Take Two: Mark 7, Proverbs 17

Mark 7 opens with an extended teaching on traditions taking the place of relationship. The Pharisees are offended by the fact that Jesus' disciples did not observe the ritual washings prior to eating their meal (Mark 7:1-5). It is not that the disciples ate with dirty hands per se, but that they did not go through the ceremony of dipping and wiping their hands to demonstrate that they were ceremonially clean.

A couple of issues that Jesus addresses. The thrust of His teaching is not aimed at religion as though religion were bad. Religion (defined as a system or process one employees to relate to, worship, and commune with God) is not bad in itself. The Pharisees had begun to look to the system as the means to save, rather than the God that the system pointed to.

This is why Jesus spoke the next verses. The Pharisees had elevated the traditions of the elders (religious practices) to the level of doctrines; in fact, the traditions had actually crowded out the doctrines of God. The Pharisees had "honored" God with their lips, but their hearts were not with Him (Mark 7:6-8). In fact, the Pharisees had even gone to the point of sacrificing the doctrines of God for the sake of their traditions.

In Mark 7:9-13, Jesus pointed out that the Pharisees had developed traditions that stated it was preferable to give to the Lord in all cases, even when that meant neglecting the care of ones parents. The Pharisees taught that you could be released from the obligation to care for your parents if you took the means which you would have cared for them and called it "corban" (meaning - given to God). This was not in addition to God's instruction, but was opposed to it. SUch is the nature of rules and traditions if left unchecked.

This is why I do not promote a "total abstinence from alcohol" position as the only way of being righteous before God (for instance). I have no right to "add to" God's Word. It never states that we are to abstain totally from alcohol consumption. (Personally...I am a person who totally abstains because I never want to give a cause for offense...and drinking in my cultural context is always offensive to observers. I can even build a good case for why, in principle, drinking is ordinarily bad. I usually can argue a case from Philosophy as to why a Christian can glorify God in their lives better by not drinking than by drinking.) The point though...is that no one ever became righteous before God by drinking or not drinking. Jesus said that it is not what comes from the outside in that defiles us; rather, defilement before God is a heart issue (Mark 7:14-23).

The next story recorded gives us an example of the right "heart." A Gentile woman asks for help and Jesus rebuffs her and even seemingly insults her (Mark 7:24-27). The woman though...is persistent and does not offer any justification for her request. She merely asks Jesus to be merciful. She is as a beggar before Jesus...imploring Him to be merciful. In her begging, she acknowledges that it is only by God's mercy and grace that she has any hope. Jesus responds with grace according to her faith (Mark 7:28-30). Some of us would be better off if we quit reciting our resumes to Jesus and simply begged for Grace.

The chapter closes with an incredible miracle of Jesus healing a man who was deaf and mute. His method was a bit unorthodox...which tells me the recipient must have shown great faith to allow it (Mark 7:31-37). As a result, the people were blown away and wondered how Jesus could do all that He was doing. He could...because the Kingdom was at hand.

Proverbs 17:15 is the takeaway today. It is equally bad to call righteousness wicked...as it is to justify wickedness. Think that one through. There is a lot there. How do we justify wickedness?