0964 Mk.7.1-13 Truth Over Tradition
Notes
Transcript
Q. What is authority?
One def is this: “The power to enforce laws, exact obedience, command, determine, or judge”.
Authority is usually not liked because it cuts across the grain of self-determination
We like being our own boss & we don’t like submitting to someone else
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One of the blessings of having been a building inspector is that it taught me the value of authority
Authority is something I didn’t quite understand and I would say that most people don’t understand it well - apart from the obvious fact - of what you are or are not allowed to do
I would go onto a job site & most builders would think that whatever I said went
That is because they saw ME as the authority
But little did most of them know that I was not the authority
Authority resided in the laws that were passed by the Qld parliament
My role was to see whether the builder had complied with that law - with that authority
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One thing was important - I could not determine, for myself, whether a builder constructed correctly, one way or another
In other words, if I had a preference for the way something was done - that was irrelevant, because I did not make the laws - the Qld government did
So I had to be aware &, be careful, that I did not impose my own bias/preference upon the builder
My authority came from only one place - the building regulations that were passed by the Qld government
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Now this was very helpful for me in understanding the role of the God-inspired Scriptures in life
Often we find there are multiple authorities, in life, that we can give ear to
Mum & Dad; police, government; subliminally, even clothing styles
I would get in trouble if I dare left my shirt hangout & not tucked in to my trousers - tucking shirts in is mostly out of fashion now in the broader community
But it becomes an authority because I mostly obey the trends that are being set - & so do you - otherwise you stand out like a sore thumb & are, perhaps, laughed at by the younger generation
The point is that, whatever you submit to & follow, to that degree, has become an authority figure in your life
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Philosophy & ideologies that are present in our culture also have an impact on people because they become an authority
When I was involved in a youth group some 40 years ago, the young people would describe something really good with these words: “Oh, that’s filth” - meaning that its really good?
Admittedly, it was more the surfing culture
But why describe it as filth? Simple: we were moving as a culture, philosophically, to a postmodern culture where the traditional forms of knowing something were reversed
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You could say, in a way, it was about calling good, evil & evil, good
The Postmodern world turned upside-down the notion of truth
To a postmodernist, there is no truth - truth is what you make it
It’s not fixed & immutable, but what each individual says it is
This plays out in gender theory - I was born a man, but feel like I should have been a woman - therefore, I will identify as a woman & no one has the right to tell me differently
Immutable truth is irrelevant in favour of my truth - that’s where our culture sits
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Another authority is tradition
We have family traditions but we also have church traditions
Many of these traditions have become denominations as church’s compete with each other for customers - oh, sorry, Freudian slip - I mean congregants
Sadly, the church of history has not had a good history in regard to accepting the true authority - which is the word of the living God
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Tradition as we understand it, is the way we go about church
Whether that be a certain styles of worship, beliefs or practises
But such traditions also involve interpretations of the Scriptures which affects the practice of the churches - for example there’s infant baptism, fasting, speaking in tongues, church creeds & councils
They also involve adding additional extras to the Scriptures - often being modelled upon OT practises, festivals, Sabbaths - Maundy Thursday, Lent etc..
Without wanting to sound sacrilegious, extras would include church services on special days including Christmas day & Easter - this is apart from whether the days actual coincide perfectly with the event or not
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Now I’m not saying that meeting on those special days are wrong
What I am saying is this: Do we understand these special days as Scripture or human tradition - a word of command from God, or are they tradition?
It’s easily solved - show me in Scripture where we are commanded to meet on these special days - you won’t find any
My point is, in regard to authority, we need to understand the important difference between Scripture & tradition
Fine, you may get the difference, but do new comers into the church community & young people get the difference?
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I remember the 2nd church I pastored where an elderly gentleman stopped coming to our church gatherings on Sundays because we moved from a church building to a community centre
We had no running water in this old, worn out & broken down Lutheran church building
Furthermore, our toilet was an outhouse out the back & I used to have to empty & service the porta potty each week - not a great way to retain new families!
The community centre was a way better option
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However, for this gentleman, he confused his faith with the type of building associated with his faith &, sadly, could no longer join with the church
So important that, with young people & newbies in the faith, that we make a clear distinction between what is the word & commands of God, & what are the human traditions of man
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Here in 1 Cor. 11:2 I’d like to clear up one element of importance as we consider tradition - Paul praises the church for keeping its traditions
2 Now I praise you because you remember me in everything and hold firmly to the traditions, just as I delivered them to you.
Here, Paul is NOT talking about church customs & practises, but the teachings of Christ
Traditions in this passage mean literally, that “which is handed down”
So I handed down the teaching of Scripture to my kids
Paul is praising the Corinthians for holding fast to what he handed down - that is, the Gospel of Jesus Christ & how one is to live in light of the Gospel
1 Now I make known to you, brethren, the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received, in which also you stand, 2 by which also you are saved, if you hold fast the word which I preached to you, unless you believed in vain. 3 For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, 4 and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, 5 and that He appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve.
Paul is not talking about the traditions of man, but passing on the word of the Gospel as the God-inspired “tradition”
1. Neglecting the Weightier Provisions
1. Neglecting the Weightier Provisions
We often talk about the Pharisees as being legalists - meaning that they are all about rules & not about compassion, mercy, love & the like
When we understand Israel’s history - their many failures & God’s judgements upon them in their history - we discover that they then became obsessed with the law - to prevent God’s judgements
But this obsession was also driven by the desire for power & they did indeed have power over the people
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What they ended up doing was extracting from God’s word more than what was there
They were reading between the lines & were extending & interpreting laws loosely
Around the Sabbath day regulation that said “you shall not do any work on the Sabbath”, the Rabbi’s over the centuries had amassed hundreds of clarifying comments & specifics that the people were to obey
These precepts are called “the traditions of the elders”, but as Jesus made clear was only the “tradition of men” - & no wonder Jesus said...
28 “Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest.
The “tradition of the elders” placed an unimaginable burden on the faithful
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- According to the Jewish Talmud you broke the Sabbath if, for example:
* Women were to look in a mirror on the Sabbath - as they may spot a grey hair & be tempted to pluck it out (which they considered was work) - & there were rules around which type of mirrors were or were not acceptable
* you broke the Sabbath if you were to take a bath since you might splash water on the floor and accidentally wash it - which would, of course, end up being work
Do you know that even today elevators in Israel will, on the Sabbath, automatically stop on every floor up & down, so those in the elevators don’t break the Sabbath by pushing a button
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Q. What does “tradition of the elders” mean?
Well it is not to be equated with the true meaning & intent of Mosaic law
What it means is the Mosaic law, as interpreted by the Rabbis, and applying those interpretations/clarifications to the people, as if those were law
23 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint and dill and cummin, and have neglected the weightier provisions of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness; but these are the things you should have done without neglecting the others. 24 “You blind guides, who strain out a gnat and swallow a camel!
They have the law all out of perspective
“What does this conception of the law reveal? Evidently this: the law has become separated from God and has become man’s real authority. It no longer leads to a meeting with God, but rather frustrates it.”
— G. Bornkamm
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Unfortunately, the church is not off the hook on this either
Because we have formed our traditions & they have become set in stone & become denominations
Q. What would Jesus say about that, I wonder?
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In this passage today, the Pharisees & scribes are concerned that Jesus is letting His disciples eat with unwashed hands
In other words, this is flying in the face of the “tradition of the elders”
But the actual law of Moses did not require this practise - the Rabbi’s extended it from the requirement of the priests to wash their hands & feet before entering the Tabernacle
The Scribes & Pharisees extended this to Jesus’ disciples who they believed were required to wash their hands before eating their meals
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Also, this is not about health - we wash our hands for cleanliness sake - but this hand washing was religious in nature
It was done for ritual/spiritual purification - & they obsessed over it & applied it to the whole population
6 And He said to them, “Rightly did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written: ‘This people honors Me with their lips, But their heart is far away from Me. 7 ‘But in vain do they worship Me, Teaching as doctrines the precepts of men.’ 8 “Neglecting the commandment of God, you hold to the tradition of men.”
This is a serious point
This is how people can lose their way - when they exchange the words of the living God for even good ideas or practises, but then it causes a bad ending
The reason for this problem is because the main thing - “living by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God” - is no longer the main thing
Furthermore, you can attempt to live by every word that proceeds from the mouth of the Lord, but not understand the heart of the Scriptures - the heart of God
This is why, according to Jesus, the “tradition of the elders”, is nothing more than the “tradition of men”
2. Where Tradition Invalidates the Word of God
2. Where Tradition Invalidates the Word of God
According to Rabbi Shammai, of the 3rd C. AD, Moses gave 365 prohibitions and 248 positive commands in the law. David he says in Psalm 15 reduced them to eleven; Isaiah in Isaiah 33:14–15 made them six; Micah 6:8 binds them into three; and Habakkuk 2:4 reduces them all to one, namely.” The righteous shall live by faith.”
It seems he was on to something here
One thing that we need to learn is that God is relational
The first & greatest commandment says Jesus: “Love the Lord your God with all you heart, soul, mind & strength”
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One of the handy ways to avoid this relationship stuff, but still be able to feel that you are going to be ok with God is to make an outward show of righteousness
In other words, the invisible inward cleansing & rightness with God is substituted by an outward show of being clean & right with God
13 Then the Lord said, “Because this people draw near with their words And honor Me with their lip service, But they remove their hearts far from Me, And their reverence for Me consists of tradition learned by rote,
Rote - repetition - going through the motions without being engaged
“They remove their hearts far from Me”
Remember the heart is the real you & where the real you exists
When a person’s life is not right in the core of a their being, they can manage to hide it from people & sometimes, that can be done by masking it with the appearance of righteousness
But it can’t be hidden from God, nor from ourselves because we intuitively know what’s happening in our heart, even though we often live in denial
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God wants sincerity in the inner core (the heart) of our being
17 The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; A broken and a contrite heart, O God, You will not despise.
Unfortunately, the person that seeks to hide his heart from God, although its not possible, is not understanding the compassionate heart of God for those who are sincere & honest with Him
10 Create in me a clean heart, O God, And renew a steadfast spirit within me.
The problem for the Scribes & Pharisees is that their outward piety was a lie
Because in their obsession with the law, they had not surrendered themselves to God
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Let’s look at what Jesus says further about their traditions
In respect to honouring your father & mother
God was seriously on to this one because of the vital relational aspect involved here - not only between us & our earthly parents but also, in that it reflects our relationship with our heavenly Father
9 ‘If there is anyone who curses his father or his mother, he shall surely be put to death; he has cursed his father or his mother, his bloodguiltiness is upon him.
Goodness me, a slip of the tongue in anger against Mum or Dad & you are dead
No, it’s not really like that
When we talk about cursing your parents, we generally are thinking of someone who is using vulgar language - swear words - at their parents
This law, however, has a very different meaning
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This is invoking the name of God - calling on God - to do harm to one’s parents
So, as an example, Peter denied that he knew Jesus & then confirmed his denial with an oath, declaring that he be cursed, or a curse be upon him, if he is lying
70 But again he denied it. And after a little while the bystanders were again saying to Peter, “Surely you are one of them, for you are a Galilean too.” 71 But he began to curse and swear, “I do not know this man you are talking about!”
He’s not swearing using vulgar language - that’s how we use the notion of curse & swear today
But Peter was making an oath - he was swearing an oath before God that he doesn’t know Jesus
With that oath, comes a curse from God that would rest on Peter if he was making a false statement
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In fact, Peter was lying - but ultimately, in making an oath & issuing a curse upon himself if he was lying, he expressed the greatest denial & betrayal you could ever make
But Jesus forgave Peter on the shores of Galilee when He asked him 3 times “do you love Me”, corresponding to Peter’s 3 fold denial he made of Jesus
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So to be clear, to curse your father & mother was to formally call on God to put curses on them - which is the ultimate evil done to one’s parents
Out of this commandment, Jesus points out the gravity of the relational concern God has for parents & children
How parents are of maximum importance to their children & how they are to not to dishonour them
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Again, because they have neglected the “weightier provisions” of the law - the more important provisions - they have substituted the relational aspects, for laws that allow them a power trip
That’s what happens when people emphasise laws for law sake & not look at the spirit behind the law
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I know this has been a bit technical - but to understand what Jesus is saying, we have to get to the background behind His statements
Corban here means offering - specifically an offering to God
Jews could dedicate an offering to God which would go into the temple treasury to be set aside & used exclusively for God’s service
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The Jewish historian, Josephus, wrote his works of history just after the fall of Jerusalem in 70 ad
He noted that Pontius Pilate raised “another” disturbance in Jerusalem by taking the Corban (saved up by the Jews) & using it to build Roman aquaducts that stretched from about Echuca to Bendigo
The Jews were greatly upset by this, since this money was dedicated &, to be used, exclusively for God
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The problem with the “tradition of the elders” is that this money, which could be withdrawn by the offerer, was nevertheless money now dedicated to God & hence could not be used to help ones parents
That money, that was offered, was now corban “sacred money” which had limits on what it could be used for & using it for parents was not a “sacred use” according to the tradition of the elders
If a son regretted giving the offering & making that money Corban, since he made an oath, that money was now sacred & even if he wanted to help his parents, the “tradition of the elders” would not let him
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Now it is true that vows had to be kept - relationally, we want people to honour their promises
But should we expect those promises to be honoured absolutely to the degree that it destroys relationships
Like, should Jephthah have honoured his stupid, rash vow & offered up his daughter as a burnt offering?
The point is, the “tradition of the elders” was not a faithful interpretation of the Scriptures, but a terrible distortion of them
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Remember how Jesus made that point about straining out a gnat & swallowing a camel
They focused so minutely on avoiding (straining out before they drank) the smallest of unclean creatures - a gnat/midge - & gave such over-powering emphasis to that, that Jesus said they were, in fact, swallowing a camel which is the largest of the unclean animals
They majored on the minors & minored on the majors!
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The “tradition of the elders” was nothing more than the “tradition of men”
Behind this appearance of good intent is Man, using & abusing, the word of God for his own purposes
These traditions ended up invalidating or as the ESV says, “making void” the word of God
This is a legal term used in the ancient world & it means to rob something of its legitimate authority
This is what the “tradition of the elders” has done
It has robbed the word of God of its true & purposeful authority
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So I come back to what I alluded to at the beginning
Q. What’s your ultimate authority?
Q. Is it the tradition of men or the word of the living God?
Obviously, it has to be the word of God understood correctly
But is it your authority for what you believe & how you live?
I hope that Jesus’ words today will help us clarify where our hearts lie & where our understanding ought to lie, in regard to man’s traditions & the true intent of God’s word