50 Days of Wisdom

Jesus demonstrated His love, compassion, mercy, and kindness toward those who were suffering. But at the same time, when He turned to face the purveyors of false religion, He unleashed the most blistering denunciation that ever came out of His lips in Matthew 23. Why? Because empty worship engulfs people in a damning false religious system. And in Mark 7 there's a confrontation. Verse 1, "The Pharisees and some of the scribes gathered around Him when they had come from Jerusalem." Verse 2, "They had seen that some of His disciples were eating their bread with impure hands; that is, unwashed." This refers to a ritual ceremonial washing that they had invented. They don't eat unless they carefully wash their hands, thus observing the traditions of the elders. This isn't about sanitation. This is about tradition. The elders are their forefathers, the rabbis, from previous generations. There were some things that priests did ceremonially to demonstrate the need for cleansing from sin as part of their priestly function. Again, this was not about sanitation; this was about their invented external rules that had to do with ritual defilement. And that's what the conflict is about. It's not about Scripture. They were not nearly so concerned about Scripture as they were about their tradition. They had made their tradition equal to the Scripture. In fact, they had made tradition superior to the Scripture, like the Roman Catholic Church and other false religions that have a tradition equal to the Scripture and a tradition that is the only legitimate interpreter of the Scripture. So now you understand the story. And by the time you get to Jesus, they're all totally caught up in the traditions of the elders, like Roman Catholics today who haven't got a clue what the Bible says about anything. That's the confrontation. They didn't say to Jesus, "You broke the law of God." They said, "You"—what?—"You violated the tradition." This is the point of their attack on Jesus. How important was tradition? Rabbi Ta'aseh said, "Whoever has his abode in the land of Israel and eats his food with washed hands may rest assured that he shall receive eternal life." Really? Eternal life? That's how far it went. I mean, if you don't have a heart religion, you've got to work your way there. And if you can't get there by being moral, well, at least you can get there by rinsing your hands. Who can't do that? And here's the problem: None of this had anything to do with Scripture. You know, any kind of folly like this, any kind of foolish tradition like this, and any kind of externalism like this is the very opposite of what pleases God. He wants that we love Him with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength. From the heart we delight in Him. Folks, that's the whole issue of religion. If it's all about the external, the ceremonial, the ritual, and about behavior and not about the heart, then it's not what honors God. Listen, Christ didn't deny breaking the tradition; He broke it. He broke it without regard for it. He had no respect for their whole traditional system. He ignored it and swept it aside because it was meaningless, damning, and it obliterated the truth. What the disciples were doing was not a problem. What the Pharisees and scribes were doing was a big problem. They were actually on their way to hell with rinsed hands. Thus, He gives them an illustration of their hypocrisy. In verse 6, He quotes Isaiah regarding their hypocrisy, "You honor me with your lips, but your heart is far from me." This is empty worship. Verse 7, "And in vain do they worship Me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men." Then He says in verse 8, "You neglect the commandment of God and hold to the tradition of men." And verse 9, "You are experts at setting aside the commandment of God in order to keep your tradition." Underline "your tradition." Jesus is saying, "This is yours. This is your teaching of men that has replaced the wisdom and commandment of God." And verse 13 is the summation: "You invalidate the Word of God by your tradition." Wow! What an indictment. Theirs is an unbiblical religion. This kind of Judaism is not Old Testament Judaism; it's traditional Judaism. Well, Jesus told them the truth. Did they repent? No, they killed Him to protect their false tradition-filled religion. Listen carefully, if you are a member of a tradition-filled religion, now is the time to run, repent and believe! GTY.org (41-32) – Scripture-Twisting Tradition

Today's Wisdom

Day: 1033

September 18, 2026

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Mark Paul - Servant of God

Now grant, O Lord, that when the souls who read these books cast their eyes upon these lines, their minds may be illuminated and their consciences convinced and awakened, that they may see with their eyes, hear with their ears, and be converted so that You may heal them. Amen!