It’s a waste of time
Read time: 5 mins
”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.” Jesus replied, “You hypocrites! Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you, for he wrote, ‘These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. Their worship is a farce, for they teach man-made ideas as commands from God.’ For you ignore God’s law and substitute your own tradition.”“
Mark 7:1-8 NLT
If we're honest, the Pharisees are often seen as the bad guys in biblical stories. But I want you to put yourselves in their shoes for a moment. Imagine dedicating your whole life to serving the God you feel has been forgotten in your society. You have sacrificed and worked to uphold the standard and bring honor to your God. You have held onto the piety and tradition that seems to have been abandoned. The world is getting more and more wayward but you are committed to staying the course. You believe salvation is found through the knowledge and practice you're displaying. But some uneducated, blue-collar worker from the ghettos of Nazareth seems to be challenging the very foundations you’ve stood on and fought for your entire life. And to make matters worse, He has a following and is growing in success. Like the eldest of the prodigal sons, you stayed home and worked for your father while another seems to have disrespected him and left, but the wayward child is the one who seems to get the praise and accomplishment.
You may be realizing that you have some pharisaical tendencies that you need to work through or are learning to sympathize with some modern Pharisees in your home, school, job, or church. Whatever it is, it is imperative that you understand the conflict here. I can imagine a sense of jealousy, disrespect, and danger surrounding Jesus. This wasn't just about Jesus being more popular than them. These people have fought their entire lives for what they believe is right. I believe there were some Pharisees who genuinely believed that they found the best way to serve God and were trying to invite others to join. There was a sense of safety found in their religion and Jesus seems to be undermining it and teaching their children to do the same. I can only imagine the fear as they fought for the people they loved to be safe in God but their attention was continually drawn to this carpenter and potential false prophet who could be leading them astray. For them, It’s not only that Jesus is tearing down what they’ve worked for and built their lives on, He seems to be leading others in that same direction.
But what I appreciate about the Pharisees is that they didn't just sit around at their after-church dinners and complain about Jesus. Even though many confronted Him with the nefarious intention of getting Him in trouble, others like Nichodemas or the rich young ruler went to Him with genuine questions and concern. I believe many of us need to build the biblical muscle of going to our brother with our questions when they offend us and not just letting our emotions fester in private silos of conflict. Through their questions they receive clarity that has the potential to revolutionize their lives.
They go to Jesus and ask, “Why don't your disciples follow our tradition of handwashing.” And I believe we can receive needed edification and inspiration if we are strong enough to stomach Jesus’ response.
Jesus responds by calling them hypocrites and continues by saying that their worship is in vain. I can imagine them being confused and offended by this. They had worked, studied and sacrificed more than anyone. They had worn special clothes, engaged in special rituals, ate special foods, and unstained from unflattering practices for as long as they can remember and Jesus is saying it didn't count for anything.
I remember getting to senior year in college and the chair of my department telling me that one of the classes I had studied for, stayed up late for, and sacrificed for was not one of the requirements for the goal of graduation I was headed for. I had done the work, but It was not the work that was asked of me. Jesus is essentially saying that while they worked, studied, and sacrificed more than anyone around them, they had fought and become well versed in a class that wasn't needed for their degree. Like Cain, they had worked for and presented a sacrifice that was never asked of them while missing the one that was.
They needed to refocus. They were centered on regurgitating and memorizing the outward procedures that were passed on by their forefathers without understanding the reason behind it. They made this mistake of passing down a how and not a why. Business owners will tell you if stuck between a potential hire who believes in the mission but needs training regarding the method vs one who knows the method but doesn’t believe in the mission of the organization, they would choose the former. Knowing why will lead you to understanding the how but understanding the how doesn’t necessarily mean you will ever connect with the why.
Our generation especially is craving the “why” behind many of these religious practices we have seen but many of those ahead of us don't have the knowledge or willingness to articulate the reason behind their rituals. The Pharisees were missing the reasoning behind their rituals and it was leading them astray. This was a heart issue. While they focused on the outward, Jesus said it was in vain because it was out of order. This is not to say that what they were doing was bad. Logic would tell you that we should wash our hands. Their tradition was good, but idolatry is often defined by theologians as “taking a good thing and turning it into a God thing.” They had made what was a good practice one of the ultimate things of their lives, kicking God out of His throne of supremacy. And many of us are at risk of doing the same thing.
Idolatry isn't often you making a golden or wooden statue that you bow to in your closet. Idolatry is desiring created things more than the creator. Idolatry would be Abraham loving the gift that isaac was more than He trusted the gift giver who gave isaac. Idolatry would be Gideon believing in the size of his army more than the God who called Him into victory.
Idolatry isn't often a worship of bad things. It's the practice of holding good things in a place reserved for God. Idolatry can be putting the job God gave you ahead of Him. Idolatry can be putting the relationship God gave you ahead of Him. Idolatry can be seen in the story of Mary and Martha where Martha was more concerned with serving Jesus than she was with being with Him. We see from the Pharisees that even church and serving God can be an idol if working for God supersedes the priority of being with God.
So how do we learn from the Pharisee’s and not make the same mistake? We need to get to the heart of the issue. We need to recognize that we are not successful based on what we show on the outside but by what we have on the inside. A heart surrendered to God is what is most important. The heart in Biblical Hebrew culture wasn’t just an organ that pumped blood. It was considered the seat of the thoughts, will and emotions. As a man thinks, so he is.
1 Peter 3 tells us to always be ready for an explanation for what we believe. Many of us are putting our hope in ritual and not relationship because we really don't understand the reasoning behind our religion. What you do can become an idol and waste of time when you don't know why you're doing it. In Matthew chapter 7, Jesus says that at judgment day many will come saying that they prophesied, performed miracles and casted out demons in His name, but He will have to respond with “I never knew you. Get away from me those who break God's laws.” Christianity isn't about “doing” it's about “being”. It isn't about practices, it's about positioning. An intimate acceptance of and connection with Jesus the ticket. You can cast out demons, bring millions to God and spend your life trying to worship, but if you don’t actually know God your worship is in vain.
I want you to hear me. I’m not saying fruit doesn’t matter. But knowing God is the only way to have true fruit that means something. We are called to be transformed but the only way our symptoms will be changed is if we are infected by the right sickness. A heart surrendered to God will result in actions compatible with His character. Prioritizing God at the core of our thoughts, will and emotion is what will prompt outward fruit. We need our hearts to be close to God.
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