Making a Difference
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1 The Pharisees and some of the teachers of the law who had come from Jerusalem gathered around Jesus 2 and saw some of his disciples eating food with hands that were defiled, that is, unwashed. 3 (The Pharisees and all the Jews do not eat unless they give their hands a ceremonial washing, holding to the tradition of the elders. 4 When they come from the marketplace they do not eat unless they wash. And they observe many other traditions, such as the washing of cups, pitchers and kettles.)
5 So the Pharisees and teachers of the law asked Jesus, “Why don’t your disciples live according to the tradition of the elders instead of eating their food with defiled hands?”
6 He replied, “Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you hypocrites; as it is written:
“‘These people honour me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me.
7 They worship me in vain; their teachings are merely human rules.’
8 You have let go of the commands of God and are holding on to human traditions.”
14 Again Jesus called the crowd to him and said, “Listen to me, everyone, and understand this. 15 Nothing outside a person can defile them by going into them. Rather, it is what comes out of a person that defiles them.”
21 For it is from within, out of a person’s heart, that evil thoughts come—sexual immorality, theft, murder, 22 adultery, greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance and folly. 23 All these evils come from inside and defile a person.”
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Queen Victoria once held a diplomatic reception for an African Chieftain. The buffet meal went well until finger bowls were served. The Chieftain lifted the finger bowl and drank it! There was silence among the other guests. All eyes were on the Queen. She took her finger bowl in her two hands and drank its contents! A moment later, 500 guests drank the contents of their own fingerbowls!!
On that evening Victoria showed it was more important to follow the queen than human traditions. The Pharisees said it was "against the rules" to eat without washing their hands. But Jesus recognises their hypocrisy and quotes from Isaiah, "These people honour me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me."
Firstly, We can Make a Difference
The Queen made a difference. Likewise, in the way we interact with people, especially our children, grandchildren, neighbours & friends, we can make a difference.
You have let go of the commands of God and are holding on to human traditions. — Mark 7:8
We put our kids in school to educate their minds. We teach bible stories, pass on Christian morals, build character… We can make a difference as we hold onto the Commands, Love God-Love others and we may have to let go of human traditions!
I saw a survey comparing discipline problems in schools in the 1940s with today. In the 1940s discipline problems in schools were: talking, running in the halls; chewing gum; queue jumping; not putting paper in waste bins! Some of the worst problems today are drug abuse, alcohol; pregnancy; suicide; rape; robbery; assault. What an incredible shift in behaviour patterns in 80 years. These shocking facts call us to respond.
In the New Millennium New Years honours list, Barbara Burgess got an MBE for Public Service. She made a difference. She was Miss Burgess to me because she was my Maths teacher and also led the Christian Union at my school in Northern Ireland. On the 2nd November 1971, she was shopping in Belfast in Elizabeth Boyd’s clothes shop Ormeau Road when the IRA detonated a bomb without giving warning to evacuate. Miss B was caught up in the explosion that followed moments later. She ended up with 500 stitches in her face, 500 on her body, she lost her right leg and other injuries. The following September, Miss B returned to teach. Her quiet witness and strong faith radiated. Barbara trusted the Lord in her adversity. She taught me to press on and about the importance of the pre-eminence of Jesus. She inspired me eight years later in dealing with my own adversity after the car accident that left me paralysed.
Our traditions are not what makes a difference but Loving God and sharing his love with others will make a difference. Will we do it? Jesus says what is inside comes out. What we put into our children and grandchildren, nieces and nephews is vital… we have a role to play in the future of our locality and society - we can make a difference!
Secondly, True Worship Makes a Difference
In the conflict in Mark 7, the Pharisees accused Jesus' disciples of going to worship in the sanctuary without the traditional ritual cleansing. Jesus responds by saying it is just a tradition and it's not washing rituals that cleanse the human heart. Jesus quotes Isaiah 29:13 “These people honour me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. They worship me in vain.”
“For it is from within, out of a person's heart, that evil thoughts come.” — Mark 7:21
The Hebrew word for worship 'Shachah' means "to bow down." Bowing and kneeling, lifting hands, singing, praying, liturgy, reading Scripture, Holy Communion, etc. It is all good stuff, it can be worship, but it can also be done when the heart is far from God.
It is so easy these days to allow sin within, for example, what we read and look at, what we listen to or how long we spend on our phones. What is within can reveal a heart that is far from the Lord (Mark 7:6) note the vice-list of evils in Mark 7:21-22 'sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, pride and foolishness, 23 all these evils come from inside.' That's frightening. All these can come from us! Not me? Listen, our hearts are not just tempted by sin; we generate it! Murder, lust, sex outside marriage. Not you? Maybe, but what about the rest?
Only cleansing within will suffice, not rituals. Why is this so hard to hear? Well, you have to admit that you are sinful, unclean – inside.
I am due to have my annual bath!
But I'm not that dirty, I'll wait a few more weeks, my wife says ‘just have a bath.’
‘I don't have the right soap nor the right shampoo for my bald head.’
I can come up with a million reasons for not washing but need to admit that I am filthy even if I look clean.
Jesus illustrated this with the parable of the prodigal son in the person of the Elder brother! Keeping all the rules but still far from God! Missing out on a banquet in the presence of the Lord.
Don't miss out admit to the Lord today, you need his cleaning within.
Isaiah 29:13 "These people honour me with their lips but their hearts are far from me. They worship me in vain."
True worship is drawing near to God. True worship Makes a Difference!
Psalm 29:2 "Ascribe to the Lord the glory of his name, worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness" is an experience of the heart that is anything but far from God. True worship makes a difference because it rises from a deep longing to be near (not far) from God. Notice how personal 1:1 is Psalm 42:1 “As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, O God.”
True worship makes the difference; drawing near to God is an affair of the heart. It is an affair of feelings and of emotions because he is worthy of all glory and honour and praise to the one who was and is and is to come.
That's a challenge for us to draw near to the Lord, be part of a church fellowship, worship in our music, in Quiet Times, read bibles and pray daily.
Thirdly, Knowing Jesus Makes a Difference
That leads us to our third (mad) point. Ultimately, it boils down to relationship. We are only as strong as our personal relationship with Christ. "…Their hearts are far from me..." Mark 7:6. "Far from me" are words of relationship. Isaiah 29:13 is essentially saying the purpose of the law is a relationship with God, to know and please, to imitate and resemble to connect with him. The Great Commandment is: "Love the Lord your God with all your heart." If the law is a means to drawing near to God, then it is good. When rules become an end in itself, it's not good. When we use rules (and social media) to show ourselves as good and moral people (virtue signalling), it glorifies us and the relationship falls down.
It is remarkable that Jesus never tried to record his own thoughts or teaching, nor did he give his disciples articles of faith, which they were to sign up to or teach.
Jesus put his efforts into his relationship with his disciples. He taught “I am the way” and “follow me”, and he calls us to be different and to make a difference because we are in a relationship with Jesus (influence and outreach and reach out).
His theme wasn't ‘say this’ but ‘do this!’ With words like “go into the world.” He hasn't commanded us to repeat creeds, but to perform deeds, not to recite the 'Our Father', but to do our Father's will. Essentially to know him personally and make him known. Know personally, draw near, worship and adore.
I guess the challenge we must ask is, do we have an ongoing everyday relationship with our Lord and Saviour. Does our daily living match up to our religious persona?
Nicola McDermott Australian won silver in the women's high jump, setting a national record of 2.02 metres in the 2021 Olympic final in Tokyo.
Whenever she jumps, McDermott writes a biblical reference on her wrist. On Saturday night, it read: "Jesus makes all things new. My dream is that people would hear a message of faith"
"As a teenager, I was always an outcast, and I got welcomed into a church/faith community that loved me. Encountering God's love changed the way I thought of myself, 2017 was my big moment when I decided to pursue God over sport. Whatever comes from sport is a bonus, but I am already complete and perfect and loved as a person regardless of it".
Testimony of Nicola's personal relationship — Knowing Jesus Makes a Difference!
