Who is Jesus 10

Frank Sinatra was not a role model. I think that classifies as an understatement. If you read about him, his life, how he lived, how he treated the people in his life, his family, his wives and his children, his possible ties to organized crime, you don’t walk away hoping that your child turns out just like him. And yet all those things in his life are secondary in his legacy, not what he is primarily remembered for. Instead, he’s on the list of one-namers- people who are instantly recognizable by a single name- He’s Sinatra. Men wanted to be him, women wanted to be with him. And in spite of all the turmoil and chaos his personal life was, all of that was easily ignored by the masses because he was simply Sinatra. His source of fame was everything that was on the outside- the talent and career, the money, the possessions, the glamorous lady at his side, the connections and public friendships, “the Rat Pack.” We as human beings have an amazing ability to focus on the external- what we can see. We often miss whats underneath the surface. And Yet in today’s passage, we see, not for the first time in Mark’s Gospel, that Jesus regards this external focus as a clear mark that a person hasn’t embraced the gospel, the teaching of the nearness of the reign of God that should transform all who follow God.

When Robin Williams

As we near the midpoint of Marks gospel, it is becoming clear that Jesus has a singular focus from the beginning of his ministry. It is the direction that he’s been working since the first chapter. Everything that Jesus has taught or done is a reflection of the purpose of the gospel- that people who have been transformed by God see and interact with the world in a way that is counter to the way people who preoccupy themselves with human-centered and self-centered priorities do. The leaders around Jesus have taken notice- whether they are local synagogue leaders, Pharisees, Scribes from Jerusalem, or even Herod himself. And while occasionally one of these leaders responds positively to Jesus, it is usually only in desperate circumstances, like the synagogue leader whose daughter was in need of healing. It is important for us to recognize that these people of power- local power, religious power, national power, or anywhere in between, are all going to be people who are partial to keeping things the way they are. They have come to power through that system and don’t have much incentive to upend it. That tends to be the way power works- those that have it don’t want to give any of it up, especially to those who they have held power over. Those around Jesus who had power weren’t any different. Really, Jesus own inner circle- the twelve- weren’t any different- relatively powerless men who on more than one occasion spent their road trip conversation arguing over who would be the greatest in this coming kingdom with Jesus which would shake up the status quo.

The New Revised Standard Version The Tradition of the Elders

7 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 thoroughly wash their hands, thus observing the tradition of the elders; 4 and they do not eat anything from the market unless they wash it; and there are also many other traditions that they observe, the washing of cups, pots, and bronze kettles.) 5 So the Pharisees and the scribes asked him, “Why do your disciples not live according to the tradition of the elders, but eat with defiled hands?”

Turns out a fear of change isn’t a new experience, one well known even in Jesus day. The desire to hold onto things the way they have always been is ancient. Lets dive into today’s text. Mark 7:1

As we near the midpoint of Marks gospel, it is becoming clear that Jesus has a singular focus from the beginning of his ministry. It is the direction that he’s been working since the first chapter. Everything that Jesus has taught or done is a reflection of the purpose of the gospel- that people who have been transformed by God see and interact with the world in a way that is counter to the way people who preoccupy themselves with human-centered and self-centered priorities do. The leaders around Jesus have taken notice- whether they are local synagogue leaders, Pharisees, Scribes from Jerusalem, or even Herod himself. And while occasionally one of these leaders responds positively to Jesus, it is usually only in desperate circumstances, like the synagogue leader whose daughter was in need of healing. It is important for us to recognize that these people of power- local power, religious power, national power, or anywhere in between, are all going to be people who are partial to keeping things the way they are. They have come to power through that system and don’t have much incentive to upend it.

The New Revised Standard Version The Tradition of the Elders

7 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 thoroughly wash their hands, thus observing the tradition of the elders; 4 and they do not eat anything from the market unless they wash it; and there are also many other traditions that they observe, the washing of cups, pots, and bronze kettles.) 5 So the Pharisees and the scribes asked him, “Why do your disciples not live according to the tradition of the elders, but eat with defiled hands?”

Now, I feel like this is an appropriate moment to say that I have no issues with with people washing their hands. I wish more people had done a better job of it during flu season. But the religious leaders here aren’t worried about health or hygiene. They aren’t trying to stop the spread of the flu or any other disease. Humankind is still 1700 years away from understanding that its microscopic germs, or viruses that cause illness anyway. No-its not any of those things. They’re worried about “things being done ‘right.’” Said another way- things being done “their way.” We don’t get the idea that they have any regard for why things have become that way, what the significance is, whether they have any religious and spiritual purpose, nor do they give any thought towards how others around them respond to “their way.” That’s the question- right? “Why don’t you guys live according to our tradition- why don’t you do it our way.” Note that they don’t assign this custom to “the law.” It isn’t part of the Torah- its instead something that’s developed as part of their own internal religious tradition. And yet even though it isn’t part of “THE Law” its become part of “their law.”

The New Revised Standard Version The Tradition of the Elders

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 making void the word of God through your tradition that you have handed on. And you do many things like this.”

Jesus here doesn’t allow “because we’ve always done it that way” to be reason enough not to change it. And “their law” is flawed because of the very thing Jesus argued with them over two chapters before. Its not because the rules and regulations are evil. They’re not. But when people are more concerned with the rules than they are the human beings they sit next to- that’s the problem. They are more concerned about things the way they want them than they are how the people who are in front of them. Rules are nice, but I think we can all agree that people matter far more than ink on paper. People have souls, rules do not. And Jesus then examines a rule that, on the surface sounds great- the chance to declare something as “dedicated to God.” All sorts of things of things are declared as dedicated to God- buildings, temples or other worship spaces, children. And yet that overabundant giving that might get them celebrated in the temple comes at the expense of those who they are responsible for and the real designs God has- like honoring mother and father, something named sacred by God in the decalogue, the ten commandments. And then the final line, “and you do many things like this.” This isn’t something that only happens on occasion or on accident. They function like this constantly, paying more attention to who has washed their hands than they do who is in need- so Jesus accuses.

The Holy Bible: New Revised Standard Version (Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1989), .

Jesus here doesn’t allow “because we’ve always done it that way” to be reason enough not to change it. And “their law” is flawed because of the very thing Jesus argued with them over two chapters before. Its not because the rules and regulations are evil. They’re not. But when people are more concerned with the rules than they are the human beings they sit next to- that’s the problem.

But Jesus isn’t satisfied to point out the flaws and then walk away. There’s still an opportunity to teach, to redirect this, to teach those who are around the difference between continuing to approach the world from that traditional mindset and approaching the world with a transformed mind that has responded to the good news, the gospel of the work of God.

The New Revised Standard Version The Tradition of the Elders

14 Then he called the crowd again and said to them, “Listen to me, all of you, and understand: 15 there is nothing outside a person that by going in can defile, but the things that come out are what defile.”

There’s the new way to view the world- the way one who has been transformed by God chooses to view others. Here in the end this is a passage about how we see people, how we see each other. And Jesus’ teaching is that it is nothing external that decides whether or not a person is clean. He’s not talking simply of germs, or handwashing, or food here. While Mark’s note that Jesus here declares all food clean is certainly true, it isn’t the point because food doesn’t lead to the acts described below as what defiles.

The New Revised Standard Version The Tradition of the Elders

20 And he said, “It is what comes out of a person that defiles. 21 For it is from within, from the human heart, that evil intentions come: fornication, theft, murder, 22 adultery, avarice, wickedness, deceit, licentiousness, envy, slander, pride, folly. 23 All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person.”

It is not what we take in that signifies whether or not we have missed the mark, but what comes out of us- what we care about, what we prioritize, what we value, how we interact with the things and people around us. It is from within that greed, selfishness, jealousy, and rage pour out- it is from within that we insist our way must be followed, from within that we disregard the perfectly valid experiences and input of others, from within that we cement in our mind the idea that my understanding is THE understanding. And not only have I just described the religious leaders who Jesus battles here, I have also described us, have I not?