Focus:
kjv@Revelation:14:12 @ Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus.
(
FaithOfJesus thread begun by r
RandyP )
Today's Verse:
kjv@Mark:7:1-23
kjv@Mark:7:1 @ Then came together unto him the Pharisees, and certain of the scribes, which came from Jerusalem.
kjv@Mark:7:2 @ And when they saw some of his disciples eat bread with defiled, that is to say, with unwashen, hands, they found fault.
kjv@Mark:7:3 @ For the Pharisees, and all the Jews, except they wash their hands oft, eat not, holding the tradition of the elders.
kjv@Mark:7:4 @ And when they come from the market, except they wash, they eat not. And many other things there be, which they have received to hold, as the washing of cups, and pots, brasen vessels, and of tables.
kjv@Mark:7:5 @ Then the Pharisees and scribes asked him, Why walk not thy disciples according to the tradition of the elders, but eat bread with unwashen hands?
kjv@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.
kjv@Mark:7:7 @ Howbeit in vain do they worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.
kjv@Mark:7:8 @ For laying aside the commandment of God, ye hold the tradition of men, as the washing of pots and cups: and many other such like things ye do.
kjv@Mark:7:9 @ And he said unto them, Full well ye reject the commandment of God, that ye may keep your own tradition.
kjv@Mark:7:10 @ For Moses said, Honour thy father and thy mother; and, Whoso curseth father or mother, let him die the death:
kjv@Mark:7:11 @ But ye say, If a man shall say to his father or mother, It is Corban, that is to say, a gift, by whatsoever thou mightest be profited by me; he shall be free.
kjv@Mark:7:12 @ And ye suffer him no more to do ought for his father or his mother;
kjv@Mark:7:13 @ Making the word of God of none effect through your tradition, which ye have delivered: and many such like things do ye.
kjv@Mark:7:14 @ And when he had called all the people unto him, he said unto them, Hearken unto me every one of you, and understand:
kjv@Mark:7:15 @ There is nothing from without a man, that entering into him can defile him: but the things which come out of him, those are they that defile the man.
kjv@Mark:7:16 @ If any man have ears to hear, let him hear.
kjv@Mark:7:17 @ And when he was entered into the house from the people, his disciples asked him concerning the parable.
kjv@Mark:7:18 @ And he saith unto them, Are ye so without understanding also? Do ye not perceive, that whatsoever thing from without entereth into the man, it cannot defile him;
kjv@Mark:7:19 @ Because it entereth not into his heart, but into the belly, and goeth out into the draught, purging all meats?
kjv@Mark:7:20 @ And he said, That which cometh out of the man, that defileth the man.
kjv@Mark:7:21 @ For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders,
kjv@Mark:7:22 @ Thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lasciviousness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness:
kjv@Mark:7:23 @ All these evil things come from within, and defile the man.
Today's notes:
Context:
- Before - It is I, be not afraid
- After - Children's crumbs from under the table
Key Concepts:
What is God's righteousness observed doing?:
- Drawing a distinction between the spirit of the law and the hard rule of traditions.
- Pointing to simple illustrations of where the traditions have the opposite effect from what God both intended and commanded.
What does this tell us about God's righteousness?:
- Righteousness is being perceived by man in two separate near opposite ways, one way God's, the other way man's. Man's is largely the things that they feel they can do to earn possession of righteousness they have determined. God's is largely the things HE has done and is doing to move man back into HIS.
- The question must be "what has God commanded" and "how must we obey that". If God commands one thing and we command ourselves another, well then, our shifted obedience must be halted and set by HIM back on course. If a man had one task to do and in the course of doing that went about doing all this other stuff secondary to the task without progressing toward the stated objective we would call that man obsessive compulsive. Self righteousness is no different, it can barely hear the task as stated for all the other things it thinks of itself to do.
How is man reacting?:
- They are grouping into an opposing force, looking for every opportunity to put Jesus down. To best do that they have to appear not to publicly attack the beloved Master (not yet), but to attack His disciples therefore Him by implication. The support for Jesus must be taken down before Jesus Himself can be.
Notes:
While thought to be sanitary, the gesture of hand washing as they managed it was mostly symbolic; hardly enough from keeping germs as we now know them from entering into the immune system. Better than nothing certainly, everything that they made it to be shamefully not.
The issue being discussed however is not sanitation, it is the purity of the soul. If one presumes that one can be kept from the issues of the heart that truly defile a man spiritually like those listed simply by washing their hands or tidying their exterior environment a bit, they are not even discussing the same issue.
Traditions can be either good or bad as detailed by Paul filter:NT-EPISTLES tradition . In the spiritual sense there is no middle ground, you are either on track or you run crosswise. The tradition of these elders began as interpretations of the law, they soon became interpretations of righteousness which quickly devolved into legislation of one influential groups' righteousness upon everybody else; having little or nothing to do with the Law as presented originally. The problem with interpretations is that they are often built upon the false interpretation of the premise as actually meant to be. By the time they are instituted enough to become tradition they fully hardened puddles of glue.
Who taught the masses all these many traditions? The scribes. Whose association to the scribes is immediately benefited in this partnership? The Pharisees. How many scribes are Pharisee? Likely a good many. How many Pharisee are scribes? Probably but a few. Who receives the most benefit then from this public collaboration? Certainly the Pharisees. Watch for this collaboration to continue, we'll get some Sadducee in on the act shortly as well.
As Jesus commanded us to exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, surely He intended it to begin at the source. We begin to see the source that they are operating from in theirs, now to see the source that we would hopefully begin to operate from in HIS.
Key Messages:
What does this say about our present condition?
- EVERYTHING! Probably more than we'd ever know.
- Priority. Is it your hands, your belly or your soul? Is it keeping yourself above defilement without concern for those below you? Is it toward what men expect you to do or what God has command you to do? Is it me doing this to make myself more presentable to God or is God doing this all this and me simply obeying wherever it is HE is directing me (even if it appears to others as getting dirty)? Lot's of questions, right? Only one answer though!
Further Resources:
Comment Board:Mark:7:1-23
index:FAITHOFJESUSDEVOTION - Devotional Index
strkjv@Mark:7:1-23 rwp@Mark:7:1-23 mhcc@Mark:7:1-23
FaithOfJesus2 - Devotion Index
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