Have you ever met people who talk and talk and talk, but it means nothing? You may be impressed by their words, but their actions do not back up their words. These are those we would call hypocrites. They say one thing and do another. In Mark chapter 7, Jesus rebukes the scribes and Pharisees for their worship of God, which was nothing more than lip service.
Mark 7:1 “Then came together unto him the Pharisees, and certain of the scribes, which came from Jerusalem.”
The Jewish church was full of rituals, and so are many churches today. Some denominations place their leaders as their ultimate authority. They change the Bible to fit their design and lead millions astray as a result. In Mark chapter 7, the disciples were eating, and they had not gone through the ceremony of washing their hands. The Jews would not sit to eat if they had not washed their hands, as was their tradition. This troubled the Jews, and they questioned Jesus about it.
Mark 7:2-3 “And when they saw some of his disciples eat bread with defiled, that is to say, with unwashed, hands, they found fault. For the Pharisees, and all the Jews, except they wash their hands oft, eat not, holding the tradition of the elders.”
Mark 7:5 “ Then the Pharisees and scribes asked him, Why walk not thy disciples according to the tradition of the elders, but eat bread with unwashed hands?”
Jesus knows their hearts, as well as ours, and He reprimands them for it. In verse Mark 7:6 He reminds them of a verse in Isaiah 29:13 “Wherefore the Lord said, Forasmuch as this people draw near me with their mouth, and with their lips do honor me, but have removed their heart far from me, and their fear toward me is taught by the precept of men.” These men would have been very familiar with this verse, but they were not obeying it.
Jesus speaks, but it means nothing to them. Had they been worshiping God in truth and spirit, they would have worshiped Jesus also. Instead, they sought to find fault in everything Jesus did. Jesus’ response was, Mark 7:8-9 “For laying aside the commandment of God, ye hold the tradition of men, as the washing of pots and cups: and many other such like things ye do. And he said unto them, Full well ye reject the commandment of God, that ye may keep your own tradition.”
These passages in Mark should make us all think about our worship. Are we seeking God in truth, or are we seeking an emotional feeling? Is our worship about us or about Him? If our worship is truly about Him, we will be ready to receive the word of God when the preacher steps to the pulpit. Yet, many check out when the message starts. They do not pay attention and ask God to apply it to their hearts. They do not bring their Bibles and keep up, so they can read the Word for themselves. Many look as if they are so sleepy they can hardly stay awake. So what happened to those who were raising their hands and teary-eyed? Are the words of a song more moving than the written word of God? Are we the hypocrites that Jesus was speaking about? Are our words matching our actions?
I wonder what Jesus would say today to the multitudes that flock to church on Sunday morning for an hour of worship but go about their business as usual for the rest of the week? Oh, wait, He did say something about that in Hebrews 10:25 “Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.” We are closer to the coming of Christ than we have ever been, yet churches are meeting less. So are we deceived, busy doing things that do not matter, lazy, or have we decided we can do it our way? None of these options shows that we love God. Jesus said in Romans 14:15 that our love will be shown in our obedience. If you love Him, you will obey. If you do not, you do not love Him. Jesus made it that simple. Religious actions may not be bad, but if done out of habit, we have a check-the-box religion. In the words of Christ, we are hypocrites.
It is time we, the people of God, repented of our vain worship, our worship that is no more than lip service, and return to true worship. We are to let the word speak to us, and we are to obey. It is that simple.
Well said. AAmen.