Today's Scripture
Following with true heart – Mark 7:1-13
TODAY’S READING SCHEDULE: Isaiah 28-29; Mark 7:1-13(CEB)
The Pharisees and some legal experts from Jerusalem gathered around Jesus.2 They saw some of his disciples eating food with unclean hands. (They were eating without first ritually purifying their hands through washing. 3 The Pharisees and all the Jews don’t eat without first washing their hands carefully. This is a way of observing the rules handed down by the elders. 4 Upon returning from the marketplace, they don’t eat without first immersing themselves. They observe many other rules that have been handed down, such as the washing of cups, jugs, pans, and sleeping mats.) 5 So the Pharisees and legal experts asked Jesus, “Why are your disciples not living according to the rules handed down by the elders but instead eat food with ritually unclean hands?”
6 He replied, “Isaiah really knew what he was talking about when he prophesied about you hypocrites. He wrote,
This people honors me with their lips,
but their hearts are far away from me.
7 Their worship of me is empty
since they teach instructions that are human words.[a]
8 You ignore God’s commandment while holding on to rules created by humans and handed down to you.” 9 Jesus continued, “Clearly, you are experts at rejecting God’s commandment in order to establish these rules. 10 Moses said, Honor your father and your mother, and The person who speaks against father or mother will certainly be put to death. 11 But you say, ‘If you tell your father or mother, “Everything I’m expected to contribute to you is corban (that is, a gift I’m giving to God),” 12 then you are no longer required to care for your father or mother.’ 13 In this way you do away with God’s word in favor of the rules handed down to you, which you pass on to others. And you do a lot of other things just like that.”
What does this passage mean to me/us
When it comes to the Law, Jesus says that he has no intention to abolish it but rather fulfill the true meaning of the Law (Matthew 5:17). However, he also saw how the defenders of the Law were not following the Law with their heart but only as a rule.
In Jesus’ eyes, the disciples who were not educated nor accustomed following the Law were following God’s way with a true heart. Of course, I would think that Jesus taught and shared how to observe the Law to this disciples during the time he was with them. That is why Peter says, “By no means, Lord; for I have never eaten anything that is common or unclean” (Acts 10:14) as if he was a faithful observer of the Law.
Let’s go back to the Law. God established it for people to follow God with all their life. However, people added human rules with the intention to keep them from disobeying the Law, and it became a ritual they followed habitually not wholeheartedly.
That is why Isaiah’s prophecy is true to us today.
This people honors me with their lips,
but their hearts are far away from me.
Their worship of me is empty
since they teach instructions that are human words
Do we follow God wholeheartedly, or are we merely going through the motions?
Prayer
Lord, help us understand how to follow you wholeheartedly. In your grace, help us grow deeper in your presence. In Christ name, we pray, AMEN.
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