Sunday: Human Traditions Versus God’s Commands
Daily Lesson for Sunday 4th of August 2024
Read Mark 7:1-13. What relevant truths are presented here?
One can imagine children studying this passage in Sabbath School and coming home to tell their mothers that they do not have to wash their hands before eating because Jesus said so. However, this story is not about hygiene.
Image © Darrel Tank at Goodsalt.com
In Jesus’ day, many people in that land were very concerned with ritual purity. During the time between the testaments, the idea of washing hands in order to remain ritually pure was extended to common people, even though these rules originally applied only to the priests in the Old Testament (Exodus 30:17-21). It is in keeping with this concept that the religious leaders complain to Jesus about His disciples.
Jesus does not directly answer the question asked of Him. Instead, He defends His disciples in a two-pronged response. First, He quotes Isaiah’s strong words rebuking a nation that honors God in word but whose heart is far from Him (Isaiah 29:13). The quotation from Isaiah continues with the condemnation of putting human traditions in the place of divine commands.
The second part of Jesus’ reply plays off the Isaiah quotation. The Lord cites the command of God to honor one’s parents (Exodus 20:12)— that is, to take care of them in their old age—and contrasts this with a religious tradition where one could give something to God (a gift, corban), use it for oneself, but deny its use to elderly parents in need. One can just imagine the encounter: “I am sorry, father. I would love to help you, but I gave the money to the temple.”
It is this type of hypocrisy that Jesus attacks uncompromisingly. They have placed human tradition above the Word of God and, in so doing, have sinned.
So what was the answer to the Pharisees’ question? The response of Jesus implies that He does not find convincing their insistence on hand purification as necessary to be in accordance with the will of God. Instead, His response clearly supports the commandments of the Law over against human tradition. (See also Mark 1:44; Mark 7:10-13; Mark 10:3-8; and Mark 12:26,29-31.)
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Might we have some “traditions” that perhaps conflict with the principles of God’s law? If so, what might they be? |
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We have just finished reading the Gospels through again. One impression I get from this concentrated reading is that Jesus spent quite a bit of time condemning the hypocrisy of the Pharisees and their scribes. It must be remembered that they were the most religious group among the Jews. They were conservative, well-versed meticulous law-keepers.
Interestingly, Ellen White uses the word conservative, or its derivatives, some 30 times in her writings(*), nearly always in a negative sense.
When you think about it, the big issue is not being conservative, but using it to manipulate people for your own ends. It's the hypocrisy that often goes with it. The appearance of being deeply spiritual while at the same time having an attitude of "What's in it for me?"
In an organised church, we may very easily become involved in manipulation and even justify our actions with quotes from Ellen White and the Bible, while at the same time ensuring that our argument cements our position of influence within the congregation.
Sometimes we need to be reminded of how radical Jesus was:
The Gospel is not about holding positions, or maintaining traditions. It is about sharing with sinners in a language they can understand. And that implies a selfless love for others. The judgement scenes portrayed in the Bible say nothing about how well we sit in church or defend our churches position. But is says a lot about giving to others. That was Jesus' radical message.
(*)Theile, David, Is Conservatism a Heresy?, The Journal of the Association of Adventist Forums, 23, 4, Jan 1994.
Amen Brother Maurice. It is the ritualistic and doctrine centric approach that has driven our young people from our church. We are getting a little better at it but the church still has a ways to go to stop the exodus. Teaching our kids that they are loved and their task is to love God and one another should be the focus.
I’ll share a tradition from my childhood that I no longer keep and one that I do. And share my reasons.
I remember as a Sabbath-keeping family being very careful about the sunset times down to the exact minute. Sometimes we would be sitting outside of the shopping mall Saturday evening, waiting for the exact minute of sunset before we could go inside to shop. I still guard the edges of the Sabbath, but I don’t do it in this manner anymore. To me, the spirit of the Sabbath is like a date day with God. I’m grateful that there can be a joyfulness and easiness and eagerness about the Sabbath hours for me now… like leaving for a date Friday evening and returning home Saturday evening. I’m eager for Sabbath to begin Friday evening and reluctant to let go of it Saturday evening.
Another tradition from childhood, maybe one unique to my family, was that my grandmother taught me to not ever put any book on top of the Bible when you’re stacking up books on the coffee table or bedside table. She explained that it was about respect for the holiness of the Bible. I keep this tradition still. I don’t think a lightning bolt will come out of heaven if I put some thing on top of the Bible. Neither do I think it’s a sin for somebody to put another book on top of the Bible (unless they’re purposely doing it out of disrespect for God). It’s just something in my heart that reminds me how special the Bible is and how much I reverence having the word of God. And for me, it symbolizes that God is above everything, no other written word is above God‘s word. It’s a choice of behavior that again is based on my love relationship with God …. much as if my significant other gave me a love letter, I would treat it carefully and keep it handy on top of everything to look at often.
I’m so glad that God knows our hearts. He knows the motives behind each of our behaviors. And he’s guiding us into a heart relationship with him… That’s why he says that he writes his law on our hearts (Heb. 8:10). And that we can learn directly from Him (1 John 2:27). The principles of God‘s law is all about a love relationship with God. He warns us that the church at the end of the world, the Laodicean church, needs to long to have sit-down full meals with Jesus (Rev. 3:19-20). No fast food. To spend quality time in prayer and Bible study, communicating with Jesus, just as He did with His Father while on earth. To go back to their first love (Rev. 2:4)…. Rather than thinking or saying, “I’m pretty good.”
Pastor John Piper, speaking of the last-day, hypocritical Laodicean church says,
Esther, your love for the Savior has grown over the years.
As we spend time with Bible study and prayer, Sabbath becomes a special time. Time to forget the other six days of working to make a living, buying, selling, etc . Looking forward to Sabbath rest includes Preparation day and a deep respect for our awesome God, the Creator of Heaven and Earth, the sea, and fountains of water.
Can we imagine coming together to worship on Sabbath in Heaven and the earth made new?
Just so you know that others respect the placement of the Bible, my mother taught us when we were young not to put anything on top of the Bible. I do the same because of that.
Sometimes we get annoyed at the way other people do things. It seems that this happens more often in a church context than in most other activities. We may expect that everyone should worship the way we do, which disallows that there are many ways to express worship of God.
Not many Christians attend an original New Testament house church, meet in a small group, read a letter from Paul, wash each others feet, sing a hymn, and eat a meal together. Church services adapt constantly to society, while retaining the essential Biblical elements of study, fellowship and worship. None of us have a monopoly on worship of God, yet we often accuse others of not worshipping the "right way".
Much of our preferred worship style is hardly traditional. I attend a city church, opening with an hour of bible study, followed by a formal service of hymns, children's story, prayer, collection, and a short sermon. There is an order of service that doesn't change, and I am usually home for lunch.
A gap of less than 180 years would find me completely out of place at the beginnings of my church. In turn, they would find my church extremely unusual. They would arrive by 9am for a prayer meeting. Lunch would be eaten on the lawn, or in bad weather, the rear of the sanctuary. Members would be busy until late afternoon, and sometimes until late at night.
They would be shocked at the changes. Is the preacher unwell, stopping short of 2hrs? There is no shouting, clapping, waving' standing to express ecstasy, or calling out fervent praise! No-one is prostrate on the floor! Why are members not confessing their sins and giving testimony! Why so few hymns, with so few verses? Why is it deathly silent in church? Children's story-time usurps the role of mothers at home. What is wrong with your generation?
Jesus recognised that the church leaders had become more concerned with upholding tradition than upholding God to the people. We should heed Jesus advice, to correct our own misguided attitudes before being critical of someone else. If we fail to realise that our "right way" is often merely tradition, we will become no more useful to God than the Pharisees in Mark 7:1-13.
Yes I have visited a few other Churches at the request of friends. I followed the advice of Ellen G. White though. Which is make sure I am grounded in my faith 1st. Believe it or not we have our traditions also in the Seventh-day-Adventist Church. Christ set about to focus our eyes on the traditions Our Heavenly Father would have us to follow. I am sure you understand. If not, you will have to experience it.
Ephesians 3:19 NLT
[19] May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God.
I apologize I could not find the passage in Ellen G. White's collections I had read years ago. I agree it is wise to have a reference when quoting sister White, so others can verify it and read above and below it to get the whole picture. Thanks, Maurice, of last Monday's advice.
Reading Maurice’s comment regarding ‘conservatism’ in the way the world has interpreted and used it, brought all kinds of thoughts to mind. As I see it, for a conservative Christian in the spiritual context of getting back to the roots of our faith and staying there, it is essential to be 'conservative' for the sake of his redemption.
God did not institute any new ‘rules’ for us to establish and maintain our relationship with Him, nor is there anything new under the sun which supports our fellowship with Him other than the old, true, well established and by the Holy Spirit supported act of Faith based on the Grace of our loving heavenly Father.
Faith was imperative at the beginning of God's relationship with us and still is essential until He calls us to join Him to live in the new heaven and new earth. In this understanding/interpretation of what it means to be ‘conservative’, a question can be asked: “When all is said and done, will there be ‘conservatives’ in the new earth?” In my opinion, only 'conservatives' can live there.
Like the meaning of ‘love’, the meaning of ‘conservative’ has eroded over time as it was applied to anything or anyone who does not want to ‘go with the flow of time’ – accept the notion that change is needed to 'preserve' life . For the person influenced by this world’s values intrinsic in its ebb and flow - of things coming and going, forever changing, decaying, never able to reach a state of balance -, it is ‘essential/life-saving’ that things in this world stay in constant motion.
If ‘things’ would not ‘progress’ fast enough, the truth would become evident that it’s progress only keeps pace with its own decay; the spirit of this world knows this to be a fact. This is why the unaware are kept from seeing and hearing God’s Truth which reveals that man cannot sustain this ‘physical-matter-world’ with his 'progess', that man’s value system based on being part of this world is irrelevant, as he feverishly adapts to inevitable changes associated with time.
New ‘ideas’ need to replace old ones, new inventions assure ‘progress’ for what is needful now - a constant race against time. It is essential for the liberal, progressive mindset of people tied to this world’s spirit of ‘life based on progress’, to keep this old world spinning as long as possible, including new ones to possibly continue life there.
Actually, if one looks at the interpretation of ‘conservatism’ from their perspective, their model is just as ‘conservative’ as that of the Christian - though at its core are values of preservation of the old, they are just being dresses up to appear new.
The adversary of God does not want any real - spiritual - changes to take place because 'understanding' would take away his power to keep things ‘the same’ - he fosters the same blindness, the same infliction of fear of ‘dying’ when standing still, the same deception by keeping man from knowing that he is a living soul, a body of flesh to be filled by the Spirit of God to aid his life in God’s spiritual kingdom here on earth before entering eternal life.
Nothing ever changes in God's kingdom - man’s guiding values and precepts based on His sovereignty remain the same as they were at the Beginning - man still needs an ‘ear to hear’ and a heart to receive God’s Word in order to live.
To me, the Gospel is about man knowing and accepting that he has a Creator which he accepts as God - the essential, spiritual authority for him to relate to -, our benevolent heavenly Father dedicated to keeping us alive during our pilgrimage on this ever 'progressive', ever changing world until its end in time.
The issue with the Pharisees was they thought their conservatism would save them, and that being conservative, they could use the rules for their own benefit and control of others. There is nothing wrong with being conservative, or progressive. The issue is that we do not use our ideology hypocritically for our own selfish ends.
I am sure there will be conservatives and progressives who are both saved by the grace of Jesus.
I'm conservative of he fact that Christ is the only way to salvation and that there can be no other way to be saved. But knowing this only doesn't save me, I have to live it out in my life.
And I am progressive enough to hear what Jesus is saying in John 10:16:
They may hear the voice of Jesus but they may look quite different to me or my expectations.