Jump Start # 3363

Mark 7:9  “He was also saying to them, ‘You are experts at setting aside the commandment of God in order to keep your tradition.”

We live in a time when name calling has replaced serious discussion and the presenting of facts and arguments. A hundred years ago, religious debates were very common and the norm to get people to see what the Bible taught. Not today. No one seems interested in the facts. It’s easier just to say, ‘You are narrow,’ or, ‘you are a Pharisee’ than it is to open Bibles up and have a serious conversation. Name calling is just a cowardly way of saying, ‘I’m going to do what I want to do, and I don’t care what you or the Bible says.’ Name calling ends the conversation.

Whether the discussion is about gender identity, salvation, worship or the nature and structure of the church, just lob a name, it doesn’t even have to be true, and that ends the discussion. Those that want to open the door wider than what God has, see nothing wrong with what they are doing. The details do not matter. But what is so common, is that those who are pointing fingers and accusing others of being too strict, are themselves doing things that cannot be found in the Bible.

In our verse today, Jesus is identifying the problems the Pharisees were having with God. It wasn’t God who was off, it was their thinking. Notice three expressions from this verse.

First, they had become experts. One doesn’t become an expert the first day on the job. The first time a person picks up a violin he doesn’t become an expert. No. It takes years of practice. It takes playing and playing and playing. One doesn’t become an expert in the field of science, the first day. No. He has studied and studied and read and written tons of technical papers to get the level of an expert.

These Pharisees in Jesus’ day were called experts by the Lord. This wasn’t their first time at this. They had been doing these things for a long, long time.

Second, what they were good at was setting aside the word of God. Rather than being experts in obedience, they had become just the opposite. They were experts in disobedience. They were good at setting aside the word of God. This isn’t pointed towards the town drunk. This isn’t spoken about the prisoners in the local jail. This is said about the religious leaders in those villages. The “church people,” we might say today, were good at ignoring what the Bible taught. Now, how does that happen?

It happens when one has an agenda that doesn’t line up with God’s purpose. It happens when one wants to do things that are not in the Bible. It happens when one is determined to do what he wants, no matter what God says. It’s either God’s way or my way. They chose their way. So, they set the word of God to the side. It wasn’t in their lives. It has been set aside. It was not essential to them. They had set it aside. With God’s word out of the way, it had been set aside, they were free to do what they wanted. Nothing was stopping them. The old rules were tossed. The gate was opened wide and now, whereever their little hearts took them, is where they would go.

Why not change gender, if God’s word is set aside. Why stop there? Change your race? Don’t stop there. Change your age? Keep going. Change your species. With God’s word out of the way, you have also tossed out sin. Nothing is wrong and everything is right. Worship the calf. Worship the stars. Worship the creation. It can’t be wrong because God’s word has been set aside.

The third expression in this passage is the motive or reason. Why was the word of God put to the curb? It was so that they could keep their traditions. Tradition or God’s word? Tradition won. And, by tossing the word of God, they were tossing salvation and their hope of spending forever with God. They were unchangeable. They were going to keep doing what they had always been doing. Even if it was wrong, they were staying with it. Even if God had a better way, they were staying with what they knew, what was comfortable and what they wanted.

We must stand with God. We must not allow a whining culture intimidate us to soften what God says. We must not allow the pressures of now to change our convictions in the Lord.

The moment we set aside the word of God is the moment we begin to sink spiritually and look around and find out that God is no longer with us. On our own is not a good place to be. It’s time to put the traditions, ideas of culture and our “think-so” to the curb and stick with God.

Roger

Jump Start # 3139

Mark 7:9 “He was also saying to them, ‘You nicely set aside the commandment of God in order to keep your tradition.’”

The Pharisees had a problem that many folks do today. They got what is important mixed up with what is not important. Our verse is part of the Lord’s explanation and defense when His disciples were accused of eating with impure hands because they had not properly washed them, according to the traditions of the elders. Violating the tradition was considered the same as violating God’s law, to these Pharisees.

In expressing the truth on these things, Jesus revealed that their hearts were far from God. Their reverence was merely a show. It was all external. The showroom looked great, but there was nothing in the warehouse. They were neglecting the commands of God in order to keep their traditions. The Lord would later in this context say that they were “invalidating the word of God.”

Traditions—some are so bothered by traditions that they run past Jerusalem and are willing to dance with the devil in worship that is not Biblical nor authorized by God. The word “tradition” is a bitter taste to so many. Some want worship to be free from tradition and to accomplish that, there is no rhyme or reason. No one is sure what will happen. Spontaneous, ever changing, evolving, fluid—that’s the notion that drives the engine of many these days.

Some thoughts:

First, tradition is nothing more than a way to do something. We have traditions in our homes when it comes to holidays and birthdays. Tradition brings a level of comfort, knowing what will happen and what is expected can be a good thing. Many who are breaking free from traditions, have a new tradition—it’s called “different.” In trying to be “nontraditional” they have simply replaced one tradition for another.

Second, what some call traditions are not traditions, but rather, what God wants and expects. Singing acappela, while seemingly a tradition, is what one finds in the N.T. The church sang. Those that want to call it simply a tradition, have no problem introducing the rock band concept. Where they fail in their thinking is understanding the difference between what is important and what is not important. Meeting on Sundays, having the Lord’s Supper, engaging in preaching and praying is not a man thought up tradition. It’s what we find in the Scriptures. There are traditions connected to our worship. But not everything in worship is a tradition.

Third, some are so wedded to traditions that it really bothers them to make any adjustments or changes. Coming out of the pandemic, many congregations restructured when and what they would do during worship. Changes came about. That bothered some. Jesus busted many traditions but Jesus never sinned. When we cannot change a tradition, even though it would beneficial and more helpful, we need to pause and take a long look at what we are following.

Fourth, some want to change traditions just for the sake of changing them. Someone once said, “do not take down a fence until you know why it was put up in the first place.” We need to realize what worked in our parents or grandparents generation, may not work today. How often we meet, how we conduct worship, whether or not we have special studies throughout the year, even the methods of teaching the Bible are things that need to be looked at. Maybe podcasts, blogs and videos are a more effective way of teaching these days. However, if some traditions are working and people are encouraged and growing, why change them? Don’t change just for the sake of change. Change if a better way can be helpful.

Finally, the traditions in one congregation may not work in another congregation. We must not follow the leader but look among ourselves and see what our needs are. For a younger congregation, maybe meeting more often and having more classes is the best route to go. For more mature Christians, it may be not meeting as often but offering more depth in classes.

“We’ve always done it this way,” or, “We’ve never done it that way before,” must not be the voices that determine what should be done. Search the Scriptures and make sure it’s Biblical first. Then, see what works best for the congregation. What others are doing may not be the best for where you are. Know the condition of your flock and what their needs are.

Traditions—they are not so bad if you understand their proper place.

Roger