Mark 7:1-8

Mark 7:1-8 The Pharisees and some of the teachers of the law who had come from Jerusalem gathered around Jesus and saw some of his disciples eating food with hands that were “unclean,” that is, unwashed. (The Pharisees and all the Jews do not eat unless they give their hands a ceremonial washing, holding to the tradition of the elders. 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.) 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 ‘unclean’ hands?” 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. They worship me in vain; their teachings are but rules taught by men.’ You have let go of the commands of God and are holding on to the traditions of men.”

Matthew 22:36-40 “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?” Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”

"You have let go of the commands of God and are holding on to the traditions of men.” In the first passage we see Jesus scolding the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law for following the practices of man and not of God. He calls them hypocrites, for He knows that their hearts are far from God. They are pretending to know God, but they don't have a relationship with God. They were practitioners of religion and not lovers of God and man. When Jesus was asked, "Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?” He responded with two commandments, “'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind,' and 'Love your neighbor as yourself.'" As He noted, all other laws hang on these two relational commandments. God desires our love, and He desires that we love others. Rituals and traditions can reflect this love; however, for many people, religious rituals and traditions reflect the last vestige of a dying relationship with God. People will hold onto these practices without understanding the reasons for them. They will perform them as a substitute for a personal relationship with God. They'll carry out the religious acts to please this unknowable, distant God. Jesus saw the fulfillment of Isaiah's prophecy that people would honor God with their lips and practices, but their hearts were far from him--their worship was in vain.

Sometimes very good people try to please God with church going, with praying, with reading devotionals, and even with reading the Bible in a regimental way. They do want to please God, but they have placed this God outside of themselves. They are trying to please him with their actions, their dedication, and with their discipline. But God desires their hearts, not their practices. He desires a relationship. He calls us his children. When we start serving the God of relationship, we fall in love with him, for we know him in a personal way. Our hearts are not far from him; our hearts are very near to him. We learn his voice, we hear his words, and we follow him the best we can in an intimate way. For many years God was distant to me. Yes, I prayed fervently, I sang songs victoriously, but still God was the Great Father in heaven more than He was the Great Lover of my soul within me. I felt I needed to please him all of the time. If I failed in the flesh, I felt removed from him, disconnected. I felt condemned, and unworthy to be in his presence. To me the Bible was more of a law book than a love book. This is a dreadful way to live, for you are never fully assured of your relationship with God.

Finally, I realized the Bible was a love letter to me, and to a dying world. I came to realize that I was not serving some distant God in heaven, but I was serving a God who loved me and wanted an intimate relationship with me. So much so, that He sent the Comforter to me and to everyone else who is "born again" and in the household of God. My life changed and my attitude changed. I then could really start working on the second royal command: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ Knowing that God loved me unreservedly, unconditionally, and that I would never be alone without him, I could start loving people in the same way. Then scriptures such as loving my enemies became understandable and possible. The Pharisees were caught serving an unknowable, distant God. They were following the traditions of man for their own selfish reasons. To the people, they seemed very religious and holy, but they did not know God. Without a love connection to God the Father, the Pharisees were caught up in the spirit of man: judging, criticizing, condemning. But Jesus says, "You hypocrites, you honor God with your lips and practices, but your hearts are far from THE LOVING GOD. You have chosen religion over knowing God." Let us all be aware of the result of following after traditions rather than serving a living Lord. We should know God, not religion. We should walk in the light of Christ's love.