Note: Devotion based on last Sunday's sermon on Mark 7:1-13.
In Mark 7:1-13, Mark records our Lord’s encounter with a
group of Pharisees and scribes who criticized his disciples for not ritually washing
their hands. In fact, there were no Biblical commands that required this kind
of hand washing. These men were following “the tradition of the elders” (v. 3) or
“the tradition of men” (v. 8) and not “the commandment of God” (v. 9).
When the Pharisees ask Christ about this matter, our Lord responds:
Mark 7:6 He answered and said unto them, Well hath Esaias
prophesied of you hypocrites, as it is written, This people honoureth me with
their lips, but their heart is far from me.
Notice first that he calls out these men as “hypocrites.” They claimed to
be holy men, but, in fact, they were only hand washers and couch baptizers.
The Greek word for hypocrite came from the world of Greek
drama and referred to masks that were worn by the actors. They pretended to be
someone on the outside that they were not on the inside.
A brother in our church during a recent midweek discussion
noted a contrast between what he called “Sunday Christians” and “Everyday
Christians” to make the same point.
If there is one thing our Lord despises it is spiritual
hypocrisy. Consider his teaching on prayer in the Sermon on the Mount (see Matt
6:5-6).
Notice second Christ’s immediate appeal to the Holy Scriptures. They were
asking him about the tradition of the elders. He responds by saying “Well saith
[Isaiah]…,” and he continues, “as it is written.”
Then he offers an inspired citation of Isaiah 29:13 in v.6b:
“This people honour me with their lips, but their heart is far from me.”
Christ takes what Isaiah said about the religious hypocrites
of the prophet’s day and applies that to the fault-finding Pharisees and
scribes of his own day.
We often say that as believers we walk a narrow path between
two ditches, seeking not to tumble to one side or the other. On one side is the
ditch of Legalism (adding to the Word of God) and, on the other, the ditch of Licentiousness
(taking away from the Word of God).
Application:
We must exercise discernment between the commandments of God
and the mere traditions of men.
To be able to discern this difference we must become
life-long students of the Word. We must be reading it privately and
devotionally and hearing it read and preached corporately.
We must confess our own hypocrisy, acknowledging that there
have been times when our lips were honoring Christ, while our hearts were far
from him.
We must avoid hypocrisy. We would not be play-actors, putting
on a Christian mask and putting on a show. Our faith must be genuine and
authentic.
In the end, we should also know and find comfort in the fact
that though we will not attain full holiness in this life, we have been
redeemed by the one who is without sin, the one who is the standard for perfect
truth and integrity, the one who died on the cross for our sins, including our
sins of legalism, licentiousness and hypocrisy, and who was raised for our
justification.
Let us be holy, because he is holy.
Grace and peace, Pastor Jeff Riddle
