In The Word
Read: Mark 7:1-23
Followers of Tradition
7 The Pharisees and some of the scribes *gathered to Him after they came from Jerusalem, 2 and saw that some of His disciples were eating their bread with unholy hands, that is, unwashed. 3 (For the Pharisees and all the other Jews do not eat unless they carefully wash their hands, thereby holding firmly to the tradition of the elders; 4 and when they come from the marketplace, they do not eat unless they completely cleanse themselves; and there are many other things which they have received as traditions to firmly hold, such as the washing of cups, pitchers, and copper pots.) 5 And the Pharisees and the scribes *asked Him, “Why do Your disciples not walk in accordance with the tradition of the elders, but eat their bread with unholy hands?” 6 But He said to them, “Rightly did Isaiah prophesy about you hypocrites, as it is written:
‘This people honors Me with their lips,
But their heart is far away from Me.
7 And in vain do they worship Me,
Teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’
8 Neglecting the commandment of God, you hold to the tradition of men.”
9 He was also saying to them, “You are experts at setting aside the commandment of God in order to keep your tradition. 10 For Moses said, ‘Honor your father and your mother’; and, ‘The one who speaks evil of father or mother, is certainly to be put to death’; 11 but you say, ‘If a person says to his father or his mother, whatever I have that would help you is Corban (that is, given to God),’ 12 you no longer allow him to do anything for his father or his mother; 13 thereby invalidating the word of God by your tradition which you have handed down; and you do many things such as that.”
The Heart of Man
14 After He called the crowd to Him again, He began saying to them, “Listen to Me, all of you, and understand: 15 there is nothing outside the person which can defile him if it goes into him; but the things which come out of the person are what defile the person.”
17 And when He later entered a house, away from the crowd, His disciples asked Him about the parable. 18 And He *said to them, “Are you so lacking in understanding as well? Do you not understand that whatever goes into the person from outside cannot defile him, 19 because it does not go into his heart, but into his stomach, and is eliminated?” (Thereby He declared all foods clean.) 20 And He was saying, “That which comes out of the person, that is what defiles the person.21 For from within, out of the hearts of people, come the evil thoughts, acts ofsexual immorality, thefts, murders, acts of adultery, 22 deeds of greed, wickedness, deceit, indecent behavior, envy, slander, pride, and foolishness. 23 All these evil things come from within and defile the person.”
New American Standard Bible (NASB) Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation
Walking In The Word
Here in Mark, we read about Jesus confronting the Pharisees and the traditions they followed in that day. The reason Jesus was led to oppose them is not because they were being disobedient, but because they lacked a heart for God. Instead of seeking God’s heart and seeking to please Him, they got caught up in just obeying His laws. Unfortunately, as Christians, we can sometimes do the same thing. While we may be obedient to God and we may serve Him, there are times we aren’t seeking Him in our hearts the way we should. We serve in our church, or we serve the people in our community, but we completely forget that the reason we’re doing it is for God.
We always have to remember to keep a passion and desire to be close to God. Every day we wake up, we can’t get so caught up in the work that we forget about the relationship. God doesn’t only want our obedience, but He also wants to have a close and intimate relationship with every one of us. So the question is, “What do we do to have that relationship?” We must wake up every day and set aside quality time with the Lord. And we must remind ourselves that the reason we do the work is because we love God with all our hearts. When we have this intimate relationship, we realize that we could never make it through life without it.