The Disturbing Truth

 

“And why do you break the commandment of God for the sake of your tradition?"

 

 Let me begin by stating clearly that this article is not a condemnation of the church as it exists today.  After all there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ.  However it is my fear that many confuse convection with condemnation.  God convicts us of sin while he never condemns us.  Convection at times can feel a lot like condemnation.  However with condemnation there is no recourse with convection there is always an open door for both change and forgiveness.  Let's proceed further not out of condemnation but convection. 

By this time most of us have seen Fiddler On The Roof, and will remember how Tevye, the leading character, opens with the song, Tradition! The whole Jewish community was built upon and governed by the long-standing, unbreakable traditions of the past. The unspoken thesis of that play and movie is the way these traditions were being challenged by the unrest and uprootings of the day, and that to have tradition violated causes grief and hardship to many. This is suggestive of the scene we will view today in Mark's Gospel, as Mark brings before us the stark contrast between the ministry of Jesus, who is reaching out in healing love to men and women all over the region, and the hindering work of the scribes and the Pharisees, who attempt, armed with tradition, to halt that ministry of love.

Thomas Dickson, one of the great preachers of the last century, once said, "Tradition was the most constant, the most persistent, the most dogged, the most utterly devilish opposition the Master encountered. It openly attacked him on every hand, and silently repulsed his teaching.

Then Pharisees and scribes came to Jesus from Jerusalem and said, “Why do your disciples break the tradition of the elders? For they do not wash their hands before they eat.” He answered them, “And why do you break the commandment of God for the sake of your tradition? For God said, ‘Honor your father and your mother,’ and, ‘Whoever speaks evil of father or mother must surely die.’ But you say that whoever tells father or mother, ‘Whatever support you might have had from me is given to God,’ then that person need not honor the father. So, for the sake of your tradition, you make void the word of God. You hypocrites! Isaiah prophesied rightly about you when he said:

‘This people honors me with their lips,
but their hearts are far from me;
in vain do they worship me,
teaching human precepts as doctrines.’”

 This introduces us to the subject of the power and effect of tradition. In this opening paragraph we see something of the tremendous force which tradition plays in our lives. Not only was this true of them in that day; it is true of us today. Some of us are here this morning because it is traditional to be here. Sunday is the day you go to church. All your life you have gone to church on Sunday, so you are here because it is traditional to be here. We have sung some hymns because it is traditional to do so in a morning worship service. And we will do other things because it is traditional! This power from the past touches us all at one time or another. Now, is it good, or is it bad? We will learn in this passage, from the lips of Jesus, the element which makes tradition good, or that which makes it evil.

Notice that this delegation from Jerusalem came deliberately to try to find something with which to oppose Jesus. Their motive was antagonism. Evidently word of this spreading popular movement had reached Jerusalem, and the chief priests and rulers of the Jews were troubled about it. As we saw in our last study, it had already reached the ears of Herod the king, as he, with his political orientation, was made aware of a rapidly spreading movement which was disturbing and threatening. So a delegation of Pharisees and scribes came down from Jerusalem with the direct intent of finding something in the ministry of Jesus with which they could oppose him. They knew that if they could find some challenge Jesus gave to popularly accepted traditions, they could turn the crowd against him. This tells us how strongly these traditions were held.

Sometimes, there is that which consists of right words but wrong attitudes. Everything outward is right, but inwardly the mind and heart are wrong. That, Jesus says, is hypocrisy -- to look as if you are doing something religious and worshipful and God-related, but inside to have an entirely different attitude.

There is a second form of hypocrisy. It is, "In vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines the precepts of men." This is to have religious actions which are clothing worldly philosophies. This is wide-spread in the church, too. It is the idea that if we take the principles and the precepts by which the world operates -- dog-eat-dog, every man for himself, fulfill yourself first, etc., and clothe them with the words of Scripture, then we are worshiping God. But Jesus says that is hypocrisy, and is a failure to worship.

 "You leave the commandment of God, and hold fast the tradition of men."  And he said to them, "You have a fine way of rejecting the commandment of God, in order to keep your tradition! For Moses said, 'Honor your father and mother'; and, 'He who speaks evil of father or mother, let him surely die'; but you say, 'If a man tells his father or his mother, What you would have gained from me is Corban', (that is, given to God) -- then you no longer permit him to do anything for his father or mother, thus making void the word of God through your tradition which you hand on. And many such things you do." (Mark 7:8-13 RSV)

Ray Stedman Ministries

It's an equally dangerous mistake to blindly practice various "Christian," holidays, rituals and habits out of a blind perspective.  Anyone who is a seeker of God will eventually have to face the hard cold truth about everything from Christmas to Sunday worship.  The question we all have to face is what is it in our lives that veils us from an authentic relationship with Christ?  Are there pagan roots that we keep trying to sanitize that simply can not carry the blessing of God in fullness?  Lets ask a few basic questions.

Why do we gather to worship on Sunday while exiting our sanctuaries when the sun is at its zenith at high noon?  What was the primary deity in Roman Society? 

What is the root derivation of the name Sunday for this particular day of the week? Who named the days of the week and other parts of the Julian Calendar?  What is their root derivations?

What was a Sophist and what were their rolls in Greek and Roman culture?  How did the Sophist entertain their congregations.  What is "rhetoric," and why is it taught in modern day schools of theology?  What is the origins of the three part sermon?  What caused people to associate with the Sophist? 

Who and what were the origins of the first Christian institutional sanctuaries?  What happened in such places?  

Pagan Temple

Roman Church

Why do we have cemeteries next to churches?  What is a relic worship and what roll did it play in Roman society?

What is the origins of the "order of worship," used in most churches today?  Who were the first paid professionals to occupy a position behind a pulpit?  What is the roll of the "processional," and who founded such activity?

Sophist practicing rhetoric

Modern day preacher practicing rhetoric

Who was Constantine and why did he "Christianize," the Roman empire?  What is the difference between having a relationship with Christ and being a convert to a religious movement?

What role did religion play in controlling and governing the Roman Empire?  What role did religious rank and positional order play in controlling Roman Society?  Why did Jesus "condemn," such systems?  Do we observe them today?

What is the biblical stance on Baptism?  Is Baptism necessary for salvation?  Can any action or ritual originated by the hand of man capable of saving us?  What does the bible say about the power of water to save us?  

Pagan Water Ceremony

What customs was observed through temple construction in Rome that "welded," newly conquered territory through embracing what ever religion was practiced in the region?  

In the first reformation, Martin Luther fought hard to bring adjustment to the institution he was part of.  Where did the first reformation stop short in making a clean break?  What would a second reformation look like?  Who would oppose the second reformation as violently as the first one?  

I personally fear the Love of God much more than the thought of His Judgement for today's society.  Much if not all of his anger was vented on the cross.  The power of the cross can break any wave of judgement resulting from just about anything.  However, absolutely nothing will prevent Christ from moving heaven and earth to recapture the hearts of his people.  

I truly believe one of the things that can hinder him is the institution that bears his name.  It is not the supreme court of the United States that we need to be focused on its the condition of God's house.  We are in severe danger of experiencing the extravagant Love of God in ways that some will swear is judgement based.  It will in fact be just the opposite.  

So what do we do?  Burn the house down?  I don't think so.  Reformation is not the same as revolution.  Reformation often comes from inside of something while revolution is often an outside event.  This reformation is already moving in some circles today.  Formats are changing as people distance themselves from pagan roots.  Its happening now.  All we need to do is look around.  There is a Holy dissatisfaction in the hearts of many people.  It is not coming from open rebellion but rather hearts who want to embrace the truth. 

What do we do first?  Invite the authentic Christ into our lives.  You may be a pastor of 50 years and not know Christ on a personal basis.  Second ask the Holy Spirit to open the door for truth to replace ritual.  Thirdly, seek the Father in prayer.  Embrace the door that Christ opened on the cross.  He is not a religious icon as some portray Him.  He is a real man who sets at the right hand of His Father.  The Trinity is as real as real can be.  

Associate and seek out people who are not afraid to ask questions and seek answers.  Turn to the Bible not as a book of rules to follow and ask the Holy Spirit to help you to understand what "He," wrote for us to understand.  The bible was written by the hand of man but inspired through the consistency of the Holy Spirit through the ages.  

Finally, stop practicing your religious habits that you have not throughly researched and completely embrace out of devotion to God not to the machinery of an institution.  God will open the door to all who seek him.  He drove the money changers out of the house once, he may well do something as dramatic in the years ahead.  He wants a people devoted to him and not our Roman based religious habits.  

Lets make a change.  Our reformation starts with each of us.  Its never been needed more.  Seek God and He will extend his hand to any who choose to embrace him.