Hope for Hypocrites, Like Me / Mark 7:1-13

Imagine that the worst behaved student at your school came up to you this week and asked, “Hey, can I come with you to church this Sunday?” How would you respond?

Would you tell them to dress nice?

Would you tell them to raise their hands during worship?

Maybe you’d pass them a WWJD bracelet so they blend in more easily.

None of these practices are wrong, but they are misleading. Here’s why: it is possible to look Christian, but not be Christian. It is possible to say that you follow God, while you’re heart is far away from him.

This is what is means to be a hypocrite: when your outward mask doesn’t match your inner life.

We are all in danger of this error. (Especially those of us who lead in teaching or singing.) This week as I was preparing, I had to confess that my heart is often far from God. If this is true of you too, then today’s story can give you hope…

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?”

At this stage in Jesus’ ministry, he was increasing in popularity because of his miracles and bold teaching. As a result, the religious leaders were increasing in jealousy. In an attempt to catch him doing something wrong they came all the way from Jerusalem to spy on him and his followers. As these religious leaders watch the disciples eat a meal, something catches their eye, they did not follow one of the common traditions of good Jewish people during their day: washing hands and dish ware before eating.

Now, during this day, the nation of Israel had many unique instructions on how to worship God with purity. However, this tradition of handwashing was not from God’s word instead, it was from their religious tradition.

Rather than adapting to God’s path. They judged the son of God by their standard. They were more concerned about having clean cups then clean hearts!

We are often guilty of doing the exact same thing. We come to church, listen to a Christian podcast, or read our Bible with out mind already made up.

My first young adult group - I was asked about what the bible had to say about homosexuality, whether the bible was reliable, and abortion. Now, the bible touches on all of these topics, but that was not the topic for that evening. So it made me think, was the questioner eager to learn or eager to confirm their pre-set interpretation? Sadly, that questioner never returned.

Come to God to understand his way, not to instruct him in your opinions and preference.

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.”

If you’re new to Jesus, you may be surprised by the intensity of his words. “Ouch Jesus, I thought you were gentle and lowly. I didn’t expect you to call people out like this…” Because Jesus wasn’t fake, he isn’t afraid to call out the hypocrisy in these spiritual leaders. In fact, he himself is God, so it’s silly to try to fake godliness before God himself. Fake it till you make it may work with people, but not before the God who sees everything. Here’s how they were faking it….

They said things that sounded God-honoring, but their hearts lacked love for God. As a sad result, Jesus claimed that even their worship was pointless.

Imagine that a pastor spent his whole life teaching others and singing to God. Then, one day in old age, he passes away. And standing before God, he hears him say, well that was pointless! You worshiped me in vain. How is this possible?

Your lips sing about the goodness of God. After service, those same lips gossip about people made in his image.

Your hands are raised in praise, that evening those same hands are used to seek sin.

You claim to be close to God, but your heart is a million miles away.

And you talk about your opinions, preferences, and habits as if they are pronouncements from the throne of heaven.

Don’t let your attendance here be pointless, the point is that your heart would love God.

9 And he said to them, “You have a fine way of rejecting the commandment of God in order to establish your tradition!

Jesus is not against the law or God’s word. In fact, their decision to trust their opinion and tradition over God’s truth is the problem! He gives an example…

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.”

By referencing Moses, Jesus is describing one of the commandments found in the initial books of the bible. It is clear and the consequence is strong. Children are called to honor their parents by taking care of them. This includes providing for their physical needs as they age. If a child rejects their parents, it shows their lack of compassion and so they will not be shown compassion by God. And though that physical consequence is no longer applicable for Christians, the New Testament still teaches that the wages of sin is death. God established this law to maintain peace and protect the venerable. But these rebellious religious leaders twisted this truth to excuse disobedience.

They would claim to dedicate their finances to God so that they no longer had to use their resources to take care of their family. That way they could appear to be a good person, while getting out of any challenging obligations. As a result, their tradition diluted the whole point of the good command to love your parents.

Tea - representing the word of God, pure and powerful “love the lord your God with all your heart”

Water to dilute - representing the traditions of man

to worship God you need to raise your hands, to worship God you need to be serious

For churches to be successful they need beautiful branding and large crowds

To be a Christian leader you need to know your enneagram and modern business techniques

To enjoy God you need to wear nice clothes, a wwjd bracelet, and have bible verse screensaver on your phone

When we listen to popular culture, religious traditions, or the latest trends instead of listening to God we reject his word and embrace pain. In fact, we echo the words of Satan in Genesis 3, “Did God actually say?”

Did God actually say that I am called to love my enemies?

Did God really say that the wages of sin is death?

Did God actually say that lust is committing adultery in your heart?

And we replace it with man-made thoughts that he never said…

“Follow your heart”

“You’re enough”

“Believe in yourself”

“Find your truth”

Pastors replace messages on God’s word with echo’s of fox news, explanations of the enneagram, and the latest leadership principles they learned from a business podcast.

And many such things we do…

So what should we do to change? What is the hope for hypocrites? For hypocrites like me…

Let God’s commandments expose your heart. “You have a fine way of rejecting the commandment of God…”

Let God’s grace cleanse your heart. “must surely die” He died instead of us, so that we can live .