When Religious Traditions Go Wrong MARK 7:1-13 (NKJV)

Transcription

1 Message for THE LORD'S DAY MORNING, September 23, 2018 Christian Hope Church of Christ, Plymouth, North Carolina by Reggie A. Braziel, Minister Message 29 in Making A Difference Sermon Series from the Gospel of Mark When Religious Traditions Go Wrong MARK 7:1-13 (NKJV) This morning as we return to our series of messages from the Gospel of Mark, I invite you to turn with me to Mark chapter seven. And follow along with me as I read verses MARK 7:1-13 (NKJV) 1 Then the Pharisees and some of the scribes came together to Him, having come from Jerusalem. 2 Now when they saw some of His disciples eat bread with defiled, that is, with unwashed hands, they found fault. 3 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. 4 When they come from the marketplace, they do not eat unless they wash. And there are many other things which they have received and hold, like the washing of cups, pitchers, copper vessels, and couches. 5 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? 6 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. 7 And in vain they worship Me, Teaching as doctrines the commandments of men. 8 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. 9 He said to them, All too well you reject the commandment of God, that you may keep your tradition. 10 For Moses said, Honor your father and your mother ; and, He who curses father or mother, let him be put to death. 11 But you say, If a man says to his father or mother, Whatever profit you might have received from me is Corban (that is, a gift to God), 12 then you no longer let him do anything for his father or his mother, 13 making the word of God of no effect through your tradition which you have handed down. And many such things you do.

2 I N T R O D U C T I O N For a few minutes this morning I would like for us to think about TRADITION. If you are like most people, you probably have lots of traditions in your life. Some have certain FAMILY TRADITIONS such as having a big family reunion once a year or having a special way your family celebrates birthdays. Perhaps some of you have A VACATION TRADITION. Maybe you have a certain place that you and your family like to go on vacation each year, and perhaps you even have a traditional time of the year when you take that vacation. And no doubt all of us have HOLIDAY TRADITIONS This is especially true at Christmas time. Perhaps you have a traditional way you decorate your house each year, and traditional foods you prepare for the holidays. And maybe those traditions have become so ingrained into your holiday celebration that Christmas just doesn't seem like Christmas if any of your traditions are left out. And we even have some CHURCH TRADITIONS. In fact, in just a little over a week we will be having our traditional fall Revival, followed by our traditional annual Homecoming the first Sunday in October. Our Chili Supper and Christmas Caroling in December has become an annual tradition. And we have our traditional Christmas cantata and Easter cantata each year.

3 For the most part traditions are a good thing! Traditions give us a sense of connection with family and friends. And traditions help us to stay connected to our past. And let's be honest; in a constantly changing world, traditions give us a sense of comfort and security. But what happens when traditions go wrong? More specifically, what happens When Religious Traditions Go Wrong? That is the issue the LORD addresses in today's scripture text. First of all, I would have you to note: I. Religious Traditions Are Wrong When We JUDGE Those Who Don't Observe Our TRADITIONS (vs. 1-5) Look once again at verses Then the Pharisees and some of the scribes came together to Him, having come from Jerusalem. 2 Now when they saw some of His disciples eat bread with defiled, that is, with unwashed hands, they found fault. 3 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. 4 When they come from the marketplace, they do not eat unless they wash. And there are many other things which they have received and hold, like the washing of cups, pitchers, copper vessels, and couches. 5 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?

4 1. It has been awhile since we have heard anything about the scribes and Pharisees. In fact, when we last heard anything about the scribes and Pharisees they were plotting with the Herodians to destroy JESUS. (Mark 3:6) 2. Now here in chapter seven the scribes and Pharisees emerge back on the scene. And these weren't just any local yokel scribes and Pharisees. These were the big guns from Jerusalem that had traveled seventy miles northward to Capernaum. Remember Jesus and His disciples have just returned to Capernaum after the Feeding of the Five Thousand on the other side of the sea. 3. Well the scribes and Pharisees are closely watching every move of Jesus and His disciples. They have Jesus and His men under twenty-four hour surveillance, hoping to catch them doing something...doing anything that violated their laws. 4. It didn't take long for them to get what they wanted. 2 Now when they saw some of His disciples eat bread with defiled, that is, with unwashed hands, they found fault. 3 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. 5. Note those words in verse 3, unless they wash their hands in a special way...

5 6. It is important to understand this wasn't a hygiene issue with the scribes and Pharisees, it was a religious issue... the disciples were violating one of their hundreds of religious traditions. Notice the emphasis on tradition throughout this passage. v. 3 the tradition of the elders. v. 5 the tradition of the elders. v. 8 the tradition of men 7. In all likelihood, the disciples had washed their hands before they ate. Even in those days with limited medical knowledge, people knew the importance of not handling food that went into their mouths with dirty hands. But what the scribes and Pharisees were judging the disciples for was that they didn't wash their hands right! They didn't wash their hands thoroughly enough. They didn't use the proper technique. Basically, they were condemning the disciples for not washing their hands in the same way they washed their hands.

6 8. To say the scribes and Pharisees were obsessive compulsive about washing their hands would be a gross understatement: They washed their hands before meals and after meals. They washed their hands after they awoke each morning and before they went to bed at night, and even after getting up from a nap. They also washed their hands after walking through the marketplace in case they accident- ally touched a Samaritan or a Gentile. And when we talk about washing the hands we're not talking about a quick rinse under a faucet and drying the hands with a towel. First they would point their fingers upward and have someone pour water over their hands. Then they turned their fingers downward and they would have water poured over the backs of their hands so the water would drain off the ends of their fingers. Then they would ball their hands into a fist (demonstrate) and they would use their fist to scrub every square inch from their finger tips all the way up to their elbows; then they would repeat the same procedure with the other fist. And finally they would submerge their hands and arms all the way up to the elbow under water before drying them with a purified towel. Can you imagine how many COLD MEALS they ate by the time they were done washing their hands?

7 Verse 4 tells us they were just as obsessive compulsive about the washing of their cups, their pitchers, their copper vessels, and even their couches. And all of this scrubbing and washing had absolutely nothing to do with hygiene or germs or bacteria. It had everything to do with keeping their religious traditions! It was all about being spiritually superior to those who didn't keep the traditions of the elders! 9. This is what the scribes and Pharisees were judging Jesus' disciples over. They were trying to force their traditions upon the disciples. 10. This is when religious traditions go awry! This is when religious traditions become sinful and unscriptural! Illustration I'll never forget something that happened several years ago in the Church where my brother-in-law was preaching in Indiana. It happened around Christmas time. They were preparing to have a special Christmas program. And on Friday night before the program they cleared all the furniture off of the platform and moved the communion table over to the side of the auditorium.

8 On Sunday morning, one of their more holy Church members saw that the communion table had been moved off to the side, and he went into a tirrade! That's not where the communion table is supposed to be! It is supposed to be right here in the center in front of the pulpit. And he began laying out those who had moved the communion table. TRADITIONALLY that is where the communion table sits in most Churches, and I emphasize TRADITIONALLY! The last time I checked my Bible there is no book, chapter, or verse that tells us where the communion table is supposed to sit. I mean seriously folks, would partaking of the Lord's Supper be any less meaningful or sacred if the communion table was sitting off to the side instead of right here in front of the pulpit? 11. Here's the point I want to make: There may not be anything necessarily wrong with having religious traditions, but when we start judging others who don't observe our religious traditions, that is when religious traditions go wrong!

9 The second thought we want to consider is this... II. Religious Traditions Are Wrong When We WORSHIP Our TRADITIONS More The LORD (v.6) 6 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. 1. The scribes and Pharisees were all about outward appearances. They were more concerned with having clean hands than they were with having clean hearts. 2. Do you see the hypocrisy in that? Jesus certainly saw it! They wouldn't think of eating a meal with unclean hands! That would not only be unsanitary, that would be unholy! So they scrubbed and scrubbed and scrubbed their hands to the bone! They cleaned their fingers...they cleaned their fingernails...they cleaned the palms of their hands and the backs of their hands...and they scrubbed their wrists and their forearms all the way up to their elbows! They worshiped their traditions! They had the cleanest hands in all of Israel! They were the GREATEST HAND-WASHERS IN THE WORLD!

10 3. By all outward appearances the scribes and Pharisees seemed to be the holiest, most righteous men in all of Israel. But what the LORD saw inside their hearts was the filth of hypocrisy, the filth of self-righteousness and pride, and the filth of lies and deception! 4. This is one of the dangers of obsessing over religious traditions. We can actually start worshiping our traditions more than we worship the Lord! If you want to see a fight break out in a Church just break one of the long time traditions of the Church. ILLUSTRATION: In one of my previous ministries we had an annual tradition of having an outdoor sunrise service each year at Easter time. Well one year on Easter morning it was cold, and raining, and I had a terrible cold, so I moved the sunrise service indoors. You would have thought I had ripped pages right out of the Bible. Some of the women laid into me as though I were some kind of heretic. I'm afraid they were worshiping the tradition more than they were worshiping the risen Savior that morning! And that is when religious traditions go wrong!

11 RELIGIOUS TRADITIONS ARE WRONG WHEN WE JUDGE THOSE WHO DON'T OBSERVE OUR TRADITIONS. RELIGIOUS TRADITIONS ARE WRONG WHEN WE WORSHIP OUR TRADITIONS MORE THAN THE LORD. And finally... III. Religious Traditions Are Wrong When We Make Our Traditions EQUAL To Or GREATER Than SCRIPTURE (vs. 7-13) 7 And in vain they worship Me, Teaching as doctrines the commandments of men. 8 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. 9 He said to them, All too well you reject the commandment of God, that you may keep your tradition. 10 For Moses said, Honor your father and your mother ; and, He who curses father or mother, let him be put to death. 11 But you say, If a man says to his father or mother, Whatever profit you might have received from me is Corban (that is, a gift to God), 12 then you no longer let him do anything for his father or his mother, 13 making the word of God of no effect through your tradition which you have handed down. And many such things you do. 1. You would have thought this issue of washing one's hands a certain way before eating came right from the holy pages of scripture. You would have thought these were the very words of Moses or one of the great prophets of Israel. But these rules and regulations about hand-washing didn't come from the word of God at all! They came from the word of man! This was man's doctrines. These were man-made rules!

12 2. The scribes and Pharisees valued their traditions over the word of God. And Jesus gives them a classic example to make His point. In vs Jesus reminds them that the Law of Moses requires them to honor their father and mother, and to show respect to their father and mother, and to support and help meet the needs of their father and mother. And to fail to keep that commandment would bring the death penalty. And Jesus reminded the scribes and Pharisees how they had conveniently skirted around that commandment by telling their parents, whatever profit you might have received from me is Corban-----that is a gift to God. 3. The scribes and Pharisees were so wrapped up in all their religious traditions and looking super spiritual on the outside that they would tell their own parents, Mom and Dad, I know you have needs...i know you could use some money and I know you're hungry and could use some food...and I would love to help you out, but you see I can't because I have devoted all my money to God! Do you get the picture here? The scribes and Pharisees wouldn't think of breaking their tradition of washing their hands before eating, that would be unthinkable! But yet they didn't bat an eye at disobeying the scriptural command to honor their father and mother!

13 4. Brothers and sisters, when we place a higher value on keeping our traditions than obeying the commands of God, we need to do some very deep soul-searching! ********************************************************************************* C O N C L U S I O N One day after school a young girl noticed that her mom was cutting off the ends of a pot roast before putting it in the oven to cook for dinner. She had seen her mom do this many times before but had never asked her why. So this time she asked and her mom replied, I don't know why I cut the ends off, but it s what my mom always did. Why don't you ask your Grandma? So the young girl called her grandmother on the phone and said, Grandma why do you cut the ends off the pot roast before cooking it? Her grandmother replied, I don't know. That's just the way my mom always cooked it. Why don't you ask her? ). ) So, the girl called her great grandmother, who was living in a nursing home and asked her the same question - why did you cut the ends off the pot roast before cooking it? And she did not say because it makes the meat juicier. She said, When I was first married we had a very small oven, and the only way I could get the pot roast to fit in the oven was to cut the ends off. Sometimes I wonder if we in the Church don't just hang on to old traditions because its what our parents, and our grandparents, and our great-parents did. May we never judge those who don't observe our religious traditions! May we never worship our religious traditions more than the LORD. And may we never make our religious traditions equal to...or greater than the scriptures!