Do You Have a Fine Way of Rejecting God? (AM Sermon Notes)
GIST: Our problem is internal corruption, so any attempt to fix that by external means is ineffectual and doing so in the name of the Church is hypocrisy.
SCRIPTURE: Mark 7:1-23
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 properly, 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.) 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?” 6 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.”
9 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.”
14 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.” 17 And when he had entered the house and left the people, his disciples asked him about the parable. 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.”
It’s December. No month in this country is more steeped in tradition. And honestly, I love it! It’s my favorite time of the year. In fact, I tell people Merry Christmas all year long. It started a few years ago at school. I’d just tell my kids Merry Christmas at the end of each class, and when they’d give me a weird look, I’d just tell them Christmas a lifestyle and move on. Now, it’s started seeping into my everyday conversations, as well, and in some circles has almost entirely replaced the word “good bye”. That information may or may not have been relevant ☺, but it goes with my point: I love Christmas! And honestly, the truth behind Christmas, Jesus coming to earth to die for our sins, is what makes it so incredibly precious to me. However, I’d be lying if I said I don’t really enjoy all of the traditional aspects, as well. I love driving around seeing Christmas lights. I love listening to Christmas music...everywhere I go. I love pumpkin spiced lattes making their yearly appearances. I love family-get-togethers where people bundle up in ridiculous sweaters, and I wear a Christmas hat...because it’s what you do...but within five minutes the room is so packed that everyone is wishing they would have stuck with the short sleeves. I love sneaking around trying to surprise Melissa with a Christmas present (which is never easy...but I work very diligently on this!). I love watching my kid’s faces light up with the magic of the season. I could keep going. Andy Williams was right, ‘It’s the most wonderful time of the year!”
We have traditions here too. Tonight, we’re going to have our tree decorating service. Next week, we’re caroling. The week after that, we have the cantata and our Children’s Christmas program. The list goes on. These, too, are wonderful. But, none of these are necessary. None of these meet our deepest need or have any binding on our salvation. They’re nice traditions, but nothing more. And having them, as long as they point to Christ and not away from Him, is perfectly fine. Yet, as soon as what we do becomes more important than what Jesus has done we’re in the same boat as these Pharisees. Traditions can point to our Savior, but in themselves they cannot save. And that’s kind of the gist for today: Our problem is internal corruption, so any attempt to fix that by external means is ineffectual and doing so in the name of the Church is hypocrisy.
I. THE PROBLEM: INTERNAL CORRUPTION
Confrontation with the Scribes & Pharisees from Jerusalem. This passage begins in familiar fashion. Jesus’ fame is continuing to spread, and the truth about Him is starting is sink in with some, as well. We’ve already seen the religious leaders plotting against Him, and here it is again. Before, they complained about Jesus breaking the Sabbath laws which they had invented to “better keep the one prescribed by God”. Now, they’re back with the same song second verse. It’s worth noting that these are Pharisees and scribes from Jerusalem, the seat of religious authority. This is an intentional assault.
What’s they’re attack of choice? The disciples aren’t washing their hands. Now, at first glance through our western eyes, this almost seems like the Pharisee’s were just clean people. They’re like us. They washed their hands before they ate, and washed their dishes, and sanitized their furniture. I was never very “germ” conscious before I had kids, but I am now a changed man ☺, so get this. However, that’s not the issue here. This was about being ceremonially clean, not physically. See, the Pharisees had taken temple requirements for the priests and applied them to everyone--reasoning that if it was good for the priests to behave this way when entering the temple, it would be even better if we all behaved with the same reverence when doing everything. The thought was good; the result was not.
Like with the Sabbath laws, this led to volumes of detailed explanations of how and when to wash in order to be ceremonially clean. So, the issue with the disciples here is not that some of them had dirty hands and were eating, but some of them had defiled hands and were eating--meaning they had likely come in contact with a Gentile and did not go through ceremonial cleansing before eating and were therefore making themselves unclean. And the Pharisee’s call them on this asking why they do not hold to the “traditions of the elders”. We’re going to come back to that in a second because it’s really like a self-indictment, and Jesus jumps on that right away. But first, let’s look at how He responds to the heart of their accusation: you are making yourselves unclean by not obeying our laws.
Jesus Responds to the Heart of Their Accusation. To see this, we actually have to skip ahead to verses 14-23. We don’t know if this happens immediately after the confrontation with the scribes or not, but Mark clearly was inspired to place it in this order because of the connection. Jesus calls the crowds to Him and teaches them about the nature of sin. He makes reference to their ceremonial laws about eating and not eating certain foods. These laws were set up to show the Israelites the importance of living holy lives, and their need for a Savior who could cleanse them. They were symbols. When Jesus came, He fulfilled these, and here He illustrates that. I love how He clarifies this to the disciples. See, they had all grown up with these traditions, so when He said what and how you eat isn’t the issue, they were understandably confounded. Jesus isn’t easy on them, because, again, they should have picked up on this by now, but we can at least appreciate where they’re coming from. When they ask for clarification, Jesus says what you eat goes into your stomach, not your heart, and comes out “into the latrine” (I hope you noticed that in the footnote ☺). It’s physical. It might not be good for you, but it’s not the real issue. The real issue is that your heart is already dirty. We are sinful by nature, from birth. We don’t somehow become sinful because of things we do or our surroundings; it’s our default state.
If I roll around in the mud all day, I’m dirty. Changing the oil in my lawn mower, or cutting the grass when I get home won’t make the situation any better...but they aren’t the root cause of the problem either. In fact, simply avoiding doing these activities won’t make me clean. If you’re covered in mud, you need hosed off and a good scrubbing. Simply not doing other dirty things won’t cut it.
Now, that’s not to say we should just do whatever we want because we’re already sinful. That’s not the point. The point is the issue is far deeper than external behaviors. We sin because we’re sinners at heart. This is why we need Jesus. Only He can take care of the root problem.
II. THE PROBLEM WITH THEIR SOLUTION: INEFFECTUAL HYPOCRISY
Jesus’ Immediate Response Addressed Their Immediate Need. I know we’re taking this in backward order here, but seeing the heart of our need really frames the issue here. When the Pharisees accuse the disciples of becoming unclean by breaking their laws, Jesus cuts to the problem rooted in their accusation. Jesus knows their hearts and gets straight to the real point; they aren’t actually concerned with purity, but with following their rules. Like I mentioned before, they basically admitted it themselves because they accused the disciples of breaking the traditions of the elders., not the Old Testament law.
Traditions Trumping Truth. In our current environment the word “trumping” brings up pictures it wouldn’t have even a couple years ago, but it was still the best word to use here (not least because it allowed for that sweet alliteration ☺). Not only does Jesus point out their error, but it puts it in no uncertain terms...and repeats it...four times☺. Look at what He says in verses 6-9 and 13:
6 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.”
9 And he said to them, “You have a fine way of rejecting the commandment of God in order to establish your tradition!
...13 thus making void the word of God by your tradition that you have handed down. And many such things you do.”
The problem? They are claiming to serve God, but they’re actually serving themselves. Man, there is so much that could be said here. But let’s summarize it with two points.
1) An External Fix for an Internal Problem Won’t Work. Though they’re doing this under the guise of piety, they’re ignoring the real problem (sin) and proscribing the wrong solution. If your car is missing an engine, it really doesn’t matter how diligent you are about getting oil changes and tire rotations! The car won’t run. If you have a broken arm, popping a cough drop won’t really help. They were so concerned with doing things that they missed out on both the need and the solution--who, by the way, was standing right in front of them.
2) Teaching Tradition over God’s Word is a Fine Way of Rejecting God. That line from verse 9 really struck me this week, which is why it became my title for this sermon. Jesus doesn’t leave them with ‘you’re missing out on the real issue here’: He takes it further and says, ‘you’re making the issue even worse because you’re outright rejecting the truth!’. Not only were they focusing on the wrong things, they were emphasizing these over God’s Word. That is, they were replacing the Word of God with their traditions. That’s why He calls them hypocrites. They were falsely accusing the disciples of doing something of which they were actually guilty. He gives one example here, but tells us there are many.
The example provided has to do with “Corban”. This wasn’t an evil tradition at first. It was a way of financially giving to God. However, what it had become was a way for people to break the actual command of God to love and care for their parents. See, if they declared something Corban, it wasn’t given to God right away. They still got to use it until they died. Basically, it was a deferred giving plan. So, even though they could still benefit from the money and property, if a parent came looking for help, they could just say, “Sorry, I can’t give you anything, that money is already designated for God”. To make matters worse, even if they had a change of heart, the Pharisees had trapped them into it. Why? Because giving money to God meant giving it over to the religious establishment. These Corban gifts came to them...and they didn’t want to miss out on the money. Their traditions were beneficial to them; they looked good; they even seemed reasonable (what’s wrong with giving your property to God?); but at their core they rejected God and His Word in favor of the teachings of sinful men. Requiring these traditions was teaching others to reject God’s Word. In the sermon on the mount, Jesus had a few words to say about this, as well:
17 “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. 18 For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished. 19 Therefore whoever relaxes one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. 20 For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. (Matthew 5:17-20)
Never is a serious condemnation.
TAKEAWAYS
1. Recognize your problem: Sin.
Look at the list from 21-23. Look familiar? We could camp out here for a long time, but let’s just say this for now: corruption is not external. Sometimes we spend a lot of time worrying about the terrible influences in this world. These aren’t good. They aren’t helpful. But all those people’s sin isn’t the biggest issue. The issue is that at the heart we are all sinful. No external fix can fix this world because the problem isn’t external.
2. Love God with your whole heart, not just your lips.
Don’t try to fix your internal problem with external traditions. I think as Protestants we have a knee jerk reaction to hearing teachings on traditions. Maybe you’re not like me on this, but there seems to be this default assumption that this isn’t a problem for us. We broke away from religious traditionalism, right? So we can read passages like this and just give a token “Amen!”...and move on...because we’re already good here. That attitude in itself should concern us. I want you to take just a second to picture what a Christian life looks like. What are the requirements? How should they dress? What political party should they support? What approach should they take to educating their kids? Where do they work? Do they all work, or are some supposed to stay home? Now, where does the Bible layout those requirements? Do you see where I’m getting at here. There are things that are good, and there are things that are necessary. There is a wide range of modest dress, educational practices, and family structures which honor God and His Word. What does God call us to? Repent, Believe, Serve. Salvation is about becoming more like Jesus...not more like us. If we really love Him, He will be our priority in practice too.
3. Take His Word Seriously.
Don’t let external traditions supersede God’s Word. The Pharisees let what they wanted become more important than what God’s Word actually said. We’re in danger of doing the same. When popular culture opposes God’s Word, do we reinterpret it to accommodate our sin and stay in the good graces of our society, or do we stand unwaveringly on His truth--despite the cost?
There are some precious traditions this time of the year. Praise God for those which point us to Jesus. Run as fast as you can from those which point us...to us.
Our problem is internal corruption, so any attempt to fix that by external means is ineffectual and doing so in the name of the Church is hypocrisy.
No comments:
Post a Comment