Mark 7:1-13

Judge and Defender

Devotional 34 of 50 · Mark chapter 7

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After the Sabbath, at dawn on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to see the tomb. Suddenly there was a great earthquake, for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven, rolled away the stone, and sat on it. His appearance was like lightning, and his clothes were white as snow. The guards trembled in fear of him and became like dead men. But the angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He is not here; He has risen, just as He said! Come, see the place where He lay. Then go quickly and tell His disciples, ‘He has risen from the dead and is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see Him.’ See, I have told you.” So they hurried away from the tomb in fear and great joy, and ran to tell His disciples. Suddenly Jesus met them and said, “Greetings!” They came to Him, grasped His feet, and worshiped Him. “Do not be afraid,” said Jesus. “Go and tell My brothers to go to Galilee. There they will see Me.” While the women were on their way, some of the guards went into the city and reported to the chief priests all that had happened. And after the chief priests had met with the elders and formed a plan, they gave the soldiers a large sum of money and instructed them: “You are to say, ‘His disciples came by night and stole Him away while we were asleep.’ If this report reaches the governor, we will satisfy him and keep you out of trouble.” So the guards took the money and did as they were instructed. And this account has been circulated among the Jews to this very day. Meanwhile, the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain Jesus had designated. When they saw Him, they worshiped Him, but some

Mark 7:1-13 · BSB

¹Then the Pharisees and some of the scribes who had come from Jerusalem gathered around Jesus, ²and they saw some of His disciples eating with hands that were defiled—that is, unwashed. ³Now in holding to the tradition of the elders, the Pharisees and all the Jews do not eat until they wash their hands ceremonially. ⁴And on returning from the market, they do not eat unless they wash. And there are many other traditions for them to observe, including the washing of cups, pitchers, kettles, and couches for dining. ⁵So the Pharisees and scribes questioned Jesus: “Why do Your disciples not walk according to the tradition of the elders? Instead, they eat with defiled hands.” ⁶Jesus answered them, “Isaiah prophesied correctly about you hypocrites, as it is written: ‘These people honor Me with their lips, but their hearts are far from Me. ⁷They worship Me in vain; they teach as doctrine the precepts of men.’ ⁸You have disregarded the commandment of God to keep the tradition of men.” ⁹He went on to say, “You neatly set aside the command of God to maintain your own tradition. ¹⁰For Moses said, ‘Honor your father and your mother’ and ‘Anyone who curses his father or mother must be put to death.’ ¹¹But you say that if a man says to his father or mother, ‘Whatever you would have received from me is Corban’ (that is, a gift devoted to God), ¹²he is no longer permitted to do anything for his father or mother. ¹³Thus you nullify the word of God by the tradition you have handed down. And you do so in many such matters.”

Jesus

Here we see Jesus calling out the Pharisees. They make the first move and judge His disciples for not following their traditions. However, Jesus quickly lays down the law—the actual law, not their traditions. Jesus is seen here defending His followers and exercising authority to judge the law rightly. He is not like the Pharisees, who follow traditions and man’s judgments of the law. Instead, He accurately judges the traditions of man and brings out the truth of God’s law.

His Desires

Before we write off this section because we don’t follow the Pharisees' traditions, let’s examine our own lives. Just like them, we can be led astray by culture, context, and our own hypocrisy. We invent rules that seem religious but may sidestep God’s heart entirely. Jesus clearly desires that we also judge the Word of God rightly and follow God, not man’s constructs.

Driving His main point, Jesus quotes Isaiah, stating that these people honor God with their lips, but their hearts are far from Him—and that they teach the commandments of men as doctrine. Jesus desires that our words and hearts align. He wants our hearts to actually be near to God, not just say the right things.

Jesus is not a fan of the traditions of the Pharisees because their additions to the law of God created back doors for disobedience. Many times, religious structures add to the Bible’s standards of living in ways Jesus never taught. These additions are even used to control and manipulate. Be on guard—these can creep up in every corner of our churches and our own lives.

How many of us have sung songs about surrendering all to Jesus while not actually being in a place of surrender or even desiring to surrender? Or we've talked about loving people, then found ourselves speaking poorly about someone. The list could go on. Do our words align with our hearts? And where do we find ourselves being hypocritical?

Jesus also makes a remark about honoring parents. He could have chosen many areas of the law where the Pharisees bypassed God's intent to uphold their traditions, but He chose this one. It’s safe to say that Jesus cares how we treat our parents. He invented the family and He wrote the Law, so clearly, He wants us to honor our parents.

Follow Through

Elevate God’s way above all else.
Be on guard for our traditions usurping the Gospel.
Honor your parents.

Testimonies

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Devotional 34 of 50

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