SERMON TITLE: Traditions
TEXT: Mark 7:1-13 (ESV)
SPEAKER: Josh Hanson
DATE: 1-4/5-20
It’s great to be with all of you here at Gateway Church for this first weekend of 2020. And one thing I want you to know — as we begin a new year together — is that God loves you and I love you too.
And we’re jumping back in to the gospel of Mark. If you’re new to Gateway, something good to know is that most of the time you’ll find us going through books of the Bible together — from the beginning of a book to its end. But something we do — that may be a bit different than what you’re familiar with — is that we take breaks as we go through a book. For example, this is our third year in the gospel of Mark. We did three chapters the first year. Another three chapters last year. And this year, we’ll get through two more chapters — putting us at the halfway point in the gospel — then we’ll take a break and pick the book back up again in 2021. So we’ll be starting the seventh chapter today — if you want to find it in your Bible.
Now for some of us — we’re entering the book as we near its halfway point. And that’s a difficult way to read a book — just jumping in halfway — so let me encourage you to go to our website or app where you can find all of the previous sermons from the gospel and catch up with those of us who’ve been here for the past few years. I will say — though — that each of these sermons should be easy enough to understand on their own — so know need to worry if you weren’t with us in past years.
And what we’re going to find — in these stories from Mark’s gospel — is that ultimately — what matters — is what goes on inside of us. Though we tend to focus on external behaviors — God is more concerned with our heart — our motivations — the things that shape what we do. Thus the title for this series — Inside Out.
So — if you have your Bible — please turn with me to Mark chapter 7. We’ll be looking at verses 1-13. We’re in Mark chapter 7 — beginning in verse 1.
“Now when the Pharisees gathered to him, with some of the scribes who had come from Jerusalem, 2 they saw that some of his disciples ate with hands that were defiled, that is, unwashed. 3 (For the Pharisees and all the Jews do not eat unless they wash their hands properly, holding to the tradition of the elders, 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.) 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?" 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 from me; 7 in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.' 8 You leave the commandment of God and hold to the tradition of men." 9 And he said to them, "You have a fine way of rejecting the commandment of God in order to establish your tradition! 10 For Moses said, 'Honor your father and your mother'; and, 'Whoever reviles father or mother must surely die.' 11 But you say, 'If a man tells his father or his mother, "Whatever you would have gained from me is Corban"' (that is, given to God) — 12 then you no longer permit him to do anything for his father or mother, 13 thus making void the word of God by your tradition that you have handed down. And many such things you do."” (Mark 7:1-13 ESV)
Now we’ve just come through a few weeks of the year that are filled with tradition. Religious or not — the Thanksgiving to Christmas to New Year’s season — at least in our country — is a time when most of us can’t help but be a little nostalgic as — the traditions we hold to — especially during the holidays — give us a sense of joy and comfort. Whether it’s watching certain Christmas movies or football on Thanksgiving — after the Macy’s Parade — of course — from when you put up your Christmas tree — to getting out the ornaments your now grown kids made when they were in elementary school — to this being the year when you’re definitely going to keep at least one of your New Year’s resolutions — traditions like these are familiar friends that come around each year.
But traditions don’t always revolve around a holiday. My wife — Emily — and I had a tradition when we’d visit family in Florida. There was an Italian restaurant — Antonio’s — that we loved going out to — on a date — with our kids left with their grandparents. It was a great tradition. And then one year — Antonio’s was closed — and some sort of burger slash tacky bar place took up residence. And — this will sound silly — but Emily and I gave the new place a shot. And it was terrible. We knew it was going to be terrible as soon as we pulled up — but we went anyway. Why? Because of tradition, right?
And then there are traditions we like — but others — not so much. I’m not sure who originally said it — pretty sure it wasn’t Lisa Simpson — though I could be wrong — but it’s been said that “tradition is just peer pressure from dead people.” Now that may come across as sounding negative to you — but it doesn’t have to be negative. Peer pressure can be good or bad. We tend to focus on negative peer pressure — so I won’t spend time there — but how can peer pressure be positive? Well sometimes peer pressure can get us to do something that’s good for us — like when family members — who are concerned about our health — pressure us into seeing a doctor — or some friends pressure you into putting the books down for a few hours so you can enjoy a night out to see a movie. Peer pressure isn’t always negative.
But — something I find interesting — is how we’re all fine with holiday traditions and having a tradition about where we go out to eat for our anniversary — or whatever — but when it comes to religion or faith — tradition suddenly becomes something like a prison (This thought comes from W. Somerset Maugham’s quote “Tradition is a guide and not a jailer.”) rather than something that’s for our good. But is that fair? Why do so many of us look at religious traditions as something to be avoided?
Fair or not — this way of thinking has led many — at least in our country — to adopt a personalized — tradition-less — religion. D.H. Lawrence said, “It is a fine thing to establish one’s own religion in one’s heart, not to be dependent on tradition and second-hand ideals. Life will seem to you, later, not a lesser, but a greater thing.” Today we’d say, “Follow your own heart.” Or “Whatever is true for you — is true for you.” And these kinds of beliefs have led many to think that any sort of organized religion is oppressive — because everyone knows we don’t need religious traditions — personalized religion is just fine.
Now another way to view religious traditions — if you’re not a skeptic of them — is to put unquestionable trust in them. Where religious traditions can seem to override God’s Word. Where — when God’s Word confronts a religious tradition we believe — even when the Bible tells us that our tradition isn’t good — some have dismissed the Bible instead of their tradition.
Now I’m neither advocating for a blind — turn off your brain and don’t question anything — kind of trust in religious traditions nor a “be skeptical of everything you’ve ever been taught when it comes to religion” either. I just wonder if we even know why we’re so revulsed by religious traditions or why we’re so committed to them? Why do we think we know better — than the religious people who’ve lived before us? Or why do we hold our traditions so tightly that it can be hard for even the Bible to convince us that our traditions are wrong?
Well the Christian faith tells us both to question tradition — for tradition’s sake — but also not to reject all religious traditions outright. Because tradition can be a helpful tool when carefully examined by the Bible. But tradition should never trump God’s Word.
And it’s not just the Christian faith — in general — that teaches us to have this attitude towards tradition — but Jesus — through an encounter with some religious leaders — teaches us to have this attitude towards religious traditions.
So let’s go back to the beginning of our story and see how Jesus teaches us this.
“Now when the Pharisees (the Pharisees were the Jewish religious leaders of the day — and when they) gathered to him (that’s Jesus), with some of the scribes who had come from Jerusalem (scribes are experts in Old Testament law — these are like lawyers — but the law they studied were the laws in our Old Testament — and), 2 they saw that some of his disciples ate with hands that were defiled, that is, unwashed. 3 (For the Pharisees and all the Jews do not eat unless they wash their hands properly, holding to the tradition of the elders, 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.) 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?"” (Mark 7:1-5 ESV)
So the Pharisees and scribes approach Jesus to question why he and his disciples don’t adhere to their religious tradition of washing their hands before they eat. Now — just so there’s no confusion — kids — listen to your momma when she tells you to wash your hands before you eat. Mom’s, you’re welcome.
Now the washing — being mentioned here — was a ceremonial washing. A purification. A cleansing. In fact — the word we usually translate as baptism is being used here in the original language. And Mark explains why the Pharisees and scribes hold to this tradition. He probably put this in the story — the parenthesis part — so that folks like us — non-Jewish people — would understand why this is such a big deal to the Jewish religious leaders. And Mark uses the phrase — “the tradition of the elders.” And this refers to what’s been described as a protective fence that the Jewish leaders put around the Torah — the Old Testament law. (C. Clifton Black, Mark, Abingdon New Testament Commentaries, ed. Victor Paul Furnish (Nashville: Abingdon Press, 2011), 172-73.) What’s that mean? Well the Jewish leaders didn’t want the people to break God’s law — so they came up with a plan. “Let’s add some more rules where — if we obey them — then there’s no way we’ll break God’s rules.” And our story highlights one of the rules that was part of this protective fence.
And the “tradition of the elders” — the man made rule — is fairly obvious in our story. “Wash your hands before you eat.” But if we went and looked in the Old Testament — to the books of Exodus and Leviticus — what we’d discover is that God only made a rule for the priests when it came to the kind of washing taking place in our story. (Joel Marcus, Mark 1-8, The Anchor Bible (New York: Doubleday, 1999), 449.) But — in their tradition — the Pharisees have created an additional rule — where the washing applies to everyone.
So we have a religious tradition. One that’s very important to the religious leaders of the day. One — that most likely — is important to the average Jew in Jesus’ day as well. But what does Jesus think of this tradition? Look with me in verse 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 from me; 7 in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.' 8 You leave the commandment of God and hold to the tradition of men."” (Mark 7:6-8 ESV)
So them are fightin’ words. The Pharisees bring some hostility to Jesus — in the form of a question — and Jesus — instead of answering their question — volleys back with a not so subtle counterattack. And what he attacks is how their commitment to their tradition has made it equal to God’s Word.
Now you’ve got to understand why they’re so committed to their tradition. I’ve already mentioned how the Pharisees believed that their traditions helped them — and the Jewish people — fulfill God’s commands. So they didn’t see their traditions as being in opposition to God’s Word. And they believed their traditions were handed down orally — from the time of Moses and Mt. Sinai and the giving of the 10 Commandments — that their traditions had been passed down from generation to generation orally as a way to make sure they fulfilled God’s commandments. So their commitment to their traditions came from a place that wasn’t wicked or evil. That’s why they saw Jesus as someone leading the Jewish people astray — he was calling into question their religious traditions.
Now this may make you wonder — or for some of us this may be exactly why you reject all religious traditions — but you may wonder “Does this mean that all church or religious traditions are bad?”
Well, first things first. Whether you admit it or not — whether you can see it in your life or not — if you’re a Christian — or even if you’d say “I’m a spiritual person — not necessarily a Christian” — you have religious traditions you hold to. For example, not going to church can be as much a religious tradition as going to church. Same with giving, serving, and many other religious type activities.
Now the Bible — which — if you’re a Christian — should be a key part of what shapes you — we wouldn’t have the Bible without tradition. Oral tradition, for example. The original texts being copied, passed around, and preserved — would be another example. So we’re all influenced by tradition when it comes to our Christian faith.
Yet, we must keep in mind what Jesus has said about allowing the traditions of men to become confused with the Word of God. And the question — for us — is how do we make sure that traditions of men — which can be good — do not find themselves on equal playing ground as God’s Word in our lives — both individually and as a church?
A couple of thoughts.
First, we should appreciate — and not reject — traditions that are biblical. Traditions that come directly from God’s Word should not be rejected.
Now some — because they reject all religious traditions — in the name of being spiritual — they rarely if ever gather with God’s people for worship — usually making the claim “But I can worship God in any place and at any time.” Which isn’t not true — it’s just not true enough. You can worship God in any place at any time AND God’s people are to gather together to regularly worship their God with his people. Many other objections to biblical traditions are found today — but this is where our commitment to God’s Word must override even our rejection of religious traditions. When a tradition is biblical, we disregard the words of the God we claim to worship when we reject the traditions he’s given us. So we should appreciate — not reject — traditions that are biblical.
Second, we must be cautious to reject a tradition simply because it isn’t explicitly found in the Bible. The Bible is our Supreme Court of authority but it isn’t our only source of authority. And non-biblical traditions can be good when we allow them to submit to the authority of the Bible and yet don’t reject them when they aren’t found explicitly in the Bible.
What are some non-biblical traditions that we shouldn’t just outright reject? As much as I cringe in saying this, announcements are a good example. We have no biblical grounds for taking time in our worship services to do announcements. “Thou shalt have announcements” isn’t one of the 10 Commandments. But...we should probably still do them. And please make sure you pay attention to our pre-service announcement slides, pre-service announcement videos, check your weekly email, our church app, and our church blog — the Gate — to make sure you stay up to date on everything happening at Gateway Church. Though announcements are a light-hearted example — many others could be given — but the point is that we must be cautious to reject a tradition simply because it isn’t explicitly found in the Bible.
Finally, we must be cautious in our commitment to non-biblical traditions. Yes we shouldn’t have a knee jerk reaction of rejecting them — as I just said — but we should always be openhanded with traditions not explicitly found in the Bible. And these traditions — those not explicit in the Bible — are often the ones we tighten our grip on not realizing we may have elevated their importance to things that are found in the Bible.
But what do we do when things get out of whack? When biblical traditions are ignored or non-biblical traditions carry too much weight — what do we do when we find ourselves in a similar place to the Pharisees? Where we — intentionally or unintentionally — get our traditions out of order. Let’s begin in verse 9.
“And he (Jesus) said to them, "You have a fine way of rejecting the commandment of God in order to establish your tradition! (That’s what we don’t want to do.) 10 For Moses said, 'Honor your father and your mother'; and, 'Whoever reviles father or mother must surely die.' 11 But you say, 'If a man tells his father or his mother, "Whatever you would have gained from me is Corban"' (that is, given to God) — 12 then you no longer permit him to do anything for his father or mother, 13 thus making void the word of God by your tradition that you have handed down. And many such things you do."” (Mark 7:9-13 ESV)
So Jesus shows us exactly what to do when our traditions get out of whack — go with the Bible. The Pharisees had a clear biblical tradition — one of the 10 Commandments, in fact — “honor your father and mother.” Yet — because of their non-biblical tradition — they weren’t taking care of mom and dad under the excuse of, “What we would have used financially to care for you we gave to God. Sorry! God’s supposed to be more important in our lives than you anyway.” And Jesus calls them out. You can’t disobey God’s Word based on a “corban” — which was a vow that — legally — you couldn’t get out of. Jesus says, “God’s Word trumps even vows which have a ‘you can’t get out of this’ legal clause to them.”
Yet — what we see the Pharisees doing — is what happens when our non-biblical traditions become toxic. You see, traditions can either be a wonderful servant or a terrible master. And the traditions we add to Scripture — like the Pharisees have in our story — can easily be elevated to co-equal with Scripture — making them a terrible master.
Now — generally speaking — we’re a conservative crowd when it comes to our view of God’s Word. And that makes us blind to a danger we’re prone to. Most of us can easily spot those who are more liberal with God’s Word — those who reject or ignore parts of God’s Word — who subtract things from the Bible. But as conservatives, our danger isn’t subtraction — our danger is addition. And adding traditions to Scripture can be just as deadly as subtracting things from the Bible.
Now — I can imagine that — for some of us — none of those things may matter to you. Maybe you’re here and are aware that you’re not a Christian. And one of your reasons — for not being a Christian — are the kinds of religious traditions I’ve mentioned. And though — because often we can miss the mark as Christians — by confusing our traditions with biblical commands — my encouragement to you would be to not allow our confusion to cause you to mistake following tradition with following Jesus. Following Jesus does include religious traditions — but it’s so much more than that.
The Christian faith is about liberation — freedom from sin — what you may see as a brokenness in our world. The Christian faith is about discovering the joy that you always knew existed, but could never get your fingers on because this joy is about being embraced by the God who eternally loves you. The Christian faith is about responding to God’s love — with love — in obedience — knowing that the One who loves you has told you the very best way to live. Yes — we Christians have our traditions — but our faith is first and foremost a relationship with the God who saves.
For others of us — though — the concern you may have — with things like religious traditions — is that you’re concerned with doing what’s right. You’d love for me to give you a very clear list of traditions that are good and biblical and those we need to reject and abandon. And no such list exists. Now I love that you long to do what’s right — I appreciate your desire to be good and obedient — and how you don’t want to dishonor God by giving allegiance to a religious tradition — that trumps God’s Word — like the Pharisees did. So here’s my encouragement to you. Know that God is pleased with your commitment to him. But also know that your obedience — you’re figuring out what traditions to keep and which ones to reject — know that none of that is why God loves you or is pleased with you. God loves you — because he loves you. You’re good because God has said you are good. So rest — breathe — follow Jesus — love and obey him — but know that his love for you isn’t based on your performance.
And what all of us — who follow Jesus must remember — is that even though traditions may come and go — though your favorite Italian restaurant closes and gets a terrible replacement — our traditions are not what define us. Emily and I are still a couple with or without the tradition of going to Antonio’s. And for the Christian, though some of our religious traditions may come and go — which is never easy — we can be comforted in knowing that the God our traditions were pointing us to — hasn’t gone anywhere. God is who defines us. Who he says we are — and not our traditions — who God says we are is who we are. And for the Christian, you are his precious child, his son or daughter, a citizen of his kingdom, you are loved by God. You are someone he is changing and transforming from the inside out. Let’s pray.
Heavenly Father, thank you for your Word to us. That you have spoken to us is a gift we often take for granted, but as we begin a new year — may we be firmly committed to being men and women — boys and girls — of your Word. Thank you for traditions. They are wonderful guides in pointing us to you, reminding us of your faithfulness, directing us to a better understanding of who you are and who we are. But they are terrible masters. Help us to be mindful of when we are elevating our traditions to an authority only your Word is to have in our lives.
Jesus thank you for being more concerned about our heart than our behavior. For you know that when you have our heart — when your love for us as displayed in your life, death, and resurrection is our motivation — you know then and only then will our behaviors bring your honor and glory. And that’s my hope for my life and for the lives of all who hear me. That our hearts would long to love you so much that we do honor you in how we live, in what we say, and in our thoughts. That a love for you — in response to your love for us — would swell up inside each of us so that we live a life that’s proof of what we love most — you. Spirit help us to love Jesus more. And we pray all of these things in his name. Amen.
Today as we turn to the Lord’s Table, we’re reminded once again that traditions do matter — as this tradition — is a powerful display of God’s love for us — his love for us that compels us to love him in return and respond to him in obedience.
On the night he was betrayed, Jesus took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, "This is my body, which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me." In the same way also he took the cup, after supper, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me." For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes.” (1 Corinthians 11:24b-26 ESV)
And with these words our Lord commands all believers to eat this bread and to drink this cup in true faith and in the confident hope of his return in glory. God graciously declares to us that our sins have been completely forgiven through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. Let’s pray.
Father, we give you thanks for your Son, Jesus. For his obedience and suffering during his life on earth, and for his giving up of his body and blood on the cross. Give us assurance that our sins are pardoned through his blood and may your perfect love drive out all fear. Fill our minds with your peace and turn our eyes to Heaven, where Christ is at your right hand interceding for us. Unite us with each other through your Spirit so we live in the freedom you’ve given us until our Savior returns. Amen.
At this time, ushers will be passing trays with the bread and the cup down your rows. You may take the bread immediately, but hold on to the cup, which we will all drink together.
Let’s feast on God’s grace together.
Let’s pray. Heavenly Father, in your wisdom, you have made all things and you sustain them by your power. You formed us in your image, setting us in this world to love and serve you, and to live in peace with one another. When we rebelled against you — refusing to trust and obey you — you did not reject us, but still claimed us as your own. Then in the fullness of time, out of your great love for us, you sent your only Son to be one of us, to redeem us, to heal our brokenness, to cleanse us from our sin, and to defeat our greatest enemies of Satan, sin, death, and Hell so that we could be free. And now, you call us your sons and your daughters. In response to these great truths, we now praise you in song together. Amen.
May you go knowing that God loves you — not based on your performance — he loves you because he loves you. Amen.
God loves you. I love you. You are sent.
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