“1 Now when the Pharisees and some of the scribes who had come from Jerusalem gathered around him, 2 they noticed that some of his disciples were eating with defiled hands, that is, without washing them. 3 (For the Pharisees, and all the Jews, do not eat unless they wash their hands, thus observing the tradition of the elders, 4 and they do not eat anything from the market unless they wash, and there are also many other traditions that they observe: the washing of cups and pots and bronze kettles and beds.) 5 So 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 He said to them, “Isaiah prophesied rightly about you hypocrites, as it is written,
‘This people honors me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me;
7 in vain do they worship me, teaching human precepts as doctrines.’
8 “You abandon the commandment of God and hold to human tradition.”
9 Then he said to them, “You have a fine way of rejecting the commandment of God in order to keep your tradition! 10 For Moses said, ‘Honor your father and your mother,’ and, ‘Whoever speaks evil of father or mother must surely die.’ 11 But you say that if anyone tells father or mother, ‘Whatever support you might have had from me is Corban’ (that is, an offering to God), 12 then you no longer permit doing anything for a father or mother, 13 thus nullifying the word of God through your tradition that you have handed on. And you do many things like this” Mark 7:1-13.
Here Mark is focusing on a controversy about the interpretation and practice of Judaism by Jesus and His followers. The ritual washing of hands and cooking utensils were part of the purity laws of Jews. Now in Christianity there has always been a debate about the place of “Scripture” and “Tradition”. Some churches value “Tradition” more than “Scripture”; other churches value “Scripture” more than “Tradition.” In today’s story we see the Pharisees valuing “customs” more than “doctrine”.
But I have always felt that these discussions come down to this: Who speaks for God today? In the Roman Catholic Church, the Bishops and Pope have the final say about who speaks for God. In the Protestant churches the Scriptures have the final say about who speaks for God.
In today’s story, Jesus speaks a knock-you-over argument for keeping the Scriptures, not human traditions. Listen again to the words of Jesus to the scribes and Pharisees: “You have a fine way of rejecting the commandment of God in order to keep your tradition” verse 9! What we also see in today’s story we also see in our present-day arguments over church and state, or Scripture and tradition: Often the arguments and discussions are influenced by political dimensions. Today, then, we are learning about discernment as a part of our faith.
Take time and ask God to bless you with discernment regarding the changes we see taking place in our government and in our world. And be honest with yourselves, are you influenced by the Gospel more than the political dimensions? Or are you influenced by your political beliefs more than the Word of God?
Pray about this!
Lord Jesus Christ, Son of the Living God, have mercy on me a sinner.
From the Scriptures:
“See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ” Colossians 2:8.
“Jesus answered them, ‘And why do you break the commandment of God for the sake of your tradition’” Matthew 15:3?
“Now I commend you because you remember me in everything and maintain the traditions even as I delivered them to you” 1 Corinthians 11:2.
Jesus said: “So for the sake of your tradition you have made void the word of God” Matthew 15:6.
“Preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching. For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths”
2 Timothy 4:2-4.
“Hear the word that the Lord speaks to you, O house of Israel. Thus says the Lord: ‘Learn not the way of the nations, nor be dismayed at the signs of the heavens because the nations are dismayed at them, for the customs of the peoples are vanity. A tree from the forest is cut down and worked with an axe by the hands of a craftsman. They decorate it with silver and gold; they fasten it with hammer and nails so that it cannot move. Their idols are like scarecrows in a cucumber field, and they cannot speak; they have to be carried, for they cannot walk. Do not be afraid of them, for they cannot do evil, neither is it in them to do good’” Jeremiah 10:1-5.
“As for those who are weak in faith, welcome them, but not to quarrel over their opinions” Romans 14:1.
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