Day 11: I Don't Wanna Be a Pharisee

Mark 7:1-16


¹ The Pharisees and some of the teachers of the law who had come from Jerusalem gathered around Jesus ² and saw some of his disciples eating food with hands that were defiled, that is, unwashed. ³ (The Pharisees and all the Jews do not eat unless they give their hands a ceremonial washing, holding to the tradition of the elders. ⁴ When they come from the marketplace they do not eat unless they wash. And they observe many other traditions, such as the washing of cups, pitchers and kettles.) ⁵ So the Pharisees and teachers of the law asked Jesus, “Why don’t your disciples live according to the tradition of the elders instead of eating their food with defiled hands?” ⁶ He replied, “Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you hypocrites; as it is written:

   “‘These people honor me with their lips,
   but their hearts are far from me. ⁷ They worship me in vain;
   their teachings are merely human rules.’^[b]

   ⁸ You have let go of the commands of God and are holding on to human traditions.” ⁹ And he continued, “You have a fine way of setting aside the commands of God in order to observe your own traditions! ¹⁰ For Moses said, ‘Honor your father and mother,’and, ‘Anyone who curses their father or mother is to be put to death.’ ¹¹ But you say that if anyone declares that what might have been used to help their father or mother is Corban (that is, devoted to God)— ¹² then you no longer let them do anything for their father or mother. ¹³ Thus you nullify the word of God by your tradition that you have handed down. And you do many things like that.” ¹⁴ Again Jesus called the crowd to him and said, “Listen to me, everyone, and understand this. ¹⁵ Nothing outside a person can defile them by going into them. Rather, it is what comes out of a person that defiles them.”

Whew. Tradition. Can you say "hot button issue"? It's one of things that makes you want to put disclaimers in. "When I say we shouldn't get tied up in tradition, I'm not saying that we shouldn't do a, or b, or c..." I've thought a good bit about this, and here's the thing. I understand the desire for disclaimers and I have the desire to put them in myself. My fingers are itching to write one this very minute. But Jesus didn't put one in. He let his entire body of teaching - the whole counsel - speak for itself. He assumed that we would be wise enough to take things in their proper context and be able to determine what he was talking about at a given time. He expected a lot of us. 

That being said... so. Traditions. I have to say that my entire perspective on tradition changed when I read Radical Restoration by F. Lagard Smith. I don't agree with everything in the book (ack! sorry! disclaimer!), but one thing he pointed out that I have to agree with is that fact that as we have restored the Lord's church, some of the traditions of Catholicism and other religions snuck in unnoticed. Like standing during some songs and not others. Sitting in pews. Having a pulpit. Little things that we never think anything of. Are these things wrong? Of course not. But they really make you think... what is a tradition? And why does Jesus seem to be so opposed to them?

I don't think Jesus had a problem with traditions as such. He observed many of the Jewish traditions Himself. What he did have a problem with was hypocrisy. And I don't believe that he was advocating that they chuck the baby out with the bath water and disregard every command. He was concerned with their lack of love.

He says, in essence, We gave you these rules because We loved you, and because We wanted to keep you safe and We wanted good things for you. And instead, you've used them as an excuse to abandon your families and alienate the masses. It's wrong, people. Massively wrong. We're usually pretty hard on the Pharisees, and rightfully so, but I'll tell you I read verses 6 and 7 and shudder a little. "These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. They worship me in vain; their teachings are merely human rules." Yowza. It hits a little close to home, because I sit in church every week and watch people (not just teenagers! adults too! don't try to act like you don't!) who are playing with their phones and falling asleep and talking to the person beside them about where they're going to eat lunch. And I'm guilty too, of teaching about the power of prayer and then playing on facebook instead of talking to the Creator, or spending worship thinking about my schedule for the week instead of the God who makes every minute possible. 

It physically hurts when I really think about the power in these verses. God forbid that we ever, as individuals or as the collective church, forget why we do what we do.