Replacing God: Mark 7:6-8
What do your traditions say about you? Tradition speaks about who we are as people. Tradition shows other people what we value. Tradition allows us to stay true to core foundational values. Of course, all of this assumes that our traditions are rooted in something true to begin with.
Today we get to Jesus’ response to the question of the Pharisees about tradition. Having been accused of breaking tradition, Jesus turns the question on its head. Jesus indicates that adhering to tradition is not as significant as the motivation behind the action.
To put it simply, Jesus tells the Pharisees that while their obedience to tradition might look great from the outside, their hearts are far from God. Jesus reminds the Pharisees that God cares about why we do what we do every bit as much as what we do. Doing the right thing for the wrong reason doesn’t mean we please God. The fact that Jesus is quoting Isaiah here means that God sent one of His prophets to accuse the people of their wrongdoing! Therefore, doing the right thing for the wrong reason makes God angry! God wants us to do the right thing because our hearts are in it.
Jesus steps up the accusation by using the rest of the quote from Isaiah. He says their worship is in vain because they teach their own commandments as though they are God’s doctrine. This is a neat point when we get to the heart of it. Jesus isn’t denying that the Pharisees are worshipping. What Jesus calls into question is who they are worshipping. When the Pharisees teach their own commandments as though they are doctrine, essentially what they are doing is equating themselves to God. Therefore, Jesus hints they have replaced God with themselves because they have elevated their own tradition to the level of God’s Word. Since they are worshipping themselves, any worship they offer to God is in vain.
Jesus takes this one step further. After using the quote from Isaiah, Jesus teaches that by lifting their own traditions to the level of God’s Word, they are leaving God’s Word behind. This is another interesting point. God’s Word should be sufficient for us. God’s Word should be our focus. God’s Word should be the place we go for wisdom.
There’s nothing wrong with having traditions so long as they are rooted in God’s Word. For example, at Christmas time we read the nativity story. That’s a phenomenal tradition because it is rooted in God’s Word.
Jesus’ point in this passage is clear. Tradition is fine so long as it doesn’t replace God’s Word. Tradition that is rooted in God’s Word – rather than replacing God’s Word – is fine. What do your traditions say about you?
