God is love today and every day. Let’s read what Love wants to tell us today. What is Love saying to us in the Gospels of Jesus Christ — Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John? Today we are in the book of Mark, chapters seven through eight, and we’re talking about the commandment of God.
We made it through the book of Matthew, and now we’re seeing something that shows up again, what I learned in divinity school, called parallel gospels. The same story, told in a slightly different way. And here in Mark, Jesus addresses something powerful: how men can make their own traditions more important than what God actually said. The Pharisees were upset because the disciples were eating bread with unwashed hands according to the tradition of the elders.
But Jesus answered them straight from Isaiah: “This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me.” In other words, you say you love God. You say you’re a Christian. You say you believe. But you’re just talking. Your heart isn’t in it. You’re teaching the commandments of men instead of the commandment of God. And that’s dangerous.
He gives the example of honoring father and mother. God commanded it. But tradition had created a loophole, something called Corban, where people could dedicate their resources as a gift and avoid taking care of their parents. Jesus said no. You are making the word of God of none effect through your tradition. Honoring your mother and father includes caring for them. And it’s not contingent upon whether they were perfect. Parents aren’t perfect. But we’re still here. And God promises that when we honor them, it goes well with us and we live long.
Then Jesus shifts the entire conversation. He says, “There is nothing from without a man, that entering into him can defile him… but the things which come out of him, those are they that defile him.” It’s not what goes into your mouth. It’s what comes out of your heart. That’s the real issue. That’s where cleansing has to happen.
God bless, Shirah Chante, your relationship coach
PS: This is just a portion of what we covered. Go listen to the full episode of Gospel Portions Torah Tidbits Podcast, The Commandment of God: What Defiles a Manepisode, as we walk through Mark chapters 7–8 in depth. You don’t want to miss the full teaching.
Discover more from Shirah Chante
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
