 19 since it enters not his heart but his stomach, and is expelled?" (Thus he declared all foods clean.) 20 And he said, "What comes out of a person is what defiles him. 21 For from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, 22 coveting, wickedness, deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride, foolishness. 23 All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person."
Prayer
Man has always tried to make religion about what we eat and what we do. That has never changed. That is what religion is.
However, Jesus did not come to start another religion; another system to control the behavior of man.
This short passage is a clarification of an event in Jesus' and the disciples' ministry. We find that story in the first of the chapter, beginning with verses 1-4.
Mark 7:1-4 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.)
The Jewish leadership sent scribes (experts of the law) and Pharisees from Jerusalem to Genneseret to investigate Jesus and His disciples. They came with a chip on their shoulders, and it didn't take long for them to find something.
"For the Jews often washed their hands", some translations say.
From Barnes' Notes: The Greek word translated oft(en) has been rendered various ways. Some have said that it means “up to the wrist” - Others have said up to the elbow.”
In short, the hand washing things that were observed came from the "commentaries" of the Law handed down by so-called "experts" of the law through the years.
Their traditions said, "he that despiseth washing of hands shall be rooted out of the world; for in it is the secret of the decalogue:'' (Gill)
The decalogue means the 10 commandments. The 10 commandments had not secrets, btw. Jesus will address this in verse nine. But first....
Mark 7:5 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?"
At this point in His ministry, the Jewish leaders are asking Jesus. Later, they were too intimidated of Him and asked His disciples.
"Why aren't the disciples washing their hands up to the elbows before they eat?"
Mark 7:6-8 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."
Jesus responds that this question is hypocritical. It has an emphasis on the traditions of men by men who ignored the simple instructions of the commandments, as prophecised by Isaiah. (Isaiah 29:15).
Mark 7:9-13 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."
Jesus started out by saying, "I love how you reject what God tells you to do in order to have your own way."
The Command of God says to honor your father and mother and don't disrespect them, which includes caring for them when they were old and feeble. The traditions of the Jews said that if the sons and daughters declared their savings as Corban, or dedicated for an offering for the temple, they could refuse to support their parents. Then after the parents died, they could "undeclare" the funds and use them personally. Thus "making null and void the commandment of God to honor their parents."
He added, "That's not all, but just one illustration of your hypocracy."
Then He calls to the people observing this and addresses the issue at hand.
Mark 7:14-16 And he called the people to him again and said to them, "Hear me, all of you, and understand: 15 There is nothing outside a person that by going into him can defile him, but the things that come out of a person are what defile him." 16 [If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear.]
Jesus speaks to the heart of the matter. Food and drink cannot defile the soul. No food that you eat or drink can affect your relationship with God. However, what comes out of you in attitudes, responses and action reveal the wickedness within the heart. It is a better indicator that the heart needs cleaning.
In our earlier reading (17-23), Jesus explained. When you eat food, your body takes the good it needs and expells the rest.
The apostle Paul clearly tells us that the dietary laws, as well as the other laws, were to demonstrate to us that the standards for making peace with God by what we do is impossible. However, once we have acknowledged that and have come to Christ to make peace with God, we no longer need the reminders. Galatians 3:24-25. Then we have the righteous life of the Holy Spirit within us to produce works that please God.
There is more to pleasing God than performing good actions. The only thing that pleases God about our actions are those which flow from a RELATIONSHIP with God. Does that sound familiar? It should.
Therefore we are not under the dietary restrictions of the Law. The messages of the Cults, that unclean food defiles man, was debunked by Jesus Himself. This is why Jesus could touch a leper (1:41), a corpse (5:41), be touched by a defiling woman (5:27-28), and eat with sinners (5:17) without fear of defilement. His actions flowed from His relationship with the Father, and He could walk through fire without fear of anything.
There are more messages that we need to glean from this passage this morning.
1. Traditions vs. Righteousness.
Traditions are not bad in themselves.It is just when we elevate traditions to the level of being sacred that we get into trouble. One inherent problem with tradition is that they take our eyes off of God.
Every tradition had a beginning and all traditions will have an end. An old saying is, "Tradition is the living faith of those who died and the dead faith of those who are living." However, it is the word of God that remains for ever.
Matthew 24:35, Mark 13:31,Luke 21:33 "Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away."
Christ came to begin a relationship between man and His Father.
Jesus pointed out that other problems with the traditions were: They focus on the external and not on a connection with God. They come from behavior and not from the heart. Thus, they did not connect God to the heart of man.
Let me make this clear: If you do not have a relationship with God through Jesus Christ, God is calling you to that today. Oh, what a wonderful Christmas season you could have being relieved from your guilt and shame, beginning now and lasting for eternity.
2. Actions vs. The Heart.
We err when we focus on what we do and not on who we are.
It is always an error to over-paint any teaching. When God is talking about defiling a man, He is strictly referring to man's relationship with God. No, you cannot eat or drink anything without it hurting you. You can eat poison and die, but eating poison will not send you to hell. It may send you to your eternal destiny, but it is not the reason for your eternal choice.
You can over eat and it will hurt you, or stop eating and it will kill you. But....
It was a mistake for the Jews to view their relationship with God by what and how they ate. It is a mistake to view your relationship with God in terms of what you do, how you are respected or disrespected in the community and Church, or even what you think of yourself. This is true for someone outside faith in Christ, and it is also true for believers.
Believers, we must live our lives in the same way we were saved, not focusing on what we do but focusing on His life in us. Paul told the Galatians in no-uncertain terms that they were wasting their time trying to please God through the law, or focusing on what they did.
Galatians 3:1-4 O foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? It was before your eyes that Jesus Christ was publicly portrayed as crucified. 2 Let me ask you only this: Did you receive the Spirit by works of the law or by hearing with faith? 3 Are you so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh? 4 Did you suffer so many things in vain--if indeed it was in vain?
We need to be wise enough to learn to let the Spirit of God lead us and to stop focusing on what we can do to please God.
3. Self-rightousness vs. Reality.
I need to confess and admit that I am capable of the most wicked acts because of the wickedness in my heart.
When I first began to learn who I was in Christ Jesus, I made a terrible, costly mistake. Oh what a wonderful truth that is, that God no longer identifies me with my history, heritage, actions or attitudes. I can think of myself as holy and blameless because I am in a constant state of being forgiven. I am under the blood of Jesus, and such reality frees me to live out of that blessed relationship.
Although that truth began freeing me from my captivity to sin, I erred in thinking that my soul was free of wickedness. My spirit is now occupied by the Spirit of God Himself. However, I still have the unregenerated soul, which is the mind, will and emotions.
My mind is full of a history of self-reliance, rebellion and bad attitudes. (and the people said...). My will is stubborn and self-protective. My emotions are simply how I feel about my perceived reality, showing up in slow motion. They all need to be changed.
Paul instructed us to allow the process of being renewed in the mind as we grow in knowledge and wisdom as God's children (Romans 12:2). But that pattern of sin in our minds is more deeply engrained than we like to admit.
[J.C. Ryle, Expository Thoughts on the Gospels. p. 142.] “The wickedness of men is often attributed to bad examples, bad company, peculiar temptations, or the snares of the devil. It seems forgotten that every man carries within him a fountain of wickedness. We need no bad company to teach us, and no devil to tempt us, in order to run into sin. We have within us the beginning of every sin under heaven.”
Why did God choose to do salvation this way. We would be better if He gave us a new mind.
One thing I see is this: this system demands my dependence upon God. If my mind was renewed completely at salvation, I would not need God daily, every minute. I deny that dependency when I pretend that wickedness does not reside in my heart.
Jeremiah 17:9 The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?
I am learning, slowly and painfully, that I cannot say, "I would never do that." To say that is a glorification of my righteousness and steals the glory from God. Truth is, I am capable of the most wicked and evil deeds.
I MUST come before God daily and seek to live every moment through His power. We are called to a relationship of dependence upon Him.
Ill. October 7, 1969 the Montreal, Canada police force went on strike. Because of what resulted, the day has been called Black Tuesday. A burglar and a policeman were slain. Forty-nine persons were wounded or injured in rioting. Nine bank holdups were committed, along with 17 robberies at gunpoint. Usually disciplined, peaceful citizens joined the riffraff and went wild, smashing some 1,000 plate glass windows in a stretch of 21 business blocks in the heart of the city, hauling away stereo units, radios, TVs and wearing apparel. While looters stripped windows of valuable merchandise, professional burglars entered stores by doors and made off with truckloads of goods. A smartly dressed man scampered down a street with a fur coat over each arm. With no police around, anarchy took over. (Unknown source, www.sermonillustrations.com).
Most everyone in here can cluck our tongues and say, "Shame on them. They should have known better. We would never join them in this wickedness."
That is our way of saying, "We don't need God to handle that level of moral choice."
Any time we say we don't need for God, we ourselves have just committed the most monstrous, heinous wickedness. We would be for more honest to admit we need God for everything. In other words, it would be best to say what John Bradford said in 1555 when he saw a group of criminals heading for their executions. "There but for the grace of God go I."
What do we do? Where do we start?
Start where King David did when he found himself in a rut.
Psalm 77:6 I said, "Let me remember my song in the night; let me meditate in my heart." Then my spirit made a diligent search.
Ask God to shine His light in your heart and reveal to your eyes what He sees.
Psalm 139:23-24 Search me, O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts! 24 And see if there be any grievous way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting!
David asked God to help his searching and to do it in the light so he could see. He didn't say, "OK, God, fix me, but I don't want to see or deal with that stuff in my heart." He wanted to know and God wanted him to know. That way, God get's all the glory.
And as He reveals it, agree with God how evil it is, trusting Him to clean you up.
1 John 1:9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
