When my parents first came to the Navajo reservation, Dad was invited to join the local association of pastors and missionaries. When he said he didn’t think he’d care to be part of it, another missionary told him that if it was because of the verse that said “call no man father, ” he should understand that it was just a title and didn’t really imply you considered him as your father.
The Pharisees were very zealous about their religion, to a degree rarely seen in our day, except among a few cult groups. They really believed the old saying, “cleanliness is next to godliness”, requiring the use of a hand sanitizer before touching anything. Of course their sanitizers didn’t come in a bottle, and thus required a great deal more effort than the modern ones. They became upset when Jesus’ disciples didn’t show the same concern for preventing the spread of germs, although they used different names for it. Mark 7:5 describes the confrontation. “Then the Pharisees and scribes asked him, Why walk not thy disciples according to the tradition of the elders, but eat bread with unwashen hands?”
I suspect they expected Jesus to apologize for the unspiritual behavior of his disciples and correct them. His response was not what they expected. “He answered and said unto them, Well hath Esaias prophesied of you hypocrites, as it is written, This people honoureth me with their lips, but their heart is far from me. Howbeit in vain do they worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men. 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.” (Mark 7:6-8)
Nobody likes to be called a hypocrite, a walking lie, pretending to be one thing while actually being something else. He accused them of making a big show of loving and obeying God when their own interest was only in impressing other people. All their zeal was wasted, because they were teaching their own set of rules, rather than God’s. The emphasis on hand sanitizing was only one example of many. In effect, they have said that God’s commands are not as important as their customs.
“And he said unto them, Full well ye reject the commandment of God, that ye may keep your own tradition. For Moses said, Honour thy father and thy mother; and, Whoso curseth father or mother, let him die the death: But ye say, If a man shall say to his father or mother, It is Corban, that is to say, a gift, by whatsoever thou mightest be profited by me; he shall be free. And ye suffer him no more to do ought for his father or his mother; Making the word of God of none effect through your tradition, which ye have delivered: and many such like things do ye.” (Mark 7:9-13)
The sanitizing ceremony was an addition to the word of God, not inherently wrong, just not required by God. Accepting the refusal to respect and assist their parents, on the other hand, was in direct contradiction of what God had commanded. Literally, they have said God’s commands aren’t relevant.
The missionary’s comment to my father was saying the same thing since Matthew 23:9 says, “And call no man your father upon the earth:…” While it may seem, or even be relatively minor, Matthew 5:19 warns, “Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.” Matthew 23:23 stresses that while we need to take care of the most important things, we should not neglect the minor ones.
Many Christians will not call the Catholic priest “father”, but ignore the rest of the passage. Matthew 23:8-10 commands, “But be not ye called Rabbi: for one is your Master, even Christ; and all ye are brethren. And call no man your father upon the earth: for one is your Father, which is in heaven. Neither be ye called masters: for one is your Master, even Christ.” Not only does God forbid us to call another man “father”, he forbid us to use titles such as “Reverend” or “Pastor” or “Doctor” to set ourselves above others. If we do so, aren’t we just as guilty as the Pharisees?
We similar behavior in a lot of areas in the modern Church. A pastor in Stratford, Texas was upset and refused to allow his men to collect the offering or play an active roll in the church if they were not wearing a suit and tie, despite the admonition in James 2:2-4. “For if there come unto your assembly a man with a gold ring, in goodly apparel, and there come in also a poor man in vile raiment; And ye have respect to him that weareth the gay clothing, and say unto him, Sit thou here in a good place; and say to the poor, Stand thou there, or sit here under my footstool: Are ye not then partial in yourselves, and are become judges of evil thoughts?” Continuing with that thought, James 2:9 states, “But if ye have respect to persons, ye commit sin, and are convinced of the law as transgressors.”
Many pastors have refused to marry people who indulged in “premarital” sex, or have established a set of programs they must complete before they will. Exodus 22;16 commands, “And if a man entice a maid that is not betrothed, and lie with her, he shall surely endow her to be his wife.” By what authority can the pastor refuse? God says they have to get married.
Many churches today consider hymns and psalms as irrelevant, and no longer use them, yet Colossians 3:16 instructs to use them as a way of teaching. “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.”
How many other times have we set the word of God aside as unimportant to practice these or other traditions, implying that it doesn’t apply, or as Jesus said, “Making the word of God of none effect…” In Haggai’s day, the Jews were working hard with little result, just as many Christians today do. God spoke to them in Haggai 1:5-7. “Now therefore thus saith the LORD of hosts; Consider your ways. Ye have sown much, and bring in little; ye eat, but ye have not enough; ye drink, but ye are not filled with drink; ye clothe you, but there is none warm; and he that earneth wages earneth wages to put it into a bag with holes. Thus saith the LORD of hosts; Consider your ways.” Perhaps we need to consider our ways.
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