An hypocrite with his mouth destroyeth his neighbour: but through knowledge shall the just be delivered.
When it goeth well with the righteous, the city rejoiceth: and when the wicked perish, there is shouting.
By the blessing of the upright the city is exalted: but it is overthrown by the mouth of the wicked.
Proverbs 11:9-11
And He said unto them in His doctrine,
“Beware of the scribes, which love to go in long clothing, and love salutations in the marketplaces, and the chief seats in the synagogues, and the uppermost rooms at feasts: which devour widows’ houses, and for a pretence make long prayers: these shall receive greater damnation.” Mark 12:38-40
Jesus addressing the issue of hypocrisy sees it in these “scribes” who were “keepers” of the law. Not meaning they practiced the law, but were the ones who kept it in tact in the writings. The scribes deemed their work so highly they demanded recognition for their labors.
They were good at their skill, yet did not practice what they wrote down. Those who demand recognition probably do not deserve it; because they do not practice what they teach.
Those who deserve recognition, of course are those who quietly go about their task, their duties, their labors without complaint, and without expecting anything more than the peace and contentment of a job well done.
Let us live for Christ by loving Him with all our souls, all our hearts, all our minds, and all our strength; and loving our neighbors as we love ourselves (loving them and treating them the way we desire to be loved and treated).
Let us stop living for any recognition or praise of men; and be content and at peace with our calling in life through faith in Jesus Christ
“Judge not, that ye be not judged.
For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again. And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother’s eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye? Or how wilt thou say to thy brother, ‘Let me pull out the mote out of thine eye;’ and, behold, a beam is in thine own eye?
Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother’s eye.
Give not that which is holy unto the dogs, neither cast ye your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn again and rend you.” Matthew 7:1-6 (KJB)
“An hypocrite with his mouth destroyeth his neighbour: but through knowledge shall the just be delivered.” Proverbs 11:9 (KJB)
“Judge not, that ye be not judged. For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again. And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother’s eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye? Or how wilt thou say to thy brother, ‘Let me pull out the mote out of thine eye;’ and, behold, a beam is in thine own eye? Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother’s eye. Give not that which is holy unto the dogs, neither cast ye your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn again and rend you.” ~Jesus (Matthew 7:1-6)
Reading today from Mark 5 – 7
I want us to consider the charges Jesus makes against the scribes and Pharisees concerning their hypocrisy, and “Making the word of God of none effect…” Just how does one go about making the word of God of no effect? First of all this means, giving; in this case; more authority and power to something less powerful, such as their traditions.
The following are the words of Jesus,
“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. 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 7:6-13
Sometimes traditions are good, might even be great; however when we make tradition greater than Scripture we are in danger of being hypocrites, and of honoring God with lip service, but having no heart for Him. The danger the scribes and Pharisees were in was due to one thing that Jesus mentions in verses 10 – 12. Their tradition allowed them to take what would be used for honoring their father and mother; call it God’s, thus, making that sacred, and then they were unable to use that material thing for the honor of their parents.
The following are the study notes of the English Standard Version of the Bible for verses 10 – 13;
Mark 7:10–13 honor your father and your mother (cf. Ex. 20:12; 21:17; Deut. 5:16). No one questions the importance of this law in the Ten Commandments; disregarding it was punishable with death in ancient Israel. Part of honoring father and mother is to care for them, both financially and personally, in their old age. However, Jewish tradition allowed that funds originally dedicated to the care of parents could be declared Corban (Hebrew/Aramaic for legally “dedicated to God”; cf. Lev. 1:2; 2:1; etc.), meaning that the person would no longer be required to do anything for … father or mother. These funds could now be given to the temple, if so desired. Such human traditions thus allow room for the depravity of the human heart, directly opposing the Law of Moses which so often serves to protect the weak and helpless, in this case, parents in their feeble old age (making void the word of God). The “Corban” tradition is an example (along with many such things you do) of disregarding and rejecting the more important aspects of the Mosaic law.
As Christians of today let’s be careful to follow the guidance of the Word of God, and not our traditions over the Word.
-Tim A. Blankenship
Mark 7:1-37
“1 Then came together unto him the Pharisees, and certain of the scribes, which came from Jerusalem. 2 And when they saw some of his disciples eat bread with defiled, that is to say, with unwashen, hands, they found fault. 3 For the Pharisees, and all the Jews, except they wash their hands oft, eat not, holding the tradition of the elders. 4 And when they come from the market, except they wash, they eat not. And many other things there be, which they have received to hold, as the washing of cups, and pots, brasen vessels, and of tables. 5 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?” Mark 7:1-5 (KJV)
If there is fault to find the fault would be with those who seek to find fault with that which is perfect. The disciples, or followers of Jesus are not perfect, but they do follow a perfect Lord and Savior. The “Nay-sayers” and “fault finders” are simply without any evidence of truth, and so object to any one who is living out the truth; which is the life of Jesus.
In the day we live in there are good health reasons for washing of hands. To wash hands after using the restroom is certainly a means of preventing disease, illness, or sickness. Washing one’s hands after using a handrail or shaking hands with people is a good idea, to prevent colds, the Swine flu [h1n1] threat of the day, or other sickness. There is much sickness that is passed from one person to another just by the hands, so washing them often is a good idea, but let’s not be obnoxious about it.
There are a lot of people who believe the saying, “Cleanliness is next to godliness” is in the Bible. It is not. I think the religious leaders of Jesus’ day must have thought that it was. They had developed a tradition of “Handwashing” which they had elevated over Scriptures. Not only had they done that, but they had neglected to practice the practical teachings of Scripture concerning caring for parents (vv. 10-11).
Verse 3 – “except they wash”
G3538
νίπτω
niptō
nip’-to
To cleanse (especially the hands or the feet or the face); ceremonially to perform ablution: – wash. Compare G3068.
v. 4 – “except they wash”
G907
βαπτίζω
baptizō
bap-tid’-zo
From a derivative of G911; to make whelmed (that is, fully wet); used only (in the New Testament) of ceremonial ablution, especially (technically) of the ordinance of Christian baptism: – baptist, baptize, wash.
In verses three and four we have the word “wash” used in two different ways. The one in verse three has to do with the washing of hands before eating their meal in a ceremonial fashion.
“The ceremony involved someone pouring water out of a jar onto another’s hands; whose fingers must be pointing up. As long as the water dripped off at the wrist, the person could proceed to the next step. He then had water poured over both hands with the fingers pointing down. Then each hand was to be rubbed with the fist of the other hand.” FROM MACARTHUR STUDY BIBLE pg. 1473.
Verse four is our word for “Baptism”, and it leaves us with the idea that after these men had been to the market, around a lot of people, they were required to take a ceremonial bath [it could be only the immersing of their hands in water] before they could even eat a meal. That seems like a whole lot of trouble to eat a meal.
The disciples were eating without the ceremonial cleansing of their hands. The question was brought up by the Pharisees as to why this was so. Nit pickers is the word I would use concerning them. Eating without washing the hands defiles no one.
The Pharisees were actually accusing Jesus of teaching the disciples against the “traditions of the elders”.
For verses 1 – 13 J. C. Ryle wrote, 1)
“The first thing which demands our attention in these verses, is the low and degraded condition of Jewish religion, when our Lord was upon earth.”; 2) “The second thing, that demands our attention, is the uselessness of mere lip-service in the worship of God.”; 3) “The last thing that demands our attention in these verses, is the tendency of man’s inventions in religion to supplant God’s word.”
“6 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. 7 Howbeit in vain do they worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men. 8 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. 9 And he said unto them, Full well ye reject the commandment of God, that ye may keep your own tradition. 10 For Moses said, Honour thy father and thy mother; and, Whoso curseth father or mother, let him die the death: 11 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. 12 And ye suffer him no more to do ought for his father or his mother; 13 Making the word of God of none effect through your tradition, which ye have delivered: and many such like things do ye. 14 And when he had called all the people unto him, he said unto them, Hearken unto me every one of you, and understand: 15 There is nothing from without a man, that entering into him can defile him: but the things which come out of him, those are they that defile the man. 16 If any man have ears to hear, let him hear. 17 And when he was entered into the house from the people, his disciples asked him concerning the parable. 18 And he saith unto them, Are ye so without understanding also? Do ye not perceive, that whatsoever thing from without entereth into the man, it cannot defile him; 19 Because it entereth not into his heart, but into the belly, and goeth out into the draught, purging all meats? 20 And he said, That which cometh out of the man, that defileth the man. 21 For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, 22 Thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lasciviousness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness: 23 All these evil things come from within, and defile the man.” Mark 7:6-23 (KJV)
When the traditions of men become as important or in the case of the Pharisees more important than the clear teachings of God’s Word, then hypocrisy had crept in and the Word of God has no affect on the heart. These were, in effect, honoring God with their lips, but their heart was unclean and far from God – “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…” (Isaiah 29:13).
The Pharisees were teaching the traditions of men as though they were “doctrine” with the same authority and inspiration of Scriptures. They were wrong. Are there ways by which we can put “traditions” above Scripture? How about some rules concerning our buildings, area of worship, music in worship, giving of offerings in worship, our dress, physical appearance, etc.? Can a born again/Christian be a hypocrite? NO! Can we be hypocritical? YES!
G5273
ὑποκριτής
hupokritēs
hoop-ok-ree-tace’
From G5271; an actor under an assumed character (stage player), that is, (figuratively) a dissembler (“hypocrite”): – hypocrite.
A “Hypocrite” is, “an actor under an assumed character”. Basically someone pretending to be something they are not. They can boast long and loud of their faith and character, but there is no fruit, proof, or evidence of it. Jesus called these men “You hypocrites…”. They were “Hypocrites” not just hypocritical. They put on a good religious front, but had nothing of the heart.
They had even taken the commandment of God which says, “Honor your father and mother” and put a tradition with it which allowed them to withhold support from their elderly parents if they had designated the support need as “a gift”. “Corban” was the phrase they used to exonerate themselves from supporting their parents. That is one of their traditions which had taken the place of Scripture. They had in affect made of “None effect” by their traditions.
The heart of man is desperately wicked. It is from the heart that man is defiled and made unclean. Nothing from without us can make us unclean. It is due to an unclean heart that we stand condemned by God, to a Christless eternity. “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it? Jeremiah 17:9 (KJV)”. Can we hear the words of Jesus as He tells us that He is more concerned with the depraved heart of man than He is with “sacrifice”; “And Samuel said, Hath the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams. 23 For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. Because thou hast rejected the word of the LORD, he hath also rejected thee from being king. 1 Samuel 15:22-23 (KJV)”. Although this is Old Testament it certainly portrays the depraved heart, in thinking that an act of “sacrifice” is greater than the written Word of God.
J. C. Ryle writes for verses 14 – 23, 1)
“We see in the beginning of this passage, how slow of understanding men are in spiritual things.”; 2) “We see, in the second place, from this passage, that the heart is the chief source of defilement and impurity in God’s sight.”; 3) “We see, in the last place, from this passage, what a black catalogue of evils the human heart contains.”
“24 And from thence he arose, and went into the borders of Tyre and Sidon, and entered into an house, and would have no man know it: but he could not be hid. 25 For a certain woman, whose young daughter had an unclean spirit, heard of him, and came and fell at his feet: 26 The woman was a Greek, a Syrophenician by nation; and she besought him that he would cast forth the devil out of her daughter. 27 But Jesus said unto her, Let the children first be filled: for it is not meet to take the children’s bread, and to cast it unto the dogs. 28 And she answered and said unto him, Yes, Lord: yet the dogs under the table eat of the children’s crumbs. 29 And he said unto her, For this saying go thy way; the devil is gone out of thy daughter. 30 And when she was come to her house, she found the devil gone out, and her daughter laid upon the bed.” Mark 7:24-30 (KJV)
The “dogs” to which Jesus refers is not a derogatory term of meaning “mean, vicious, or mangy”, but most likely a family pet. Jesus ministry was to be to the household of Israel, and this woman was a Gentile, “And a Canaanite woman from that region came out and began to cry out, saying, “Have mercy on me, Lord, Son of David; my daughter is cruelly demon-possessed.” Matthew 15:22 (NASB)”, and He viewed this woman and her child as part of the household, but not a prominent part of it. The “dogs” were under the table.
This was a test of the woman’s faith. How would she respond? Would she leave disappointed or would she keep on believing, and trust the Savior to do His work in her and her daughter? She would believe. The woman’s daughter was another one who was demon possessed. It does not go into any details to tell us the situation of the daughter – how this demon effected her life – it just simply tells us she “had an unclean spirit”.
Just by His Word Jesus delivers the daughter, and the mother leaves believing the saying to be true. That is a wonderful faith. Concoction of rules does not a righteous person make. Believing the Word of God and obeying is the path of righteousness.
J. C. Ryle on verses 24 – 30,
1) “In the first place, this passage is meant to encourage us to pray for others.”; 2) “In the second place, this passage is meant to teach us to persevere in praying for others.”
“31 And again, departing from the coasts of Tyre and Sidon, he came unto the sea of Galilee, through the midst of the coasts of Decapolis. 32 And they bring unto him one that was deaf, and had an impediment in his speech; and they beseech him to put his hand upon him. 33 And he took him aside from the multitude, and put his fingers into his ears, and he spit, and touched his tongue; 34 And looking up to heaven, he sighed, and saith unto him, Ephphatha, that is, Be opened. 35 And straightway his ears were opened, and the string of his tongue was loosed, and he spake plain. 36 And he charged them that they should tell no man: but the more he charged them, so much the more a great deal they published it; 37 And were beyond measure astonished, saying, He hath done all things well: he maketh both the deaf to hear, and the dumb to speak.” Mark 7:31-37 (KJV)
Someone has said, “We have two ears and one mouth, so that means we are to do twice as much listening as we do speaking”. That is really good advice. It is with that that it seems Jesus may have thought the same thing, because He opened up his hearing first. Part of that would be because most people who do not hear cannot speak, or cannot speak well also.
It is important that we listen; especially to the Word of the Lord; so that we might faithfully and powerfully proclaim it to a world that is lost and condemned by sin. Hear the Word of God then proclaim it. Jesus said above, “If any man have ears to hear, let him hear.” (v.16). All that Jesus said and taught is worth our hearing and doing.
The Lord opened the ears so me might hear the Gospel of Christ and be saved, and He gave us speech so that we might praise Him, and sound forth the glorious gospel of Jesus Christ. Do you have redeemed ears, and a redeemed mouth? If you are in Jesus Christ you have.
Ryle wrote,
1)”The first thing that demands our notice in these verses, is the mighty miracle that is here recorded.”; 2) “The second thing which demands our notice in these verses, is the peculiar manner in which our Lord thought good to work the miracle here recorded.”; 3) “But there is one simple lesson to be learned from our Lord’s conduct on this occasion. That lesson is, that Christ was not tied to the use of any one means in doing His works among men.”; 4) “We see the same thing going on still in the Church of Christ. We see continual proof that the Lord is not tied to the use of any one means exclusively in conveying grace to the soul.”; 5) “The last thing which demands our notice in these verses, is the remarkable testimony which was borne by those who saw the miracle here recorded.”
If we do not do what we hear we are hypocrites and do not glorify the Lord of life. The miracle of your changed life is what others will see.
-Tim A. Blankenship
Most Christians have heard of a day called, “the day of the LORD”, and know that it is a day of reckoning for those who are out of His will, rebelling against Him, and just living a life of debauchery. There was a time in the Nation of Judah, that a prophet by the name of Joel warned the people of the “day of the LORD”. He has asked them the question, “…Who can abide it?” Joel 2:11 (KJV)
There are days we hear of as followers of Jesus which we long for. One of those days is the day of the rapture of the Church. It will not be a good day for those who remain behind; it will in fact be a day of chaos. We as Christians need to be sure that our lives are right with Him, and not put on false pretenses of repentance, and sorrow over sin.
Hear the Word of the LORD:
“Therefore also now, saith the LORD, turn ye even to Me with all your heart, and with fasting, and with weeping, and with mourning: And rend your heart, and not your garments, and turn unto the LORD your God: for He is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and of great kindness, and repenteth Him of the evil.” Joel 2:12-13 (KJV).
False repentance is just as bad, if not worse than no repentance. False repentance is just what is seen in the above verses. The religious Jew sometimes to show sorrow, grief, and/or a repentant attitude tore a portion of their outer garment. This they did for show in these days. As followers of Jesus, and just as then, God knows our hearts, our attitude of mind. We cannot fool God, the One who knows all things. False repentance is an act to show others how religious, and how badly we seem to feel concerning sin.
There is a word for that which Jesus used for many of the religious leaders of His day. That word is “Hypocrite”. That is ‘A pretender’, an actor. Another term for that could be, “a wolf in sheeps clothing”. Why is it that too many times Christians are sheep in wolves clothing? Let’s be true, and show forth a true repentance.
-Tim A. Blankenship
SPEAKING FROM THE MIND
Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain; for the LORD will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain. Exodus 20:7 (KJV)
Again, Jesus said, “And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment.” Mark 12:30 (KJV).
It is certain, at least to me, that many people of our society need a renewed mind. I know that Jesus also said that, “…From the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh…” (Matthew 12:34; Luke 6:45), but is it not the mind that gives the mouth the ability to speak. And, we do often “Speak our mind”. We say things like, “…I will give them a piece of my mind…”, and usually when we cannot afford to give them any.
God’s name is often used, even by professing Christians who use His name without thought. It has been said that the Hebrew scribes, when writing the Scriptures would change “pens” to write the name of God. It was so special that the name of God is not even clearly revealed in the original languages. In the Hebrew language all we know of the name God is YHWH. That name has been transliterated to Jehovah or Yahweh. The best name we have for God is J-E-S-U-S. And, how often we hear His name used vainly.
The precious name of God. He is precious because there is no other like Him. God, of whom I am writing, is the Creator of all that is, both seen and unseen with the human eye. He also made those things that can only be seen by microscopic means, as well. Even those things that have not yet been discovered by the finite mind of man.
Often when we hear this commandment our first thought is of those who use the name in cursing or swearing. We often think that is the only way of “Taking God’s name in vain”. The name of God is precious we must use our lips and our mind to honor Him.
We have looked at loving God “…with all our heart, soul…” and now we look at loving God ” …with all your mind…”. That requires thought. Before you speak – THINK. From the way I have heard many people speaking their minds have gone into the “Amusement” mode. The word “Muse” means ‘to think’ and anytime you add the letter “A” to another word like “Muse” it means “No”. So to “amuse” is to not think.
His name is PRECIOUS. Let us THINK before we speak.
The heart that is abundant with the things of God and Jesus His Son will speak from that abundance. An abundant heart will have a clear, thinking mind. The abundant heart will speak things which will glorify the Father and the whole God-head. When your heart and soul are filled with God, are you going to speak vainly of God? No way.
There are those who use God’s name in vain by cursing and swearing. What about those who speak God’s name, seemingly in a reverent manner on Sunday at church, but the rest of the week live like the world in the way they speak? It seems to me to be the height of hypocrisy. Not just a hypocritical act but the act of a Hypocrite.
There is nothing that turns off a person away from God quicker than someone who professes Christianity on Sunday, but imbibes in the world the rest of the week. This is a taking of God’s name in vain as well. God help us to guard our minds, by always speaking reverently of God. “He sent redemption unto his people: he hath commanded his covenant for ever: holy and reverend is his name.” (Psalm 111:9).
What about those who do all the churchy, traditional things, but overlook doing right toward their neighbor? “Wherefore the Lord said, Forasmuch as this people draw near me with their mouth, and with their lips do honour me, but have removed their heart far from me, and their fear toward me is taught by the precept of men:” (Isaiah 29:13). “This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me. But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.” (Matthew 15:8-9). “And why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say? Whosoever cometh to me, and heareth my sayings, and doeth them, I will shew you to whom he is like: He is like a man which built an house, and digged deep, and laid the foundation on a rock: and when the flood arose, the stream beat vehemently upon that house, and could not shake it: for it was founded upon a rock.” Luke 6:46-48 (KJV)
There is judgment for taking this precious, holy, loving, righteous name in vain. God says in the commandment itself, that, “…the LORD will not hold him guiltless…”. If you have ever used God’s name vainly/emptily you are guilty before God.
Give your heart, soul, mind and strength to the Lord through the Lord Jesus Christ. He took your guilt upon Himself, died for all our sins, carried them away, and was raised from death to life. “Whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.” (Romans 10:13).
The Fire and Hammer 