CH 9 Traditions of Men
The Jews of Jesus’ day had the Law and the Prophets, and they followed these sacred writings to a great degree, but they also believed in and obeyed non-inspired teachings of learned elders & rabbis of their Jewish religion. These precepts often were at odds with our Lord and his teachings.
Let’s take a look and see how we can apply truths from their experience to our own.
Then came together unto him the Pharisees, and certain of the scribes, which came from Jerusalem. And when they saw some of his disciples eat bread with defiled, that is to say, with unwashed hands, they found fault. For the Pharisees, and all the Jews, except they wash their hands often, eat not, holding the tradition of the elders. And when they come from the market, except they wash, they eat not. And many other things there be, which they have received to hold, as the washing of cups, and pots, bronze vessels, and of tables. Then the Pharisees and the scribes asked him, why walk not your disciples according to the tradition of the elders, but eat bread with unwashed hands? Mark 7:1-5
Understand, this is not the same as we have today with washing our hands before meals. In this day, a formal process, which had little to do with hygiene, was required by all supposed good Jews who wanted to appear to please Jehovah. In reality, as we shall appreciate, these laws were done to be seen by men.
He answered and said unto them, well has Isaiah prophesied of you hypocrites, as it is written, this people honor me with their lips, but their heart is far from me. Howbeit in vain do they worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men. For laying aside the commandment of God, you hold the tradition of men, as the washing of pots and cups: And many other such like things you do. And he said unto them, full well you reject the commandment of God, that you may keep your own tradition…Making the word of God of none effect through your tradition, which you have delivered: And many such like things do you. Mark 7:6-9, 13
Jesus, who sees into the hearts of men, noted the hypocrisy of their traditions and more importantly he indicted them for discarding the laws of God in order to serve their man-made regulations. He called the Jews out for their hypocrisy of showing off their pseudo holiness to be seen of men as well as their sin of neglecting the commandments of God in order to keep their own traditions. In addition to rituals of washings, were the Sabbath customs which also were used by the Jews to agitate Jesus as well as by Jesus to shake up the Jews.
In this case of eating with unwashed hands, Jesus puts their hypocrisy down by pointing out the true nature of God’s heart and desire for men’s lives in this area. Let’s listen;
And when he had called all the people unto him, he said unto them, hearken unto me every one of you, and understand: There is nothing from without a man, that entering into him can defile him: But the things which come out of him, those are they that defile the man. If any man have ears to hear, let him hear. Mark 7:14-16
Parabolically, Jesus spoke of spiritual truths, but the listener’s ears were dull and they were stuck in the physical realm. To their credit, the disciples asked the Teacher for amplification. Here is his explanation;
Whatsoever thing from without enters into a man, it cannot defile him: Because it enters not into his heart, but into the belly, and goes out into the draught…that which comes out of the man, that defiles the man. For from within, out of the heart of men, proceeds evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lasciviousness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness: All these evil things come from within, and defile the man. Mark 7:18-23
Bam! It is not what goes in the mouth but what comes out that reveals a man’s heart. The Lord then listed, not the seven deadly sins, but thirteen lethal transgressions that reveal the heart condition of men. It is for this very list of our common faults, indiscretions and rebellious acts for which he came to save us. The very things that will separate us from him for all of eternity, if it were not for his loving sacrifice to cover these terrible “heart issues” that we were born with and possess.
In Luke’s gospel we find the Sermon on the Plain. Similar to the Sermon on the Mount, we hear a parable of Jesus which also speaks to these things we have discussed. That of following godly leaders & teachers and ultimately following Jesus & not after foolish & false teachers preaching the traditions of men.
And he spoke a parable unto them, can the blind lead the blind? Shall they not both fall into the ditch? The disciple is not above his master: But everyone that is perfect (mature) shall be as his master. Luke 6:39 (italics added)
Jesus preceded this parable with his words on the precepts of the Kingdom. Reading on from the Sermon on the Plain we see that following blind leaders, those steeped in the traditions of men & not producing good fruit, lead to hypocrisy and judgmentalism, (Luke 6:41-45). Ultimately, following Jesus results in building upon the rock where the winds and the rains cannot shake it. But the one who follows what the Lord calls the bramble will see the ruin of his house because he did not build upon the rock of the Word of God, (Luke 6:46-49).
What about our day today? Do we have traditions in the church which reject the commandment of God so as to keep our own tradition? Of course we do! The Church is made up of sinners saved by grace. Until Jesus physically comes back for us and we live with him on the restored earth, there will be errors in our thinking and in our responses to him.
One such tradition which has caused me to pause is the formula for salvation that we hear in the Evangelistic Church today. Sinners come to Jesus, as I have written earlier in this book, by praying and believing the sinner’s prayer. Included in that prayer is confession (remorse over sin) as well as assertion of Jesus as the Savior and belief that he died for our sins and rose again from the dead, (Romans 10:9). This is all well and good. No, this is fantastic! A soul transformed from death to life by walking the Romans Road, (Romans 3:23, 6:23 & 10:9). What I worry about though, is the motivation by which the converted soul is brought into the fold. Often in my opinion, the benefits of being a Christian are present in the unfolding of the Gospel without also instructing the seeking soul about the cost of following Jesus. Fellowship, compassion, grace and mercy are stressed without explaining that tribulation, attacks and warfare also await the one who walks with Jesus. Not often have I heard in an evangelistic meeting, or in later teaching for that matter, verses like “all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution,” (2 Timothy 3:12) or “if any man come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: And whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it,” (Matthew 16:24-25). This type of unbalanced gospel feeds the flock but does not warn them. I fear that in some cases we may be just fattening up the sheep for the slaughter! For tough times will come upon all of us. Jesus’ parable of the sower and the seed speaks to this. Some seed fell upon rocky soil where there was no depth. When the sun came out the wheat was scorched and withered. This indicts powerfully this uneven gospel where the saved soul falls back into carnality, lasciviousness and lawlessness, falls back into practicing sin, when trouble and pressure arrive.
The antidote for the new Christian, and for the old one for that matter, in not falling back into sin, is twofold. First, as we have discussed, we in the church need to teach that being in God’s Word is cleaning and keeps us from sin, (Psalm 119:9 & 11). We do a good job of this. The second, not so good. It is the fear of the Lord. This is not spoken of often, much to our detriment. “The fear of the Lord causes men to depart from evil,” (Proverbs 16:6). “The fear of the Lord is a fountain of life, to depart from the snares of death,” (Proverbs 14:27). “The fear of the Lord, that is wisdom; and to depart from evil is understanding,” (Job 28:28).
Conversely, the lack of the fear of the Lord can lead to lawlessness.
Thine own wickedness shall correct you, and your backslidings shall reprove you: Know therefore and see that it is an evil thing and bitter, that you have forsaken the Lord your God, and that my fear is not in you, saith the Lord God of hosts. Jeremiah 2:19
Now, the fear of the Lord is not being afraid of him, but it is being terrified of life apart from him. It’s about respect & reverence. It is having that “first love” feeling for God perpetually. The fear of the Lord is to figuratively tremble at his Word. It is to instantly & willingly obey, even when painful or not making sense. When compromise or disobedience might seem a better course. When I am in the fear of the Lord, I will choose his presence over my comfort. I embrace his heart, trusting that he will do what is best in all circumstances. The fear of the Lord is to want his will over my own.
The fear of the Lord is seen most clearly in looking at the Redeemer as he sweat blood in the Garden of Gethsemane. As horrible as his upcoming suffering was to be, the thing that really alarmed him was being apart from the Father. For all of eternity this had never happened! This is sobering to me. Am I frightened at being away from God, because of my sin, like this? Jesus was scared by what my sin was going to do to him!
In the Church, for some reason, probably because we like to think of the Lord’s love, compassion, mercy and grace, we gloss over this important part of the gospel. Possibly it’s because we aren’t comfortable with the Almighty’s justice and holiness. These two attributes of his cast us into a bad light and we may even fear that our Adversary will twist them in a way that makes our Father look unloving and harsh. This is unfortunate, as the fear of the Lord, more so that loving the Lord, is the best way to keep from sin. You see, agape love, unconditional love, is a decision, not a feeling. We must decide daily to walk in love. In our fallen state we are subject to our feelings and emotions which can derail our love from time to time. But the fear of the Lord is a mindset, it is not as vulnerable to our circumstances. Thus, much harder to shake when the invariable tough times of life roll in upon the believer.
In Ephesians 5 we find the marriage chapter. How husbands and wives are to relate effectively and intimately with each other is spelled out in some detail. Paul then flips his inspired remarks by stating that marriage is really a picture of Christ and his Church, of Jesus & his Bride. He then concludes by stating; “Nevertheless let everyone of you in particular so love his wife even as himself; and the wife see that she reverence her husband,” (Ephesians 5:33). Now track with me here, Jesus is the Husband in our relationship, he is to love us. Our job as the wife is to reverence him, is to respect him, is to have his fear in us. It is to live in the fear of the Lord. Loving him only, without reverencing him also, is like the wife who does not respect her husband. It ought not to be!
If this were not enough, there are two more great benefits when I regard how astounding is our God. First, the fear of the Lord helps me to finish strong, (Psalm 19:9). This is critical! I don’t want to live decades serving the Lord and his Kingdom only to crash and burn prior to the end of my days. It’s the fear of the Lord that keeps me from coasting on my past laurels & thus, not letting my love grow cold. Secondly, Jehovah promises mercy to the soul that reverences him.
For as the heaven is high above the earth, so great is his mercy toward them that fear him. Psalm 103:11
And;
The Lord takes pleasure in them that fear him, in those that hope in his mercy. Psalm 147:11
So, “the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom,” (Proverbs (9:10). It’s the thing that makes us want to be holy, even in our fallen state, as we wait for the redemption of our bodies. It is being aware of his awesomeness, that he is a consuming fire (Hebrews 12:29), that protects us from evil. Thus, the one-two punch of the Gospel message is the jab of the love of God in substitutionarily saving our souls, followed by the left hook of the fear of the Lord which enables us to walk in holiness.
Summary:
In God’s eyes, heart issues are the important things, not outward activities which are done to impress him or to be seen of men.
What comes out of a person’s mouth reveals that person’s heart at any given time.
Following after godly teachers leads to building upon the rock. Walking after blind leaders results in constructing upon the sand. One can tell the godly from the blind by their fruit.
The Christian life is not all roses & butterflies. Part of a balanced gospel presentation includes an understanding of the cost of following the Lord, of eternal judgment and along with learning of God’s love, mercy, grace & compassion, his justice & holiness needs to be appreciated.
The Fear of the Lord is not being afraid of him, but it is being terrified of life apart from him, even for a moment.
The Fear of the Lord causes men to depart from evil.
Unconditional love is a decision not a feeling, thus, it is more vulnerable to our circumstances than the Fear of the Lord. The latter is a mindset or paradigm and much harder to shake when the attacks of life occur. Additionally, a life lived in the fear of the Lord correlates with the respect a wife is admonished to have for her husband.
The Fear of the Lord helps a person to finish strong in life. To run through the tape!
For Further Study:
Why did Jesus call teachers hypocrites who taught as doctrines the commandments of men?
Besides the traditions of the Sabbath laws and the washing precepts, what other customs did the Jews hold which Jesus came against?
From Mark 7:18-23, with which of the thirteen “heart issues” do you struggle? How can you be delivered from your weakness?
What other traditions, besides the one brought forth in this section, are present in the church today? Which ones are based on balanced scripture interpretation and which ones are not?
Is there such a thing as a perfect church? Why or why not?
What happens to sheep if they are constantly fed but not otherwise tended?
From this section, what are two things that help a person not to sin? Can you think of another thing not mentioned which also keeps a person from sin? Hint: See 1 Peter 4.
Can advice from someone who does not fear the Lord be eternally helpful?
Why should God’s attributes of justice & holiness make humans nervous?
What are the benefits of a life lived in the Fear of the Lord?