INTENSE CHRISTIANITY (Lesson One) TRUTH Versus TRADITION

Transcription

1 INTENSE CHRISTIANITY (Lesson One) TRUTH Versus TRADITION MARK 7: 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. 14 And when he had called all the people unto him, he said unto them, Hearken unto me every one of you, and understand: 15 There is nothing from without a man, that entering into him can defile him: but the things which come out of him, those are they that defile the man. 16 If any man have ears to hear, let him hear. 17 And when he was entered into the house from the people, his disciples asked him concerning the parable. 18 And he saith unto them, Are ye so without understanding also? Do ye not perceive, that whatsoever thing from without entereth into the man, it cannot defile him; 19 Because it entereth not into his heart, but into the belly, and goeth out into the draught, purging all meats? 20 And he said, That which cometh out of the man, that defileth the man. 21 For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, 22 Thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lasciviousness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness: 23 All these evil things come from within, and defile the man. INTENSE CHRISTIANITY (Lesson 1) TRUTH Versus TRADITION Page 1 of 7

2 Mark begins his account of our Lord s confrontation with the Pharisees and scribes in chapter 7, with the word and, which is the translation of the Greek word kai. Regarding the use of kai at this point, Expositor s Bible Commentary says the following: kai connects what follows very loosely with what goes before: not temporal sequence but contrast between phenomenal popularity and hostility of the religious leaders of the people, in the view of the evangelist. It is apparent that the Jewish religious leaders decided to send some investigators from their headquarters in Jerusalem to check up on Jesus. The religious leaders certainly had every right to investigate the ministry of this new teacher Jesus, since Deuteronomy 13 indicates clearly that the religious life of the nation was under their supervision. They should however have come with open minds and hearts, seeking truth, instead of with critical minds, seeking heresy. They were now openly hostile toward the Lord and His ministry. It was not unusual for them to follow Him from place to place simply to watch for something to criticize. In this case, they accused the disciples of failing to practice the Jewish ceremonial washing. These washings had nothing to do with personal hygiene, nor were they commanded in the Law. They were a part of the tradition that the Scribes and Pharisees had given to the people, which according to Matthew 23:4, were a grievous burden to them. Mark advises us in verses 3-4 that, the Pharisees, and all the Jews, except they wash their hands oft, eat not, holding the tradition of the elders. 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. Mark had to explain these Jewish rituals because he was writing to a non-jewish audience. He informs us that the Jews and particularly the Pharisees, carefully held to the tradition of the elders. The word tradition is the translation of a Greek word which means to give into the hands of another, to deliver something to keep, use, take care of. A tradition, as it is used here, refers therefore to instructions handed down from one generation to another, which are to be observed by the succeeding generations. The word holding is the translation of a Greek word which means to keep carefully and faithfully. The traditions of the elders consisted of oral law originated by the Jewish religious leaders. They did not come from the Word of God. The Jewish religious leaders held that disobedience to the oral law of their fathers was mortal sin. Thus, a real issue is raised here between the Pharisees and Jesus. It was man-made ceremonial laws in conflict with the Word of God. Our Lord had already violated the Sabbath traditions (Mark 2:23-3:5), therefore the Jewish religious leaders were eager to accuse Him when they saw His disciples eating with defiled hands. The word Defiled is the translation of a Greek word which means the profane as contrasted to the hallowed or the sacred. It was therefore applied to that which was ceremonially unclean. The washing of the hands here was not for purposes of cleanliness, but for ceremonial reasons. Why would such a seemingly trivial matter upset these religious leaders? Why would they feel compelled to defend their ceremonial washings? For one thing, these leaders resented it when our Lord openly contested their authority. The practices which they sought to uphold had been handed down from the fathers and carried with them the authority of the ages! The Jews called tradition the fence of the Law. As far as they were concerned it was not the Law that protected the tradition, but the tradition that protected the Law! INTENSE CHRISTIANITY (Lesson 1) TRUTH Versus TRADITION Page 2 of 7

3 But something much more important was involved. Whenever the Jews practiced these washings, it was a reminder to them that they were special and that other people were unclean! If a Jew went to the marketplace to buy food, he might be defiled by a Gentile or a Samaritan, which was worse! This tradition had begun centuries before to remind the Jews that they were God s elect people and therefore had to keep themselves separated. However, a good reminder had gradually degenerated into an empty ritual, and the result was pride and religious isolation. These washings not only indicated a wrong attitude toward people, but they also conveyed a wrong idea of the nature of sin and personal holiness. Jesus made it clear in the Sermon on the Mount that true holiness is a matter of inward affection and attitude and not just outward actions and associations. The outwardly pious Pharisees thought they were holy because they obeyed the Law and avoided external defilement. Jesus taught that a person who obeys the Law externally can still break the Law in his heart, and that external defilement has little connection with the condition of the inner person. So the conflict was not only between God s truth and man s tradition, but also between two divergent views of sin and holiness. This confrontation was no incidental skirmish; it got to the very heart of true religious faith. Each new generation must engage in a similar conflict, for human nature is prone to hold on to worn-out, man-made traditions and ignore or disobey the living Word of God. It is true that some traditions are helpful as reminders of our rich heritage, but we must constantly beware lest tradition take the place of truth. It does us good to examine our church traditions in the light of God s Word and to be courageous enough to make changes when necessary. It is important for us to make a distinction between the use of the word tradition in our text and its use by the apostle Paul in 2 Thessalonians 2:15. In 2 Thessalonians 2:15 the word traditions refers to the body of doctrinal truth handed down from the Apostles to leaders in the church at a time when the New Testament scriptures did not exist as we know them. When Paul used the word traditions, he was not referring to man-made religious ideas that are not based on the Word of God. In fact Paul warned against them in Colossians 2:8, Our Lord, in the passage we are examining, was referring to man-made religious ideas which were not based on God s Word. It is sad to see Christians arguing over man s traditions and, at the same time, rejecting the simple truth of the Word of God. The next stage in the drama Mark 7:6-13, can be labeled condemnation. In this stage Jesus defends His disciples and exposes the hypocrisy of their accusers the Pharisees and scribes. Jesus begins with an appeal to Scripture. The first thing He did was to quote from Isaiah 29:13, and then He brought in the Law of Moses (Exodus 20:12; 21:17; Leviticus 20:9). How could the Pharisees argue with the Law and the Prophets? Jesus is careful to show that the distinction between righteousness and ritualism is a scriptural one, and not of his own invention. We do not know how much is lost in ignoring the written Word of God. Paul tells us that Every Scripture is God-breathed (given by His inspiration) and profitable for instruction, for reproof and conviction of sin, for correction of error and discipline in obedience, [and] for training in righteousness (in holy living, in conformity to God's will in thought, purpose, and action), So that the man of God may be complete and proficient, well fitted and thoroughly equipped for every good work (2 Timothy 3:16-17 The Amplified Bible). In denouncing the Jewish religious leaders Jesus referred to them as hypocrites. In the Greek the definite article is used by our Lord. He says literally, You, the hypocrites. The use of the definite article indicates that our Lord considered the Pharisees to be the arch-hypocrites, the outstanding ones. INTENSE CHRISTIANITY (Lesson 1) TRUTH Versus TRADITION Page 3 of 7

4 The word hypocrite comes from a Greek word which referred originally to one who judged from under the cover of a mask, thus, assuming an identity and a character which he was not. This person was the actor on the Greek stage, one who took the part of another. The Pharisees and scribes were religious actors, so to speak, in that they pretended to be on the outside, what they were not on the inside. Their worship and service was not motivated by love but by a desire to attain profit, to appear holy, and to increase their status. We may become hypocrites if we pay more attention to reputation than to character. We may become hypocrites if we carefully follow certain religious practices while allowing our hearts to remain distant from God. We may become hypocrites if we emphasize our own virtues but emphasize the sins and shortcomings of others. Our Lord said, Excellently and truly [so that there will be no room for blame] did Isaiah prophesy of you, the pretenders and hypocrites, as it stands written: These people [constantly] honor Me with their lips, but their hearts hold off and are far distant from Me. In vain (fruitlessly and without profit) do they worship Me, ordering and teaching [to be obeyed] as doctrines the commandments and precepts of men (The Amplified Bible). Jesus seems to be implying here that to teach the commandments of men as doctrine, i.e. to give to the commandments of men the same honour and pre-eminence that is given to God s Word, is to worship God in vain. The words In vain are the translation of a Greek word which means fruitlessly, without profit. The word speaks of the futility of an action, the failure to attain a proposed end. In defending their tradition, the Pharisees eroded their own characters and also the character of the Word of God. They were hypocrites, whose religious worship was practiced in vain. True worship must come from the heart, and it must be directed by God s truth, not man s personal ideas. What a tragedy that religious people would ignorantly practice their religion and become the worse for doing it! But they were not only destroying their character; they were also destroying the influence and authority of the very Word of God that they claimed to be defending. In verse 8-9, Jesus stated that the religious leaders were guilty of ignoring God s law in order to substitute their own tradition. He accused them of skillfully sidestepping God s law in order to hold on to their own tradition. The Pharisees were zealots when it came to observing their own traditions but they were not valiant for the truth (Jeremiah 9:3). They were charged by our Lord with thwarting the efficacy of that which has been laid down or prescribed by God, namely, His commandments. They had made God s Word null and void, and they had frustrated it in its soul-saving work. This they did in order to keep their own tradition. Let us note the tragic sequence: teaching their doctrines as God s Word (Mark 7:7); laying aside God s Word (Mark 7:8); rejecting God s Word (Mark 7:9); finally, robbing God s Word of its power (Mark 7:13). People who revere man-made traditions above the Word of God eventually lose the power of God s Word in their lives. No matter how devout they may appear, their hearts are far from God. History reveals that the Jewish religious leaders came to honour their traditions far above the Word of God. Rabbi Eleazer said, He who expounds the Scriptures in opposition to the tradition has no share in the world to come. INTENSE CHRISTIANITY (Lesson 1) TRUTH Versus TRADITION Page 4 of 7

5 The Mishna, a collection of Jewish traditions in the Talmud, records, It is a greater offense to teach anything contrary to the voice of the Rabbis than to contradict Scripture itself But before we criticize our Jewish friends, perhaps we should examine what influence the church fathers are having in our own Christian churches. We also may be guilty of replacing God s truth with man s traditions. The Pharisees added hundreds of their own rules and regulations to God s holy laws, and then they tried to force people to follow these rules. These men claimed to know God s will in every detail of life. Church leaders must exercise great caution in order to ensure that they do not cause confusion among believers by adding arbitrary rules and regulations to God s Word. It is idolatry to claim that your interpretation of God s Word is as important as God s Word itself. It is especially dangerous to set up unbiblical standards for others to follow. Instead, we should look to Christ for guidance about our own behaviour, and let him lead others in the details of their lives. We have set out below a contrast between God s truth man s traditions. Man s Tradition Outward Forms Bondage Non-essential Rules External Religiousness Neglect or Overshadow the Word of God God s Truth Inward Faith Liberty Fundamental Principles True Inward Holiness Exalts God s Word In verse 14 Jesus announced to the whole crowd that the source of holy living is from within, not from without. Actually, He was declaring null and void the entire Mosaic system of clean and unclean foods; but at that time, He did not explain this radical truth to the crowd. Later, He did explain it in private to His own disciples. But this declaration was surely understood by His enemies. They realized that He was breaking down one of the walls that separated the Jews from the Gentiles. Of course, the Law itself was not set aside until Jesus died on the cross, but the principle Jesus announced had been true throughout the ages. In every period of history, true holiness has always been a matter of the heart, a right relationship with God by faith. Ceremonial purity was a matter of external obedience to a law as evidence of that faith. Moses made it clear in Deuteronomy that God wanted love and obedience to come from the heart, and not be merely outward obedience to rules. Deuteronomy 6:4-6 Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God is one Lord: And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might. And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart. Deuteronomy 10:12-13 And now, Israel, what doth the Lord thy God require of thee, but to fear the Lord thy God, to walk in all his ways, and to love him, and to serve the Lord thy God with all thy heart and with all thy soul, To keep the commandments of the Lord, and his statutes, which I command thee this day for thy good? INTENSE CHRISTIANITY (Lesson 1) TRUTH Versus TRADITION Page 5 of 7

6 Deuteronomy 30:6 And the Lord thy God will circumcise thine heart, and the heart of thy seed, to love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, that thou mayest live. When our Lord spoke of that which enters a man, He was speaking of food. Food does not make a man ceremonially unclean, even though he may eat with ceremonially unwashed hands. When He spoke of that which comes out of a man which defiles him, He was referring to the extra-biblical teachings of the Pharisees. The extra-biblical teaching of the Jewish religious leaders was a source of defilement in the sense that their teaching was in direct opposition to God s Word. Their teaching was not hallowed or set apart for God or by His Word. Our Lord s explanation (Mark 7:17-23) was given privately to His disciples. In verse 18 He asked, Are ye so without understanding also? The idea is, You, my close followers also, as well as the multitude? It was a cause of disappointment to Jesus that His own chosen pupils were still under the spell of the theological tradition and outlook of the Jewish religious leaders. In his commentary, Ezra Palmer Gould, the Baptist and later, Episcopal, minister, says, They had been trained in Judaism, in which the distinction between clean and unclean is ingrained, and could not understand a statement abrogating this. Expositors Bible Commentary says, The idea throughout is that ethical defilement is alone of importance, all other defilement, whether the subject of Mosaic ceremonial legislation or of scribe tradition, a trivial affair. Jesus here is a critic of Moses as well as the scribes, and introduces a religious revolution. His explanation seems obvious to us, but we must remember that these twelve men had been brought up under the strict Jewish dietary code that categorized all foods as either clean or unclean. In fact, Acts 10:14 suggests that Peter kept a kosher household for years even after he had heard this truth. It is not easy to change our religious traditions. The inability of the disciples to readily grasp the teaching of Jesus was not intellectual but spiritual. The progressive life of the true Christian will itself solve many problems. The human heart is sinful and produces all manner of evil desires, thoughts, and actions, everything from murder to envy. Jesus had no illusions about human nature, as do some liberal theologians and humanistic teachers today. He realized that man is a sinner, unable to control or change his own nature; and that is why Jesus came to earth - to die for lost sinners. The Jewish dietary laws were given by God to teach His chosen people to make a difference between what was clean and what was unclean. (No doubt there were also some practical reasons involved, such as sanitation and health.) To disobey these laws was a matter of ceremonial defilement, and that was an external matter. Food ends up in the stomach, but sin begins in the heart. The food we eat is digested and the waste evacuated, but sin remains and it produces defilement and death. Jesus explained to the disciples that there is nothing from outside of a person that can pollute or corrupt him or her. Pollution and corruption originates from within out of the person s heart. It is my heart that is the fountain of evil; it is my heart, not my hands, that needs washing. The externally spotless legalist may harbour in their heart all manner of evil. It is a moral condition. The heart can defile all things. We must recognize that just as that which is outside of a person cannot defile the person, there is nothing from outside of a person that can cleanse him or her. INTENSE CHRISTIANITY (Lesson 1) TRUTH Versus TRADITION Page 6 of 7

7 Jesus traces evil to its hidden source. The heart, not the flesh, is the seat of pollution and corruption. The heart is the fountain which can defile God s good and pure gifts. What a contrast Jesus makes between a possible ceremonial uncleanness and the foulness of inner uncleanness! Material things cannot in themselves convey moral impurity. Even the excess in the use of the food, which destroys life, comes from within. We all recognize that the good things of God may be turned into occasions of evil, but it is more important for us to understand and appreciate that it is only the heart that can turn them so. Whatsoever is without the man cannot defile him, because it goes merely into his body, not into his heart and the heart, not the body, is the true man, the very man. In considering this we will perhaps begin to appreciate that we not only determine what sin is, but determine also what is not sin! From many yokes which the fathers were not able to bear Jesus Christ desires to set His people free! He desires to call us from child s play to serious work. He desires to call us from a mere adjustment of the externals; from a mere observance of rituals which have in themselves no moral significance; He exposes the true evil in the long list of evil things, of which the heart, not the flesh, is capable and directs us to seek the cleansing of our unholy hearts, that our lives, our whole man, may be clean also. The essential being of man is spiritual; the body is only the house in which he dwells. Purity or impurity must therefore be judged of from that standpoint. Christianity is not a matter of forms, ceremonies, or anything merely external; but of the heart. The thought and will must influence the outward action, habit, and life. Jesus implies in John 4:23-24 that spiritual religion is the only eternal religion: But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him. God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth. The rendering of the Message is beautiful: But the time is coming it has, in fact, come when what you re called will not matter and where you go to worship will not matter. It s who you are and the way you live that count before God. Your worship must engage your spirit in the pursuit of truth. That s the kind of people the Father is out looking for: those who are simply and honestly themselves before him in their worship. God is sheer being itself Spirit. Those who worship him must do it out of their very being, their spirits, their true selves, in adoration. INTENSE CHRISTIANITY (Lesson 1) TRUTH Versus TRADITION Page 7 of 7