Full Sermon Are Traditions More Important to You Than God’s Word? based on Mark 7:1-13

Let us pray: Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in Your sight, O Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer. Amen.

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

I. Washing of hands today. If you are like me when you use a public restroom at some restaurant, you usually see a sign in that restroom by the sink. The sign reads something like: All employees must wash their hands before returning to work. I usually wash my hands before leaving a restroom. I heard something on the radio a few weeks ago about something most people do not do. According to some survey, most people do not wash their hands before they leave a restroom. I do not know if the midwestern part of the US is different than other parts of the country, but most people usually wash their hands when I am in a public restroom. There are some that go out of the restroom with unwashed hands though that I notice.

Washing your hands before you eat is something a lot of parents tell their children to do. Grandparents also tell their grandchildren to wash their hands before they eat. Reluctantly most children and grandchildren do wash their hands before they eat. We are told that germs and disease do not spread as easily if people wash their hands regularly. When Mary and I took a 3-day cruise to Alaska a few years ago, we were told to use hand sanitizers before and after eating our meals to prevent widespread illness on the cruise ship. During the year 2020 we were reminded again and again to wash our hands to prevent the spread of Covid.

II. Read Mark 7:1-2, 5 and comment. The Pharisees and scribes from Jerusalem did not think about germs spreading, but they became upset about the disciples of Jesus failing to wash their hands. Mark 7:1-2, 5 states, “Now when the Pharisees gathered to (Jesus), with some of the scribes who had come from Jerusalem, they saw that some of his disciples ate with hands that were defiled, that is, unwashed. … 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?”

Not only did the Pharisees and other religious leaders have manmade rules about washing hands before eating, but they also had rules about washing cups and pots and copper vessels and even dining couches. The washing of dining couches has been hard for readers of the Bible to understand ever since. Did they place dining couches in the water or sprinkle them with water? We do not know for sure. But they had their manmade customs and traditions to uphold.

III. Customs and traditions in public and at church today. We have our manmade customs and traditions that we like also. Most people stand at attention during the singing of the national anthem at sporting events in our nation. Caps are removed and hands are placed over hearts as a show of respect for our nation. We usually like our traditions and customs, even in worship services. Some people like to make the sign of the cross at different times in the worship service. Some people bow their heads when the name of the Holy Trinity of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit is used in the worship service. Some Lutheran church services have the pastor hand the offering plates to the ushers who collect the weekly offerings. Other Lutheran church services have an offering plate by the entrance to the sanctuary for people to place their offerings in before or after the worship service. Other Lutheran church services have the custom of singing a verse of the hymn, “We Give Thee But Thine Own,” during the service as a reminder of the reason for giving offerings. Those are a few of the differences just in the Tri-Parish. We do not want to consider ourselves any better than anyone else because we do or do not do certain things in the worship service, such as, make the sign of the cross.

IV. Traditions and customs and Jesus’ teaching moment in Mark 7:6-8. Manmade traditions and customs are not something to brag about. So, washing one’s hands before eating was a good thing to do, but not something that made anyone better than another person. Jesus looked at the hearts of the Pharisees and scribes who thought everyone should keep their manmade traditions and customs. Jesus saw this time as a teaching moment for the Pharisees who were proud of themselves and their traditions, but failed to keep God’s commandments.

According to Mark 7:6-8, Jesus 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; in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’ You leave the commandment of God and hold to the tradition of men.”

V. Human traditions or God’s Word? Are human traditions more important to you than God’s Word? Sometimes you honor Jesus with your lips and your hearts are far from honoring Jesus. In America many Christians go to the same movies and watch the same TV shows and read the same kinds of books as those who are not Christians. Sadly, many people cannot tell that Christians trust and honor the Lord by their behavior during the week.

This Gospel lesson does not give us Gospel good news about what God promises to those who believe in Jesus. This Gospel lesson from Mark 7 gives us a heavy dose of the Law that accuses us and makes us aware of our sins and wrongs and shortcomings in failing to keep God’s commandments.

VI. Washing our unwashed hands and God’s mercy in Baptism. Washing our defiled and unwashed hands is important for us today. We cannot make ourselves clean inwardly by washing our unwashed hands. We need to ask God for mercy for the times we have said the right things with our lips, but we have failed to follow through with our hearts which are too often far from honoring the Lord God. We need a different kind of washing in our lives. God washes our sins and wrongs away with the water and promises of Baptism. We daily drown the Old Adam and have the New Man in Christ arise as we remember our Baptism and the forgiveness that comes from that Baptism. God’s Spirit keeps us in the saving faith given to us freely in our Baptism as we trust in Jesus alone for mercy and peace with God. As we believe in Jesus as our only Hope and Savior, we are washed spiritually and look to God’s Word in the Bible for help rather than looking to manmade customs and traditions.

VII. Conclusion. Are human traditions more important to you than God’s Word? Do you have “unwashed hands” full of sin and wrongs? Ask God for mercy and He will forgive you anew. We cannot perfectly obey and keep God’s commandments, but Jesus did in our place. Jesus was killed on the cross and raised from the grave, so that by His wounds we are healed and pardoned for all of our sins and wrongs. The Bible includes many verses about the washing and forgiveness of God’s mercy. Here are a few: Psalm 51:7 points us to King David’s plea for God to forgive him with the words, “Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.” Revelation 7:14 gives us an interesting image of forgiveness: “These are the ones coming out of the great tribulation. They have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.” Acts 22:16 encourages people to do this, “Rise and be baptized and wash away your sins, calling on his name.” 1 Corinthians 6:11 reminds about our baptism, “But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.” In referring to the kind of love a husband is to have for his wife, Ephesians 5:25-26 in our second Bible lesson for today states, “Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word.”

The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.