Proper 16 Series B

Proper 16 Series B

Isaiah 29:11–19

Ephesians 5:22–33

Mark 7:1–13

The True Tradition of the Church Is the Ministry of the Gospel of Christ Jesus, Her Savior

The true tradition of the Church is the Gospel, which is the preaching and administration of Christ Jesus.

Other traditions, although not commanded by God, may serve and support that sacred tradition of the Gospel. But the Church dare not “[reject] the commandment of God” in order to establish or hold to “the tradition of men” (Mark 7:8–9).

Sinful people attempt to draw near to the Lord “with their mouth” and to honor Him “with their lips,” while their hearts are far removed from Him (Is. 29:13).

Yet, He is “the Holy One of Israel,” who brings about salvation by His cross. Therefore, “the wisdom of their wise men shall perish,” but “the deaf shall hear” and “the eyes of the blind shall see” (Is. 29:14–19).

This mystery of Christ is profound, for He is the Husband of the Church, and He is her Savior. Not because of any works that she has done, but solely for the sake of His great love, He “gave himself up for her, that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word” (Eph. 5:25–26).

Almighty and merciful God, defend Your Church from all false teaching and error that Your faithful people may confess You to be the only true God and rejoice in Your good gifts of life and salvation; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit. one God, now and forever. 

Lord, cleanse us each day from our sins. We thank You that Jesus was made a fragrant sacrificial offering for us.

Traditions of Men

Rev. Dr. Daniel J. Brege

 …all the Jews do not eat unless they wash their hands properly, holding to the tradition of the elders… Mark 7:3

Is tradition good or is it bad?  Actually it can be very good. It can also be very bad. And sometimes, I believe, it can be neither good nor bad…almost kind of neutral in value.

Tradition basically means to hand something over, especially words or actions.  If it means anything that is handed down from one generation to the next, then it can even describe the handing down of Holy Scripture…which is of the highest good.  If on the other hand tradition means that which has been invented by men and handed down from generation to generation, then it can be either good or bad.  This is how the word tradition is employed in our text…something invented by men and handed down from one generation to the next.

In Jesus’ day one such tradition of the elders dictated that the Jewish people had to wash their hands before a meal.  This washing of the hands was not done for sanitary reasons; it was done for ceremonial/spiritual reasons.

It is easy to understand how such a tradition came to be.  God himself had established sacred washings.  For the priests, God had commanded that they daily wash their hands and their feet before performing the tabernacle liturgy (Ex 30:18ff).  By thus cleansing their hands, God purified them to be able to handle the holy things and the holy food in His house.  By cleansing their feet, God allowed them to walk in His house.  God also required that the “unclean” (any “unclean” Israelite, not just priests) bathe in water before they could be declared clean (See e.g. Lev 14-16).  When we then encounter verses such as Psalm 24:3,4 (Who shall ascend the hill of the LORD? And who shall stand in his holy place? He who has clean hands and a pure heart…) we hear the emphasis on clean hands. No wonder the elders established their tradition of hand-washing, ultimately attempting to mandate it for every Jew.  Such man-mandated hand-washing stood to remind God’s people that He required purity, as indicated also by His washing mandates. Thus we see a possible positive value in such a tradition.

Today we also have salutary traditions, such as bowing the head and folding the hands for prayer, burning incense, making the sign of the cross on oneself, kneeling, employing a processional cross and facing certain directions during worship.  And though our entire liturgy is scripturally based, yet it too is a large example of salutary human tradition.  Such traditions are supposed to magnify God and His Word, magnifying especially Christ’s life, death and resurrection.  They are also observed to encourage reverence in our worship settings.  Yet they are not specifically mandated by God.  If they are enforced as some kind of law, then there is a very real danger they could mislead God’s people, perhaps giving them the impression that by doing these things they merit God’s favor.

As Christ indicated in our Gospel, tradition can be very bad either if it is considered essential or if it supersedes that which is essential.  He warned, You leave the commandment of God and hold to the tradition of men [v 7].  We now have the “commandments” of Jesus which we are to keep (Mt 28:19f).  His Gospel-oriented commandments, drawn from His cross and empty tomb, include the command to baptize, to do the Lord’s Supper, to pray, to absolve, to preach and hear the Gospel, to love one another as He loved us and to continue in His Word.  None of these are human traditions.  Any human tradition that detracts or is given to supersede these commandments is bad.  Any human tradition that supports and encourages the keeping of these commandments is good, for it is a tradition that ultimately magnifies Christ and His work of salvation.

Mark 7:1-13

Tradition and Vain Worship

Jesus criticizes the Pharisees for being overly concerned with mad-made observances while failing to fulfill God's Commandments. Such hypocrisy still abounds, as most people worry more about human opinions that what God things. Given our own failures in this regard, it is a good thing that the Lord not only commands in His Word, but also graciously forgives and promises goodness.

1 Now when the Pharisees gathered to him,(and some of) with some of the scribes who had come from Jerusalem,

Καὶ συνάγονται πρὸς αὐτὸν οἱ Φαρισαῖοι καί τινες τῶν γραμματέων ἐλθόντες ἀπὸ Ἱεροσολύμων

2 they saw that (some) of his disciples ate with hands that were defiled, that is, unwashed. (ritually)

καὶ ἰδόντες τινὰς τῶν μαθητῶν αὐτοῦ [a]ὅτι κοιναῖς χερσίν, τοῦτ’ ἔστιν ἀνίπτοις, ἐσθίουσιν [b]τοὺς [c]ἄρτους

Why did they not wash?  Had Jesus told them not to? By observation? Like His teaching on fasting? Is Jesus taking on all the leadership had heaped upon them? What makes clean?

3 (For the Pharisees and all the Jews do not eat unless they wash their hands properly, holding to the tradition of the elders,

οἱ γὰρ Φαρισαῖοι καὶ πάντες οἱ Ἰουδαῖοι ἐὰν μὴ πυγμῇ νίψωνται τὰς χεῖρας οὐκ ἐσθίουσιν, κρατοῦντες τὴν παράδοσιν τῶν πρεσβυτέρων,

 4 and when they come from the marketplace, they do not eat unless they wash. And there are many other traditions that they observe, such as the washing of cups and pots and copper vessels and dining couches.)

καὶ ἀπ’ [d]ἀγορᾶς ἐὰν μὴ [e]βαπτίσωνται οὐκ ἐσθίουσιν, καὶ ἄλλα πολλά ἐστιν ἃ παρέλαβον κρατεῖν, βαπτισμοὺς ποτηρίων καὶ ξεστῶν καὶ χαλκίων [f]καὶ κλινῶν—

5 And the Pharisees and the scribes asked him, “Why do your disciples not walk according to the tradition of the elders, but eat with defiled hands?”

[g]καὶ ἐπερωτῶσιν αὐτὸν οἱ Φαρισαῖοι καὶ οἱ γραμματεῖς· Διὰ τί [h]οὐ περιπατοῦσιν οἱ μαθηταί σου κατὰ τὴν παράδοσιν τῶν πρεσβυτέρων, ἀλλὰ [i]κοιναῖς χερσὶν ἐσθίουσιν τὸν ἄρτον;

Spoken in anger. “Traditions of the Elders” –mentioned five times in these verses.

6 And he said to them, “Well did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written, “ ‘This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far(away) from me;

ὁ [j]δὲ εἶπεν [k]αὐτοῖς· Καλῶς ἐπροφήτευσεν Ἠσαΐας περὶ ὑμῶν τῶν ὑποκριτῶν, ὡς γέγραπται [l]ὅτι Οὗτος ὁ λαὸς τοῖς χείλεσίν με τιμᾷ, ἡ δὲ καρδία αὐτῶν πόρρω ἀπέχει ἀπ’ ἐμοῦ·

Jesus will yell as their presumed self-righteousness. Buying righteousness with gifts above the tithe. And they were lording it over those who did not.

These sacrifices were weak.

7 in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’

μάτην δὲ σέβονταί με, διδάσκοντες διδασκαλίας ἐντάλματα ἀνθρώπων· 

In vein they worship “Me”

8 You leave the commandment of God and hold to (cling to) the tradition of men.”

 [m]ἀφέντες τὴν ἐντολὴν τοῦ θεοῦ κρατεῖτε τὴν παράδοσιν τῶν [n]ἀνθρώπων.

They set off, let go, leave behind, the commandments of God.

“Commandment” is singular – in Vv. 8,9 He gives an example. Yet it all hinges on the first commandment.

Vv. 9-13 Jesus gives a concrete example of the Pharisees' hypocritical piety. He describes them as failing to obey the 4th Commandment because they consider it more important to give special offerings than to support elderly parents.  Such piety is ultimately self-serving and a sham.

9 And he said to them, “You have a fine way of a rejecting the commandment of God in order to establish your tradition!

Καὶ ἔλεγεν αὐτοῖς· Καλῶς ἀθετεῖτε τὴν ἐντολὴν τοῦ θεοῦ, ἵνα τὴν παράδοσιν ὑμῶν [o]τηρήσητε· 

10 For Moses said, ‘Honor your father and your mother’; and, ‘Whoever reviles father or mother must surely die.’

 Μωϋσῆς γὰρ εἶπεν· Τίμα τὸν πατέρα σου καὶ τὴν μητέρα σου, καί· Ὁ κακολογῶν πατέρα ἢ μητέρα θανάτῳ τελευτάτω·

11 But you say, ‘If a man (should say to) tells his father or his mother, “Whatever you would have gained from me is Corban” ’ (that is, given to God)—

ὑμεῖς δὲ λέγετε· Ἐὰν εἴπῃ ἄνθρωπος τῷ πατρὶ ἢ τῇ μητρί· Κορβᾶν, ὅ ἐστιν Δῶρον, ὃ ἐὰν ἐξ ἐμοῦ ὠφεληθῇς,

"Corban" was an offering above and beyond the tithes required by the Mosaic Law.

The Pharisees and scribes expected the disciples and Jesus to follow their ritual practices, especially those involving washing.  Jesus' quote of Isaiah is to rebuke the hypocrisy of His pharisaical accusers. This passage contrast insincere lip service with heartfelt obedience. See Isaiah 1:2-3

Jesus' rebuke is aimed the Pharisees; elevating of human tradition above divine commandment.

 12 then you no longer permit him to do (nothng) anything for his father or mother,

  [p]οὐκέτι ἀφίετε αὐτὸν οὐδὲν ποιῆσαι τῷ [q]πατρὶ ἢ τῇ [r]μητρί,

13 thus making void the word of God by your tradition that you have handed down. And many such things you do.”

 ἀκυροῦντες τὸν λόγον τοῦ θεοῦ τῇ παραδόσει ὑμῶν ᾗ παρεδώκατε· καὶ παρόμοια τοιαῦτα πολλὰ ποιεῖτε.

 sources:

English Standard Version (ESV)

The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016.  Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

SBL Greek New Testament (SBLGNT)

Scripture quotations marked SBLGNT are from the The Greek New Testament: SBL Edition. Copyright © 2010 by Society of Biblical Literature and Logos Bible Software