S. Mark 7: 8-9 “You leave the commandment of God and hold to the tradition of men.” And he said to them, “You have a fine way of rejecting the commandment of God in order to establish your tradition!”

O. There are good traditions that build up Christian communities but there are toxic traditions that drive people out of churches. I remembered when I was working as a youth pastor, the dress code was a big issue. I can understand we need to honour God in dressing respectfully but it can also alienate the younger generations. God ultimately looks at the heart rather than our clothes. In today’s passage, Jesus showed his disgust on 3 toxic traditions.
a) False evaluation (1-5) An official delegation of religious leaders came from Jerusalem to evaluate the ministry of Jesus. The concept of appraisal was fine but how they assessed Jesus was wrong. They judged Jesus based on His compliance with tradition rather than the word of God. The washing of hands was only commanded by tradition, not by Scriptures.
b) Hypocrisy (6-9) Jesus spoke boldly against these leaders because their hypocrisy can drive people away from God. The leaders only honoured God with their lips but their hearts were far away from God. Their prime intention was to look pious and spiritual in front of people. Legalism is established when we put traditions as equal to God’s commands.
c) Traditions that nullify God’s Law (10-13) The matter is even more serious when the oral traditions developed in an attempt to prevent unwitting breaches of the Law of God. They become a burden and tended to obscure rather than illuminate the Word of God. Jesus gave the example of how tradition could be used to nullify God’s Law against honouring our parents.

A. We must examine everything under the microscopy of the Bible. Unfortunately, traditions initially well-intended, around the law eventually suffocated it. Jesus was not amused. A true disciple puts God's Word first, not our interpretation of it. No matter how good or insightful an article, an institution, or a book may be, it does not carry the same binding authority as God's Word. Therefore, we need to study, uphold and use the Word as our measuring stick each day.

P. Lord, please protect us from being deceived by our ego and Satan by following toxic traditions. Help us to study and understand Your Word so that we can live daily under Your authority and will.

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