Emory Baptist Church

What Will You Do with Jesus?

I trust you have your Bibles this morning, and I want you to find Mark 8:27.  I want to share with a message entitled, “What Will You Do with Jesus?”  I would suggest this is the most important question that you will ever answer and perhaps the only question that every person who has ever lived will have to answer. 

 

Last Sunday, we saw that from Mark 8 and Jesus healing a blind man that salvation is a process.  Spiritual maturity is a process.  Jesus touched the blind man three times before he could see clearly, and remember that physical blindness in the Bible was often symbolic of spiritual blindness.  Jesus touching the man three times does not say that Jesus’ single touch was insufficient.  God had ordained not only the end but the means as well.

 

I also pointed out last Sunday that we see the salvation and spiritual maturity process in the life of the disciples.  In Mark 8:16, they had not understood what having just one loaf of bread meant.  They didn’t understand what Jesus could do with just their one loaf because of who He was.  Today, you will see in Mark 8:27-30 that they understand.  Salvation is a process.  Spiritual maturity is a process.

 

 

1. A Question for the Public, Mark 8:27-28

27 Now Jesus and His disciples went out to the towns of Caesarea Philippi; and on the road He asked His disciples, saying to them, “Who do men say that I am?”  28 So they answered, “John the Baptist; but some say, Elijah; and others, one of the prophets.” 

 

Jesus and His disciples were now in a predominately Gentile area when Jesus asked His disciples about what others were saying about Him.  That question is found in verse 27, “Who do men say that I am?”  In other words, what is the word on the street? 

 

In verse 28, we find their answers.  In other words, in verse 28 we find the public consensus.  Some said that Jesus was John the Baptist.  Actually, there was one main person who said this, and then everyone else followed his lead.  See Mark 6:16.

 

“16 But when Herod heard, he said, “This is John, whom I beheaded; he has been raised from the dead!”  

 

The Jews then followed Herod’s lead and thought that Jesus was John the Baptist reincarnated continuing his ministry of announcing the Messiah.

 

Others said that Jesus was Elijah reincarnated.  Elijah was considered by most Jews to be the supreme Old Testament prophet, and according to Malachi 4:5-6, Elijah was going to come again before the Day of the Lord.  See Malachi 4:5-6.

 

“5 Behold, I am going to send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and terrible day of the LORD.  6 He will restore the hearts of the fathers to their children and the hearts of the children to their fathers, so that I will not come and smite the land with a curse.”

 

Third, there were others who thought Jesus just to be one of the other prophets.

 

The answers of public consensus in the first century are not much different than the twenty-first century.  Today, many religious Jews and Muslims think that Jesus a major and very important prophet.

 

Even secular people believe that Jesus was a great moral teacher in the line of Socrates and Aristotle. However, all of those understandings are inadequate.

 

 

2. A Confession from Peter, Mark 8:29

29 He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?”  Peter answered and said to Him, “You are the Christ.” 

 

In verse 29, Jesus looked directly at His disciples and asked them, “But who do you (plural) say that I am?”  That question is one that every person in the room will have to answer sooner or later.  That question is the most important question you will ever answer. 

 

It is fine to talk about who Jesus was to your mom and dad or who He was to your grandmother or grandfather or who He was to your aunt and uncle.  However, at some point, even today, you will have to answer for yourself, “Who do you say that Jesus is” or “What will you do with Jesus?”

 

Speaking on behalf of the entire twelve, Peter answered, and this is one of Peter’s shining moments.  “You are the Christ.” 

 

Notice that Peter answered differently than the crowds.  His answer was not one of public consensus but of personal conviction. 

 

Jesus wasn’t just a great prophet.  He wasn’t just a great moral teacher.  He was THE Christ.  He was the promised Messiah.  He was the Anointed One who was promised foreshadowed in Genesis 3:21 to save humanity from their sins.

 

21 Also for Adam and his wife the Lord God made tunics of skin, and clothed them.

 

And He is only way to be at peace with God, to have forgiveness of sins, and to have a home in heaven for eternity. 

 

 

3. A Concern about Publicity, Mark 8:30

30 Then He strictly warned them that they should tell no one about Him.

 

Jews in the first century had an idea about a coming Messiah, but it was not Jesus.  They were expecting a military deliver.  Jesus came with Messianic directive, and that was to give His life as a ransom for many.

 

Therefore, in order not to preserve God’s timetable, He instructed the Twelve to tell no one yet. 

 

 

Conclusions/Invitation

I want to conclude today by reminding you of the consequences of your answer to this most important question.  If you answer today’s question, “What Will You Do with Jesus” like the public, your destination will be Hades or Hell. 

What is Hades?  It is a place of distress, of defeat, of death.  Ultimately, it is a place that is devoid of God in Christ for eternity. 

 

Luke 16:23, 23 And being in torments in Hades, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom.

 

1 Corinthians 15:55, 55 “O Death, where is your sting?  O Hades, where is your victory?”

 

Revelation 20:13-14, 13 The sea gave up the dead who were in it, and Death and Hades delivered up the dead who were in them. And they were judged, each one according to his works. 14 Then Death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.

 

However, if your answer is that of Peter that Jesus is the Christ and your Lord and Savior, your destination is Heaven.

 

This morning, you must answer that question.  What will you do with Jesus?

 

Will you be saved?  Will you share that message with your lost family and friends?  Will you join a church that believes and preaches that Jesus is the Christ? 

 

Are You Being Saved?

If you have your Bibles this morning, please take them and find Mark 8:22.  In today’s text, we want to ask and answer the question, “Are you being saved?”  That may sound odd or weird, but hopefully, by the end of my sermon, it will make more sense.

 

Remember what we have seen in the recent weeks.  Some Pharisees came to Jesus to argue with Him demanding another sign to prove His and authority and identity.  Jesus refused.

 

Last week, after leaving the Pharisees, Jesus and His disciples went across the Sea of Galilee, and on that trip, He warned them to watch out for the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod. 

 

The leaven of the Pharisees was legalism and hypocrisy.  The leaven of Herod was immorality.  Ultimately, the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod was unbelief.  Jesus warned the disciples of unbelief because they were struggling to understand who He was.

 

This morning, we’re going to see Jesus heal a blind man.  However, it is unlike anything that Jesus had ever did or will do.  As a matter of fact, this miracle is only recorded in Mark’s gospel.   I want you to notice three touches from Jesus to the blind man.

 

 

1. The First Touch, Mark 8:22-23a

22 Then He came to Bethsaida; and they brought a blind man to Him, and begged Him to touch him. 23 So He took the blind man by the hand and led him out of the town.

 

Jesus and His disciples are now Bethsaida, and they are not alone.  The crowds that normally followed the Lord Jesus had now joined Him in Bethsaida.

 

They brought to Him a man that was currently blind, and they begged for Jesus to touch and heal him.  They did this because they cared about the people around them specifically this man who was blind.

 

Notice what happened next.  Jesus touched the man by taking him by the hand and leading him out of town.   Why would He have done this?  I would suggest it was to establish a personal relationship with him.

 

I believe this is symbolic of the salvation process.  We can point our family and friends to Jesus and pray for Him to save them, but Jesus doesn’t save based on our desires.  He has to establish a personal relationship with individuals in order to save them.

 

 

2. The Second Touch, Mark 8:23b-24

And when He had spit on his eyes and put His hands on him, He asked him if he saw anything.  24 And he looked up and said, “I see men like trees, walking.”

 

Jesus had already touched the man once to lead him out of town to begin that personal relationship.  Now, He touched him a second time with His hands.

 

The end of verse 23 says that Jesus spit on his eyes and put His hands on him.  We don’t know exactly why Jesus did what He did, but regardless, we can know it was what Jesus felt this man needed. 

 

After Jesus spit on his eyes and touched, He asked the man if he saw anything.  Jesus wasn’t checking to see if His touch worked.  Again, this part of the process. 

 

The man said could see men like trees, walking.  In other words, he couldn’t see clearly yet, but he could see more than he could previously.  By the way, because this man recognized trees, that is probably evidence that this man wasn’t born blind.  Something happened later in life that caused his blindness.

 

3. The Third Touch, Mark 8:25-26

25 Then He put His hands on his eyes again and made him look up. And he was restored and saw everyone clearly. 26 Then He sent him away to his house, saying, “Neither go into the town, nor tell anyone in the town.”

 

In verse 25, now for a third time, Jesus touched this blind man, and for the second time, He specifically touched his eyes and made him look up.  Notice the result. The man was restored and saw everyone clearly.  He had been healed completely.  His vision was now perfect.

 

In verse 26, Jesus sent him home and told him not tell anyone.  Otherwise, Jesus would have been mobbed, and He had no interest in that.

 

 

Applications/Conclusions/Invitation

So what do we learn from this experience and these three touches from Jesus to this blind man?

 

First, we learn and can see that only Jesus can heal, and only Jesus can save.  In this instance, Jesus used saliva or spit maybe like we use medication today, but it wasn’t the medication that healed but Jesus. 

 

Of course, this man’s sight being restored is symbolic of our spiritual blindness needing a touch from Jesus.  Every man and woman or boy and girl is born spiritually blind and needs to be healed by Jesus through a personal and saving relationship, and a touch from Jesus is the only possibly way lost people can ever be saved.

 

Secondly, if you believe what I just said, what are you doing about it?  If you believe that only Jesus can heal and only Jesus can save, what are you doing about it? 

 

The people in verse 22 brought this blind man to Jesus and begged Him to heal him.  Are you begging or praying to Jesus to heal your physically sick family and friends?  Are you bringing your lost family and friends to Jesus and begging Him to save them?  If not, why not?  Do you not believe that only Jesus can heal and only Jesus can save?  Are you ok with their blindness or disease?  Are you ok with their lostness and going to hell when they die separated from Christ and literal torment for eternity? 

 

 

Finally, salvation and spiritual maturity is a process.  Jesus touched this man three times and his eyes twice before he was completely healed.  Is that because Jesus wasn’t powerful enough to heal him with one touch?  Of course, He could have.  We have seen Him do just that. 

 

However, salvation and spiritual maturity is a process.  Last week, the disciples didn’t get it about Jesus and leaven and bread, but eventually they did.  We are here today because eventually they got it. 

 

I was saved or justified on April 2, 1985, but I am also being saved or sanctified today.  I am being made more like Jesus every day through obedience, and so are you.  Listen to what Paul said to the Corinthian Christians and the Philippian Christians.

 

1 Corinthians 1:18, 18 For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.

 

2 Corinthians 2:15, 15 For we are to God the fragrance of Christ among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing.

 

Philippians 2:12, 12 Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.

 

Philippians 1:6, 6 being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ.

 

This last verse actually points to a future salvation as well.  I was saved.  I am being saved, and I will be saved because salvation and spiritual maturity is a process, and they key to moving forward in the process is obedience. 

 

Are you being obedient in baptism and church membership?  Are you being obedient in daily Bible study, in prayer, in church attendance? Are you being obedient in tithing, in witnessing, in ministering?  Are you being obedient in your relationships at home, at work, at play? 

 

If there is no obedience, you aren’t being saved and it is a legitimate concern if you have ever been saved.  However, you can be obedient today to call on Jesus to save you or in repentance turning away from you will and way and turning to His.

Is One Loaf Enough?

If you have your Bibles this morning, please turn to Mark 8:13.  Today, I want to ask this question, “Is One Loaf Enough?” 

 

Last Sunday, we were in Mark 8 and look at just three verses…11-13.  In those verses, the Pharisees asked Jesus for a sign to demonstrate His authority from God or His approval by God. 

 

That request seemed odd since we looked back in Mark’s gospel and saw at least 14 miracles that only God could have done.  Nonetheless, they asked, and Jesus answered.

 

He told them that He wasn’t going to give any more signs than the sign of Jonah.  We then understood that to be His resurrection.  The reality was that the Pharisees didn’t want to believe about Jesus what they already knew to be true.  He was God and expected their recognition of such.  They didn’t want to believe that, and so, they didn’t.  Because of their unbelief, in verse 13, Jesus left them.

 

Today, we pick up again in verse 13.

 

Exposition

In verse 13, Jesus left the Pharisees, and went by boat, with His disciples, to the other side of the Sea of Galilee.

 

As a result of Jesus’ anger and indignation with the Pharisees, it seems as if He and His disciples left rather quickly or abruptly.  Consequently, for the next part of their day, they only had one loaf of bread with them.  Is one loaf enough?  That is the question of the day

 

In verse 15, we begin to see some action points from today’s text.

 

 

1. Reject the ways of the world. Mark 8:15

15 Then He charged them, saying, “Take heed, beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod.” 

 

Notice that Jesus charged them in verse 15 and kept charging them.  His warning was strong and repeated.  Take heed or watch and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod.  What does that mean?

 

Most of the time, when the Bible speaks of leaven, it is in a negative context demonstrating how just a little evil can influence so many and is so powerful.  When making bread in the first century, only a small amount of leaven was needed to make the entire loaf rise.

 

Jesus said to take heed and beware.  Both of these directives are commands from Jesus.  Take heed is to notice or recognize.  Beware is to pay close attention and be on guard against. 

 

But what was the leaven of the Pharisees and Herod?  In this context, it was their perpetual unbelief.  They saw the works of Christ and heard the words of Christ.  However, they didn’t believe.

 

Let’s go to Matthew and Luke and see if we can’t find some answers.  See Matthew 16:12.

 

12 Then they understood that He did not tell them to beware of the leaven of bread, but of the doctrine of the Pharisees and Sadducees.

 

What was the doctrine or teaching of Pharisees?  It was legalism.  It was adding to God’s word in what was necessary for salvation and sanctification.  It elevated traditions and preferences to same of authority as Scripture. 

 

Jesus said to beware of such.

 

Luke’s gospel also gives us a clue about the leaven of the Pharisees.  See Luke 12:1.

 

1 In the meantime, when an innumerable multitude of people had gathered together, so that they trampled one another, He began to say to His disciples first of all, “Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy.

 

In this verse, the leaven of the Pharisees is identified as hypocrisy.  They said one thing and did another.  They were two faced.  They talked out of both sides of their mouths.  They were not in private who they wanted you to think they were in public. 

 

But there is still Herod.  What was the leaven of Herod?  Let’s go back earlier in Mark’s gospel to 6:14-18.

 

14 Now King Herod heard of Him, for His name had become well known. And he said, “John the Baptist is risen from the dead, and therefore these powers are at work in him.”  15 Others said, “It is Elijah.”  And others said, “It is the Prophet, or like one of the prophets.”  16 But when Herod heard, he said, “This is John, whom I beheaded; he has been raised from the dead!” 17 For Herod himself had sent and laid hold of John, and bound him in prison for the sake of Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife; for he had married her. 18 Because John had said to Herod, “It is not lawful for you to have your brother’s wife.”

 

In a word, the leaven of Herod was immorality.  Therefore, Jesus told His disciples to beware of legalism, hypocrisy, and immorality because a little of them influences a lot and considering the context of Mark 8, ultimately leads to unbelief, which is the way of the world.

 

That was Jesus’ beef with Pharisees and Herod.  Their legalism led to their unbelief. Their hypocrisy led to their unbelief, and Herod’s immorality led to his unbelief.  He even asked for a sign like the Pharisees in Luke 23:8.

 

8 Now when Herod saw Jesus, he was exceedingly glad; for he had desired for a long time to see Him, because he had heard many things about Him, and he hoped to see some miracle done by Him.

Therefore, in in this instance, don’t be like the Twelve Disciples.  Reject the ways of the world: legalism or adding to God’s Word, hypocrisy or not letting your walk match your talk, and immorality or being faithful and pure in your relationships. 

 

If we don’t reject such, like leaven, a little will influence our entire lives negatively and ultimately turn us away from Jesus in unbelief.  Reject the ways of the world.

 

 

2. Remember how God has worked previously. Mark 8:16-21

16 And they reasoned among themselves, saying, “It is because we have no bread.”  17 But Jesus, being aware of it, said to them, “Why do you reason because you have no bread? Do you not yet perceive nor understand? Is your heart still hardened? 18 Having eyes, do you not see? And having ears, do you not hear? And do you not remember? 19 When I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how many baskets full of fragments did you take up?”  They said to Him, “Twelve.”  20 “Also, when I broke the seven for the four thousand, how many large baskets full of fragments did you take up?”  And they said, “Seven.”  21 So He said to them, “How is it you do not understand?”

 

After Jesus’ warning, the minds of the disciples went straight to the secular or physical, but Jesus’ warning was spiritual.  They began to reason about their situation.  Remember, they had only brought one loaf of bread for their trip.

 

Because Jesus was fully man and fully God, He knew what they were thinking, and He chastised them.  He chastised them for not remembering what they had experienced, and ultimately He chastised them for their unbelief that was just like the Pharisees. 

 

His chastisement or rebuke came in the form nine questions beginning in verse 17.

 

1. Why do you reason because you have no bread?
2. Do you not yet perceive or understand?

• Is your heart still hardened?

1. Having eyes, do you not see?
2. And having ears, do you not heart?
3. And do you not remember?

• When I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how many baskets full of fragments did you take up?
• Also, when I broke the seven for the four thousand, how many large baskets full of fragments did you take up?

1. How is it that you do not understand?

 

How could they not remember what Jesus did in their very midst and through them?  How have those miracles not increased their faith rather than wondering whether one loaf was going to be enough for 13 people?

 

I am prone to remember the bad more than the good.  I think Satan plays a key role in that.  However, I have intentionally tried to remember God’s work in my life and key points in my walk with Lord.

 

I can remember when He saved me on April 2, 1985.  I can remember when I was baptized on Easter Sunday at FBC Venus.  I can remember when I answered the call to vocational ministry at FBC Alvarado in 1994.  I can remember who He led me to take the youth ministry position at FBC North Zulch in 1995.  I can remember how He led me to Hampton Road BC in November 1997.  I can remember how He led me to work with Baptist Student Ministry in 1999 and to FBC Forney in November 2000.  I can remember how made it abundantly clear on September 11, 2014 that my time at FBC Camden was finished, and I can remember how God made a way in November 2104 for my family and I to return to Texas.

 

Brothers and sisters, whether we can do it mentally or we must write it down, we must remember how God has worked previously.  Don’t just remember the bad.  Remember the good and remember God.

 

 

3. Recognize that only Jesus saves and satisfies.

 

Even though the language somewhat nebulous, the disciples had one loaf of bread with them in verse 14.  However, even though they experienced Jesus doing more with less, they weren’t sure that one loaf was going to be enough.  They weren’t sure that one loaf would satisfy.

 

Brothers and sisters, make no mistake about it.  As long as your one loaf is the Bread of Life, you will always have more than enough.  Only Jesus and His will and His way will satisfy you and your life.

 

And for those that have never been saved or born-again, consider John 6:35.

 

35 And Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst.

Therefore, for those who don’t have Christ this morning, I invite you to come Him in faith.

 

Hebrews 11:6, 6 But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.

Look No Further...Here's Your Sign!

Introduction

Last Sunday morning, we saw Jesus, for the second time in Mark’s gospel, feed a large multitude of people using not very much food.  When I say a large multitude of people, I’m not talking about your family reunion.  I’m talking about 15,000 in Mark 6 and another 12,000 or so in Mark 8.

 

This morning in Mark 8:11, we pick up right after this happened, and Jesus and His disciples had gotten in a boat and came to the region of Dalmanutha.

 

 

Exposition

In verse 11, the Pharisees confront Jesus.  Remember these are the Jewish religious leaders of the first century, and the scribes, experts in the Jewish law, were probably with them.

 

Notice they argued with Jesus.  They asked of Jesus, and they analyzed Jesus.  When they first encountered Jesus, their immediate action was to argue or dispute with Him. 

 

Second, they asked of Him.  Specifically, they asked Him for a sign.  They wanted a sign that proved He was from God or that He was God’s Son, the promised Messiah.

 

Does seem strange to you?  Hadn’t Jesus performed signs that only God could do multiple times already?  Did they not know?  Did those signs not count or matter?

 

What am I talking about?  Let’s walk backward for just a minute.

 

1. 8:1-10 Fed 4,000 plus with seven and a few
2. 7:31-37 Healed a deaf and mute man
3. 7:24-30 Healed a demon-possessed daughter
4. 6:45-52 Walked on water and calmed a storm
5. 6:30-44 Fed 5,000 plus with five and two
6. 5:25-34 Healed a woman with twelve years of internal bleeding
7. 5:21-43 Raised Jairus’ daughter back to life
8. 5:1-20 Healed a demon-possessed man
9. 4:35-41 Calmed a storm
10. 3:1-6 Healed a man with a withered hand
11. 2:1-12 Healed a paralytic man who couldn’t walk
12. 1:40-45 Healed a leper
13. 1:29-31 Healed Peter’s mother-in-law
14. 1:21-28 Healed a demon-possessed man

 

So what is the deal?  Why did they ask for another sign?  They didn’t want to believe what they already knew to be true.

 

In verse 12, notice that Jesus was angered at them.  Jesus asked them, and Jesus assured them.

 

Verse 12 says sighed deeply in His spirit.  In other words, the Pharisees’ request really made Jesus mad.  It got His blood boiling.  He was angry.

 

Then, He asked why they needed another sign.  This generation is a reference to the Jewish religious leaders but also to most all first-century Jews.  The Old Testament promised a coming Messiah.  These signs we have already seen point to Jesus as Him.  What was there problem?

 

Third, Jesus assured them that they wouldn’t get another sign.  However, Matthew’s gospel says they would not get another sign other than the sign of Jonah.  That would be Jesus’ resurrection from the dead.

 

Matthew 16:4, 4 A wicked and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, and no sign shall be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah.”

 

 

Application/Conclusion/Invitation

So what does that mean for us today?  For the follower of Christ, you don’t need any more signs to obey Jesus than this book.

If you want God to give you a sign to be baptized, He has.  If you want God to give you a sign to join a local church, He has.  If you want God to give you a sign that you need to start tithing, He has.  If you want God to give you a sign to sacrificially and unconditionally love your spouse, He has.  If you want God to give you a sign that you need to keep your children in church, He has.  If you want God to give you a sign, children, to obey mom and dad, He has.

 

Quit asking for signs and starting doing what the Bible already has said.

 

If you are here this morning and you’ve never been saved and you’re asking God for a sign as to whether He loves you, look no further than the cross.

 

Romans 5:8, 8 But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

 

Look no further.  Wonder no more.  Ask for no more signs.  God loves you and wants a personal, relationship with you by you calling on His Son, Jesus, to save you from your sins.

 

At the end of our service this morning, when the cup passes by you, know that the cup is a picture of God’s love for you.  When the bread passes by you, know that the bread is a picture of God’s love for you.  Now the question is will you love in return.  Will you call on the name of the Lord to save you?  I’m inviting you to do that this morning.

 

 

 

Physical Needs All Around Us...

If you have your Bibles this morning, please take them and turn to Mark 8:1.  I want to share a message with you this morning entitled, “Physical Needs All Around Us…” 

 

This morning, we are going to see Jesus again miraculously feed a large mass of people.  Some of you will ask, “Didn’t we see that a couple of weeks ago?”  Yes, Jesus did feed 5,000 plus men and women and boys and girls back in Mark 6:33-44. 

 

Some would even suggest that these two are actually the same story but for a different group of listeners.  I would disagree.

 

In Mark 6, Jesus used 5 loaves of bread, and in Mark 8, He used 7.  In Mark 6, Jesus used 2 fish, and in Mark 8, He used a “few” small fish.  In Mark 6, 12 baskets were left over, and in Mark 8, 7 baskets were left over.  In Mark 6, He fed 5,000 men, and in Mark 8, He fed 4,000 men.  Finally, Jesus Himself differentiates the two events in Mark 8:19-20.

 

Mark 8:19-21, 19 When I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how many baskets full of fragments did you take up?”  They said to Him, “Twelve.”  20 “Also, when I broke the seven for the four thousand, how many large baskets full of fragments did you take up?”  And they said, “Seven.”  21 So He said to them, “How is it you do not understand?”

 

As we look at this miracle today, I want you to notice three groups or three characters and their role as we look at “Physical Needs All Round Us.” 

 

 

1. The Distraught Needed, 8:1-3.

1 In those days, the multitude being very great and having nothing to eat, Jesus called His disciples to Him and said to them, 2 “I have compassion on the multitude, because they have now continued with Me three days and have nothing to eat. 3 And if I send them away hungry to their own houses, they will faint on the way; for some of them have come from afar.” 

 

After Jesus healed a woman’s daughter of demon possession in 7:24-30 and the deaf/mute man in 7:31-37, many were following Jesus to see what He would do next.  Verse calls them “the multitude.”

 

In verse 1, we also see why they were distraught.  They had nothing to eat.  We see that phrase again at the end of verse 2.  In verse 3, Jesus described them as hungry, and if this physical need went unmet, He feared they might faint on their long trip home.

 

 

2. The Doubters Wondered, 8:4.

4 Then His disciples answered Him, “How can one satisfy these people with bread here in the wilderness?”

 

When it comes to meeting the physical needs of those in need, there will always be doubters.  The wondered how in the world they could help the multitude considering where they were, “here in the wilderness.” 

 

By the way, we are often so prone to forget the good and focus on the bad.  Had they forgotten what Jesus did through them in Mark 6?  Didn’t they pass out the bread and the fish?  They did, but they and we have short memories when it comes to remembering the good.

 

Today, we say, “Is that our job” or “Is that ministry safe” or “Do we have the money to do that” or “They won’t appreciate it.”  In this story, the multitude had been with Jesus for three days already feeding on the bread of life.  Now they needed bread in their stomachs.

 

Finally, brothers and sisters, always remember that we are saved to serve.  I was reminded of that this week in my own time with the Lord in Mark 1:30-31.

 

Mark 1:30-31, 30 But Simon’s wife’s mother lay sick with a fever, and they told Him about her at once. 31 So He came and took her by the hand and lifted her up, and immediately the fever left her. And she served them.

 

 

3. The Divine Intervened, Mark 8:5-10.

5 He asked them, “How many loaves do you have?”  And they said, “Seven.”  6 So He commanded the multitude to sit down on the ground. And He took the seven loaves and gave thanks, broke them and gave them to His disciples to set before them; and they set them before the multitude. 7 They also had a few small fish; and having blessed them, He said to set them also before them. 8 So they ate and were filled, and they took up seven large baskets of leftover fragments. 9 Now those who had eaten were about four thousand. And He sent them away, 10 immediately got into the boat with His disciples, and came to the region of Dalmanutha.

 

Now we turn our attention to Jesus, the Divine, and see that He intervened.  Notice first, that He recognized a need.  The multitude had nothing to eat.  They were hungry and had a long trip home.

 

Second, when He saw that need, how did He respond?  Did He turn a deaf ear or a blind eye?  Did He say, “Well you should have thought about that?”  Did He say, “That’s not my job?”  Did He say, “We can’t feed all so we can’t feed any?”

 

No, in verse 2, He said, “I have compassion on them.”  Again, they weren’t freeloaders looking for a handout.  They weren’t trying to scam the system.  The multitude had been with Him for three days, and Jesus knew that there need was real and genuine.

 

Third, He involved others.  He asked His disciples how much food they had.  He then used them to distribute that food.

 

Fourth, He gave thanks.  I believe He thank God for the food and the opportunity to meet the need.  Ministry is a privilege not a burden, and as we saw earlier, we are saved to serve.

 

Fifth, when the multitude ate, verse 8 says they were filled.  Jesus, the Divine, intervened and met their real, physical need of those in need.

 

 

Conclusion

As I wrap up this morning, I want to highlight three physical needs ministries that EBC offers and can always need more of your help.

 

First, on the first Monday of each month, from 1-4 PM, EBC volunteers at Good Samaritans.  Sharon Massingill is our volunteer coordinator there.  Good Samaritans meets physical needs of food and clothing for those who have physical needs in and around Rains County, and Sharon is always looking for more volunteers for this ministry.

 

Second, every Tuesday night from 6-8 PM in our Fellowship Hall, Dempsey Bullock and others host our Recovery Ministry for those with hurts, habits, and hang-ups.  Those that attend have real physical needs, and we could always use more folks simply to love and support those that attend.

 

Third, every other Wednesday from 1-2 or 3 PM in our Fellowship Hall, Bobby and Dena Westmoreland organize our Back Pack Buddies Ministry which provides food for RISD students who might go hungry over the weekend.  Again, we are trying to meet physical needs of those in need.

 

Finally, after we meet someone’s practical needs, it is imperative that we give that person an invitation to call on the name of Jesus to save him or her.

 

What I want you to see from this text is that includes folks like us and those that aren’t like us.  I believe the very reason for Mark included this story along with the other story of the feeding the 5,000 is to show that Jesus came to minister and save the entire world, not just the nation of Israel.

 

The location of this miracle was in a place primarily occupied by Gentiles.  He had just healed a Gentile daughter of demon possession, and if you believe that numbers have significance, consider the numbers in this story.

 

Some believe that 4,000 is symbolic of the “four corners” of the world, and Jesus came to minister the gospel and for us to take the good news to the “four corners” of the earth. 

 

Also, the number 7 is seen as the perfect number and the complete number.  Notice how many times the number 7 is mentioned in this story…3 or in the other words…777 to show us that Jesus’ perfect and complete plan is to empower His people to take the gospel to those who have spiritual needs after we meet their physical needs.

 

He Does All Things Well!

Praise God for Crumbs!

In the past three Sundays, we have been looking at Mark 7 and Jesus’ interaction with the first century Pharisees and scribes.  Jesus shook up their culture.  He ruffled some feathers.  He orchestrated change. 

 

We’ve seen in the recent weeks that He disregarded the traditions of men compared to the commandments of God.  He declared all food clean.  Today, we are going to see Him dialogue with a Gentile woman.  Please do your best to understand the significance of what I just said.  We are going to see Jesus, a Jewish Rabbi, have a conversation with a Gentile female. 

 

In today’s text, let’s make three observations as we “Praise the Lord for Crumbs:” first, Jesus’ Retreat; second, a Foreigner’s request; and third, a Predictable Result.

 

 

1. Jesus’ Retreat, Mark 7:24

24 From there He arose and went to the region of Tyre and Sidon. And He entered a house and wanted no one to know it, but He could not be hidden.

 

Jesus had left Capernaum and went into a more Gentile area.  Verse 24 also tells us that he had entered a house and wanted no one to know it.

 

We are sure whose house this was, but we assume He didn’t want to be bothered in order to rest and to give His disciples some personal and uninterrupted instruction. 

 

However, the end of verse 24, tells us that Jesus couldn’t be left alone.  More than likely, word had spread of His healing ministry and where He was.  Therefore, He couldn’t be hidden.

 

 

2. A Foreigner’s Request, 7:25-28

25 For a woman whose young daughter had an unclean spirit heard about Him, and she came and fell at His feet. 26 The woman was a Greek, a Syro-Phoenician by birth, and she kept asking Him to cast the demon out of her daughter. 27 But Jesus said to her, “Let the children be filled first, for it is not good to take the children’s bread and throw it to the little dogs.”  28 And she answered and said to Him, “Yes, Lord, yet even the little dogs under the table eat from the children’s crumbs.”

 

There was a certain woman who had heard of His healing ministry and sought Him out because her daughter was in desperate need.  She had an unclean spirt or was demon possessed.

 

She came to Jesus, and she fell at His feet.  This was a sign of the respect she had for Him.  This also lets us know how she viewed herself.  She was a woman of humility.

 

Verse 26 says this woman was a Greek speaking, Syrian from Phoenicia.  To say that she was a Greek Speaker was also to say she was a Gentile.  This entire story is more about who she was than what was going on with her daughter. 

 

Matthew 15:22 even says she was a Canaanite.  That means she was a pagan or at least had been a pagan prior to meeting Jesus. 

 

Matthew 15:22, 22 And behold, a woman of Canaan came from that region and cried out to Him, saying, “Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David! My daughter is severely demon-possessed.”

 

She came and fell at Jesus’ feet and “kept asking” or begging Him to cast the demon out of her daughter, and verse 27 responded to her request.

 

More than likely while in this house, Jesus and His disciples were at a table eating a meal.  This time was specifically for them.  Discipleship often took place over a meal and around a table, but then this pagan woman interrupted.

 

Jesus told her to let the children be filled first.  For it was not good or right or polite to feed the little dogs before the children. 

 

The children were at least Jesus Twelve Disciples if not the entire nation of Israel.  Their filling or food was the gospel ministry and discipleship.  I believe Jesus had in mind His coming crucifixion, and said until then, His primary ministry was going to be to His Twelve Disciples and the nation of Israel.

 

The little dogs were small, domesticated dogs or puppies that stayed in the house.  Perhaps there were some in this house and visible during this experience.  The little dogs were Gentiles. 

 

Jesus said His primary ministry was first to His disciples and the nation of Israel while He was on earth.  After His crucifixion and resurrection, we see in the Book of Acts the exponential growth of the Gentile Church and echoed by Paul in Romans 1:16. 

 

Romans 1:16, 16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek.

 

However, this Gentile woman had a witty reply.  She addressed Jesus as Lord.  By the way, this is the only time in Mark’s Gospel that ever happens. 

 

She acknowledged that even the little dogs benefitted from the children’s crumbs that accidently or inadvertently fell to the ground.  In other words, even Gentiles could receive blessings from Jesus’ ministry to Israel. 

 

 

3. A Predictable Result, 7:29-30

29 Then He said to her, “For this saying go your way; the demon has gone out of your daughter.”  30 And when she had come to her house, she found the demon gone out, and her daughter lying on the bed.

 

Jesus’ final words to this woman began in verse 29.  This saying demonstrated her faith and hope in Jesus.  We already saw her actions of humility and respect when she came and fell at Jesus’ feet and begged Him to intervene in her daughter’s life. 

 

Because of this woman’s faith, Jesus healed her daughter from a distance.  This too is the only instance of healing from a distance in Mark’s Gospel and foreshadows spiritual healing that is found only in Jesus. 

 

In verse 30, this woman’s faith was followed by her actions.  She believed Jesus, went back to her house and found her daughter healed exactly when Jesus spoke.  That is implied in the language of the New Testament.  Faith in Christ honors Him and as a result, He honored this woman’s faith.

 

So what do we take away from this story?  Hopefully, the answers are obvious, but just in case they aren’t.

 

Applications

First, Jesus will save anyone, anytime, anywhere regardless of race, social class, political party, marital status, education, or gender who has faith to call on Him as Lord and Savior.  See John 3:16 and Romans 10:12-13.

 

John 3:16, 16 For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.

 

Romans 10:12-13, 12 For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek, for the same Lord over all is rich to all who call upon Him. 13 For “whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.”

 

Second, as a follower of Christ, it is our obligation and privilege to share the good news that Jesus saves with anyone and everyone that God puts in our path and to even go to all the nations.

 

Matthew 28:19-20, 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen.

 

Finally, for all of our parents this morning, when your child is in need, run to Jesus and beg Him to intervene.

 

Matthew 7:7-11, 7 “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. 8 For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened. 9 Or what man is there among you who, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? 10 Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent? 11 If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him!

 

James 5:16, 16 Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.

 

Our invitation this morning is for you to call on Jesus to save you, for you to commit to sharing the gospel with whomever Jesus puts in your path, and for parents to pray to Jesus for Him to intervene in the life of your physically or spiritually sick child.

 

Food Can't Do That!

The past two Sundays, we have looked at Jesus’ dialogue with the Pharisees and scribes regarding the traditions of men and the authority they hold compared to the commandments of God and the authority they hold.  Jesus’ point to them and my point to us was that traditions or preferences or opinions of men become sinful if and when we elevate them to having the same authority as God’s Word.

 

Jesus pointed out a specific example of how the Pharisees and scribes were faithful to the tradition of man called “Corban” but were guilty of not honoring their fathers and mothers, the fifth commandment.  Jesus said they were experts at rejecting the commandments of God in order to keep their traditions.  Ultimately, Jesus told them and us that legalism, adding to God’s Word, is sinful.

 

Today, we are still with Jesus and the Pharisees and scribes in Mark 7, and Jesus is going to give some further explanation regarding what defiles us.  The Pharisees and scribes believed that defilement comes from the outside.  Jesus is going to say otherwise.

 

 

 

Exposition

14 When He had called all the multitude to Himself, He said to them, “Hear Me, everyone, and understand: 15 There is nothing that enters a man from outside which can defile him; but the things which come out of him, those are the things that defile a man. 16 If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear!” 

 

In verse 14, Jesus called the multitude of people together to hear His further explanation of defilement.  This included Pharisees and scribes and disciples and others.  In 7:15, we find His main point that all of them desperately needed to understand.

 

Here it is.  There is nothing outside a man that can defile him if it goes into him.  This is true for food or anything else that might be considered unclean. 

 

Was Jesus contradicting what Moses taught in the Law?  After all, Leviticus 11 and Deuteronomy 14 are all about not eating unclean foods.  Not at all.

 

Understand that no food could make you unclean in Moses’ day or Jesus’ day or in our day.  It was disobedience to the commandments of God that defiled someone then and now. 

 

Jesus went on to say something very similar.  The things which come out of a man, specifically his heart are what defile him.  However, the Twelve Disciples didn’t really understand because this contrary to what they thought and what were the traditions of men that had been handed down to them.  Therefore, they asked for further explanation.

 

 

17 When He had entered a house away from the crowd, His disciples asked Him concerning the parable.

 

Verse 17 probably took place at Peter’s house.  It was there that His disciples asked for further explanation of what He had said.

 

By the way, it is probably not inconsequential that Jesus further explained His teachings in a house.  That was probably a foreshadowing of the body of Christ gathering together in the Lord’s House, the Church, to hear and understand His Word. 

 

That is still true today.  Yes, we all have Bibles and the Spirit, if you’ve been born again, and you are to learn God’s Word on your own on a daily basis.  However, you should also make coming to the Lord’s House on the Lord’s Day a top priority in further understanding His Word.  You don’t get that the ballfields or golf course or lake or deer stand.   

 

 

18 So He said to them, “Are you thus without understanding also? Do you not perceive that whatever enters a man from outside cannot defile him…

 

In verse 18, we see some of Jesus’ frustration.  He expected His disciples to know better, but like the Pharisees, they just don’t get it.  Again, He reminded them of what He said earlier.  Whatever goes into a man from the outside cannot defile him. 

 

 

19 because it does not enter his heart but his stomach, and is eliminated, thus purifying all foods?”

 

Verse 19 is His rationale.  The reason that nothing going in the body from the outside can defile a man is because food goes into the stomach as opposed to the heart and is eliminated or literally empties into the latrine or sewer.

 

Then Mark added to that with this thought.  Jesus was declaring all foods clean.  This was perfectly normal for Mark to do since he was following Peter’s eye-witness testimony, and in Acts 10, the Lord told this truth to Peter for the first time. 

 

Acts 10 is the vision of a sheet coming down out of heaven and the Lord speaking to Peter telling him to kill and eat whatever he so desired.  See Acts 10:9-16.

 

9 The next day, as they went on their journey and drew near the city, Peter went up on the housetop to pray, about the sixth hour. 10 Then he became very hungry and wanted to eat; but while they made ready, he fell into a trance 11 and saw heaven opened and an object like a great sheet bound at the four corners, descending to him and let down to the earth. 12 In it were all kinds of four-footed animals of the earth, wild beasts, creeping things, and birds of the air. 13 And a voice came to him, “Rise, Peter; kill and eat.”  14 But Peter said, “Not so, Lord! For I have never eaten anything common or unclean.”  15 And a voice spoke to him again the second time, “What God has cleansed you must not call common.” 16 This was done three times. And the object was taken up into heaven again.

20 And He said, “What comes out of a man, that defiles a man.

 

In verse 20, Jesus again told the disciples what He told the Pharisees back in 7:15.  It is what comes out of the mouth that defiles a man because what comes out of the mouth is really what comes out of the heart.

 

In other words, physical pollution cannot result in spiritual pollution.  Physical pollution can only pollute you physically but not spiritually.

 

And then in 7:21-22, Jesus gave twelve examples of what comes out of our hearts that defiles us.  The first seven are plural and mean these are repeated actions.  The last six are singular and are attitudes.

 

 

21 For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, 22 thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lewdness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness.

 

1. Evil thoughts: self-explanatory;
2. Adulteries: sexual immorality between those who are married;
3. Fornications: sexual immorality with those who aren’t married;
4. Murders: self-explanatory;
5. Thefts: self-explanatory;
6. Covetousness: longing or lusting for what is not yours to have;
7. Wickedness-intentional evil;
8. Deceit-fraud;
9. Lewdness: lack of self-control specifically with sexuality;
10. An evil eye: stinginess;
11. Blasphemy: speaking evil of God or others;
12. Pride: arrogance;
13. Foolishness: moral and spiritual insensitivity.

 

 

23 All these evil things come from within and defile a man.”

 

Now for the third time and in a summary statement, Jesus declared all of these things evil as they come from man’s heart and defile him.

 

 

 

Conclusion

First, as a follower of Christ, we must guard our hearts.  A computer science acronym that can be traced all the way back to the 1950’s and 1960’s is GIGO.  It means garbage in, garbage out.  Computers don’t produce garbage or errors unless there is an error or garbage in the programming or what is put in them.  

 

The same is true for us.  When take in what is unholy from the internet and social media and television and the company we keep, we can expect unholy to come out in our personal behavior.  That’s what Jesus said in Matthew 12:34.

 

Matthew 12:34, For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.

 

Therefore, we must guard our hearts.  See Proverbs 4:23.

 

Proverbs 4:23, Keep your heart with all diligence, For out of it spring the issues of life.

 

Secondly, if you’re here this morning and evil is constantly coming out of your heart, you need to know that your heart is evil according to Jeremiah 17:9.

 

Jeremiah 17:9, 9 “The heart is deceitful above all things, And desperately wicked; Who can know it?”

 

The solution to your problem is not trying harder.  The solution to your problem is a spiritual heart transplant.  See 2 Corinthians 5:17.

 

2 Corinthians 5:17, 17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.

 

That can happen for you today by admitting that you’re a sinner.  Believing that Jesus died on the cross and in your place for your sins, and calling on Him to save you.

 

Traditions are Sinful! Part 2

Last Sunday morning, I shared a message with you entitled, “Traditions are Sinful.”  We continue with that same idea or theme in today’s text.

 

Jesus condemned the traditions of men last week because the Pharisees and scribes were elevating their traditions to the same level of authority as God’s Word.  They honored Jesus with their lips, but their hearts did not worship Him.

 

Unfortunately, we are prone to do the same.  We have traditions and preferences and opinions, and that is fine and normal.  However, we are also prone to elevate our traditions or our preferences or our opinions to the same level of authority as God’s Word.  When we do that, our traditions are sinful, and I gave you some examples of our traditions or preferences that we elevate regarding dress and worship songs and recreation. 

 

Again, traditions and preferences and opinions are fine, but when we say they are biblical when they’re not, our traditions have become sinful, and we are hypocrites. 

 

This morning, we look at another example of the Pharisees and the scribes demonstrating their own hypocrisy.  I want to make three observations with you as we rejoin Jesus and the Pharisees and the scribes in this courtroom setting.

 

 

1. The Indictment from the Lord, Mark 7:9

9 He said to them, “All too well you reject the commandment of God, that you may keep your tradition.

 

Jesus continued addressing the Pharisees and scribes after they had questioned Him about His disciples eating with unclean or unwashed hands.

 

He sarcastically noted that they were good at rejecting God’s Word.  In the NASB, He called them “experts” at ignoring the Bible.  They were experts in setting aside the commandments of God in order to keep their own traditions. 

 

Jesus’ indictment of them was that held the traditions of men as having the same authority as God’s Word, and that is sinful.

 

These men should have known better.  See Deuteronomy 4:2.

 

Deuteronomy 4:2, “2 You shall not add to the word which I command you, nor take from it, that you may keep the commandments of the Lord your God which I command you.

 

 

2. The Evidence from the Law, Mark 7:10-12

10 For Moses said, ‘Honor your father and your mother’; and, ‘He who curses father or mother, let him be put to death.’ 11 But you say, ‘If a man says to his father or mother, “Whatever profit you might have received from me is Corban”—’ (that is, a gift to God), 12 then you no longer let him do anything for his father or his mother…

 

After Jesus’ indictment of the Pharisees and scribes elevating the traditions of men to the same level as God’s Word, Jesus gave them proof by turning to the Bible.

 

In verse 10, He quoted the fifth of the ten commandments to honor father and mother.  However, He went a step further and presented evidence in the positive and the negative. 

 

Exodus 20:12, 12 “Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long upon the land which the Lord your God is giving you.

 

Deuteronomy 5:16, 16 ‘Honor your father and your mother, as the Lord your God has commanded you, that your days may be long, and that it may be well with you in the land which the Lord your God is giving you.

 

Exodus 21:17, 17 “And he who curses his father or his mother shall surely be put to death.

 

Leviticus 20:9, 9 ‘For everyone who curses his father or his mother shall surely be put to death. He has cursed his father or his mother. His blood shall be upon him.

 

In verses 11-12, He said something that deserves some further explanation as He reminded the Pharisees and scribes of what they had said and practiced. 

 

They understood the command to honor and take care of father and mother, but they practiced greed.  Saying something was Corban was to commit one’s possessions or financial resources to God as a gift or offering.  Sounds good doesn’t it?  However, you will never find this tradition or commandment in God’s Word.

 

Once this vow was taken, it could not be broken.  See Numbers 30:2.

 

Numbers 30:2, 2 If a man makes a vow to the Lord, or swears an oath to bind himself by some agreement, he shall not break his word; he shall do according to all that proceeds out of his mouth.

 

Rabbis and Priests loved this because the temple profited even though fathers and mothers were going uncared for.

 

Just to be clear, they were giving every indication they were practicing godliness by committing their financial resources to the Lord.  However, at the same time, they weren’t doing it out a pure heart, and they were ignoring and in effect rejecting the fifth commandment. 

 

In a similar way, I have heard Christians say, “I’m sharing the gospel in the deer stand or on the lake or at the golf course on Sunday mornings.”  It is great to share the gospel, but don’t ignore or reject God’s Word regarding being with your church when they gather.  See Hebrews 10:24-25.

 

Hebrews 10:24-25, 24 And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, 25 not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching.

 

Let me give you an another example.  I love singing hymns.  If you were to look at my Pandora Stations or Spotify Preferences, you could affirm that is true.  However, if you refuse to sing any songs that aren’t in a hymnal, you have ignored and rejected God’s Word.  See Colossians 3:16.

 

Colossians 3:16, 16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.

 

 

3. The Verdict on Legalism, Mark 7:13

13 …making the word of God of no effect through your tradition which you have handed down. And many such things you do.”

 

What is legalism?  It is treating the traditions of men as if they are the same as the commandments of God or God’s Word. 

 

The Pharisees were invalidating or canceling out the word of God or the Scriptures for the sake of their traditions.  They were not breaking their vows, but they were neglecting the command to take care of their parents.

 

Therefore, again like last week, traditions of men and legalism are sinful when we treat them as if they are the same as the Bible. 

 

 

Conclusions

First, as followers of Christ, we are obligated to honor, respect, and take care of our families, especially our parents.

 

Ephesians 6:1-3, Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. 2 “Honor your father and mother,” which is the first commandment with promise: 3 “that it may be well with you and you may live long on the earth.”

 

1 Timothy 5:4, 8, 4 But if any widow has children or grandchildren, let them first learn to show piety at home and to repay their parents; for this is good and acceptable before God.  8 But if anyone does not provide for his own, and especially for those of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.

 

Second, as followers of Christ, we are obligated to keep our word.

Matthew 5:37, 37 But let your ‘Yes’ be ‘Yes,’ and your ‘No,’ ‘No.’ For whatever is more than these is from the evil one.

 

This verse has application in telling the truth, being on time, and writing checks.

 

Third, as followers of Christ, we are obligated to make Scripture, not traditions of men or preferences or our own opinion the highest authority in our lives.

 

1 Timothy 3:16, 16 All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness…

 

Revelation 22:18-19, 18 For I testify to everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: If anyone adds to these things, God will add to him the plagues that are written in this book; 19 and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part from the Book of Life, from the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book.

 

Finally, the world will tell you that you can earn your way to heaven and forgiveness from God. However, the Jesus in the Bible says otherwise.

 

John 14:6, 6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.

 

Acts 4:12, 12 Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”

Traditions are Sinful! Part 1

If you have your Bibles this morning, I want you to find Mark 7:1, and I want to share a message with you entitled, “Traditions are Sinful!”  Hopefully, my sermon title got your attention.  I wanted that to happen.  However, I hope you will also allow me to explain my statement regarding traditions.

 

I am traditional person.  What I mean by that is that I like and enjoy many traditions.  We have family traditions, and I enjoy holiday traditions. 

 

If you know me well, you know that I am a proud graduate of a university that is known for their many traditions.  Many of their traditions are weird, hokey, and even cult-like.

 

However, I want you to understand this morning and see from God’s Word that when the traditions of men get elevated to the Word of God or put on the same level as God’s Word and become authoritative, we have crossed a line into legalism.

 

Notice several times in today’s text this phrase: the tradition of the elders or the tradition of men.  We see it in verse 3, 5, and 8.

 

What do I mean when I say legalism?  Legalism is adding to God’s Word and elevating traditions or preferences or practices or opinions to the same level of authority as the Bible, and when that happens, traditions become sinful.

 

On multiple occasions in the Gospels, we see Jesus conversing with the Pharisees on the subject of legalism.  In Paul’s letters, he often wrote about legalism and legalists known as the Judaizes.

 

Legalism often has two common applications.  First, we can add to the Bible regarding the truth of salvation.  The Bible teaches that the gospel is Jesus plus nothing.  Therefore, when circumcision is added to the gospel, that is legalism and is not salvation.  The same could be said for baptism.  The good news is that Jesus plus nothing saves.

 

Second, we can add to the Bible regarding the truth of sanctification.  Sanctification is the ongoing process in the life of the Believer becoming more like Jesus or becoming more sanctified or holy.  We become more sanctified when we are obedient to the Bible.  However, when we add requirements to the Bible that are really just traditions of men or preferences or opinions, we have crossed the line into legalism, and our tradition has become sinful.

 

Allow me to give some easy examples, and I’ll give some more recent examples in a few minutes.  In our not so distant past, many Baptists have been guilty of legalism when we said that a Christian who danced or played cards was sinning and not living a holy life.  This same legalism also said a good Christian woman should not wear make-up or pants.  To say such is sinful.  Brothers and sisters, that is legalism, and it is that same legalism that says the only accurate Bible translation is the KJV.

 

Do you see what is happening?  We are putting traditions of men or personal preferences on the same level as the Bible.  The Bible nowhere prohibits dancing or playing cards or wearing make-up or wearing pants or that the KJV is the only inspired translation.  Those are all personal preferences and legalism when we give them the same authority as the Bible.  Therefore, traditions are sinful when we elevate them to Scripture.

 

Jesus felt the same way as He dealt with the Pharisees in Mark 7:1-8.

 

 

1. An Investigation by the Haughty, Mark 7:1-2a

1 Then the Pharisees and some of the scribes came together to Him, having come from Jerusalem. 2 Now when they saw some of His disciples eat bread with defiled, that is, with unwashed hands,

 

Who were the Pharisees?  They were the religion experts of the first century, and they were paired with the legal experts of the first century, the scribes.  They considered themselves to be better than the rest, holier than thou, haughty. 

 

Where did they come from?  Notice that they came from Jerusalem.  Maybe they came from Jerusalem because they had gotten a negative report about Jesus’ disciples.

 

What were they investigating?  They came and saw the Twelve Disciples eating bread without washing their hands.

 

 

2. An Accusation about Holiness, Mark 7:2b-5

they found fault. 3 For the Pharisees and all the Jews do not eat unless they wash their hands in a special way, holding the tradition of the elders. 4 When they come from the marketplace, they do not eat unless they wash. And there are many other things which they have received and hold, like the washing of cups, pitchers, copper vessels, and couches.  5 Then the Pharisees and scribes asked Him, “Why do Your disciples not walk according to the tradition of the elders, but eat bread with unwashed hands?” 

 

Why did this matter?  It was not an issue of personal hygiene.  It was an issue of ceremonial cleanliness. 

 

The sin of the Twelve Disciples was about holiness.  These Pharisees believed that certain things or certain persons were unclean and touching them made you unclean.  Therefore, there was a constant need to wash and be made clean. 

 

In verses three and four, Mark shared his own comments in order to explain to his Gentile audience what the Pharisees found offensive.  Notice that hand washing for the purpose of ceremonial cleanliness was widespread among first century Jews. 

 

Notice also that the standard of holiness had become the tradition of the elders and passed down orally for many generations. 

 

Understand again that this particular tradition was not a part of the OT Law.  It was an oral tradition that began with an individual and was passed on to successive generations.

 

In verse four, Mark further explained what I mentioned a moment ago of uncleanness being transferred from things to people or from people to people.  If a Jew went to the market place and in some way came in contact with pork, he had to wash his hands because the pork was unclean and he was then unclean.  The same would be true for touching a leper or touching anything or anyone deemed unclean.

 

Mark went on to say that the Jews participated in many other traditions of the elders for the sake of ceremonial cleanliness such as the washing of cups and the washing of pitchers and the washing of pots. 

 

In verse 5, we see the Pharisees scrutinizing the leader of the Twelve Disciples.  Instead of asking the disciples personally, the Pharisees questioned Jesus. 

 

Rightly or wrongly, people are often judged by the company they keep.  Whether adult or student, if you socialize with those who drink alcohol, you will be seen as one of them.  If you socialize with those who gossip, you will be seen as one of them.  If students socialize with those who disrupt class and cheat on tests, you will be seen as one of them.

 

They asked Jesus why His disciples didn’t follow or keep the tradition of the elders of washing their hands before they ate.  Jesus and His disciples were considered to be rebels.  They were rule breakers.  They were mavericks and cavaliers.  They were the furthest thing from holy in the eyes of the Pharisees. 

 

How did Jesus respond to these Pharisees and their legalism?  Jesus put the Pharisees and their legalism on trial, and we get to see that courtroom action. 

 

 

3. A Condemnation of Hypocrisy, Mark 7:6-8

6 He answered and said to them, “Well did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written: ‘This people honors Me with their lips, But their heart is far from Me.  7 And in vain they worship Me, Teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’  8 For laying aside the commandment of God, you hold the tradition of men—the washing of pitchers and cups, and many other such things you do.”

Jesus’ condemnation was personal.  He answered to them verse 6 says.  He applied Isaiah 29:13 to them (you), and called them “this people.”

 

Jesus’ condemnation was also scriptural.  He challenged them with God’s Word.  He said the Pharisees looked good on the outside with their words, but their hearts were wrong. 

 

Jesus’ condemnation was practical.  Look at verse 8.  They were putting their traditions and their preferences on the same level as the Bible, and that is wrong.  It was wrong then, and it is wrong today.

 

Very plainly put, the Pharisees were hypocrites.  They talked a good game, but their hearts were evil because they elevated the traditions of men or personal preferences to place of Scripture.  Jesus called that vain worship.  In other words, it was legalism and sinful.  Their traditions were sinful.

 

 

Conclusion

So the question we constantly have to ask ourselves is “What is the priority of our hearts?  Is it the Word of God or the Traditions of Men?”

 

So what does all this mean for us today?  We all have personal preferences and that is fine, but make sure you don’t elevate your personal preferences to authoritative as the Bible. 

 

For example, you may not like tattoos, but what is on the outside doesn’t defile the body. 

 

You may not like piercings, but what is on the outside doesn’t defile the body. 

 

You may not like preachers without a coat and tie on Sunday mornings or preachers with facial hair, but make sure you don’t elevate your personal preferences of appearance or dress or music or whatever to the level of Scripture because that is legalism, and legalism is sin.  Rather than being concerned with what is on the outside, let’s follow the Lord and be more concerned about what is in a person’s heart so that we don’t make our traditions sinful.

 

One last thing before I close…as I said previously, adding anything to Jesus for salvation is legalism.  All you need is Jesus, and Jesus doesn’t need any help.  Come to Jesus today to be saved.