Traditions and Commandments

1. @Introduction
   1. Odd traditions
      1. @Polterabend: German pre-wedding tradition. Guests bring porcelain and other breakable items (except glass and mirrors) to the bride’s house and smash them during a party in order to bring good luck to the couple. Then, bride and groom must together clean up the mess “to symbolize working together through future difficulties.” (Source)
      2. @Monkey Buffet Festival: Annual event in Thailand’s oldest city, Lopburi. For one day in November, the thousands of monkeys in the city are given more than 3 tons of fruits and veggies, with the occasional Coca-Cola thrown in. (Source)
   2. @ Main idea: What defiles a person?
2. About washing
   1. @Mark 7:1-5: The background
      1. @Pharisees and experts in the Jewish oral law (known in NT times as the halacha or tradition of the elders¹) came from Jerusalem to Galilee to investigate Jesus and perhaps entrap him.
         1. This oral law was put into writing about the year AD 200 and became known as the Mishnah.
         2. The foundations of the Mishnah were laid during the Babylonian captivity when the forerunners of the Pharisees decided to build a hedge around God’s law to ensure that no one would break it and send Israel back into captivity.
         3. Basically, it was an idea that sounds great on the surface but reveals a basic misunderstanding of God’s law and its purpose.
      2. About washing:
         1. @In verse 3, a literal rendering of the Greek for “unless they wash” is “unless they wash with a fist.”
         2. @The washing in verse 4 uses the Greek word βαπτίζω, which suggests ceremonial dipping, not scrubbing.
         3. @Exodus 30:17-21: Washing before entering the sanctuary
            1. @Acts 22:16: Baptism as washing away sins
         4. @The issue in this passage (Mark 7:3, 4) is clearly not washing for purposes of hygiene, but washing for ceremonial cleanliness.
         5. Ill: If I wash dishes, I scrub them. If you’re baptized, the pastor doesn’t scrub you—it’s a ceremonial washing away of sin.
         6. When Jews went to the marketplace, they would come into contact with Gentiles. So, the tradition of the elders decreed that they must undergo ritual cleansing of their hands to purify themselves. Moreover, the same cleansing rules were applied to other items, as well.
   2. @Verses 6-8: Jesus’ take on the tradition of the elders:
      1. The tradition of washing hands is no where commanded in the Bible. This was a part of the so-called hedge placed around God’s law.
      2. @Jesus explained two problems with this tradition:
         1. @They required what God never required. (This had the follow-on effect of leaving God’s commands.)
            1. There is a word of caution here for us today: In our zeal for God, we need to ensure that we don’t go beyond God’s command and enforce a higher or different standard on others.
               1. Ill: Jeremy and the suit
               2. Ill: My grandmother’s ban on chess
            2. Risk of misrepresenting God or presenting an inaccurate picture of Him to others
         2. @They gave the outward appearance of following God’s law, but their hearts were out of compliance.
            1. When God instructs to do something or not to do something, He means it and intends for us to follow His instructions.
            2. However, when we have a wrong idea of God’s law, it tends to put us into a mindset of outward compliance without inner heart change.
   3. The defilement here isn’t in ritual washing, but with a wrong application of God’s law.
3. @ Mark 7:9-13: About rejecting God’s commands in order to establish our own
   1. @Corban: Another tradition of the elders.4
      1. Meaning: Hebrew/Aramaic word: Gift or offering to God (as Mark explains to his Roman audience)
      2. A vow which didn’t necessarily require the person making the vow to use his money for religious purposes.
      3. Even if the vow was made rashly, the Jewish leaders would not allow it to be retracted, based on a misuse of:
         1. @Numbers 30:2: Requirement to keep a vow
      4. @As a consequence, it was impossible for a son who took the Corban vow to support his parents in their old age.
      5. The vow could also relieve someone of the obligation (Leviticus 25:35-43) to take care of the poor.
   2. @The problem with washing was that it added requirements to God’s law. The problem with Corban takes it a step further: It effectively tried to change God’s law.
      1. We know of many attempts to change God’s law down through history.
      2. We need to hold fast to God’s law and resist any attempt to change it.
   3. Though the scribes and Pharisees would never admit it, they were defiled not by violating Corban, but by accepting it as valid in the first place.
4. @The inside, not the outside
   1. Now, Jesus directly addresses defilement: Mark 7:14-23
   2. @Important aside: verses 15, 18, 19
      1. @Most Christians see these verses as Jesus’ explicit statement that Christians are not obligated to distinguish between clean and unclean meats. After all, Jesus declared all foods clean.
      2. It is important to recognize here that in this entire passage, the context has been related to ceremonial cleanliness, not hygiene or health.
      3. While the definition of clean and unclean animals is found in Leviticus 11, the distinction goes back much farther. The first mention is in the story of the flood (Genesis 7:2), long before the ceremonial law was given.
      4. In addition, health concerns regarding unclean animals don’t change.
         1. Ill: Once I walked into my classroom to find one of my Muslim students telling a Catholic classmate of the dangers of eating pork. The Catholic student, knowing that I was Christian, appealed to me for help. The whole class was shocked when I sided with my Muslim student.
   3. @Back to the main issue.
   4. The internals are more important than the externals.
      1. The majority of the items in this list are internal things—emotions.
      2. @Luke 6:45: Jesus explains the issue more fully.
      3. If our internals are wrong, we’re defiled. If they’re right, we’re OK.
      4. @x2 Ill: Train
   5. @Focusing on the externals while ignoring the internals is the root of the problem.
5. Conclusion
   1. Summary of main points:
      1. @Adding requirements to God’s law leads to defilement
      2. @Appearing to follow God’s law while our hearts are out of compliance leads to defilement.
      3. @Attempting to change God’s law leads to defilement
      4. @Focusing on the externals while ignoring the internals leads to defilement.

Footnotes