There are those who curse their fathers and do not bless their mothers; Those
who are pure in their own eyes and yet are not cleansed from their filth; Those
whose glances are so disdainful; Those whose teeth are swords and whose jaws
are set with knives to devour the poor from the earth, the needy from among
mankind. ~Proverbs 30:11-14
Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. But the man who looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues to do this, not forgetting what he has heard, but doing it—he will be blessed in what he does. If anyone considers himself religious and yet does not keep a tight rein on his tongue, he deceives himself and his religion is worthless. Religion that God our father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world. ~James 1:22-27
Then some Pharisees and teachers of the law came to Jesus from Jerusalem and asked, “Why do your disciples break the tradition of the elders? They don’t wash their hands before they eat!” Jesus replied, “And why do you break the commandment of God for the sake of your tradition? For God said, “Honor your father and your mother,” and, “anyone who curses his father or mother must be put to death.” But you say that if a man says to his father or mother, “Whatever help you might otherwise have received from me is a gift devoted to God.” He is not to “honor his father” with it. Thus you nullify the Word of God for the sake of your tradition. You Hypocrites! Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you: “These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. They worship me in vain; their teachings are but rules taught by men.” ~Matthew 15:1-9
What Jesus is accusing the leadership of, to me, just seems almost unbelievable! He is accusing the leadership of saying to their parents something like: “Sorry Dad, I’d love to help you out, but I’ve given it all to the temple, (or church in modern terms), so you’ll just have to get by somehow. Wish I could help, but you understand.” It’s hard to imagine someone being that cruel to their own parents for the sake of, “religion” but we trust that Jesus knew what He was talking about.
Perhaps that’s an extreme example. But aren’t there still people, who would call themselves Christian, who leave their parents in nursing homes and never even visit? Is that unheard of? For the elderly who face the possibility of going into a nursing home, isn’t one of their main fears that of being forgotten?
More generally, we can easily think of legalistically religious people who “don’t drink, don’t smoke,” etc., and believe that those behaviors are what really counts with God. They forget that honoring parents is one of the ten commandments, tithing, drinking, or more to the point hand washing, are not.
“There are those who curse their fathers and do not bless their mothers; Those who are pure in their own eyes and yet are not cleansed from their filth;” This describes the leadership of Jesus’ day so well. They were caught up in their religious practices. They thought that they were pure because of those practices.
In truth, James nails who they really are when he says: “Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like.” Could that be like the one who reads God’s Word because that is what is expected, “good Christians read the Bible every day,” but are reading it because they are supposed to, not for transformation?
“They are pure in their own eyes and yet are not cleansed from their filth;” It reminds us of the pride that we discussed yesterday. The Pharisee’s complaint was that Jesus’ disciples did not wash their hands. This isn’t like how we are supposed to wash our hands before we come to the table. This was more a ceremonial washing that took place at the table in little finger bowls, in a proscribed way that had been invented about five hundred years earlier while the nation of Israel was in exile in Babylon.
This wasn’t to get your hands clean physically, it was to honor the created law of man. It really was just a little ceremony. Its only purpose was to make the doer look more sophisticated, or more concerned about “good manners,” as opposed to those crude folks who just grabbed the food even as they were getting close to the table. That’s why Jesus was pointing out how the Pharisees weren’t following the more important law, the law of God to remember their parents, but were placing their priority on the law of man.
The ladder again was against the wrong wall. We can tell from Solomon’s proverb here, that this wasn’t a new problem in Jesus’ day. “There are those who curse their fathers and do not bless their mothers;” Then he continues: “Those whose teeth are swords and whose jaws are set with knives to devour the poor from the earth, the needy from among mankind.”
In truth, there are those who find the elderly and the poor a bother to care for, a distraction to the important things in life. Most cultures have had a similar view of children through the years. God has a very different orientation. In Him, caring for the poor and elderly is what life is all about. That’s what pure religion is in God’s eyes.
Dipping your fingers in a pretty little bowl with a special rote prayer to go with it can look religious. So can making sure you are in your pew every Sunday morning dressed in your best. But as James says: “Religion that God our father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.”
Sadly, we can all probably remember a church that was more caught up in the dos and don’ts at the expense of caring for people. Those churches are out there. I’m just so grateful to be serving in a place that wants to be the hands and feet of Christ. I’m so grateful that we are desiring to seek God’s priorities over rules. I just want to say thank you to all of you for being so open and so willing to make ministry happen. I’m grateful that love is our top priority. I believe that in Jesus, that is how it should be.
Prayer: Thank You, Lord, for delivering us from mere religion, and giving us Your heart of mercy and compassion for the suffering. We give ourselves to You as living sacrifices when we give ourselves to them. And Lord help us to always to see ourselves as with them, not above them. We are just as needy, needy of your grace, mercy and forgiveness. And may we always be open to the fact that the ones we serve have much to offer, to serve us too. May we receive their offerings with grace and gratitude, so they are also honored as children of God, and servants with gifts. In Jesus' name, amen.
Song: Instruments
Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. But the man who looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues to do this, not forgetting what he has heard, but doing it—he will be blessed in what he does. If anyone considers himself religious and yet does not keep a tight rein on his tongue, he deceives himself and his religion is worthless. Religion that God our father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world. ~James 1:22-27
Then some Pharisees and teachers of the law came to Jesus from Jerusalem and asked, “Why do your disciples break the tradition of the elders? They don’t wash their hands before they eat!” Jesus replied, “And why do you break the commandment of God for the sake of your tradition? For God said, “Honor your father and your mother,” and, “anyone who curses his father or mother must be put to death.” But you say that if a man says to his father or mother, “Whatever help you might otherwise have received from me is a gift devoted to God.” He is not to “honor his father” with it. Thus you nullify the Word of God for the sake of your tradition. You Hypocrites! Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you: “These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. They worship me in vain; their teachings are but rules taught by men.” ~Matthew 15:1-9
What Jesus is accusing the leadership of, to me, just seems almost unbelievable! He is accusing the leadership of saying to their parents something like: “Sorry Dad, I’d love to help you out, but I’ve given it all to the temple, (or church in modern terms), so you’ll just have to get by somehow. Wish I could help, but you understand.” It’s hard to imagine someone being that cruel to their own parents for the sake of, “religion” but we trust that Jesus knew what He was talking about.
Perhaps that’s an extreme example. But aren’t there still people, who would call themselves Christian, who leave their parents in nursing homes and never even visit? Is that unheard of? For the elderly who face the possibility of going into a nursing home, isn’t one of their main fears that of being forgotten?
More generally, we can easily think of legalistically religious people who “don’t drink, don’t smoke,” etc., and believe that those behaviors are what really counts with God. They forget that honoring parents is one of the ten commandments, tithing, drinking, or more to the point hand washing, are not.
“There are those who curse their fathers and do not bless their mothers; Those who are pure in their own eyes and yet are not cleansed from their filth;” This describes the leadership of Jesus’ day so well. They were caught up in their religious practices. They thought that they were pure because of those practices.
In truth, James nails who they really are when he says: “Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like.” Could that be like the one who reads God’s Word because that is what is expected, “good Christians read the Bible every day,” but are reading it because they are supposed to, not for transformation?
“They are pure in their own eyes and yet are not cleansed from their filth;” It reminds us of the pride that we discussed yesterday. The Pharisee’s complaint was that Jesus’ disciples did not wash their hands. This isn’t like how we are supposed to wash our hands before we come to the table. This was more a ceremonial washing that took place at the table in little finger bowls, in a proscribed way that had been invented about five hundred years earlier while the nation of Israel was in exile in Babylon.
This wasn’t to get your hands clean physically, it was to honor the created law of man. It really was just a little ceremony. Its only purpose was to make the doer look more sophisticated, or more concerned about “good manners,” as opposed to those crude folks who just grabbed the food even as they were getting close to the table. That’s why Jesus was pointing out how the Pharisees weren’t following the more important law, the law of God to remember their parents, but were placing their priority on the law of man.
The ladder again was against the wrong wall. We can tell from Solomon’s proverb here, that this wasn’t a new problem in Jesus’ day. “There are those who curse their fathers and do not bless their mothers;” Then he continues: “Those whose teeth are swords and whose jaws are set with knives to devour the poor from the earth, the needy from among mankind.”
In truth, there are those who find the elderly and the poor a bother to care for, a distraction to the important things in life. Most cultures have had a similar view of children through the years. God has a very different orientation. In Him, caring for the poor and elderly is what life is all about. That’s what pure religion is in God’s eyes.
Dipping your fingers in a pretty little bowl with a special rote prayer to go with it can look religious. So can making sure you are in your pew every Sunday morning dressed in your best. But as James says: “Religion that God our father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.”
Sadly, we can all probably remember a church that was more caught up in the dos and don’ts at the expense of caring for people. Those churches are out there. I’m just so grateful to be serving in a place that wants to be the hands and feet of Christ. I’m so grateful that we are desiring to seek God’s priorities over rules. I just want to say thank you to all of you for being so open and so willing to make ministry happen. I’m grateful that love is our top priority. I believe that in Jesus, that is how it should be.
Prayer: Thank You, Lord, for delivering us from mere religion, and giving us Your heart of mercy and compassion for the suffering. We give ourselves to You as living sacrifices when we give ourselves to them. And Lord help us to always to see ourselves as with them, not above them. We are just as needy, needy of your grace, mercy and forgiveness. And may we always be open to the fact that the ones we serve have much to offer, to serve us too. May we receive their offerings with grace and gratitude, so they are also honored as children of God, and servants with gifts. In Jesus' name, amen.
Song: Instruments
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