Verses 5-7, "Then the Pharisees and scribes asked Him, 'Why do Your disciples not walk according to the tradition of the elders, but eat bread with unwashed hands?' He answered and 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. And in vain they worship Me, Teaching as doctrines the commandments of men." ' " The religious leaders of the day had already closed off their minds to Jesus and were really just looking to find fault with Him and reason to publicly discredit His ministry. A big issue for them was that Jesus would not respect their position and authority, and would not follow their man made traditions. What's worse is that the accusative were not that He didn't follow God's word, but rather their traditions were the standard of measure they used.
What is the standard of measure used in churches today? There seem to be lots of rules and protocols to follow. If you stay in one place long enough, you might even see those changing in order to better suit the ones making the rules in the first place. The counsel that people in the church receive is tainted by the one giving it, allowing them to have influence over the outcome. Is it really any different than the Pharisees? Consistently following the word of God is the answer. Hebrews 13:8, "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever." Therefore we don't need to keep reinventing the church culture and the rules for its operation in order to reach new people. The commandments of God have not changed and you would be wise to follow them. Furthermore, it doesn't take special talent to give good counsel if you simply point people to the word of God. Churches that control who you talk to make me wonder what bad advice they are trapping people into. Better yet, read the word yourself and do what it says!
Verses 18-23, "So He said to them, 'Are you thus without understanding also? Do you not perceive that whatever enters a man from outside cannot defile him, because it does not enter his heart but his stomach, and is eliminated, thus purifying all foods?' And He said, 'What comes out of a man, that defiles a man. For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lewdness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness. All these evil things come from within and defile a man.' ” Sin is not something like food that you are polluted by from the outside, it is choice! That choice you make flows from an inward heart condition. James 1:14-15, "But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed. Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death." You can point the finger and blame others, or justify your sin choices, but it doesn't remove your guilt and it reveals where your heart is truly at. It is possible to hear without truly hearing and understanding. Letting the word affect you and acting on it, is the only way to demonstrate that your faith is genuine.
Mark 7:3, 5-9, 13
ReplyDeleteThe scribes and pharisees saw Jesus's disciples eating bread with unwashed hands."For the Pharisees and all the Jews do not eat unless they wash their hands in a special way, holding the tradition of the elders. Then the Pharisees and scribes asked Him, “Why do Your disciples not walk according to the tradition of the elders, but eat bread with unwashed hands?” they were more concerned that the disciples were breaking the traditions of men. Jesus made it very clear that the traditions of men are useless and what is important ifls following the will of God.
"He answered and 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. And in vain they worship Me, Teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’ For laying aside the commandment of God, you hold the tradition of men —the washing of pitchers and cups, and many other such things you do.” these men are far more concerned with following all of these traditions then following God. They base themselves off of following these traditions and lay aside the commandments of God. They teach others men's commandments and not God's commandments. They think they are so righteous for following all of these rules, but these traditions are useless. God doesn't care about all of the man made traditions. He wants men to follow His rules and commandments.
"He said to them, “ All too well you reject the commandment of God, that you may keep your tradition. making the word of God of no effect through your tradition which you have handed down. And many such things you do.” These men follow traditions of men over following God. They put these man made traditions above the commandments of God. They think they are so spiritual for having all of these rituals and laws, but their heart is so far from God.
God doesn't want us to follow all the man made traditions today. He wants us to focus on pleasing Him and following Him. Christmas, for example, is a man made tradition. No where in the bible does it say that christmas needs to be celebrated, but so many Christians get wrapped up in this holiday and focus so much on it. When you actually look at the origins, it is gross and evil. We need to stick to God's word and obeying Him instead of trying to obey all of these man made traditions.
When He had called all the multitude to Himself, He said to them, "Hear Me, everyone and understand: There is nothing that enters a man from outside which can defile him; but the things which come out of him, those are the things that defile a man. If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear!" When He had entered a house away from the crowd, His disciples asked Him concerning the parable. So He said to them, "Are you thus without understanding also? Do you not perceive that whatever enters a man from outside cannot defile him, because it does not enter his heart but his stomach, and is eliminated, thus purifying all foods? And He said, "What comes out of a man, that defiles a man. For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lewdness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness. All these evil things come from within and defile a man." Mark 7:14-23
ReplyDeleteJesus again is calling out the radical traditions of the Pharisees by telling them that it is not what a man puts into himself that is unclean. It is what come out of him. The matters of the heart is what causes separation from the Lord. Not whether we have washed our hands correctly or killed and animal according to the Mosaic law. What we are putting into our bodies on a spiritual level. Feeding from the meat of the word is what cleanses our hearts and lives from unclean things. God is more concerned with what we are allowing to defile us spiritually. What are we putting before Him in our lives. What world garbage are we allowing to take control over or lives. This can be a fine line. Anything that can be a potential idol in our lives can be considered spiritual defilement. Putting on the full armor of the Lord, abstaining from what we know distracts us and living obediently before the Lord is what will sustain a close walk with Him. He goes before us and stands behind. He is our fortress our protection. All that is done in secret comes to the light for our growth and pruning.