“One day some Pharisees and teachers of religious law
arrived from Jerusalem to see Jesus. They noticed that some of his disciples
failed to follow the Jewish ritual of hand washing before eating. (The Jews,
especially the Pharisees, do not eat until they have poured water over their
cupped hands, as required by their ancient traditions. Similarly, they don’t
eat anything from the market until they immerse their hands in water. This is
but one of many traditions they have clung to – such as their ceremonial
washing of cups, pitchers, and kettles). So the Pharisees and teachers of
religious law asked him, ‘Why don’t your
disciples follow our age-old tradition? They eat without first performing the
hand-washing ceremony’” (Mark
7:1-5, NLT).
Many were coming to “see”
Jesus because they thought he might be the promised Messiah; some of these
people were honest seekers who truly wanted to know him. Others weren’t quite
as involved, but they came with good motives, too, wanting to see the one who
was teaching, healing, and changing lives. But these religious leaders came “to see Jesus” and then the next verse
says, “they noticed.” They,
however, were neither seeking information nor merely satisfying their
curiosity. They actually came to scrutinize Jesus as they tried to find fault
in order to judge and silence him. Unable to discover anything wrong with
Jesus’ actions, they turned to his followers and “noticed
that some of his disciples” hadn’t washed their hands before eating.
After seeing the
non-traditional actions, the religious leaders asked Jesus, “Why don’t your disciples follow our age-old
tradition?” [I smiled] At least they were honest about the fact
that this was their tradition, not a divine command, although they often gave
their traditions and interpretations of Scripture almost the same authority as
God’s Word. Since the common people did not follow all of the extra
restrictions and rituals of the Pharisees, they considered them ignorant. The
fact that Jesus’ disciples did not follow all of the laws of the Pharisees’
tradition led them to resent Jesus’ teachings and try to discredit him.
According to the Pharisees, if Jesus were truly a rabbi, he and his disciples
would follow all of the traditions. The Pharisees had religious blinders on
their eyes, seeing only their own rituals and traditions.
Do you know? During the centuries since the Jews’ return from
Babylonian captivity, Jewish religious leaders had added hundreds of religious
traditions to God’s laws, regulating every part of Jewish life. The Pharisees
and scribes considered these traditions to be as binding as God’s law itself.
They were wrong, of course, as Jesus pointed out.
Think about this: Firstly,
today people still come “to see Jesus”
with a variety of motives. Some sincerely seek the Saviour. Many look with
curiosity. But we still have cynics and critics who try to pick apart Jesus and
his followers, looking for problems and negative evidence. Maybe it’s good to ask our own motive “to
see Jesus,” it is mere
curiosity? Find faults? Or really want to know the truth? What drew you to
Jesus? How did you first come “to see” him?
Secondly, although the religious leaders’ attitudes and actions
toward Jesus and the disciples were wrong, we
know that in reality people often form their opinions about Jesus by watching
his followers. As those called “Christians” (‘Christ-ones”), we bear his
name and enhance or detract from his reputation. So, what opinion of Jesus do you think people might form just by watching
you?
Please continue to read Mark 7:6-23 to know Jesus’ response.
THINK BIG.
START SMALL. GO DEEP.
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