The Ministry, Message, and Messiah in the Book of Mark Week 16:
"A Real Relationship with Jesus is Better Than Rules, Regulations, and the Tradition of Religion"
(Mark 7:1-13)
Crossroads Community Church
Rev. Ricky A. Rohrig Sr., Founding Pastor
There is always a way to do things in life like your way, my way, the highway, or the right way. What I am getting at is there rules all around us; things that are put in place to tell, or show us how to do things. Sometimes we agree with the rules and other times we do not. Sometimes the rules makes sense to us, and at times we thing they are absurd. In the OT there are 613 laws or rules that applied to people’s lives. If you were a keeper of the law like the Pharisees you would have studied these laws and known them very well.
The Pharisees were known as spiritual fathers of modern Judaism. Their main distinguishing characteristic was a belief in an Oral Law that God gave to Moses at Sinai along with the Torah. The Torah, or Written Law, was akin to our modern day U.S. Constitution in the sense that it set down a series of laws that were open to interpretation. The Pharisees believed that God also gave Moses the knowledge of what these laws meant and how they should be applied. This oral tradition was codified and written down roughly three centuries later in what is known as the Talmud.
The Pharisees also maintained that an after-life existed and that God punished the wicked and rewarded the righteous in the world to come. They also believed in a messiah who would herald an era of world peace.
Pharisees were in a sense blue-collar Jews who adhered to the tenets developed after the destruction of the Temple; that is, such things as individual prayer and assembly in synagogues.
In today’s message we are going to see how Jesus rebukes the Pharisees as I minister and teach from this thought, “A Real Relationship with Jesus is Better Than Rules, Regulations, and the Tradition of Religion!” (repeat)
Mark 7:1-13
1 Then came together unto him the Pharisees, and certain of the scribes, which came from Jerusalem.
2 And when they saw some of his disciples eat bread with defiled, that is to say, with unwashen, hands, they found fault.
3 For the Pharisees, and all the Jews, except they wash their hands oft, eat not, holding the tradition of the elders.
4 And when they come from the market, except they wash, they eat not. And many other things there be, which they have received to hold, as the washing of cups, and pots, brasen vessels, and of tables.
5 Then the Pharisees and scribes asked him, Why walk not thy disciples according to the tradition of the elders, but eat bread with unwashen hands?
6 He answered and said unto them, Well hath Esaias prophesied of you hypocrites, as it is written, This people honoureth me with their lips, but their heart is far from me.
7 Howbeit in vain do they worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.
8 For laying aside the commandment of God, ye hold the tradition of men, as the washing of pots and cups: and many other such like things ye do.
9 And he said unto them, Full well ye reject the commandment of God, that ye may keep your own tradition.
10 For Moses said, Honour thy father and thy mother; and, Whoso curseth father or mother, let him die the death:
11 But ye say, If a man shall say to his father or mother, It is Corban, that is to say, a gift, by whatsoever thou mightest be profited by me; he shall be free.
12 And ye suffer him no more to do ought for his father or his mother;
13 Making the word of God of none effect through your tradition, which ye have delivered: and many such like things do ye.
1. Critiquing, criticizing, and condemning (Mark 7:1-2)
One of the things you’ll notice is that about half of today’s lesson is Jesus talking.
1 Then came together unto him the Pharisees, and certain of the scribes, which came from Jerusalem.
2 And when they saw some of his disciples eat bread with defiled, that is to say, with unwashen, hands, they found fault.
• Are you getting the picture, here are the Pharisees looking around and now noticing something isn’t right
• They are critiquing, criticizing, and condemning
• How many of you know people like this
o No matter what you do it is always wrong
o People who knit pick
o Point the finger at you
o Look down at you
o Ones that think they are better than you
o Know more than you
o Are smarter than you
o Goody two shoe
o Ever met a person like that
• Most likely that would be have been a Pharisee
2. Tradition of men (Mark 7:3-5)
3 For the Pharisees, and all the Jews, except they wash their hands oft, eat not, holding the tradition of the elders.
4 And when they come from the market, except they wash, they eat not. And many other things there be, which they have received to hold, as the washing of cups, and pots, brasen vessels, and of tables.
5 Then the Pharisees and scribes asked him, why walk not thy disciples according to the tradition of the elders, but eat bread with unwashen hands?
Most of us wash our hands before a meal right? I am sure that maybe you don’t do it a 100% of the time, no big deal right?
Not according to the Pharisees, so why were they so concerned about a person washing their hands you may ask yourself?
According to their rituals and customs, washing their hands was a big deal… the reason they were so adamant about washing their hands is because they believed that the plunging or washing of hands got rid of Shibta, an evil spirit which sat upon the hands at night. He must be washed off or he might be eaten. Without such continual washings no Jew claimed salvation or righteousness. So you mean to tell me that if I don’t wash my hands I can’t receive salvation? Sounds like legalism doesn’t it? Not only that but it also sounds like earning or working for your salvation. Let’s look to scripture about what God has to say about works and salvation…
Ephesians 2:8-9
8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: 9 Not of works, lest any man should boast.
So you might be thinking it was pretty petty to make a big deal about washing hands, but what about us today in the doctrine of man, what are we petty about, people now a days have gotten bent out of shape over petty things if you think about it:
• What type of music we should sing contemporary or hymns
• Instruments or not instruments
• Should we have pews or chairs
• Should we dress up or dress down
• I have heard churches fight over what color to paint the walls
• People fighting over where to sit, because you know that is where I have always sat
• How long the church service should be
• What time church should be
• What the order of church service should be
• People in choirs fighting over a certain song because “that’s my song, I’ve always sang that song, how dare you sing my song?
Pretty petty huh? Let me ask you this, does any of that:
• Make you stronger in your faith
• Point others closer to God
• Introduce a person to Jesus
• Encourage the Holy Spirit to work in their lives?
No it’s just about man’s preference. Well guess what, we are not here to please man, or woman, or child, we are here glorify God, lift up the name of Jesus, and be led by the Holy Spirit. Our focus and faith should be on God not tradition, religion, or rituals.
Their rituals, religion, and rituals were so important to them it is mentioned twice in these short passages, the tradition of elders is stated twice. How many times have you heard the expression(s):
• That’s the way we’ve always done it
• We don’t want to make such and such mad or upset
• Well I think we should (fill in the blank)
Being a Christian is not about keeping up with man’s traditions, being religious, or ritualistic. Being a devoted, disciple for Jesus Christ is about a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. So you know what that means? How do you get to know someone? By spending time with them, right? Same thing with God, we get to know Him by praying, fasting, reading His word, following Jesus, and letting the Holy Spirit lead and guide us. Our relationship with Jesus grows when we spend quality time with Him.
Let’s now look at how Jesus answered the ones that were concerned with the tradition of Elders:
3. A real relationship with Jesus is better than t religion or tradition of man
Mark 7:6-13
6 He answered and said unto them, Well hath Esaias prophesied of you hypocrites, as it is written, This people honoureth me with their lips, but their heart is far from me.
• Notice how Jesus called them out, calling them hypocrites, saying one thing but doing another
Jesus said something very similar in the book of Revelation to the church at: Revelation 3:1
1 And unto the angel of the church in Sardis write; These things saith he that hath the seven Spirits of God, and the seven stars; I know thy works, that thou hast a name that thou livest, and art dead.
• Having a reputation for being a live church, but “art dead”
• Works not being perfect before God
• Going through the motions
• On the outside it looked like they had it together but on the inside they were spiritually dead
• They were simply going through the motions and therefore they had
• Few godly members
7 Howbeit in vain do they worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.
8 For laying aside the commandment of God, ye hold the tradition of men, as the washing of pots and cups: and many other such like things ye do.
9 And he said unto them, Full well ye reject the commandment of God, that ye may keep your own tradition.
• Jesus really lets them have it, how dare you have vain worship for me
• You are so concerned about man’s doctrines and commandments and not mine
• That you literally reject my teachings or commandments (by the way there was approximately 1050 in the NT)
• Because your traditions are so important
• There way was better and more important than God’s way
10 For Moses said, Honour thy father and thy mother; and, Whoso curseth father or mother, let him die the death:
11 But ye say, If a man shall say to his father or mother, It is Corban, that is to say, a gift, by whatsoever thou mightest be profited by me; he shall be free.
12 And ye suffer him no more to do ought for his father or his mother;
13 Making the word of God of none effect through your tradition, which ye have delivered: and many such like things do ye.
• Your tradition means nothing and has no effect because that is more important to you than what God says to do
Practical application:
Today forget about the way you think the way things should be done, stop focusing on what you can get from God, but rather what you can give to God today. We must decrease and He must increase.
For God to be able to use us as vessels, we must be empty, clean, and available. He will take us and fill us and use us for His glory. But if we are filled with sin or defiled by disobedience, He will first have to purge us. Purge means to get rid of something unwanted or undesirable, especially when it comes to the things of the heavenly realm. We all have stuff we need purged from, baggage, or junk.
• What do you need God to purge you from today?
• What do you need to let go of today?
• What do you need to hand over to God today?
• What do you need God to do in your life right now?
The four blessings from purging oneself:
1. A vessel of honor
2. Sanctification
3. Be useful and profitable for the Master’s kingdom
4. Prepared for every good work
Picture this analogy in the shop of a blacksmith there are three types of tools
1. Tools on the junk pile: outdated broken, dull, rusty, etc.
2. Tools of the anvil (a heavy iron block on which metal work is laid for beating)
These are the ones that are melted down, hot, moldable, changeable, etc.
3. Tools of usefulness: sharpened, primed, defined, and mobile. These tools lie ready in the blacksmith’s tool chest, available to their master, fulfilling their calling
We have all been somewhere in the blacksmith’s shop. We are either on the scrap pile, on the anvil, or in the Master’s hands, or in the tool chest (Some of us have been in all three.) From the shelves to the workbench, from the water to the fire. I’m sure we can all imagine ourselves somewhere in this picture. The rubbish pile of broken tools, the anvil of recasting, and the hands of the Master, it’s a simultaneously joyful and painful voyage. And for those of us who make the journey, who leave the heap and enter the fire, dare to be pounded on God’s anvil, and doggedly seek to discover your own purpose-take courage, for you await the privilege of being called “God’s own chosen instruments.”
For God to be able to use us as vessels, we must be empty, clean, and available. He will take us and fill us and use us for His glory. But if we are filled with sin or defiled by disobedience, He will first have to purge us; and that might not be an enjoyable experience. In the “great house” of the professing church, there are true believers and false. We must exercise spiritual discernment and be careful that we are vessels sanctified unto honor.
Moment of decision:
For just a brief moment I want all of you to close your eyes, no peeking. I want to ask you a couple of questions, these are totally anonymous no body is looking but me and God,
• Is there something hindering your relationship with God right now, if so simply raise your hand and put it back down,
• Do you feel the need to profess and live out the duties of a born again, bible believing Christian, and you are not doing them right now, if so simply raise and lower your hand.
• If Jesus were to come back today are you 100% that you would go back and be with Him, if you cannot say yes or you are unsure simply raise your hand.
• Are you in the place you desire to be in the Lord, if you said no simply raise your hand and lower it again.
• Is there more you could do to be closer to Christ, if yes simply raise and lower your hand.
• Are you willing and ready to make a commitment to Christ to at least to TRY to do better? Raise and lower your hand if you are willing to try to do better.
Now just for a few moments while I pray focus on one thing that is hindering your immediate progress to grow in Christ Jesus. (Pray)
Now focus quickly on the things/ways it is going to take you to remove that burden out of your life, to grow in Christ Jesus! Now repeat after me I can -- do --all things-- through Christ --which strengthens—me! Visualize it this time as we say it, believe it this time as we say it, and finally proclaim victory in Christ this time as we say it!
