Read at beginning of service:
Matthew 11:25-30 (NIV)
25 At that time Jesus said, “I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children. 26 Yes, Father, for this was your good pleasure. 27 “All things have been committed to me by my Father. No one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him. 28 “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”
INTRODUCTION
Three weeks ago I began a series entitled, “Revolt against Religion”. For most people the word religion has a negative meaning and is something people would rather not get involved in. Is it no wonder then, when you take a close look at the original teachings of the historical Jesus in the bible, you discover a person who sets in motion the end to religion? In scripture, we see Jesus offering people anon-institutional, deeply relational approach to spirituality ? a way of living that God originally intended for us to know.
Two weeks ago we examined the first characteristic of Religion (and religious people) that Jesus revolted against. Jesus had much to say to the Jewish religious people and the religion in His day that revolved around rules, regulations, and routine providing the way to connect with God. Jesus? life was a contrast to the lives of the religious people where being righteous is more important than being right. We discovered that Jesus called people to a rule-free spirituality. However, Jesus didn?t say that rules and “laws” are no good ? in fact rather than coming to do away with the Law of the Old Testament ? he fulfilled it ? the law exposes sin, Jesus deals with sin once and for all. He deals with sin because of the one thing that he emphasized more than anything in His ministry ? the freeing and motivating character of love!
Jesus, as demonstrated in the Bible, lived by a simple philosophy: if love guides our hearts, rules become redundant. The love God has for us and the love we have for God and for others is the inward change that produces the righteousness God is looking for! You see, Jesus wasn?t against righteous acts and obedience to rules and regulations but clarified that such obedience apart from heart change is meaningless. In other words, if you love God and you love your neighbour the resulting inward change will take care of everything else in your relationship with God and your relationship with others! Simply remove rules and you are left with anarchy. Transcend rules with love, and you are beginning to live like Jesus!
Today we?re going to examine the second characteristic of religion and religious people that Jesus exposed and disputed. In Jesus? day the religious leaders had what they thought was a great way of helping people to apply the commands of Scripture to every part of their daily lives. Through the years they verbally passed on extra “traditions” or teaching from generation to generation that accompanied or expanded upon the written Torah (the Law). Taken all together, these teachings were called the “Tradition of the Elders,” or the “Oral Torah”. They were considered a “fence” around the law. It was based on the idea that it?s “better to be safe than sorry” and so these fences of tradition were designed to keep people conservative, conventional, conformist, and supposedly, far away from sin. The thinking was that in order to break a law and thereby fall into sin, a person would first have to intentionally hop the fence of tradition.
Folks, if Jesus was willing to break the rules of the Bible (as we examined last week) to make His point, He was even more merciless with these inherited religious tradition. As Bruxy Cavey says,
“Fences are fine for cattle, but sheep need a shepherd” (End to Religion by Bruxy Cavey, p. 52)
What Jesus disputed in the religion and religious leaders of His day was when Traditions and Customs are “Sacred Cows”.
As I explained in the first message in this series, a “sacred cow” is anything that becomes so important in religious tradition or custom that tampering with it is like taking a Bible and burning it. A common saying of religious people is, “This is the way it?s always been done ? so this is the way it?s always should be done!” With that in mind I?d like to pause for a moment to view a short video clip that gives a glimpse into this kind of thinking?
(show video clip ? “old man drama” [purchased from SermonSpice.com, video is by Icharus Productions])
I wonder what Jesus? might have to say to this guy? Well let?s take a moment and look what Jesus did say to the religious people of His day?
Mark 7:1-9 (NIV)
1 The Pharisees and some of the teachers of the law who had come from Jerusalem gathered around Jesus and 2 saw some of his disciples eating food with hands that were “unclean,” that is, unwashed. 3 (The Pharisees and all the Jews do not eat unless they give their hands a ceremonial washing, holding to the tradition of the elders. 4 When they come from the marketplace they do not eat unless they wash. And they observe many other traditions, such as the washing of cups, pitchers and kettles.) 5 So the Pharisees and teachers of the law asked Jesus, “Why don’t your disciples live according to the tradition of the elders instead of eating their food with ‘unclean’ hands?” 6 He replied, “Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you hypocrites; as it is written: “‘These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. 7 They worship me in vain; their teachings are but rules taught by men.’ 8 You have let go of the commands of God and are holding on to the traditions of men.” 9 And he said to them: “You have a fine way of setting aside the commands of God in order to observe your own traditions!
Jesus and his disciples had opted out of something that was a very important religious tradition in first-century Judaism. When the religious leaders challenged Jesus and friends on their neglecting this ritual of washing hands, wanting everyone to conform to the norm, Jesus defended His position by going on the offensive:
“You are experts at setting aside the commandment of God in order to keep your tradition” (Mark 7:9, NASB)
and,
“You ignore God? commands in order to follow your own teaching” (Mark 7:13, CEV)
Now, to those He was speaking to these statements would have been startling accusations. After all, the religious people believed that their traditions reflected God?s will!
Jesus made it absolutely clear in His ministry and in His various confrontations with religious tradition that tradition must take a back-seat to the Scripture it claims to be based on. He even goes one step further, Jesus believed that even the Scriptures themselves must submit to His own authoritative interpretation. So, Jesus considered himself, not religious tradition, the first and last word on how to interpret and apply the Bible.
Now friends, this doesn?t mean that traditions can never be helpful spiritual tools. An examination of the New Testament reveals that there are numerous occasions where it speaks positively of traditions?
1 Corinthians 11:2 (NIV)
2 I praise you for remembering me in everything and for holding to the teachings, just as I passed them on to you.
2 Thessalonians 2:15 (NIV)
15 So then, brothers, stand firm and hold to the teachings we passed on to you, whether by word of mouth or by letter.
2 Thessalonians 3:6 (NIV)
6 In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, we command you, brothers, to keep away from every brother who is idle and does not live according to the teaching you received from us.
At the same time however, the NT also contains strong cautions against religious tradition?
Matthew 15:1-20 (NIV)
1 Then some Pharisees and teachers of the law came to Jesus from Jerusalem and asked, 2 “Why do your disciples break the tradition of the elders? They don’t wash their hands before they eat!” 3 Jesus replied, “And why do you break the command of God for the sake of your tradition? 4 For God said, ‘Honor your father and mother’ and ‘Anyone who curses his father or mother must be put to death.’ 5 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,’ 6 he is not to ‘honor his father’ with it. Thus you nullify the word of God for the sake of your tradition. 7 You hypocrites! Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you: 8 “‘These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. 9 They worship me in vain; their teachings are but rules taught by men.’” 10 Jesus called the crowd to him and said, “Listen and understand. 11 What goes into a man’s mouth does not make him ‘unclean,’ but what comes out of his mouth, that is what makes him ‘unclean.’” 12 Then the disciples came to him and asked, “Do you know that the Pharisees were offended when they heard this?” 13 He replied, “Every plant that my heavenly Father has not planted will be pulled up by the roots. 14 Leave them; they are blind guides. If a blind man leads a blind man, both will fall into a pit.” 15 Peter said, “Explain the parable to us.” 16 “Are you still so dull?” Jesus asked them. 17 “Don’t you see that whatever enters the mouth goes into the stomach and then out of the body? 18 But the things that come out of the mouth come from the heart, and these make a man ‘unclean.’ 19 For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander. 20 These are what make a man ‘unclean’; but eating with unwashed hands does not make him ‘unclean.’”
Colossians 2:8 (NIV)
8 See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the basic principles of this world rather than on Christ.
Why would Jesus and his earliest followers give religious traditions, at best, mixed reviews?
In the next few moments I want to share some of the dangers of tradition and how something that may be initially good can become something destructive. In the process, I?d like to provide some questions that you can ask to determine if a tradition or custom you follow has become a “sacred cow”.
Tradition can take a bridge and turn it into a wall.
Traditions can be useful in providing a bridge to a more intimate relationship with Jesus in various aspects of Christian life and service. They can also provide helpful markers for living a life that honors God. However, over a period of time those same traditions which once acted as bridges can turn into walls that not only hinder the Christian?s relationship with God but can even block and prevent others from even discovering the love of God!
I?d like to share an illustration from Bruxy Cavey that helps to explain how traditions begin and can evolve into something that is more harmful than good.
Let?s make a up a hypothetical biblical law. Let?s pretend that God clearly communicated through Scripture that, for reasons known only to him, it is wrong for his people to sit in red-coloured chairs. (Remember, this is a symbolic exercise ? I have it on good authority that God actually likes red chairs.)
So, God?s Torah says, “Thou shalt not sit in red chairs.” The role of spiritual leaders would be to communicate this teaching to each generation, and perhaps to suggest ways that this rule could best be maintained in their particular day and age. So the next generations of religious leaders make a suggestion: “God?s people should never be within ten feet of a red-coloured chair.” This “fence” is designed as a helpful tool to aid people in their desire to obey God?s law, but now an insidious process has begun.
The next generation inherits that new suggestion as a rule and tacks on their own “helpful” addition: “It is wrong for God?s people to even look at red chairs.” There that should help people deal with the problem of temptation. Further generations add: “God?s people must never be in the same room as a red chair” and “in the same house as a red chair” and so on. Eventually, most of the religious leader?s time is taken up debating whether or not it is spiritually lawful to shop at Ikea! A whole lineage of rules and regulations that God never intended thus evolves around this one topic: Sin avoidance has been systematized, righteousness has been mechanized, and little room is left for deviation and diversity. (The End of Religion by Bruxy Cavey, p.53)
So what begins innocently as a “fence” intended to protect ends up dangerously as a “wall” keeping out. With religious people, over time certain behaviors become sacred, certain styles of music are sacred, certain ways of dressing become sacred, certain methods or ways of doing things becomes sacred. And religious people have a real problem with those who question or even (!gasp!) break that tradition or custom!
The question to ask when examining whether a tradition or custom is in danger of becoming a sacred cow and hence a wall rather than a bridge is, “Is following this tradition on par with obeying Scripture?” In other words has the tradition or custom been elevated to the authoritative place of scripture in your life. To get even more personal, “Would you take it personally if you encountered another Christian who broke that tradition or custom?” Answering yes to either of those questions should be a warning to you!
“It?s the way it?s always been done?and it?s they way it should be done!”
Tradition can supplant vibrant faith with lifeless ritual.
Even well-meaning traditions can sometimes discourage thoughtful faith. Although the people who initiated that tradition may have put great thought into its meaning, this doesn?t guarantee that future generations will engage these traditions with the same mental energy! In fact, the danger with tradition is that religious people often use it to do their thinking for them. In the end, traditions that are claimed as “Bible based” can begin to take over the place of Scripture in the lives of people who claim to follow the Bible. Even thought tradition is a useful tool or mechanism or bridge that we can use to pass on truth to future generations, often only the mechanism gets passed on.
Take for example the practice of devotions. I?ve heard it, and you?ve all heard about it, I?ve even preached and taught on the importance of having a devotional life. Devotions, meaning taking a certain period of time each day to read your Bible, pray, and praise God. Not only is this encouraged in our private lives but also in our family life as well. A tremendous tool for families to encourage this practice in their homes is to set a certain time where their children will get together with parents leading a family devotional. It?s a great tradition, and creates many bridge building opportunities to grow closer to God together as a family and for children to be introduced to the love God has for them. Let?s say however that to make things easier the parents decide they are going to stick to a particular devotional book and just rotate through the stories. Then to make things even easier because you know how children need routine why don?t we have a special nighttime prayer that we say together before bed? And of course, because Dad is the head of the household he should always be the last one to pray?well, why don?t we just have everybody pray in the same order so that there?s no fighting.
Now that this family has got everything down pat ? their tradition is established and becomes a routine that?s easy to follow! It?s great! We?re doing devotions together, right? Can you see the problem here though? This tradition has become little more than a mechanical routine in the life of this family?much like the routine of brushing teeth.
Jesus deplored the condition of religious people where tradition had become so rooted in peoples lives that they had forgotten what they were doing it for in the first place. Oh sure they had the right answer down pat but there was no thought behind their answer. Tradition can supplant vibrant faith with lifeless ritual if we?re not careful!
This is one of the greatest killers of a persons excitement when they are first born-again into the family of God. Have you ever witnessed that? The joy and passion of a new believer is truly exciting to behold but then something tends to happen over a period of 10-20 years that somehow dampens and even kills that energy. There are many reasons for this but chief among them is the curse of religious tradition. The Christian church today is full of it. Even in preparing this message there were examples that came to mind in my own life that I realized Jesus isn?t too happy with!
Here?s another question you can ask that will reveal any tradition in your life that is a sacred cow, “Does this tradition leave you energized or drained?” Another insightful question would be, “Is this tradition just something you do, or does it adds meaning to what you do?” If this tradition or custom is just something you do then it has become so mechanical and routine that it will drain your faith of any vibrancy it had. Whereas, if the tradition or custom adds meaning to what you do (in other words it is infused with purpose beyond routine) then it is something that will energize your faith.
Friends, Jesus teaches that there is nothing wrong with breaking tradition when it has become routine!
Tradition can blind you to the truth.
Few people feel as spiritually safe as religious traditionalists do. I mean they?ve taken care to weave serving the Almighty into the pattern of their lives ? how could God ever be displeased with them? The problem is that the serving is by habit rather than be discerning choice. This causes blind spots for religious people that affects even the reading of God?s word. Understanding of scripture gets filtered through traditions and routines and leads to conclusions that inevitably reaffirm those same traditions and routines.
More than once you can read about Jesus calling the religious leaders “blind guides” (Matthew 15:15, 23:16,24). These blind spots can make it easy for hypocrisy to take root, which was Jesus? main grievance against religious leaders (see Matthew 23:28; Luke 12:1).
A common example of this we see in the church today is the tradition of Sunday Morning services. Yep, you?ve heard me right folks. Sunday morning services are a tradition. You know I tried to find it in scripture but unfortunately there just isn?t any place where Christians are told to spend an hour together every Sunday morning. Interesting, and yet its so entrenched in the practice of the western church that to even suggest canceling a Sunday morning service would meet with an uproar! Now I?m not using this as an example because I want to cancel church next Sunday hehe ? but to make a point. For some religious people, their strict attendance to services on Sunday convinces them that they are spiritual. Yet, their conduct throughout the week is a mockery of Christ?s name. I want to share with you a little story that I?ve received from numerous sources in this past week ? I don?t know if it?s true or not but I could definitely see it happening!
A man was being tailgated by a stressed out woman on a busy boulevard.
Suddenly, just in front of him the light turned yellow.
He did the right thing, stopping at the crosswalk, even though he could have
beaten the red light by accelerating through the intersection.
The tailgating woman hit the roof, and the horn, screaming in frustration as
she missed her chance to get through the intersection.
As she was still in mid-rant, she heard a tap on her window and looked up
into the face of a very serious police officer.
The officer ordered her to exit her car with her hands up. He took her to
the police station where she was searched, finger printed, photographed and
placed in a holding cell.
After a couple of hours, a policeman approached the cell and opened the
door. She was escorted back to the booking desk where the arresting officer
was waiting with her personal effects.
He said, “I’m very sorry for this mistake. You see, I pulled up behind your
car while you were blowing your horn, flipping off the guy in front of you,
and cussing a blue streak at him. I noticed the ‘Choose Life’ license plate
holder, the ‘What Would Jesus Do’ bumper sticker, the ‘Follow Me to
Sunday-School’ bumper sticker, and the chrome-plated Christian fish emblem
on the trunk. I assumed you had stolen the car.” (source unknown, received in various emails and by word of mouth)
Another question that you can ask that will reveal traditions or customs in your life that have become sacred cows is, “Do you measure your worth to God by how well you follow those traditions or customs?” If you find yourself saying things like, “I read my Bible, I pray, I attend church ? so I?m spiritual” then be careful. I want you to hear something important. Our value to God is not based on what we do but who we are! I treasure my children not because I get money from the government every month to subsidize their care, or because they give me hugs and kisses when I come home from work, or when they obey something I?ve told them to do, or when they are sleeping peacefully. Don?t get me wrong. I like all that. But I treasure Zachary, Liam, Jenna, and Karissa because they are my children! They are a part of my family! Our value to God is measured by the depth of our relationship with him not the amount of our works for Him. Now, it?s still important to Him what we do ? but not as important as who we are in Him. This is an incredible truth because when you truly understand this the things we do are motivated out of our relationship to the Father rather than a feeling of obligation.
CONCLUSION
What are the implications of Jesus revolt against tradition?
The diversity of form in Christianity.
As Bruxy Cavey puts it, “The great freedom and frustration of Christ-following is that the forms of this faith are open to diversity” (p. 55, The End of Religion). We have to be careful that tradition and customs don?t end up doing the thinking for us otherwise we may slowly evolve into something quit unlike what Jesus intended. An evolution that has sadly already occurred in many cases already.
There is room for incredible diversity in music, in acts of service, in ways to meet together, and evangelism in our relationship with God and in His work by His spirit through us! When tradition becomes a sacred cow we lose the richness of diversity that Christ encourages.
Tradition helps communicate the message but should never become the message!
When traditions or customs are sacred cows they become the focus rather than the reason for those traditions and customs in the first place. As I?ve already said, traditions can be helpful in providing bridges through which to be introduced too and live out the life Christ has for us ? but without care they can degenerate into walls that prevent that life from flourishing. One example of this implication is on the way we approach reaching our world with the gospel of Jesus Christ today. Let?s face it, there may be tremendous sentimental value and memory associated with some of the traditional approaches of evangelism that has been practiced by the church in previous years but holding to those methods simply because that?s the way it?s always been done communicates a far different message than the one you may think is being shared?
It?s important to be vigilant in evaluating tradition against God?s word.
?and not only that ? but whether it has become God?s word in our lives (a dangerous place indeed)! This of course is the most important implication. I believe very strongly in sticking closely to what the Bible teaches ? not to be an oppressive legalist, but to avoid oppressive legalism, which is usually the result of human tradition being added to the Bible and passed off as Scriptural teaching. The original teachings of Jesus are completely freeing ? why would anyone want to deviate from that?
John 8:31-32 (NIV)
31 To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. 32 Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”