Traditions Over The Word...

Placing more importance in Traditions then God’s Word!

Opening:

God’s word should be the first and final direction for our lives. This meaning that anything we claim to be for God or by God should agree with the Word from God. To many times in our lives, we have claimed something to be of God, when the truth is God is nowhere in our claim. To help us understand the importance of knowing why we do something and to know that it is truly from God I would like to read you a short story.

A very poor holy man lived in a remote part of China. Every day before his time of meditation in order to show his devotion, he put a dish of butter up on the windowsill as an offering to God, since food was so scarce. One day his cat came in and ate the butter. To remedy this, he began tying the cat to the bedpost each day before the quiet time. This man was so revered for his piety that others joined him as disciples and worshipped as he did. Generations later, long after the holy man was dead, his followers placed an offering of butter on the windowsill during their time of prayer and meditation. Furthermore, each one bought a cat and tied it to the bedpost.

Now how many of us are still tying the cat to the bed post or placing butter on the windowsill. Well, that’s kind of what the Pharisee’s are doing in today’s scripture. They ask Jesus why his disciples are eating without performing the ceremonial washing? And they even have the state of mind to remind Jesus this is a law passed down from the elders. I can just imagine Jesus thinking to himself, yup I remember when they started that tradition. This is why it is important to know the why of what we do for God.

Point #1 Know the WHY!

In the verses 3 and 4 Mark tells us about this tradition of how the Jews wash their hands before eating. He does this because the audience that he is writing to more than likely would not have understood the context of the story if he did not do this. And if Mark was to just jump in there and say- So now these Pharisees and scribes asked Jesus about his disciples who were eating with defiled hands- more than likely would have confused the readers. They would not know why Jesus is calling them hypocrites or accuses them of abandoning the word of God to hold to human traditions. If Mark had not taken the time to explain the why to his audience.

The same thing is true for the Pharisees and Scribes. Many of them because of the lack of explanation no longer understand why it is they started washing up before eating. The basis for handwashing in Judaism was originally related to the Temple service and sacrifices, and it comes from the Torah in Exodus 30:17-21.

One commentary writer says:

Under the Old Testament economy, there were three ways to achieve ceremonial cleansing: by water, by fire, or by blood. We are cleansed from the guilt of sin by the blood of Jesus Christ shed for us on the cross, and when we confess our sins, that blood cleanses us (1 John 1:5–2:2). But when we disobey God, our hearts and minds are defiled by sin (see Ps. 51), and it’s the “washing of water by the word” (Eph. 5:26) that restores us. But the Old Testament priests became defiled, not by sinning against God, but by serving God! Their feet became dirty as they walked in the courtyard and in the tabernacle (there was no floor in the tabernacle), and their hands were defiled as they handled the sacrifices and sprinkled the blood. Therefore, their hands and feet needed constant cleansing, and this was provided at the laver (wash bowl).

What this tells us is that somewhere along the way from the time God passed down the direction to Moses to make a bronze basin; and up to the point in our scripture today someone lost the why. Lets be honest there are many things in our lives that we have no idea of why we do it. Even more concerning is that with all the forms of books, sermons, studies and any other form of learning we still have things in religion that no one knows why. Most people say well it is just what we have always done. And those words are very dangerous words.

Point #2 Ensure that your traditions honor God and not man.

In my younger years I would irritate the fire out of people because I always asked why. Many of time when someone ask or told me to do something, I normally wanted to know why I was doing. It was not because I believed I knew better than them but because I had to justify to myself of why I was performing this action. Other than because I was told to do it. And I believe this was because to many times I did do things without asking and ended up in trouble for it.

This is why it is important that we know our traditions honor God and not man.

Jesus replied to the Pharisees and Scribes calling them hypocrites. Jesus knows that these oral laws the Pharisees and Scribes worry about so much have nothing to do with God and everything to do with controlling people. With all these extra laws it was easy to create reasons why someone was not worthy of God, or why they needed to give more to the temple. But also, they would allow people to use the laws for personal gain. Jesus calls out the act of “honoring father and mother”. Saying that Moses directed you to honor your father and mother, and who ever speaks evil of them shall surly die. But you, you crafty and educated guys created a way to allow people to claim their belonging as “Corban” meaning set aside for God. This became a regular practice and so many people that did not wish to lose their money or other belongings by taking care of their parents would claim them as corban. This allowing them to say they could not afford to tend to their parents. These men claimed to love God, but they had no love for their parents!

What a tragedy that religious people would ignorantly practice their religion and become the worse for doing it! But they were not only destroying their character; they were also destroying the influence and authority of the very Word of God that they claimed to be defending. Note the tragic sequence: teaching their doctrines as God’s Word (Mark 7:7); laying aside God’s Word (Mark 7:8); rejecting God’s Word (Mark 7:9); finally, robbing God’s Word of its power (Mark 7:13). People who revere man-made traditions above the Word of God eventually lose the power of God’s Word in their lives. No matter how devout they may appear, their hearts are far from God. History reveals that the Jewish religious leaders came to honor their traditions far above the Word of God. Rabbi Eleazer said, “He who expounds the Scriptures in opposition to the tradition has no share in the world to come.” The Mishnah, a collection of Jewish traditions in the Talmud, records, “It is a greater offense to teach anything contrary to the voice of the Rabbis than to contradict Scripture itself.” But before we criticize our Jewish friends, we also may be guilty of replacing God’s truth with man’s traditions.

In many buildings just like this one with people gathered just as we are, and many nonbiblical traditions are being honor. Did we in this service today tie the cat to the bed post. Where we one of the followers who did what has been done just because that’s the way it has always been done. In all things we do we should do it as for Christ. If things we do, we claim to be for God lets know the why. If we live by tradition, then please know for sure it is honoring to God. Many times, these traditions, habits, routines, or what ever you wish to call them start with good intentions. But get carried on in years only because it was passed down from the elders.