My kids were great comic book fans and readers. They knew (and still know for the most part) the storylines and the histories of the characters in their favorite stories. How they became who they are, who their enemies were, who their allies were and what were their strengths and weaknesses. Superman was and is a standard hero figure and much loved comic book figure. Humble and tragic beginnings, selfless devotion to his calling and purpose, just in time saving powers and a fatal weakness that few know about. Unfortunately, some did know.
Mark 7:5 "And the Pharisees and scribes kept asking [Jesus], Why do Your disciples not order their way of living according to the tradition handed down by the forefathers [to be observed], but eat with hands unwashed and ceremonially not purified?"
This is where this devotion starts. The religious establishment was looking for something to hang on Jesus. Some failing or flaw that they could exploit and show Him to be a fake or blasphemer or in the very least no different than any other "sinner" of the day. They (the religious establishment) were rabid to make His Word and His Teaching of none-effect. Here they attack the behavior of His disciples, thinking that they would only do what they had been instructed or taught by their teacher. And clearly this behavior showed a complete and utter disrespect for the traditions of the day, that were older then this man Jesus and his band.
The story of Superman includes the discovery of a fragment of his home planet Krypton, which was destroyed by a horrific natural disaster. The unfortunate thing is that these fragments had the ability to take the powers away from Superman and make him like everyone else - vulnerable to the attacks of evil. The plot twist of why portions of his home world would be toxic to him is interesting from a spiritual perspective (at least to me its interesting). Obviously the whole of the planet was not toxic because the people of that place thrived and prospered. Yet small portions of it had the effect already described. Interesting.
Its at this point I will try to turn away from the comic toward the seriousness of the here and the now. Jesus quickly responds to these religious experts and teachers of traditions. He says that Isaiah called it dead right when he prophesied that this people would honor God with their lips but their hearts would be far from Him. And in vain (this is a sobering statement) they worship Me teaching for doctrines the commandments of men. Laying aside the commandments of God, they hold to the TRADITION of men, like washing pots and cups and hands and many other similar things as they (the religious establishment) do.
I can almost hear his voice raise a small bit in volume and focus as he says, "Full well you reject the commandment of God that you may keep your own tradition." There is a very distinct difference between a tradition and a commandment. A tradition is something that is passed on or given up/over from person to person, whose origins are not necessarily certain or even correct. They get passed on so many times and with such fanfare or reverence from teacher to student that they have a mock-aura of authority, but they do not have authority when stood up in comparison to a commandment.
A commandment is a an order, command, charge, precept, injunction that which is prescribed to one by reason of his office. The key difference is WHO is giving the instruction, not so much the WHAT that is being instructed. The words of a police officer have and rightfully carry much more weight than do those of a civilian. The words of a General have more authority than do those of a Sargent in the military. Authority comes from office not from tradition. And that is where the Kryponite comes in. There is just enough of the home planet (the authority) to cause you to pay heed to its presence but not enough Authority to make it healthy. In fact it has now become toxic. I heard one time of a wife that killed her husband over several months by sprinkling a little bit of arsenic on his powdered sugar donuts that he loved for a breakfast snack. No one donut was toxic but over time this poison accumulates and finally one day a threshold is breached and death comes.
Later in this chapter (verse 13) there is another sobering statment made by the Chief Authority. He told these religious leaders that their teaching of warped and semi-true commandment/traditions had Made the Word of God of None Effect. In other words they had rendered void the Word of God and stripped it of its power and authority. Think about that a minute. It was still the words of God but because of the traditional teaching of some, its power had been drained away so that these words, the words spoken by God, were no different in their power than those of mere man who has no authority to decree a commandment. The power of life is replaced with a slow incremental dose of Kryptonite robbing the hearer of faith, hope, healing and power.
I should say I am not accusing anyone in any church or organization of doing this with malice and forethought (although some do these things with both malice and forethought). I am however saying that what we need is not tradition or historical interpretation translated into tradition, but the pure word of God. The whole Word of God not just a part.
Jesus by this time has turned his attention away from these teachers of tradition that were trying to trip him up. Now he turned to the people who had been gathered around listening to this exchange and he said plainly and clearly to them the heart of the matter - the reason for the teaching washing and cleanliness in the former testament of Moses. He said, "Hearken unto me everyone of you and understand. There is nothing from without a man, that entering into him can defile him: but the things which come out of him, those are they that defile the man. If any man has ears let him hear me."
The tradition was a shadow of the truth, but the Commandment in its wholeness has power and authority. There is no way that we can have power and authority in our lives as Christians if we do not read the Word of God and take it deep into our hearts. We must be discerning hearers of the Word so that we are not snared by a false tradition. We can take the Word our selves and craft a pleasant sounding tradition but it is no different than those if this story. They are just words with no power or authority. Living diligently according to the traditions of our own creation or those of other men will not make us right. Our sincerity will only make the Word of God of none effect in our lives. THINK OF THAT! The more we believe our tradition the harder it will be to lay it down in favor of the Commandment and liberating Truth.
Do we have something that we believe deeply? I mean so deeply that we are living and teaching it others? Then we need to be sure that have fully submitted it to the Master to prove it against His Commandments. I dont want to sincerely believe a tradition and in the end sincerely be lost.
Let me close now with this. Read Psalm 119 to get a feel for what a heart that is hungry for the commandments of God is like. No tradition for that writer, just the Word of God! Just the Precepts of God! Just the Commandments of God! Just the Laws of God!!
I told you my plans, and you answered.
Now teach me your decrees.
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