WHAT
REALLY DEFILES
Bible
Background • MARK 7:1-23
Printed
Text • MARK 7:1-15
Devotional
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LESSON OVERVIEW |
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LESSON
AIM
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KEEP
IN MIND
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FOCAL
VERSES
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IN
FOCUS
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THE
PEOPLE, PLACES, AND TIMES
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BACKGROUND
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AT-A-GLANCE
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IN
DEPTH
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SEARCH
THE SCRIPTURES
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DISCUSS
THE MEANING
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LESSON
IN OUR SOCIETY
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MAKE
IT HAPPEN
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FOLLOW
THE SPIRIT
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REMEMBER
YOUR THOUGHTS
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MORE
LIGHT ON THE TEXT
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DAILY
BIBLE READINGS
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LESSON
AIM
By
the end of the lesson, students will realize how the Pharisees' traditions,
as well as some church traditions today, hinder true worship of God. Students
will determine to avoid empty ritual in private and public worship.
KEEP
IN MIND
"For
from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries,
fornications, murders" (Mark 7:21).
FOCAL
VERSES
Mark
7:1
Then came together unto him the Pharisees, and certain of the scribes,
which came from
2
And
when they saw some of his disciples eat bread with defiled, that is to
say, with unwashen, hands, they found fault.
3
For the Pharisees, and all the Jews, except they wash their hands oft,
eat not, holding the tradition of the elders.
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.
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?
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.
7
Howbeit in vain do they worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments
of men.
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.
9
And he said unto them, Full well ye reject the
commandment of God, that ye may keep your own tradition.
10
For Moses said, Honour thy father and thy
mother; and, Whosocurseth
father or mother, let him die the death:
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.
12
And ye suffer him no more to do ought for
his father or his mother;
13
Making the word of God of none effect through your tradition, which ye
have delivered: and many such like things do ye.
14
And when he had called all the people unto him, he said unto them, Hearken
unto me every one of you, and understand:
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.
IN
FOCUS
LarryCrabb
and Dan Allender in their book Encouragement
tell the story of a young male foreigner who visits the
In
addition to words spoken without meaning, our actions are often pointless
as well. Such was the case of the Pharisees in today's lesson. In this lesson
we will learn how the church can become entangled in traditions that are
devoid of God's love and contrary to His commandments.
THE
PEOPLE, PLACES, AND TIMES
Tradition
of the Elders.
The Pharisees believed that Moses received additional commandments that
he communicated orally to the elders. These elders in turn handed down
these extra commands through the generations. They regarded these traditions
as equal in authority with the written word, the Law. For example, the
Mosaic Law did specify different kinds of uncleanness, but the Pharisees
took it further by adding their own. They stated that a person who went
to the marketplace and touched an unclean person would himself become unclean.
They even stated that certain cups and pots were unclean unless they were
washed, when this was not in Moses' Law at all. So
they were extremists in keeping their self-made laws and expected everyone
else to keep them as well.
BACKGROUND
Several
major events and miracles take place in Mark 6
leading up to today's lesson: John the Baptizer
is beheaded upon the request of Herodias's
daughter during Herod's birthday party; Jesus feeds a crowd of over 5,000;
and the disciples see Jesus walk on water. Jesus' ministry is reciprocal.
As the Great Physician, He touched and healed all that were sick, and in
turn all who were sick sought to touch Him. Verse 56 indicates that the
people begged just to touch the edge of His cloak so that all who touched
Him were healed. While the infirmed touched Jesus and received healing,
the scribes and Pharisees continued to remain detached and suspicious of
Jesus.
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AT-A-GLANCE |
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1.
Empty Tradition (Mark 7:1-13)
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2.
Inner Corruption (vv. 14-15)
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IN
DEPTH
1.
Empty Tradition (Mark 7:1-13)
The
scribes and Pharisees held Jesus under close scrutiny
constantly. They followed Jesus only to seek ways to destroy Him and His
message. In so doing, they were always asking Jesus why He and the disciples
exercised certain practices. In this case it was these religious leaders'
concern for eating with unwashed hands. What did it mean in biblical times
to eat with unwashed hands? First, the washing of hands was not for personal
hygiene but for ceremonial cleanness. It indeed was a ceremony because
the hands had to be washed in a certain way. According to William Barclay
(in his commentary entitled The Gospel of Mark) some rules for this
hand washing ritual of the Pharisees consisted of the following:
1.
The hands had to be free of sand, gravel, or any other substance.
2.
The water for washing had to be kept in large stone jars.
3.
The hands must be washed with the fingertips pointing upwards, and water
was poured over them.
4.
The fist of one hand was rubbed in the palm of the other.
So
if a person failed to follow this ritual, the Pharisees considered the
person unclean in the sight of God. Not only did the Pharisees and many
Jews wash their hands, but they also added to the law by washing pots and
pans, tables, and other utensils.
How
did Jesus view the Pharisees' hand washing ceremony? He described their
actions as only lip service and vain worship, for their hearts were impure.
The word "vain" here means fruitless. Thus the Pharisee's piety, or worship,
was futile and rendered no honor to God. Worst still, they had "rejected"
God's law and were following their own rules. What a dangerous path upon
which to travel, but many Christians today, like the Pharisees, are trekking
on the tradition trails. Many a churchgoer's response is, "We cannot do
it a different way. We've always done it this way." Unfortunately, they
do not stop to ask themselves, "Is this way God's way?"
Jesus
pointed to a specific example of the Pharisees' vain traditions and laws
when He spoke of honoring father and mother. The Old Testament clearly
stated that children should respect their parents (Exodus 20:12; Leviticus
20:9), but the Pharisees' law asserted a different obligation. In The
Laymen's Bible Commentary, Paul S. Minear
explained the text: "If a son had made a vow to offer to God, or to the
Temple, property which was later needed to support his parents, he should
give this vow priority over his family obligation." Thus, by changing the
law to their own profit, Jesus declared that the Pharisees made the Word
ineffective.
2.
Inner Corruption (vv. 14-15)
The
Pharisees were concerned about washing their hands, cups, and utensils
outer purity. But Jesus confronted them with a deeper issue the issue of
the heart and taught on inner corruption in Mark 7:18-23. These corrupt
things that come from the heart include fornication, evil thoughts, adultery,
murder, and foolishness. In conclusion, when we stand before God in judgment,
He will not look to see if we washed our hands and cups, but rather if
our souls have been washed in the blood of the Lamb.
SEARCH
THE SCRIPTURES
1.
Name two traditions of the Pharisees. (Mark 7:3-4)
2.
What did Jesus have to say about the Pharisees' tradition? (vv. 6-8).
3.
What defiles a person? (vv. 14-15)
DISCUSS
THE MEANING
1.
In what ways can church/religious traditions do more harm than good?
2.
Jesus accused the Pharisees of placing a heavy burden on the people with
all of their legalistic laws and replacing God's commandments with their
own. Do we have Pharisees in the church today? If so, how are they placing
burdens on the body of Christ?
LESSON
IN OUR SOCIETY
In
today's lesson we learned about the useless traditions that the Pharisees
followed. Reading about this religious group provides an example of what
is still happening in the church more than 2000 years later. Many churches
are holding on to rituals, but are not experiencing the presence and power
of God. Some Christian leaders have made the Word of God of no effect by
using Scriptures to justify sins such as homosexuality and fornication.
While other Christians feel they are righteous solely because they go to
church, pay large sums of money, or work on church committees. All worship
that is rendered out of an impure heart is in vain. Jesus' desire for the
church today is to be renewed in mind, heart, and spirit so that we worship
Him in spirit and in truth.
MAKE
IT HAPPEN
The
key verse today teaches that it is from within, from the human heart, that
evil intentions come. This week read the FOCAL VERSES again and answer
the questions in SEARCH THE SCRIPTURES. After you have answered the questions,
write in your journal any insights that you learned from your reading as
well as from today's class. Pray with your prayer partner this week, telling
him or her about any struggles you are having with your new beginning.
If you do not have a partner, join with someone that you feel comfortable
with in your class and the two of you should plan to pray together this
week.
FOLLOW
THE SPIRIT
What
God wants me to do:
_________________________________________
_________________________________________
REMEMBER
YOUR THOUGHTS
Special
insights you have learned:
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MORE
LIGHT
—Precepts
2002-2003