A Gift from the Past
You leave the commandment of God and hold to the tradition of men Mark 7:8 ESV
Tradition – When are we unwittingly following the traditions of men rather than the commandments of God? The answer to this question is not so obvious since traditions are usually considered necessary and authoritative. In fact, more often than not, traditions are believed to be the word of God. It takes someone from outside the paradigm to point out our error, and even when we hear his words, we are more inclined to dismiss what he says rather than examine our presuppositions. Perhaps a short examination of this Greek word (paradosis) will give us the courage to question.
The Greek word paradosis comes from the root didomi (“to give”). The word is used in the New Testament for “what is given,” i.e., what has been transmitted. In other words, this nuance emphasizes what has been passed down, not what has been revealed. But notice that the root is about a gift. This makes it so easy to consider what has been passed down as God’s gift, and that means it is unquestionable. When Yeshua challenges the Pharisees, He is not saying that they have misunderstood the practice of washing hands before eating. He is saying that this tradition finds no place in the revelation from YHWH. He is not saying that the tradition serves no purpose or that it is inappropriate. He is saying that it is not part of the instructions for living given by the One True God. What this means is that the Pharisees may continue to follow their tradition, but they are not to use their tradition as the basis for any criticism of those who do not follow it because it has no Scriptural authority. In fact, hand washing had no authority in either the written or the oral Torah.
Let’s see what happens when we attempt to apply this idea today. Christmas and Easter have no Scriptural authority. They are Christian traditions. The same can be said for the order of worship, religious music, the sermon, the collection of tithes for the church. In fact, most of our contemporary Christian practices are traditions, not behaviors based on revelation. These days we hardly even know what God’s revelation says about how we should worship, when we should worship and why we should worship. We accept what we have always done because we have always done it. Yeshua called the Pharisees to re-examine their claims. Perhaps we should do the same. It’s one thing to continue to practice traditions simply because they are part of our culture. It’s quite another to continue to practice traditions but ignore or reject what is required in revelation. In fact, when revelation contradicts tradition, it’s time to let go of the past assumptions and return to the revelation. This does not mean that we are free to change things in order to be more “relevant.” We are free to return to God’s instructions, not to begin a new set of traditions.
We might ask the same question about many of our doctrinal beliefs. We can start by asking, “When did people first begin to believe this?” If we find that our historical investigation doesn’t take us back to the heart of Israel and the revelation at Sinai, we might want to reconsider what we have always assumed is obviously true. Many Christian doctrines have their origin in post-New Testament thinking but it is my observation that few believers know this. Nor do they care. They are content to continue the tradition rather than ask, “Is this a commandment of God or a gift from men?”
Topical Index: tradition, paradosis, didomi, Mark 7:8
“What do the scriptures say”- is our basis for belief. And the word of the LORD came to.. And the word of the LORD came to..And the word of the LORD came to..- God spoke and God still speaks.. It is the word of God that gives us life, light and liberty. It is the word of God, (both written and Incarnated into flesh) that we should give our fixed and focused attention to, – and when the student is ready, the Teacher will show up.
Christmas and Easter are both traditions. Of this, there is no doubt. Both of these are not only traditions, but traditions that have evolved over the years. The issue at hand seems to be whether or not to “include” Christ in Christ Mass. Both of these “holidays” or holy days, we are reminded, have pagan roots, but this doesn’t bother me, not one bit.. for I too, (gasp*) have “pagan” roots!
Should we pay attention (at all) to what God has to say in His own Book?
~ Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor male prostitutes nor homosexual offenders, nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God ~ Bunch of pagans if you ask me; but hold on here..- what is the rest of the story?
~ And that is what some of you were ~ (huh?- have we forgotten our roots?) ~ But you were washed, (Hallelujah) you were sanctified, (Hallelujah) you were justified (Hallelujah) in the Name of the LORD Jesus (who is the) Christ and by the Spirit of our God ~ (1 Corinthians 6.11)
Did you know,- I too was once a “sinner?” A “pagan” unbeliever? One who was (also) ~ without God and without hope in the world? ~ But- didn’t Jesus come to die for sinners, (such as I?) ~ is there not a cause? ~ For this cause came I into the world..~ God will provide Himself the (Passover) Lamb ~
(Once again.. thank you Spirit of God and incarnated “word of God!”)
For ~This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief ~ (1 Timothy 1.15)
There is (according to our current calendar) a 1 in 365 chance THE MESSIAH was actually born on December 25th. This also has a 1 in 365 chance that this fact bothers me, the fact we don’t have a clue upon what day THE MESSIAH was born. He was born (as I recall) in obscurity. The KING of all kings was born in the “little town” of Bethlehem (the house of bread) and born in a barn. No room for Him then and no room for Him still today. He is (without a doubt) the “crowded out Christ..” And are we not (today) a motley bunch of distracted sheep.
I don’t have to wait until December 25th to celebrate the greatest Gift ever given, and neither will I wait. But I will remember Him and the miracle of the Incarnation of his Deity into our humanity. God became a Man, the Second Adam, and lived among us. The (long) promised MESSIAH, the Christ, our Near Kinsman Redeemer, the Savior of the world has come.
What will I celebrate this Christmas? Friend, not a “what” but a “Who.” The greatest Gift ever. It is the Gift that keeps on giving..
~ Because God SO loved the world.. – He gave.. ~
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uP0tEceh8Bg
When we pray to have the Mind and Heart of God , we will have the heart and mind of GOD to be able to set men and women free from tradition to the CHRIST.
Every year we are all faced with this dilema or wide awakening of the CHRIST actually coming to earth in bodily form for men and women like you and like me: Sinners .
So many are condemned on how they spend their time around these holidays and we who are IN CHRIST seem to be the ones who beat rather than feed the sheep.
I truly believe that if we are to see JESUS because we have spent time with HIM and so others can see JESUS in us………..we must have the HEART AND MIND OF GOD IN ACTION.
What we do with this season is the same we are to be doing in every season… PREACH CHRIST AND HIM CRUCIFIED.
I am a sheep trailing in behind many of you who daily post with wonderful comments… but I am not as dressed as many of you in your ability to address others. I simply glean a lot from the many comments that are on your heart . Carl you are a gem in the family of GOD .. Thank you too Skip and the many others who bring to the table that GOD has set before us: MANNA oh yes, manna named after HIM: I AM THE BREAD THAT COMETH DOWN FROM ABOVE… thank you ..and thank you for your comment on this study Carl. Carol
Thank you, Carol. Living it out is daily and does not pay attention to any “holiday.”
Now when the Pharisees gathered to Him with some of the scribes who had come from Jerusalem,
they saw that some of his disciples ate with hands that were defiled, that is, unwashed.
(For the Pharisees and all the Jews do not eat unless they wash their hands, holding to the traditions of the elders,
and when they come form the markerplace, they do not eat unless they wash. And there are many other traditions that they observe, such as the washing of cups and pots and copper vessels and dining couches.)
And the Pharisees and the scribes asked Him, “Why do your discipes not walk according to the tradition of the elders, but eat with defiled hands?” And He said to them, “Well did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written, The people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from Me,
in vain do they worship Me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.
You leave the commandment of God and hold to the tradition of men. And He said to them, “You have a fine way of rejecting the commandment of God in order to establish your tradition!
For Moses said, ‘Honor your father and mother’: and ‘Whoever reviles father or mother must surely die.’
But you say, “If a man tells his father or his mother, “Whatever you would have gained from me is Corban”‘ (that is, given to God)–
then you no longer permit him to do anything for his father or mother,
thus making void the word of God by your tradition that you have handed down. And many such things you do.” Mark 7:1-13 ESV
This is strong language used by Yeshua in regarding traditions:
1. Honoring with lips, but hearts far from Me
2. Leaving the commandment of God and holding to the tradition of men
3. Rejecting the commandment of God in order to establish your tradition
4. Making void the word of God by your tradition that you have handed down
Four emphatic prophetic statements made by Yeshua concerning traditions.
Are we leaving, rejecting, and making void any commandments of God by embracing the tradition of Christmas and Easter?
Are we leaving, rejecting, and making void any commandments of God by our traditional order of worship, religious music, the sermon, the collection of tithes for the church?
In ALL these traditions are we honoring Him with our lips, but our hearts are far from Him?
And we might add, even if our hearts are not far from Him as we participate in the traditions of men, are we not publicly dishonoring Him nevertheless? How can you blend pagan and holy and still think it is pure? Where would Scripture allow syncretism even with the best motives?
Is Yeshua going to confront the Pharisees or did the Pharisees come to Yeshua to criticize Him? Yeshua pointed out their error after they confronted him. He responded to their accusations. We also see in many other verses where Yeshua confronts BUT does not tell them to do away with all of the traditions.
As we look at the church, in its attempt to do away with all Jewish forms of worship, because of the contempt and hatred of the church fathers, they threw the baby out with the bath water. They created division. They separated the gentile community of God from her brothers in Judaism. They tossed out the Torah and our Jewish Messiah. They created new traditions to replace the traditions of old. In their passion and zeal to follow their convictions they separated completely leaving no trace behind that they were ever connected. Because of their convictions (or hatred), the church fathers, condemned anyone who dared follow the Torah and separated them from the community.
If we are to look back as though we were thinking Hebraically, wouldn’t it be a shame for us to act in the same exact manner? Wouldn’t it be a shame to condemn all those who still follow the traditions set up by the church fathers and instead of inviting them into the joy of Torah, we push them away in contempt. Is it better to be the guy with the bull horn on the street corner or the one who “in his going” shows our culture by our actions the Torah, The joy of the holidays (God’s chosen holidays), the compassion of the Father, His patience, His teaching, His Mercy, and His Grace.
May we not be like the church fathers, or the bull horn guy. May we not through the baby out with the bath water. May we invite people on this journey with us, showing them what it looks like, “in our going”. May our zeal and passion be seen through the lens of love not contempt, out of compassion not judgement, out of patience not anger. May we be a light for the Father, our Messiah Yeshua and the Torah this Chanukkah.
Matt,
That is a good point that Yeshua responds only after the Pharisees criticize. Yet, Yeshua still confronts boldly the traditions of the day. We live in a church culture that does not like confrontation and people who are very comfortable with their traditions. Alas though, does not Yeshua call us to conform to His culture and not the culture of our church traditions? Do you not think that Yeshua is in the confronting business today?
When we look at this passage, we can see that Yeshua is responding with strong words because TRADITIONS have such an impact on those who observe them. Do you not agree? He is speaking in-house language to the Pharisees who were loved and emulated by the common people. Do not our loved leaders of today need to take to heart with corresponding actions the prophetic words of Messiah concerning traditions that are not rooted in the authority of Torah?
I agree that Yeshua does confront us today and that we as a people can become very comfortable in our lifestyles. Yet we cannot miss a couple things from what we are discussing. I am not arguing the why but the how. As well as the what. Did Yeshua confront all traditions as bad? Clearly not. Clearly Yeshua practiced and taught traditions that were not Biblical. Some were from the oral traditions but others, like Chanukkah and Purim are not Biblical Holidays commanded by God but nonetheless are traditions that were upheld and celebrated as we celebrate today. Are these Holidays bad because they are tradition? No, they are traditions that should bring us closer to the Father. Traditions that remind us of the Fathers love for His chosen people and the miracles that occurred in their lives. Traditions can be good and can be bad. It all depends on what these traditions are for, and why we celebrate them.
We must also remember the context of Yeshua’s words. He was speaking to Jews not Gentiles. The Jews also had a tradition that demanded all gentiles become proselytes if they wanted to enter into the covenants and salvation. The Apostles clearly wrestled with this and people like Paul, Peter and James had to sift through this tough dilemma. What we find isn’t the why but the how. Do all Gentiles need Torah? Absolutely. Do they all need to convert to Judaism? NO! Paul says emphatically. But as we see in Acts 15, what are we to do? Turn from idolatry and learn Torah. Learning Torah is a process like discipleship and takes a LONG time. BUT the apostles understood this because they knew the process is what discipleship is all about. It’s a walk. We must look at this, the history of the church and our own history. The history of the church shunned its roots and created division and separation. In my own life when i was so passionate about Jesus or later on about the Torah, in my zeal and black and white mentality i pushed people away rather than bringing them along. The how is about leadership. Do we lead people like a shepherd or do we speak from a bullhorn? Are we so zealous that in our own arrogance we push people away or are we willing to walk with people in patience, drawing them to the Father and His instruction? The People of Israel understood this because they walked in the desert for 40 years. Leading people takes time, sometimes years.
No one in the gathering is worshiping pagan gods or sacrificing on altars. Most appreciate christian traditions because for THEM they remind them of the love of God in their lives. It would be so judgmental of us to say otherwise. Especially when we are not perfect. Who are we to condemn so one else for something we don’t agree on. Do we not think the Father has to be patient with us everyday.
How do we bring people to the Torah who are new to the idea of a Jewish Messiah? Think back on your own walk. You didn’t learn everything at once. It was a journey.
Everything you say comes from the practical experience of living it out! Thanks! And I agree. The fuss over Christian traditions is about their ORIGIN, not their present expression. Most of us came into this relationship through some Christian tradition, and God used them to get us here. But we must be AWARE of their origin, just as we must be aware of the origin of Jewish traditions (this is Yeshua’s point about hand-washing). There is one other factor that plays an important role. That is the perception of the outsider. If I follow a tradition knowing that it is only a tradition and not a biblically-based commandment or celebration, the world sees only my outward behavior, not my inner reconciliation. As far as the world is concerned, I endorse what I practice for the same reasons that the world offers. This is the rub. My behavior LOOKS LIKE I am agreeing with the world.
When I was in India, I asked to go to a Hindu temple to photography its interior. I know full well that Hinduism is pagan worship of idols, and I took a lot of pictures of the blindness of worshipping these man-made images. My purpose for being there was to expose its inadequacy. But the two local Christian pastors who took me to that temple stopped the car some blocks away and asked me to walk the rest of the distance. Why? Because, they said, if they were even seen in the vicinity of the temple, people would assume that they were still worshipping at the temple and their entire ministry would be questioned. Awareness of carrying God’s honor might compel us to distance ourselves from some traditions that actually point the other way. One of those innocuous traditions might be sitting in pews looking at the back of everyone else’s heads. That tradition directly interferes with community. It seems to be trivial, but I wonder.
Matt,
Thank you for your response.
First, I did not bring up the Gathering at any point in my comments, and I am definitely not condemning any one person or congregation. What I was doing was asking questions based on what was introduced in this teaching, and if those questions sting or bite . . .
Second, I am not arguing or saying that all traditions are bad. It is very obvious that this is not so from the corpus of Scriptue and our understanding of that history. I agree we are all on a journey and that we must value and honor where each one of us are at on that journey. The Father is gracious and very patient with each of us as individuals and communities, and for that I am so very grateful and thankful.
Traditions can be good or bad, and in Mark 7 the traditions Yeshua confronts with strong prophetic language is bad.
The teaching that Skip introduces here and what I am commenting on is not one of condemning or judging, but one of confronting, evaluating, and critiquing with ruthless honesty the traditons we call our own. If we believe so strongly in our traditions, then we need to be able to scutinize them, in order that, we can find if they honor the One true King and His ways of living life as His represenative. This is where I find a lot of people and congregations are not willing to do. This is just an observation and not one of judgement or condemnation.
Our Shepherd King has in His amazing love called us out of darkness into a family that we did not deserve or earn. We now belong to the great Shepherd, and He leads us into paths of righteousness for His name sake. Ultimately it is not about the traditons we hold unto, but what the Shepherd King desires to lead us into! Does this not require us to let go of a lot of things, and submit to the great Shepherd for the sake of His world?
Perhaps like with any material gift we receive and find offensive we can either toss it away or return it to the one that sent it (I suppose you could ask them for their receipt so you can return it and buy what you want, but Miss Manners might disagree). Plus, does loving your neighbor allow you to re-gift something you find offensive, harmful or useless? Doesn’t the same hold true for our religious tradition, especially those that were “gifted” to us by our parents when we were too young to understand their potential harm. “When I was a child I spake as a child, I thought as a child, but when I became a man, I put away childish things”. I Cor. 13:11.
As for me, it is time to grow up and put away; not just outward observances, but those things (thoughts, habits, strongholds) that so easily keep me in bondage. Those things I once thought were my unique ‘gifts’ ( a smooth tongue, a proud spirit, an independent attitude) have turned out to be things I should have initially refused to accept delivery on, but didn’t. Now I am, but it is harder to root them out; but out they MUST go. It literally IS a matter of life and death. Thanks for the lesson Skip. I’m learning that not all “gifts” are good, nor welcome. Shalom, Michael
PS your gifts (TW) are always welcome because they are good!