Jesus and the religious leaders
of his day and society shared in common a belief that it was important to
follow the way of God. Where they disagreed, and this seems frequently to have
come to the fore, was over the matter as to how that was worked out.
The Pharisees and the
scribes followed a code of conduct. There were detailed rules as to how to behave
in all sorts of circumstances. These gave clear clues as to what was
permissible, and what was not. In particular, the notion of ‘purity’ was important.
You had to be ‘clean’ in order to come and worship God and, if you were ‘unclean’
you needed to stay away from worship for the moment. The rules around purity
were lengthy and complicated, and ranged from instructions on how and when to wash
your hands to the impurity caused by contact with, for example, sickness or
death, and even birth.
I wonder what are the rules
or codes by which we determine our behaviour. I wonder if they are too relaxed
or too rigid.
Jesus recognised the importance
of right living but, like the prophets of old, condemned a detailed following
of long lists of rules that rode roughshod over substantial principles of love
and justice. Here, in two complementary conversations, Jesus addresses,
separately, both the religious leaders and the ordinary people on questions as
to how to properly keep the religious tradition. So, as Edwin Broadhead (Readings: A New Biblical Commentary – Mark) puts it – “Addressing the religious leaders
as hypocrites (meaning actors), Jesus applies to them the scathing prophecy of
Isa. 29:13, where Israel is accused of false worship. The major charge is
levelled by Jesus in his own words: leaving the commandment of God they observe
human tradition (7:8-9,13). He cites one example; the reinterpretation of the
principle of corban, which gives obligation to God priority over
parents. For Jesus this one example is typical of the way his opponents apply
and interpret God’s law. …. Jesus turns from the religious leaders to address
the crowd. The tone is urgent and imperative: they are called to Jesus and commanded
to hear and understand (7:14). His instruction to the crowd is reduced to a single
principle: being clean or unclean has nothing to do with what one eats, but
with what comes out of a person.”
Some of the references here are not
entirely clear, and that is complicated by our having a completely different
understanding of such matters. The perspective of Jesus’ day, whether of the
religious leaders or the crowds, does not fit our experience. However, there is
a broad principle that remains relevant. I wonder how much of what is right and
good is exhibited in our lives and seen by those whom we encounter, and I
wonder, to what extent, people look to and at us and see things which could be
damaging. I wonder, too, to what extent we stand up for principles that are
consistent with God’s Kingdom. For some clues on behaviour that is ‘clean’ see,
for example, John 13:34, Galatians 5:22-23, and Philippians 4:8.
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