Podcasts about pharisaic

A NEW HEART FOR A NEW FAITH Luke 5:33-39; Hebrews 8:6-12 SUMMARY: In one of the more difficult parables to interpret, Jesus, in declaring the superiority of the new covenant over the old, seems to refer to the great divide between two systems, two groups of people, and two kinds of hearts. I. A DIVIDE BETWEEN THE NEW SYSTEM AND THE OLD. A. Old System: a dead external religion. B. New system: a spiritual relationship with God. C. The two systems: Incompatible. II. A DIVIDE BETWEEN FRIENDS AND ENEMIES OF THE BRIDEGROOM. A. The Pharisees. B. The Disciples of John. C. Jesus & His Disciples. III. A DIVIDE BETWEEN THE NEW HEART AND THE OLD HEART. A. A new mind & a new heart. B. A new understanding of God: C. A new freedom in Christ's forgiveness. KRETZMANN: "The piety of the Pharisees, the religion of works which they flaunted before the eyes of the people, on the one hand, and the doctrine of Jesus, the preaching of the free grace of God through His blood, on the other, will never agree. If one insists on wearing his old garment of self-righteousness and works, and then believes it possible to cover an occasional revealing sin with the Gospel, he will find but poor comfort. His heart is still bound up in the old garment, and he will only make the incongruity appear the more glaring. It is just as foolish to keep new wine, grape-juice in the early stage of fermentation, in old skins that have lost their elasticity. The result is disastrous: The skins burst, the wine is spilled. But new skins and new wine are perfectly suited to each other. The sweet Gospel of the forgiveness of sins by the mercy of God does not fit into carnal, Pharisaic hearts.

A NEW HEART FOR A NEW FAITH Luke 5:33-39; Hebrews 8:6-12 SUMMARY: In one of the more difficult parables to interpret, Jesus, in declaring the superiority of the new covenant over the old, seems to refer to the great divide between two systems, two groups of people, and two kinds of hearts. I. A DIVIDE BETWEEN THE NEW SYSTEM AND THE OLD. A. Old System: a dead external religion. B. New system: a spiritual relationship with God. C. The two systems: Incompatible. II. A DIVIDE BETWEEN FRIENDS AND ENEMIES OF THE BRIDEGROOM. A. The Pharisees. B. The Disciples of John. C. Jesus & His Disciples. III. A DIVIDE BETWEEN THE NEW HEART AND THE OLD HEART. A. A new mind & a new heart. B. A new understanding of God: C. A new freedom in Christ's forgiveness. KRETZMANN: "The piety of the Pharisees, the religion of works which they flaunted before the eyes of the people, on the one hand, and the doctrine of Jesus, the preaching of the free grace of God through His blood, on the other, will never agree. If one insists on wearing his old garment of self-righteousness and works, and then believes it possible to cover an occasional revealing sin with the Gospel, he will find but poor comfort. His heart is still bound up in the old garment, and he will only make the incongruity appear the more glaring. It is just as foolish to keep new wine, grape-juice in the early stage of fermentation, in old skins that have lost their elasticity. The result is disastrous: The skins burst, the wine is spilled. But new skins and new wine are perfectly suited to each other. The sweet Gospel of the forgiveness of sins by the mercy of God does not fit into carnal, Pharisaic hearts.

Sermon on the Mount: The Beatitudes & True Happiness — Blessed Are the Poor in Spirit (Matthew 5:1–3) Thomas Fretwell returns to the Sermon on the Mount after a Resurrection focus, framing it as Jesus' correct interpretation of the law against Pharisaic righteousness and a call to heart-level righteousness for those who enter the kingdom by faith. He sets the scene at the Mount of Beatitudes and highlights Jesus as the prophet like Moses. Reading the Beatitudes, he focuses on the first: “Blessed are the poor in spirit,” Become a supporter and get unlimited questions turned into podcasts at: www.patreon.com/theologyandapologetics YouTube Channel: Theology & Apologetics www.youtube.com/channel/UChoiZ46uyDZZY7W1K9UGAnw TikTok: www.tiktok.com/@dr.fretwell?_t=ZN-8w8NXIFTHkc&_r=1 Instagram: www.instagram.com/theology.apologetics Websites: www.ezrafoundation.org www.theologyandapologetics.com

In this sermon from John 3:9-15, Pastor Rockhill draws a sharp distinction between merely knowing about the truth and actually believing it. His central burden is that knowledge of Scripture, however vast, profits nothing apart from saving faith, and that such faith is impossible without the regenerating work of the Holy Spirit. He illustrates this with the figure of Nicodemus, "the teacher of Israel," a learned and revered Pharisee who nonetheless could not grasp the necessity of the new birth. Pastor Rockhill shows how Jesus upends the Pharisaic framework, which presumed entrance into the kingdom of God through natural descent from Abraham and diligent law-keeping. Against this, Christ insists that no one can see or enter the kingdom unless born of the Spirit. Tracing the Old Testament witness of Ezekiel 36-37, Psalm 51, and Jeremiah 31, the sermon underscores that this transformation of a heart of stone into a heart of flesh is the sovereign gift of God, not the fruit of human works. The sermon presses on to the gospel itself, foreshadowed in the bronze serpent of Numbers 21. Just as the dying Israelites looked in faith and lived, so the Son of Man was lifted up on the cross that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. Pastor Rockhill applies this pointedly to modern skeptics and so-called scholars who study Scripture yet reject it, warning that head knowledge without a regenerate heart leaves one perishing. He exhorts believers not to be content with knowing the truth, but by God's grace to believe it unto eternal life and to bear faithful witness to others.

Experience the power of Jesus' teachings and miracles at a Pharisaic feast, where divine compassion confronts legalistic traditions.In this episode, we explore the tension between Jesus and the Pharisees during a feast, where Jesus challenges their understanding of the Sabbath and performs a miraculous healing. Witness the unfolding drama as Jesus' acts of compassion and justice clash with the rigid legalism of the religious leaders.Today's Bible verse is Micah 6:8, from the King James Version.Download the Pray.com app for more Christian content including, Daily Prayers, Inspirational Testimonies, and Bedtime Bible Stories.Pray.com is the digital destination for faith. With over 5,000 daily prayers, meditations, bedtime stories, and cinematic stories inspired by the Bible, the Pray.com app has everything you need to keep your focus on the Lord. Make Prayer a priority and download the #1 App for Prayer and Sleep today in the Apple app store or Google Play store. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Most religious leaders are quick to draw boundaries around who belongs and who doesn't — but Jesus does the opposite. Today, we explore how Jesus' scandalous love, through table fellowship and acceptance of sinners, flips the Old Testament and religious norms upside down to invite everyone into God's salvation. You'll discover how his approach to holiness, mercy, and inclusion challenges even the most revered traditions and power structures of his time. Join us as we break down the radical difference between the Pharisees' method of separation and Jesus' revolutionary method of association. We dive deep into Luke's stories—from calling Levi (Matthew) as a tax collector, to meals with sinners, to his confrontations around purity laws—revealing that Jesus' core strategy is connection before correction. You'll learn why sharing a meal signified trust, acceptance, and kinship, and why Jesus' table fellowship scandalized the religious elite. You'll also explore how Jesus' method of calling people—before their repentance—prefigures the radically inclusive way of the early church. We examine how Jesus embodies holiness through proximity and love rather than separation, and how his model of acceptance exposes the Pharisaic trap of moral boundary-setting.Chapters:00:00 - Welcome and episode overview on Jesus' countercultural critique02:25 - Seth Erie's adventurous week at King's Island and family stories05:00 - Transition into spiritual and religious themes, setting up Luke's context09:00 - Background on Jewish education: from elementary to rabbinic tracks12:00 - Analyzing Matthew (Levi) as a typical candidate for Jesus' revolutionary call15:00 - Jesus' approach to unclean persons and the significance of table fellowship17:00 - The Pharisees' goal of resurrection and their focus on separation and purity19:00 - How Pharisees fence the law and practice holiness through exclusion22:00 - Jesus' practice of embodying holiness through association and acceptance26:00 - The social implications of table fellowship as an act of love and belonging30:00 - Jesus' response to accusations: eating and drinking with sinners as a declaration of sanction33:00 - The danger of legalism and the importance of Jesus' inclusive love36:00 - Jesus' challenge to religious leaders: Who belongs at the table?39:00 - Theologically interpreting Jesus' claim to forgive sins and the authority of the church45:00 - How Old Testament motifs connect to Jesus' revolutionary love52:00 - Reapplying these insights into contemporary church practices and boundaries58:00 - Conclusion: Embracing Jesus' love as the foundation for genuine communityAs always, we encourage and would love discussion as we pursue. Feel free to email in questions to hello@voxpodcast.com, and to engage the conversation on Facebook and Instagram.We're on YouTube (if you're into that kinda thing): VOXOLOGY TV.Our Merch Store! https://www.etsy.com/shop/VOXOLOGY?ref=shop_sugg_marketLearn more about the Voxology PodcastSubscribe on iTunes or SpotifySupport the Voxology Podcast on PatreonThe Voxology Spotify channel can be found here: Voxology RadioFollow us on Instagram: @voxologypodcast and "like" us on FacebookFollow Mike on Twitter: www.twitter.com/mikeerreMusic in this episode by Timothy John StaffordInstagram & Twitter: @GoneTimothy

Read OnlineSome Sadducees, who say there is no resurrection, came to Jesus and put this question to him, saying, “Teacher, Moses wrote for us, ‘If someone's brother dies, leaving a wife but no child, his brother must take the wife and raise up descendants for his brother.' Now there were seven brothers…” Mark 12:18–20The Sadducees were a Jewish sect composed mainly of the Temple leaders, including many priests. They held theological and political views that differed significantly from those of the Pharisees. The Sadducees accepted only the Torah (the first five books of the Old Testament) as authoritative, whereas the Pharisees recognized the entire Hebrew Scriptures, including the Prophets, historical books, and Wisdom literature, and upheld a highly developed oral tradition based on centuries of rabbinic interpretation. This led to tension and theological disagreements.The Sadducees denied the resurrection of the dead, the immortality of the soul, and the existence of angels—all of which were central to Pharisaic belief—because they believed those truths were not found in the Torah. They believed that God's blessings were given for this life and that when one died, the soul perished with the body.Despite their theological disputes with the Pharisees, both groups found common ground in opposing Jesus. Today's Gospel illustrates the Sadducees' failed attempt to trap Jesus in a legalistic theological dilemma, using the law of Levirate marriage (cf. Deuteronomy 25:5–10) to challenge the doctrine of the resurrection.The Sadducees took their turn to trap Jesus not only to prove Jesus wrong but also to justify their beliefs before the Pharisees. They pose an extreme hypothetical scenario, in which seven brothers successively marry the same woman, each dying childless and ask: “At the resurrection when they arise, whose wife will she be? For all seven had been married to her” (Mark 12:23). Their intent is not to seek truth, but to mock the very idea of life after death.Jesus responds, not with complicated legal reasoning, but with divine wisdom that lifts their minds beyond earthly concerns. He begins by rebuking their limited understanding: “You do not know the Scriptures or the power of God” (Mark 12:24). Then, He offers a twofold response (cf. Mark 12:24–27).First, Jesus addresses the question of marriage after the resurrection: “When they rise from the dead, they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but they are like the angels in heaven.” After the resurrection of the dead, human existence will be radically transformed. Earthly institutions such as marriage—good and holy as they are—belong to this world, not the next. In the life to come, every soul will find its perfect fulfillment in the Beatific Vision. Second, Jesus refutes their denial of the resurrection of the dead using the Torah: “As for the dead being raised, have you not read in the Book of Moses, in the passage about the bush, how God told him, ‘I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob'? He is not God of the dead but of the living.”Though the Sadducees had built their entire theology on the Torah, they failed to recognize the implication of God's words to Moses. If God is “the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob,” then these patriarchs must still be alive in His presence. God did not say, “I was the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob,” but “I AM.” With this statement, Jesus shatters their disbelief and unveils the reality of eternal life. Perhaps even the Pharisees enjoyed His answer. Reflect today on the central truth Jesus revealed to the Sadducees: The soul is immortal, and those who die in God's grace will rise again to live eternally in His presence, in perfect communion with all the angels and saints. This truth must always be our focal point in life. Too often, we live as the Sadducees did—as if this life is an end in itself. By turning our eyes toward eternity, we not only better our lives here and now, but we also live in the hope of Heaven, knowing that all we do now must be for the sake of eternal treasure in the life to come.My eternal Lord, I believe in the promise of Heaven and the coming of the New Heavens and Earth, when all souls will rise and receive their eternal reward or judgment. As I journey through this life, keep my eyes fixed on eternity, and let my hope be firmly rooted in the resurrection to come. Jesus, I trust in You.Image: The Sermon on the Mount By Guillaume FouaceSource: Free RSS feed from catholic-daily-reflections.com — Copyright © 2026 My Catholic Life! Inc. All rights reserved. This content is provided solely for personal, non-commercial use. Redistribution, republication, or commercial use — including use within apps with advertising — is strictly prohibited without written permission.

Send us Fan MailRome isn't presented as a background detail, it's the pressure cooker. We start our Romans journey by rebuilding the setting behind Paul's most comprehensive explanation of the gospel: the Roman Empire at its height, the cultural and political center of the known world, and a growing community of believers trying to live out faith in a place that sets trends for everyone else. Getting that context right changes how you hear every word that follows, especially when Romans was written around 56 to 58 A.D., just years before the world-shifting events of A.D. 70.We talk through why this letter is unique among Paul's epistles. He's writing to a church he didn't personally plant, a network of saints meeting across the city rather than one neat institution. We also face the real friction points: the aftershocks of Claudius expelling Jews from Rome, Jewish believers returning, and Gentile believers now holding visible influence. That mix creates disputes over identity and practice, and Romans speaks directly to that fault line by centering salvation on God's faithfulness and justification by faith, not tribal status.Then we zoom in on Paul's method. Romans reads like a courtroom brief because Rome understands law, argument, and proof. We connect Paul's Pharisaic “legal mind” with his exposure to public philosophy, including debates with Stoics and Epicureans, and why that double-edge preparation makes him the right messenger for the empire's capital. If the gospel is going to spread to the ends of the earth, it has to stay clear when it reaches the center of influence first.Subscribe for the full Romans study ahead, share this with a friend who wants deeper Bible context, and leave a review with your biggest question about Romans so we can tackle it together.Support the showBE PROVOKED AND BE PERSUADED!

Do you see how Matthew 18 lays a wonderful foundation in the context of how you then consider marriage and divorce? Do you see the Pharisaic heart that swells up demanding freedom to divorce at will? Do you see the great contrast in the Redeemed heart and how humility and love should motivate you towards the pursuit of your spouse in reconciliation when offense arises?

Jesus, the Sabbath, and the Pharisees (Matthew 12): Lord of the Sabbath & Greater Than the Temple In this episode we will study Matthew 12 (with parallels in Mark) where Jesus and His disciples face Pharisaic confrontation over Sabbath regulations when the disciples pluck grain, an act permitted by Deuteronomy 23:25 but condemned by extra Pharisaic rules. • Jesus defends them using David eating consecrated bread (1 Samuel 21) and the priests working on the Sabbath • Jesus declares “something greater than the temple is here” and “the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath” • Jesus exposes legalism by healing a man with a withered hand in the synagogue, showing it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath • Mark highlights Jesus' anger at their hardness of heart and the Pharisees conspiring with the Herodians to destroy Him • Matthew connects these events to Isaiah 42, emphasizing Jesus' Spirit-anointed, merciful ministry and Gentile hope. Become a supporter and get unlimited questions turned into podcasts at: www.patreon.com/theologyandapologetics YouTube Channel: Theology & Apologetics www.youtube.com/channel/UChoiZ46uyDZZY7W1K9UGAnw TikTok: www.tiktok.com/@dr.fretwell?_t=ZN-8w8NXIFTHkc&_r=1 Instagram: www.instagram.com/theology.apologetics Websites: www.ezrafoundation.org www.theologyandapologetics.com

John 1:22-28Matt's book, The Lightning-Fast Field Guide to the Bible is available NOW! - here's a link that gets TMBH a little kickback: https://amzn.to/4pEYSS9Thanks to everyone who supports TMBH at patreon.com/thetmbhpodcastYou're the reason we can all do this together!Discuss the episode hereMusic by Jeff Foote

Luke 5 Explained: Jesus Calls Levi (Matthew), Dines with Sinners & the New Wine/New Wineskins Continuing the Life of Messiah series in Luke 5, Thomas Fretwell revisits Jesus' healing of the paralytic in Capernaum and then focuses on Jesus calling the tax collector Levi (Matthew), highlighting the scandal of a rabbi welcoming an ostracised Roman collaborator and the cost of discipleship as Levi leaves everything to follow Christ. Levi hosts a banquet for Jesus with tax collectors and “sinners,” prompting Pharisaic criticism, to which Jesus replies that the sick need a physician and that He came to call sinners to repentance. The episode then provides historical background on the rise of Pharisaic/rabbinic “oral law” and the fence around Torah, explaining how this context clarifies Jesus' illustrations about fasting, patching old garments, and new wine in new wineskins as a refusal to fit His mission into Pharisaic tradition and a call to bring people to Jesus. Become a supporter and get unlimited questions turned into podcasts at: www.patreon.com/theologyandapologetics YouTube Channel: Theology & Apologetics www.youtube.com/channel/UChoiZ46uyDZZY7W1K9UGAnw TikTok: www.tiktok.com/@dr.fretwell?_t=ZN-8w8NXIFTHkc&_r=1 Instagram: www.instagram.com/theology.apologetics Websites: www.ezrafoundation.org www.theologyandapologetics.com

In this episode, Tony Arsenal and Jesse Schwamb explore one of Scripture's most fascinating puzzles: the parable of the lost sheep appears in both Luke 15 and Matthew 18, yet teaches dramatically different lessons depending on its context. In Luke, it defends Christ's mission to seek the lost and exposes Pharisaic self-righteousness. In Matthew, it becomes a pastoral manual for church discipline, humility, and restoration. This conversation challenges the common assumption that parables have only one meaning and demonstrates how the same story can illuminate multiple theological truths. The hosts unpack the scandalous grace woven throughout both accounts while wrestling with practical implications for church life, confrontation, and the celebration of repentance within the covenant community. Key Takeaways Context transforms meaning: The parable of the lost sheep appears in both Luke 15 and Matthew 18 with similar wording but vastly different applications—proving that parables can have multiple valid meanings depending on their literary and theological context. Matthew 18's audience is internal: Unlike Luke 15, which addresses outsiders and critics, Matthew 18 speaks to disciples about life within the kingdom community—focusing on humility, care for "little ones," and the church's responsibility toward vulnerable or straying members. The parable sets up church discipline: In Matthew 18, the lost sheep parable (vv. 12-14) directly precedes and theologically grounds the church discipline passage (vv. 15-20), teaching that confrontation should be motivated by pastoral rescue, not punitive justice. "Little ones" matter to the Father: The phrase "little ones" refers to children, new believers, and those vulnerable within the church—Christ warns sternly against despising them and insists it is not the Father's will that any should perish (v. 14). Restoration is the goal, not excommunication: Verse 15's language of "gaining your brother" frames confrontation as recovery. Even final excommunication (v. 17) should be carried out with ongoing hope for repentance and return, not with triumphalism or relief. Christ's presence empowers difficult work: The promise that "where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them" (v. 20) is not a general prayer meeting verse—it's a specific assurance of Christ's authorizing presence during the judicial and painful work of church discipline. Divine intention shapes church posture: The statement "it is not the will of my Father...that one of these little ones should perish" (v. 14) must color every step of the discipline process, ensuring the church never loses sight of God's restorative heart. Explanatory Paragraphs Context Transforms Meaning One of the most significant insights from this episode is the recognition that the parable of the lost sheep serves distinct theological purposes in Luke 15 and Matthew 18. In Luke, Jesus tells the parable to Pharisees and scribes who criticize Him for welcoming sinners—the lost sheep represents those outside the covenant community whom Christ seeks. In Matthew, however, Jesus addresses His disciples within the context of kingdom life, and the lost sheep represents a believer who has wandered from the fold. This contextual shift demonstrates that parables are not rigid allegories with single meanings but flexible teaching tools that illuminate different facets of divine truth. The hosts argue that this reality should free interpreters from overly narrow readings and encourage careful attention to literary setting, audience, and surrounding discourse when seeking to understand Jesus' teaching. The Parable Sets Up Church Discipline In Matthew 18, the parable of the lost sheep (vv. 12-14) is not an isolated story but a theological foundation for the church discipline instructions that immediately follow (vv. 15-20). By emphasizing the shepherd's joy in recovering the one lost sheep and stating that it is not God's will for any "little one" to perish, Jesus prepares His disciples to approach confrontation with a restorative rather than punitive mindset. The language of "gaining your brother" (v. 15) echoes the recovery theme of the parable—confrontation is rescue, not victory. This connection is often missed because English Bible headings create visual breaks between verses 14 and 15, obscuring their flow. When read together without interruption, the passage reveals that every step of church discipline—from private conversation to final excommunication—must be undertaken with the Father's heart, which longs for the wanderer's return rather than their expulsion. Christ's Presence Empowers Difficult Work The promise in Matthew 18:20—"where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them"—is frequently misapplied as a general encouragement for small prayer groups or house churches. While Christ's omnipresence certainly validates such gatherings, the primary context of this verse is judicial and ecclesiastical. The "two or three" echoes the Old Testament requirement for multiple witnesses in matters requiring serious judgment (Deuteronomy 19:15), and the phrase appears at the climax of Jesus' teaching on church discipline. Christ is promising His authorizing presence specifically during the church's most difficult and painful work: confronting sin, evaluating repentance, and when necessary, declaring someone outside the visible church. This is both sobering and comforting—sobering because it reminds us that church discipline carries divine weight, and comforting because Christ does not leave His church alone in this weighty task but stands in the midst of the assembly, confirming its righteous judgments and sustaining its members through heartbreak. Memorable Quotes "This almost proves the idea that parables have one meaning just isn't really real...a single parable with the same words can have multiple, at the very least, can have multiple gradations of meaning." — Tony Arsenal "The scandal here is that it's not God's will that any one of these little ones should be lost. And that sometimes, I think, in the midst of great conflict feels scandalous." — Jesse Schwamb "Gaining your brother frames confrontation as rescue...discipline begins maybe actually all the way through as pastoral care. It's not public shaming." — Jesse Schwamb Full Transcript [The complete, unedited transcript of the episode would be included here for reference and accessibility.]

The sermon centers on Jesus' confrontation with the Pharisees, who, despite claiming to uphold God's law, had reduced it to a system of loopholes and traditions that served their own interests, particularly their love of money. By highlighting how the Pharisees distorted Scripture—such as redefining divorce to justify personal desires—Jesus exposes their hypocrisy and reaffirms the enduring authority of God's law, which demands perfect obedience and reveals human sinfulness. The passage underscores that the law's true purpose is not to enable self-justification but to convict, point to Christ, and guide believers in holy living. The sermon calls the church to reject the Pharisaic tendency to lower God's standards for personal gain, instead embracing the law as a mirror that reveals our need for Christ and a guide for life after redemption, with marriage and morality rooted in divine fidelity, not human convenience.

Read OnlineJesus left the district of Tyre and went by way of Sidon to the Sea of Galilee, into the district of the Decapolis. And people brought to him a deaf man who had a speech impediment and begged him to lay his hand on him. Mark 7:31–32Throughout Jesus' public ministry, His actions, while purely charitable, were often deliberate and provocative. His words and deeds testified to the true meaning of the Mosaic Law by exposing the damaging legalism of many Pharisees, whose misinterpretations deeply influenced God's Chosen People. For example, Jesus healed a man with a withered hand on the Sabbath (cf. Mark 3:1–6) and cured a man who had been lame for thirty-eight years (cf. John 5:1–18). In both cases, Jesus was accused of violating the Sabbath rest as interpreted by the Pharisaic traditions. By challenging these restrictive and erroneous interpretations, Jesus demonstrated that the Sabbath is a day for mercy, healing, and honoring God, not a burdensome observance of human traditions. Jesus boldly lived the Mosaic Law as it was intended, while challenging the erroneous practices and beliefs He encountered. Another act of deliberate and charitable provocation was Jesus' ministry among the Gentiles. At that time, observant Jews often avoided direct interactions with Gentiles, considering them ritually unclean and outside the covenant community of Israel. Yet Jesus traveled into Gentile regions such as Tyre, Sidon, and the Decapolis. In today's Gospel, Jesus traveled from Tyre to Sidon and then to the Decapolis, where He healed a deaf and mute man. Being predominantly Gentile regions, they were marked by pagan worship, Hellenistic culture, and lifestyles often incompatible with Jewish religious practices. It is likely that Jesus' companions—the Twelve—were surprised and uneasy during these visits, but that was precisely the point. Their journey to these territories was itself a lesson Jesus intended to teach. By engaging with Gentiles, Jesus revealed that God's salvation is not limited to Israel but extends to all nations, fulfilling the promise made to Abraham: “All the families of the earth will find blessing in you” (Genesis 12:3). In doing so, Jesus began preparing His disciples to shed nationalistic biases and embrace the universal scope of God's covenant of salvation.The healing of the deaf and mute man carries profound significance. First, by performing the miracle in predominantly Gentile territory, Jesus directed its meaning beyond the Jews to all peoples of every nation. The message is clear: By healing the man's deafness, Jesus teaches that all must hear the saving message of the Gospel. By healing his speech impediment, Jesus further teaches that all who hear the Gospel are called to proclaim it.Though the manner of this healing—putting “his finger into the man's ears and, spitting, touched his tongue”—is rich with symbolism, it also reveals Jesus' personal and compassionate approach. For a deaf and mute man, spoken words alone would not have conveyed what Jesus was about to do. By using touch and visible gestures, Jesus communicated with the man in a way he could understand, engaging him personally and tenderly. This reflects the boundless compassion of Jesus, Who meets each of us where we are.Reflect today on the lesson the Twelve learned as they traveled with Jesus through Gentile and pagan regions. As followers of Christ, we must learn not only from His words but also from His actions. The Creed, the Sacraments, and the moral teachings of the Church are not meant for Catholics alone but for all people. At times, sharing the Gospel might require charitable provocation within the social circles in which we live and work. We must strive to do so in ways that people can understand, setting aside artificial or inconsequential traditions that obstruct the message. True compassion leads us to every person, making us instruments of their salvation, knowing that the message we bring is for all, so that “all the families of the earth” may find blessing in God through you.My compassionate and provocative Lord, You confidently and lovingly challenged the burdensome and restrictive traditions that had overshadowed the true spirit of the Mosaic Law, pointing Your disciples—and us—to the universal scope of Your saving mission. Grant me the courage and wisdom to be an instrument of Your Gospel to everyone I meet. Help me to love them where they are, with the tenderness and compassion You show, so that they, too, may be drawn into the joy of Your eternal Kingdom. Jesus, I trust in You.Image: unknown, (Markusmaler und Gehilfe), Public domain, via Wikimedia CommonsSource: Free RSS feed from catholic-daily-reflections.com — Copyright © 2026 My Catholic Life! Inc. All rights reserved. This content is provided solely for personal, non-commercial use. Redistribution, republication, or commercial use — including use within apps with advertising — is strictly prohibited without written permission.

Pharisaism cannot be mollified. Paul, nor Jesus, ever makes excuses for it. Pharisaic teaching and practice are destructive.

The Messiah Confrontation: Why Israel Knohl Says the Pharisees Wouldn't Have Executed YeshuaIn this video, I review Professor Israel Knohl's groundbreaking book The Messiah Confrontation, a work I first discovered through the excellent Kedem YouTube channel. Knohl argues that Yeshua's execution was not the result of Pharisaic hostility—since the Pharisees, the ancestors of Rabbinic Judaism, would not have condemned Him—but rather the outcome of a trial dominated by Sadducees, a sect that no longer exists. Knohl laments that centuries of Christian–Jewish tension have been fueled by blaming “the Jews,” even though the group responsible disappeared long ago.From a Christian perspective, I highlight an important point: if Yeshua is the Messiah, then His innocent death was necessary to fulfill prophecy. Without His death and resurrection, there is no Messiah and nothing for the crowds in Acts 2 to repent of. Antisemitism, which long predates Yeshua's crucifixion, stems from ancient hatred of the children of Abraham—not from the gospel story itself.Knohl devotes most of the book to tracing the development of messianic expectation in the Tanakh, the Qumran texts, and first century Judaism. He explains why many Jews expected a warrior king who would overthrow Rome, and why Yeshua's message challenged those assumptions. While I disagree with Knohl's rejection of Yeshua as the Messiah, his scholarship is honest, rigorous, and fair toward both Jewish and Christian traditions.I recommend this book to anyone who loves deep, academic study of Scripture and the history of God's people. Knohl's treatment of messianic divinity alone is worth the read. My one critique is that he does not address Daniel 9, where the Messiah is linked to the destruction of Judea—something Yeshua explicitly referenced when He foretold the fall of the Temple.If you enjoy serious biblical scholarship, this book is a treasure. I've also linked Knohl's interview on the Kedem channel so you can explore his ideas firsthand. Shalom, and may YHVH bless you and keep you in the Name of Yeshua.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ipr7qJZZLx8https://www.youtube.com/@KEDEMChannelhttps://firstcenturychristianity.net/

Featured playlist: The Church (That Meets in My Home) — https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL5Yobt1jZDd9Zzn8Ufa-BNciyYv04Cl6mMy books:Exalted: Putting Jesus in His Place — https://www.amazon.com/Exalted-Putting-Jesus-His-Place/dp/0985118709/ref=tmm_pap_title_0God's Design for Marriage (Married Edition) — https://www.amazon.com/Gods-Design-Marriage-Married-Amazing/dp/0998786306/ref=sr_1_4?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1493422125&sr=1-4&keywords=god%27s+design+for+marriageGod's Design for Marriage (Pre-married Edition) — https://www.amazon.com/Gods-Design-Marriage-What-Before/dp/0985118725/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_topSupport us - become a CTC Partner: https://crosstocrown.org/partners/crosstocrown.org@DougGoodin

In Scripture a yoke can be either a punishing burden impossible to bear or a tool to get useful work accomplished. Scripture presents the Pharisaic understanding of the Torah as the former while Christ described His yoke as easy and light. One of the dividing lines between the two is that Christ's words are true and the Pharisaic interpretation is not.

Experience the power of Jesus' teachings and miracles at a Pharisaic feast, where divine compassion confronts legalistic traditions.In this episode, we explore the tension between Jesus and the Pharisees during a feast, where Jesus challenges their understanding of the Sabbath and performs a miraculous healing. Witness the unfolding drama as Jesus' acts of compassion and justice clash with the rigid legalism of the religious leaders.Today's Bible verse is Micah 6:8, from the King James Version.Download the Pray.com app for more Christian content including, Daily Prayers, Inspirational Testimonies, and Bedtime Bible Stories.Pray.com is the digital destination for faith. With over 5,000 daily prayers, meditations, bedtime stories, and cinematic stories inspired by the Bible, the Pray.com app has everything you need to keep your focus on the Lord. Make Prayer a priority and download the #1 App for Prayer and Sleep today in the Apple app store or Google Play store.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Experience the power of Jesus' teachings and miracles at a Pharisaic feast, where divine compassion confronts legalistic traditions.In this episode, we explore the tension between Jesus and the Pharisees during a feast, where Jesus challenges their understanding of the Sabbath and performs a miraculous healing. Witness the unfolding drama as Jesus' acts of compassion and justice clash with the rigid legalism of the religious leaders.Today's Bible verse is Micah 6:8, from the King James Version.Download the Pray.com app for more Christian content including, Daily Prayers, Inspirational Testimonies, and Bedtime Bible Stories.Pray.com is the digital destination for faith. With over 5,000 daily prayers, meditations, bedtime stories, and cinematic stories inspired by the Bible, the Pray.com app has everything you need to keep your focus on the Lord. Make Prayer a priority and download the #1 App for Prayer and Sleep today in the Apple app store or Google Play store.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Acts 23 tells of Paul before the Sanhedrin. In a similar way to when our Lord Jesus Christ appears before them, the hearing commences with an illegality from the High Priest, Ananias. That corrupt priest commands that the Apostle be smitten on the cheek - this is contrary to the Law of Moses. Paul reacts to this violation by saying that God would in His time smite the high priest. For this answer Paul is rebuked by those of the Council. The Apostle says he had not recognised the high priest. This seems unusual as in Acts 9 this high priest had given letters to Paul authorising the persecution at Damascus. Some such as Ramsay have suggested Paul's eyesight was poor, due to malaria possibly contracted on his first missionary journey. Others suggest that this is in fact a rebuttal of the high priest's right to hold that office. Paul undoubtedly had poor eyesight as many of his letters attest e.g. Galatians 6verses11. The Apostle sees the impossibility of him getting a fair trial and so he divides the Council on the question of the teaching of the Scriptures regarding the raising of the dead. Verse 8 tells us of the difference in teaching between the Pharisees and the Sadducees. Verse 10 informs us that the disagreement became violent. Paul is once again rescued. Paul's sister's son learns of a plot to assassinate Paul and informs the chief captain. The chief captain immediately responds by sending Paul to Felix the Roman Governor in Caesarea with a heavily armed escort - a journey of two days. This heavily armed company carry with them a letter explaining why the Chief Captain has taken these measures. Chapter 24 speaks of Paul before Felix and of the flattering orator the Jews hired to prosecute the Apostle. The Apostle defends each charge magnificently. Paul points out that he came to Jerusalem for worship and to bring charitable gifts for his nation. The aged Apostle also is a Pharisee. The Pharisaic teachings were an allowable teaching among the Jews. Felix finds himself in a difficult place having some understanding of the teachings of the Way (an early name for believers in Christ Jesus). Felix detains Paul not wanting to fall out of favour with the Jews. Paul is provided with protection and liberty. Having heard of Paul's bringing charity to his fellow Jews Felix hopes to secure a bribe. Felix becomes very disturbed knowing that since he understands the reality of the coming judgment and that he would be subject to the judgment of God. Felix's life makes it certain that he will be rejected when that judgment comes. After two years Rome replaces Governor Felix with Governor Festus. Festus maintains Paul's imprisonment to please the Jews.

Ezra 3 opens with a magnificent statement of unity of purpose - the whole nation gathers as one man. They come to build the altar, the focus of the nation is to be as a whole burnt offering living their lives in dedicated service to their God. The returned exiles next keep the feast of booths, or Tabernacles, in fellowship with each other and in acknowledgment of Yahweh's provision of all that they had received at His bountiful hand. The building of the temple begins on the first day of the seventh month and the laying of the foundation was accompanied with great rejoicing and the singing of David's psalm of thanksgiving composed for the time when the ark was brought to Jerusalemverses 1 Chronicles 16verses8-35. The focus of this Psalm is Yahweh's "chesed" - steadfast and enduring love. Chapter 4 opens with the enemies of Judah   asking Ezra the Governor and the returned exiles to cease their work. They attempt to discourage and intimidate the builders with fear. When this doesn't work they write to the Persian king pointing out the risk to his realm should the Judean kingdom be reestablished. The adversaries rejoice when an order comes from the Persian king to cease the work. The work was halted for about 20 years and at the end of this time the Almighty stirs up two prophets - Haggai and Zechariah - to revitalise the people's spirit through several prophesies spoken in close succession. How unfortunate at the end of the chapter that unity is broken by the inability to get over "the good old days." Odious comparisons dampen ecclesial unity. Hosea 6 tells of a plea to return to the LORD who had torn Israel, but would again restore them in two days (each of a thousand years on the principle of a day for a 1,000 years- see 2 Peter 3verses8). Then in Israel's restoration under the Lord Jesus Christ - the Messiah - times of great blessing will come. Read aloud Hosea 6verses6 pause and ponder. Blessings require Israel's responding as God always desires (see Christ's comments in Matthew 9verses13). But Israel deal treacherously and even Gilead a city of the priests becomes the place of violence and robbery. Shechem another city of refuge where elsewhere in Scripture a place focussed on now a place of violence and corruption. sincerity and truth a den of robbers whose corrupt words and ways shamed this otherwise national place for dedication to Yahweh. Shechem also now becomes a den of robbing priests. Acts 23 tells of Paul before the Sanhedrin. In a similar way to when our Lord Jesus Christ appears before them, the hearing commences with an illegality from the High Priest, Ananias. That corrupt priest commands that the Apostle be smitten on the cheek - this is contrary to the Law of Moses. Paul reacts to this violation by saying that God would in His time smite the high priest. For this answer Paul is rebuked by those of the Council. The Apostle says he had not recognised the high priest. This seems unusual as in Acts 9 this high priest had given letters to Paul authorising the persecution at Damascus. Some such as Ramsay have suggested Paul's eyesight was poor, due to malaria possibly contracted on his first missionary journey. Others suggest that this is in fact a rebuttal of the high priest's right to hold that office. Paul undoubtedly had poor eyesight as many of his letters attest e.g. Galatians 6verses11. The Apostle sees the impossibility of him getting a fair trial and so he divides the Council on the question of the teaching of the Scriptures regarding the raising of the dead. Verse 8 tells us of the difference in teaching between the Pharisees and the Sadducees. Verse 10 informs us that the disagreement became violent. Paul is once again rescued. Paul's sister's son learns of a plot to assassinate Paul and informs the chief captain. The chief captain immediately responds by sending Paul to Felix the Roman Governor in Caesarea with a heavily armed escort - a journey of two days. This heavily armed company carry with them a letter explaining why the Chief Captain has taken these measures. Chapter 24 speaks of Paul before Felix and of the flattering orator the Jews hired to prosecute the Apostle. The Apostle defends each charge magnificently. Paul points out that he came to Jerusalem for worship and to bring charitable gifts for his nation. The aged Apostle also is a Pharisee. The Pharisaic teachings were an allowable teaching among the Jews. Felix finds himself in a difficult place having some understanding of the teachings of the Way (an early name for believers in Christ Jesus). Felix detains Paul not wanting to fall out of favour with the Jews. Paul is provided with protection and liberty. Having heard of Paul's bringing charity to his fellow Jews Felix hopes to secure a bribe. Felix becomes very disturbed knowing that since he understands the reality of the coming judgment and that he would be subject to the judgment of God. Felix's life makes it certain that he will be rejected when that judgment comes. After two years Rome replaces Governor Felix with Governor Festus. Festus maintains Paul's imprisonment to please the Jews. Thanks for joining us - we pray you found these comments helpful in your appreciation of God's words, join again tomorrow 

After 70 years of exile in Babylon Cyrus, the king of Persia, who had recently conquered the city of Babylon, decreed that the exiled Jews be allowed to return to Judea and to rebuild Jerusalem. The decree was made in BC 537. Read it aloud in verses 2-4 of Ezra 1. Two thousand five hundred and twenty years later the Embassy of the USA is relocated from Tel Aviv of Jerusalem and a coin is minted showing Cyrus on one side and the then American president, Donald Trump. The uncirculated coin - meaning the coin is not legal tender - is inscribed with the words from Ezra 1verses2. The gold and silver vessels of the former temple at Jerusalem which had been stored in the treasure house in Babylon are returned to the new temple that is to be built in Jerusalem. Chapter 2 of Ezra gives us an inventory of the vessels and speaks the faithful remnant who with Ezra the scribe. King Cyrus makes a generous donation towards the cost of rebuilding Jerusalem. The vessels represent the saintsverses Isaiah 22verses24; 2 Timothy 2verses20-21.Hosea 5 deals with the judgment to come upon faithless Israel and Judah. Yahweh would, like a lion, tear His people because of their rebellious ways firstly through the Assyrian lion who would carry Israel captive; and then Judah would experience a similar fate 120 years later at the hands of the Babylonians.Acts 21 records Paul's journey to Jerusalem. The Apostle comforts and encourages many groups of disciples as he heads to Jerusalem. An old prophet, named Agabus, attempts to persuade Paul to go no further. Paul will not, like his lord, be dissuaded from going. The first thing Paul does on his arrival is to see James who advises him of the best course of action to be taken so as to avoid trouble. The Apostle is advised to complete his Nazarite vow and to cover the expenses of four other brothers who are completing their vows. James reiterates to Paul that the only binding requirements on Gentile believers are the keeping of the four matters agreed upon at the Jerusalem Conference. However, Paul cannot peacefully complete his vow since he is arrested in the temple by Asian Jews. These hostile Jews mistakenly believe that Paul has profaned the temple by bringing Trophimus, a Gentile Ephesian into the temple. A Tribune from the Roman fort of Antonia rescues Paul and commands that he be chained. The crowd clamours for the Apostle's blood, just as they had for his Lord's some three and a half decades earlier. In the barracks Paul speaks with the Tribune dismissing many of the fanciful thoughts as to who Paul might be. Paul asks for permission to address the crowd from the steps of the fort and his speech is recorded in chapter 22. Paul gives his defence in Hebrew and initially the crowd pays close attention. The aged Apostle describes his own education in the Pharisaic tradition under Gamaliel and his zeal for the Law. After this he tells of his experiences on the Damascus road, his conversion to a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ. Paul says that he is warned by Jesus his Lord to immediately leave Jerusalem since his testimony will not be accepted. The Jews attentively listen until Paul speaks of being sent to the Gentiles. Once again uproar follows and the Tribune commands that Paul be scourged that the Tribune might understand why the multitude were so angry with the Apostle. Paul, on this occasion, uses his Roman citizenship to avoid a pointless flogging. The chapter concludes with the Tribune intending to have Paul examined by the Jewish Sanhedrin on the next day.Thanks for joining us - we pray you found these comments helpful in your appreciation of God's words, join again tomorrow

After 70 years of exile in Babylon Cyrus, the king of Persia, who had recently conquered the city of Babylon, decreed that the exiled Jews be allowed to return to Judea and to rebuild Jerusalem. The decree was made in BC 537. Read it aloud in verses 2-4 of Ezra 1. Two thousand five hundred and twenty years later the Embassy of the USA is relocated from Tel Aviv of Jerusalem and a coin is minted showing Cyrus on one side and the then American president, Donald Trump. The uncirculated coin - meaning the coin is not legal tender - is inscribed with the words from Ezra 1verses2. The gold and silver vessels of the former temple at Jerusalem which had been stored in the treasure house in Babylon are returned to the new temple that is to be built in Jerusalem. Chapter 2 of Ezra gives us an inventory of the vessels and speaks the faithful remnant who with Ezra the scribe. King Cyrus makes a generous donation towards the cost of rebuilding Jerusalem. The vessels represent the saintsverses Isaiah 22verses24; 2 Timothy 2verses20-21. Hosea 5 deals with the judgment to come upon faithless Israel and Judah. Yahweh would, like a lion, tear His people because of their rebellious ways firstly through the Assyrian lion who would carry Israel captive; and then Judah would experience a similar fate 120 years later at the hands of the Babylonians. Acts 21 records Paul's journey to Jerusalem. The Apostle comforts and encourages many groups of disciples as he heads to Jerusalem. An old prophet, named Agabus, attempts to persuade Paul to go no further. Paul will not, like his lord, be dissuaded from going. The first thing Paul does on his arrival is to see James who advises him of the best course of action to be taken so as to avoid trouble. The Apostle is advised to complete his Nazarite vow and to cover the expenses of four other brothers who are completing their vows. James reiterates to Paul that the only binding requirements on Gentile believers are the keeping of the four matters agreed upon at the Jerusalem Conference. However, Paul cannot peacefully complete his vow since he is arrested in the temple by Asian Jews. These hostile Jews mistakenly believe that Paul has profaned the temple by bringing Trophimus, a Gentile Ephesian into the temple. A Tribune from the Roman fort of Antonia rescues Paul and commands that he be chained. The crowd clamours for the Apostle's blood, just as they had for his Lord's some three and a half decades earlier. In the barracks Paul speaks with the Tribune dismissing many of the fanciful thoughts as to who Paul might be. Paul asks for permission to address the crowd from the steps of the fort and his speech is recorded in chapter 22. Paul gives his defence in Hebrew and initially the crowd pays close attention. The aged Apostle describes his own education in the Pharisaic tradition under Gamaliel and his zeal for the Law. After this he tells of his experiences on the Damascus road, his conversion to a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ. Paul says that he is warned by Jesus his Lord to immediately leave Jerusalem since his testimony will not be accepted. The Jews attentively listen until Paul speaks of being sent to the Gentiles. Once again uproar follows and the Tribune commands that Paul be scourged that the Tribune might understand why the multitude were so angry with the Apostle. Paul, on this occasion, uses his Roman citizenship to avoid a pointless flogging. The chapter concludes with the Tribune intending to have Paul examined by the Jewish Sanhedrin on the next day. Thanks for joining us - we pray you found these comments helpful in your appreciation of God's words, join again tomorrow 

In Do Whatever They Tell You, we explore Yeshua's words in Matthew 23:2–3, where He tells the crowd to obey the scribes and Pharisees who “sit in Moses' seat.” Did Yeshua affirm their teachings—or was He pointing to something deeper? This teaching examines the historical and textual background showing that Yeshua wasn't validating Pharisaic tradition but affirming obedience to the words of Moses they read aloud each Sabbath (Exodus 18:13–16; Acts 15:21; Matthew 23:1–4). When understood in context, Yeshua's command calls His followers to heed the Torah itself, not the traditions that make void the Word of God.Takeaway: Yeshua directs His people to hear Moses' words and live them—testing every teaching by Scripture, not by man-made authority.

Thirtieth Sunday in Ordinary TimePrayer is the oxygen we need to spiritually live. It is our primary connection with God. In today's Gospel we read about two individuals who enter the temple to pray with different postures of this fundamental reality: the pharisee and the tax collector. The pharisee left the temple self-justified leading to further self-guilt and self-hatred. Whereas, the tax collector left justified by God. God listens not to perfection, but to humility. True prayer is is the posture of dependence, not pride. Pray like the tax collector and live like St. Paul-humble, grateful, and confident in God's mercy.Scripture Readings for October 26, 2025Sirach 35:12-14, 16-18Psalm 34:2-3, 17-19, 232 Timothy 4:6-8, 16-18Luke 18:9-14 

In this compelling episode of Proclaiming Justice, Laurie Cardoza-Moore continues her conversation with Yaffa Batya da Costa to expose the growing threat of replacement theology. Together, they unpack Romans 11, the writings of Paul, and the historical reality that Jesus and Paul taught from a Hebraic perspective rooted in the Torah.From the ancient Inquisition to modern conservative circles, this dangerous teaching has resurfaced—often under the guise of patriotism or nationalism—driving a wedge between Christians and Jews. Yaffa explains how the early Church Fathers distorted first-century faith, why Pharisaic tradition matters, and what the Bible truly says about Israel's eternal covenant.Listeners will come away equipped to recognize antisemitism in their churches and armed with historical and biblical truth to counter it.Follow Proclaiming Justice on Spreaker, Apple Podcasts, and Spotify, and share this episode with others who need to hear the truth.Don't forget to subscribe, rate, and share to help us equip more Christians to stand with Israel and fight antisemitism.✨ Stay connected with PJTN! ✨

In the Christian church, the Pharisees are often seen as the epitome of hypocrisy.-- the essence of all that is wrong with Judaism. But what if Jesus' teachings were borrowed straight from the traditional writings of these rabbis? What if Jesus wasn't teaching something "new" but something "true" that had always existed in the sacred teachings of these Jewish sages. Kathy and Gary demonstrate how Jesus' teaching flowed in the stream of Pharisaic teaching of his day. Placing his teachings in their proper perspective and context hopefully chips away at underlying anti-Jewish messaging in the Christian church.

Acts 21 records Paul's journey to Jerusalem. The Apostle comforts and encourages many groups of disciples as he heads to Jerusalem. An old prophet, named Agabus, attempts to persuade Paul to go no further. Paul will not, like his lord, be dissuaded from going. The first thing Paul does on his arrival is to see James who advises him of the best course of action to be taken so as to avoid trouble. The Apostle is advised to complete his Nazarite vow and to cover the expenses of four other brothers who are completing their vows. James reiterates to Paul that the only binding requirements on Gentile believers are the keeping of the four matters agreed upon at the Jerusalem Conference. However, Paul cannot peacefully complete his vow since he is arrested in the temple by Asian Jews. These hostile Jews mistakenly believe that Paul has profaned the temple by bringing Trophimus, a Gentile Ephesian into the temple. A Tribune from the Roman fort of Antonia rescues Paul and commands that he be chained. The crowd clamours for the Apostle's blood, just as they had for his Lord's some three and a half decades earlier. In the barracks Paul speaks with the Tribune dismissing many of the fanciful thoughts as to who Paul might be. Paul asks for permission to address the crowd from the steps of the fort and his speech is recorded in chapter 22. Paul gives his defence in Hebrew and initially the crowd pays close attention. The aged Apostle describes his own education in the Pharisaic tradition under Gamaliel and his zeal for the Law. After this he tells of his experiences on the Damascus road, his conversion to a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ. Paul says that he is warned by Jesus his Lord to immediately leave Jerusalem since his testimony will not be accepted. The Jews attentively listen until Paul speaks of being sent to the Gentiles. Once again uproar follows and the Tribune commands that Paul be scourged that the Tribune might understand why the multitude were so angry with the Apostle. Paul, on this occasion, uses his Roman citizenship to avoid a pointless flogging. The chapter concludes with the Tribune intending to have Paul examined by the Jewish Sanhedrin on the next day.

In this session, biblical scholar John Dominic Crossan examines the fundamental conflict between two competing visions in the ancient world: divine deliverance and human resistance. He contrasts the positions of two self-identified Pharisees - Paul and Josephus - revealing how Josephus portrayed Rome's imperial power as divinely ordained while Paul offered a radical alternative vision. Most provocatively, Crossan uncovers evidence of organized nonviolent resistance movements in first-century Judaism that predated Jesus and Paul, suggesting these movements connected Pharisaic beliefs about the resurrection with nonviolent opposition to empire. This historical context illuminates Jesus' command to "love your enemies" as a form of nonviolent resistance, challenging us to consider whether humanity must embrace Paul's radical vision of justice over empire to become a sustainable species. Through archaeological and textual evidence, Crossan demonstrates how these competing worldviews physically manifested in the ancient world, ultimately asking whether Paul's alternative vision remains our best hope against escalating violence. To access all 5 of Crossan's lectures, submit questions, and join future live streams, head here to join the class. You can WATCH the conversation on YouTube John Dominic Crossan, professor emeritus at DePaul University, is widely regarded as the foremost historical Jesus scholar of our time. He is the author of several bestselling books, including The Historical Jesus, How to Read the Bible and Still Be a Christian, God and Empire, Jesus: A Revolutionary Biography, The Greatest Prayer, The Last Week, and The Power of Parable. He lives in Minneola, Florida. Previous Podcast Episodes with Dom & Tripp Paul, Rome, & the Violent Normalcy of Civilization Paul & the Fictional History of Luke-Acts Paul & Thecla Ask JC Anything Diana Butler Bass & John Dominic Crossan: The Resurrection of Jesus Brian McLaren & John Dominic Crossan: The Message of Jesus & the Judgement of Civilization Brian Zahnd & John Dominic Crossan: God, Violence, Empire, & Salvation Why the Biblical Paul is Awesome Christian Resurrection & Human Evolution The Cross & the Crisis of Civilization The Coming Kingdom & the Risen Christ The Parables of Jesus & the Parable of God How to think about Jesus like a Historian the Last Week of Jesus' Life Jesus, Paul, & Bible Questions Saving the Biblical Christmas Stories the most important discovery for understanding Jesus The Bible, Violence, & Our Future Resurrecting Easter on the First Christmas   From Jesus' Parables to Parables of God  Render Unto Caesar on God & Empire Join Dom Crossan at ...Theology Beer Camp | St. Paul, MN | October 16-18, 2025 3 Days of Craft Nerdiness with 50+ Theologians & God-Pods and 600 new friends. ONLINE CLASS ANNOUNCEMENT: The Many Faces of Christ Today The question Jesus asked his disciples still resonates today: "Who do you say that I am?" Join our transformative 5-week online learning community as we explore a rich tapestry of contemporary Christologies. Experience how diverse theological voices create a compelling vision of Jesus Christ for today's world. Expand your spiritual horizons. Challenge your assumptions. Enrich your faith. As always, the class is donation-based (including 0), so head over to ManyFacesOfChrist.com for more details and to sign up! _____________________ Hang with 40+ Scholars & Podcasts and 600 people at Theology Beer Camp 2025 (Oct. 16-18) in St. Paul, MN. This podcast is a Homebrewed Christianity production. Follow the Homebrewed Christianity, Theology Nerd Throwdown, & The Rise of Bonhoeffer podcasts for more theological goodness for your earbuds. Join over 80,000 other people by joining our Substack - Process This! Get instant access to over 45 classes at www.TheologyClass.com Follow the podcast, drop a review, send feedback/questions or become a member of the HBC Community. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Podcast for March 23, 2025RighteousnessDescription:J.P. discusses true righteousness from Matthew 5:19-20, emphasizing inner transformation through faith, surpassing Pharisaic superficiality, and adhering to God's unchanging truth.Chapters:0:00 Opening00:00:49 What Does It Mean to Be Truly Righteous?00:06:57 Jesus' Sermon on the Mount-00:15:14 The Absolute Truth of Scripture00:21:31 Matthew 5:1900:30:41 True righteousness is not about looking righteous or even living a Christian life00:39:14 All About ItRecorded on March 23, 2025 at Skycrest Community Church.

In Good Will Hunting, a math professor watches in anguish as Will Hunting burns a page of groundbreaking equations—his life's passion reduced to ashes. Will, however, is unfazed. This clash of values mirrors Paul's perspective. He takes everything his opponents prize—status, heritage, achievement—and sets it ablaze. Circumcision, Pharisaic righteousness, and zeal for God are mere ash heaps compared to the surpassing worth of knowing Christ. True status isn't found in human credentials but in being united with Christ, conformed to His death and resurrection. Any boasting apart from Him not only misses the point but insults God Himself. This is the scandal of grace—the radical message that righteousness comes not by human effort but by the resurrecting power of God. This is Understanding Philippians Check out the rest of our Understanding Series: https://www.fouroaksmidtown.com/teachings Subscribe to our YouTube Channel: www.youtube.com/@fouroakschurchmidtown1962

Drop us a text message to say hi and let us know what you think of the show. (Include your email if you'd like us to reply)In which John and David explore Paul's strategic use of Roman citizenship and Pharisaic identity in Acts 22–23. We discuss how Paul navigates power dynamics, shifts conversations, and exposes the divisions within the Sanhedrin. The episode highlights how Paul's argument for resurrection sparks controversy, drawing a connection between resurrection and the inclusion of the Gentiles. They reflect on the dangers of oversimplifying complex issues, the biblical critique of power, and how Paul's testimony ultimately serves the spread of the gospel. What can we learn from Paul's wisdom in engaging with hostile audiences? Episode 183 of the Two Texts Podcast | Disruptive Presence 126If you want to get in touch about something in the podcast you can reach out on podcast@twotexts.com or by liking and following the Two Texts podcast on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. If you enjoy the podcast, we'd love it if you left a review or comment where you're listening from – and if you really enjoyed it, why not share it with a friend?Music by Woodford Music (c) 2021________Help us keep Two Texts free for everyone by becoming a supporter of the show John and David want to ensure that Two Texts always remains free content for everyone. We don't want to create a paywall or have premium content that would exclude others. However, Two Texts costs us around £60 per month (US$75; CAD$100) to make. If you'd like to support the show with even just a small monthly donation it would help ensure we can continue to produce the content that you love. Thank you so much.Support the show

Start your year with a biblical perspective on God's commands in this episode of Words of Grace with Ben Winslett. Exploring 1 John 5, we reflect on John's assertion that God's commandments are not grievous. What does it mean that His commands are not heavy or unbearable, as compared to Old Testament law or Pharisaic … Continue reading "God’s Commandments Are Not Grievous!"

Send us a textWhat does it truly mean to be part of Israel in the context of salvation? Join us on this intriguing exploration as we examine Paul's radical transformation and his reflections on trading Pharisaic zeal and Jewish heritage for the surpassing worth of knowing Christ. We unravel the profound shift in values Paul underwent, moving from pride in his lineage and adherence to the law to considering these attributes worthless compared to his faith in Christ. Our discussion ventures into the theological divide between Christianity and Judaism, emphasizing Jesus Christ's pivotal role as the Messiah and the implications of Paul's teachings on the salvation of Israel.We'll challenge the notion of guaranteed salvation for national Israel and confront the controversial idea of universalism. Through examining scriptural insights and Paul's teachings, we highlight that true Israel comprises those who have faith in God through Jesus Christ, transcending ethnic backgrounds. The conversation takes a fiery turn as we tackle the contentious debate on hell and universal salvation, underscoring that salvation is through Christ alone. Tune in to hear our passionate reflections and historical parallels, emphasizing that true salvation is tied to faith and being regarded as a child of Abraham, not merely by heritage or nationality.Support the show

Shalom Aleikhem, my dear listeners, believer and nonbeliver alike! Welcome back to another blog post of #FindingHyerGround - Messianic Jewish Perspectives on Modern Day Events - a Spotify for Podcasters publication now streaming on all major platforms and bringing the Good News of Salvation through Messiah Yeshua to 28 countries including Uzbekistan

This message was delivered on Nov 10, 2024 at Amity UCC in Meyersdale, PA. Text: Mark 12:28-44

This is part three (3 of 3) of a book review of a book arguing Jesus is for gun control. The book advocates criminalization of paradigmatically innocent conduct in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. The book by professor Mike Austin called "God, Guns and America." This is part one of a review of the book with Kurtis Olson on FB LIVE 1 April 2021 at 7:36 pm. This episode was co-hosted and co-produced by Mr. Kurtis Olson. The Republican Professor is a pro-correctly-hemming-the-parameters-of-the-criminal-law-to-conduct-genuinely-criminal-and-not-innocent-conduct podcast The Republican Professor is produced and hosted by Dr. Lucas J. Mather, Ph.D. Buy the producer a cup of coffee at Buy Me a Coffee https://buymeacoffee.com/lucasj.mather Or, support the costs of the podcast @TheRepublicanProfessor on Venmo. Any support is much appreciated and every penny counts now more than ever. Warmly, Lucas J. Mather, Ph.D. The Republican Professor Podcast The Republican Professor Newsletter on Substack https://therepublicanprofessor.substack.com/ https://www.therepublicanprofessor.com/podcast/ https://www.therepublicanprofessor.com/articles/ YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@TheRepublicanProfessor Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheRepublicanProfessor Twitter: @RepublicanProf Instagram: @the_republican_professor

On this episode of the MiU podcast, the Bow Tie Guy sits in the guest seat as Giselle and Bev interview him about his brand new book "Hookers in Heaven". Listen to the show, then go get a copy of the new book on Amazon and Apple Books.

In this engaging episode of *Exploring Scripture*, host Wayne Heins and co-host Jeremy Griffin dive into the complexities of Acts Chapter 23, unraveling the dynamics of Paul's confrontation with the high priest Ananias and the ensuing drama before the Jewish council. Kicking off with a reading from the end of Chapter 22, Wayne sets the scene for Paul's bold declaration of conscience and the heated response from Ananias, which sparks a rich discussion about righteousness, authority, and the nature of conflict. As the narrative unfolds, Wayne and Jeremy explore the strategic maneuvering of Paul, who declares his Pharisaic roots to ignite a division between the Pharisees and Sadducees. This moment not only illustrates Paul's cleverness but also mirrors the tensions that often arise within modern-day churches. The hosts bring to light the importance of unity within the body of Christ and the challenges that congregations face when differing ideologies clash. The conversation deepens as they reflect on God's redemptive plan, particularly observing how He can guide us back to our intended path, even when we veer off course. Drawing parallels between Paul's journey and their own experiences, Wayne and Jeremy emphasize the significance of patience and trust in God's timing—a reminder that His plans may unfold beyond our immediate understanding. As they wrap up the episode, the hosts invite listeners to approach Scripture with an open mind, encouraging them to seek the rich insights and lessons embedded within, even in the seemingly mundane passages, allowing the Holy Spirit to illuminate new dimensions of faith and understanding. Tune in for an enlightening discussion that promises to deepen your appreciation for the intricacies of Scripture and the ever-relevant themes of faith, conflict, and redemption. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/reduxchurch/support

We head back into Mark in our Gospel today and into the thick of Pharisaic criticism. Jesus is asked why his disciples do not wash their hands before eating. To fully understand the Pharisees' charge we take a step back and explore the heart and history of the Pharisaic school of thought. What we find in the Pharisees are Jews zealous for the law of God but fixated on ancillary things, things that inevitably distort their judgment, corrupt their heart, and prevent them from seeing that which they've longed for most: the Messiah who's standing right in front of them.

Experience the power of Jesus' teachings and miracles at a Pharisaic feast, where divine compassion confronts legalistic traditions.In this episode, we explore the tension between Jesus and the Pharisees during a feast, where Jesus challenges their understanding of the Sabbath and performs a miraculous healing. Witness the unfolding drama as Jesus' acts of compassion and justice clash with the rigid legalism of the religious leaders.Today's Bible verse is Micah 6:8, from the King James Version.Download the Pray.com app for more Christian content including, Daily Prayers, Inspirational Testimonies, and Bedtime Bible Stories.Pray.com is the digital destination for faith. With over 5,000 daily prayers, meditations, bedtime stories, and cinematic stories inspired by the Bible, the Pray.com app has everything you need to keep your focus on the Lord. Make Prayer a priority and download the #1 App for Prayer and Sleep today in the Apple app store or Google Play store.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The familiar story of Jesus' nighttime conversation with the Pharisaic leader, Nicodemus, centers on the “birth from above,” a birth that allows us both to see and enter the Kingdom of God. Audible whispers of the One True God as Triune echo throughout the conversational exchange. Although the Church's teaching on the Trinity is so deeply rooted in the Scriptures and the deepest theological reflections of the Church, and although trinitarian teaching is one of the most foundational and distinctive teachings of the Christian faith, it is a doctrine that, while surely acknowledged by orthodox believers, is avoided and neglected. The doctrine of the Trinity is thought to be merely abstract and philosophical, largely detached from day-to-day living. But trinitarian thought is at the center of God's Being, as the God who “loves [us] and gave himself for [us]“ (Gal 2:20). God is love [agape]” (1 John 4:7), and agape love requires an “Other” to whom and for whom One offers Oneself in self-giving, humble, Other-centered service. This God of eternal, loving, communion is the One who gives us new birth, into the kingdom of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and into a new family of brothers and sisters in Messiah Jesus. The image associated with this podcast is "Jesus and Nicodemus (a study)" by Henry Ossawa Tanner.

In this episode, Mike chats with Jason Hensley about his book 'One Family' and the importance of recognizing the Jewish roots of Christianity. They begin by discussing the historical setting of first-century Judaism, discussing the Pharisees, Sadducees, and the Essenes. Jason underscores the importance of viewing Jesus within his Jewish context, highlighting how his teachings align with Pharisaic teachings. He describes Jesus as a “reformer working on the inside”.  Mike and Jason examine the impact of the temple's destruction in 70 CE on the Jewish religious leadership and Christian followers. Finally, Jason shares his hope that readers will recognize the deep connections between biblical Christianity and Judaism, urging them to stand against anti-Semitism. Purchase book here: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CT8CHWXV --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/a-little-faith/message

This is part 10 of the Read the Bible For Yourself. We've taken our time working through the Old Testament, section by section. Before we tackle the New Testament and look at the Gospels, we need to talk about the time between the Old and New Testaments. In the gap of roughly four hundred years, massive political and cultural changes occurred. Nowhere in the Old Testament do we see anything about the Romans, Pharisees, Sadducees, or the Sanhedrin. In today's episode I'll catch you up on what happened after the OT and before the NT so you can better understand the world in which Jesus functioned. Listen to this episode on Spotify or Apple Podcasts https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B3humYIVYho&list=PLN9jFDsS3QV2TrdUEDtAipF3jy4qYspM_&index=10 —— Links —— See other episodes in Read the Bible For Yourself Other classes are available here, including How We Got the Bible, which explores the manuscript transmission and translation of the Bible Get the transcript of this episode Support Restitutio by donating here Join our Restitutio Facebook Group and follow Sean Finnegan on Twitter @RestitutioSF Leave a voice message via SpeakPipe with questions or comments and we may play them out on the air Intro music: Good Vibes by MBB Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported (CC BY-SA 3.0) Free Download / Stream: Music promoted by Audio Library. Who is Sean Finnegan?  Read his bio here —— Notes —— Recent History Persians: Cyrus the Great Greeks: Alexander the Great, Antiochus Epiphanes Hellenization (2 Maccabees 4.7, 10-15; 1 Maccabees 1.41-53) Maccabean Revolution: Mattathias, Judah the Maccabee, Jonathan Apphus, Simon Thassi, John Hyrcanus, Aristobulus I, Alexander Jannaeus, Salome Alexandra, Hyrcanus II, Aristobulus II Romans: Pompey the Great annexed Judea in 63bc Herodian Dynasty: Herod the Great and his descendants Geographical and Political Setting Roman Empire: Augustus (27bc-ad14), Tiberius (14-37), Caligula (37-41), Claudius (41-54), Nero (54-68) Provinces: every region outside of Italy Galilee: Herod the Great (37-4bc), Herod Antipas (4bc-ad39), Herod Agrippa I (37-44) Judea: Herod the Great (37-4bc), Herod Archelaus (4bc-ad6), Coponius (6-9), Marcus Ambivulus (9-12), Annius Rufus (12-15), Valerius Gratus (15-26), Pontius Pilate (26-36), Marcellus (36-37), Marullus (37-41), Herod Agrippa I (41-44) Samaria: under Judean jurisdiction; Samaritans and Jews conflicted with each other Jewish Groups Sadducees controlled the temple partners with Roman governors wealthy aristocrats chief priests were the leaders only accepted the Torah as scripture didn't believe in resurrection or angels Pharisees focused on obedience to Torah accepted the law (Torah), prophets (Nevi'im), and writings (Kethuvim) oral tradition & fence laws not in power at the time of Jesus, except those in the Sanhedrin Sanhedrin Romans established 5 councils over 5 districts most important council was in Jerusalem had temple police at their disposal to arrest people could meet out punishments except capital punishment, which was reserved for the Roman governor Scribes every group had scribes even Paul used scribes to write his letters (Tertius in Rom 16.22) writing was a skill copy scripture to preserve it called lawyers or experts in the law Revolutionaries wanted to overthrow Roman occupation Josephus, Antiquities of the Jews23 “But of the fourth sect of Jewish philosophy, Judas the Galilean was the author. These men agree in all other things with the Pharisaic notions; but they have an inviolable attachment to liberty; and say that God is to be their only Ruler and Lord. They also do not value dying any kind of death, nor indeed do they heed the deaths of their relations and friends, nor can any such fear make them call any man Lord” John's Renewal Movement called people to repent baptized them in the Jordan River possible connection with the Essenes Important Issues Temple Taxes Torah Unrest Review When the Greeks conquered the world, they made cities adopt their customs, culture, language, and religion. When Antiochus Epiphanes forcibly Hellenized Judah, it resulted in the Maccabean Revolution under Mattathias and his sons. After they won their independence, the Hasmonean Dynasty ruled up until 63bc when Pompey annexed Judea into the Roman Empire. Herod the Great and his descendants ruled over the region for many years, though in Judea the Romans directly ruled through governors. During Jesus' ministry Herod Antipas ruled in Galilee and Pontius Pilate governed Judea and Samaria. Sadducees partnered with the Roman government and controlled the temple. The Pharisees focused on obedience to Torah, according to the traditions of the elders. The Sanhedrin was a council in Jerusalem made of Sadducees and Pharisees that controlled a police force and ruled on legal issues. Scribes copied scripture and had expert knowledge of the Law of Moses. Jesus lived in a time of fragile peace when Roman provocations threatened to light the match of Jewish revolution at any moment.

Lesson 10 Notes Download Recent History Persians: Cyrus the Great Greeks: Alexander the Great, Antiochus Epiphanes Hellenization (2 Maccabees 4.7, 10-15; 1 Maccabees 1.41-53) Maccabean Revolution: Mattathias, Judah the Maccabee, Jonathan Apphus, Simon Thassi, John Hyrcanus, Aristobulus I, Alexander Jannaeus, Salome Alexandra, Hyrcanus II, Aristobulus II Romans: Pompey the Great annexed Judea in 63bc Herodian Dynasty: Herod the Great and his descendants Geographical and Political Setting Roman Empire: Augustus (27bc-ad14), Tiberius (14-37), Caligula (37-41), Claudius (41-54), Nero (54-68) Provinces: every region outside of Italy Galilee: Herod the Great (37-4bc), Herod Antipas (4bc-ad39), Herod Agrippa I (37-44) Judea: Herod the Great (37-4bc), Herod Archelaus (4bc-ad6), Coponius (6-9), Marcus Ambivulus (9-12), Annius Rufus (12-15), Valerius Gratus (15-26), Pontius Pilate (26-36), Marcellus (36-37), Marullus (37-41), Herod Agrippa I (41-44) Samaria: under Judean jurisdiction; Samaritans and Jews conflicted with each other Jewish Groups Sadducees controlled the temple partners with Roman governors wealthy aristocrats chief priests were the leaders only accepted the Torah as scripture didn't believe in resurrection or angels Pharisees focused on obedience to Torah accepted the law (Torah), prophets (Nevi'im), and writings (Kethuvim) oral tradition & fence laws not in power at the time of Jesus, except those in the Sanhedrin Sanhedrin Romans established 5 councils over 5 districts most important council was in Jerusalem had temple police at their disposal to arrest people could meet out punishments except capital punishment, which was reserved for the Roman governor Scribes every group had scribes even Paul used scribes to write his letters (Tertius in Rom 16.22) writing was a skill copy scripture to preserve it called lawyers or experts in the law Revolutionaries wanted to overthrow Roman occupation Josephus, Antiquities of the Jews23 “But of the fourth sect of Jewish philosophy, Judas the Galilean was the author. These men agree in all other things with the Pharisaic notions; but they have an inviolable attachment to liberty; and say that God is to be their only Ruler and Lord. They also do not value dying any kind of death, nor indeed do they heed the deaths of their relations and friends, nor can any such fear make them call any man Lord” John's Renewal Movement called people to repent baptized them in the Jordan River possible connection with the Essenes Important Issues Temple Taxes Torah Unrest Review When the Greeks conquered the world, they made cities adopt their customs, culture, language, and religion. When Antiochus Epiphanes forcibly Hellenized Judah, it resulted in the Maccabean Revolution under Mattathias and his sons. After they won their independence, the Hasmonean Dynasty ruled up until 63bc when Pompey annexed Judea into the Roman Empire. Herod the Great and his descendants ruled over the region for many years, though in Judea the Romans directly ruled through governors. During Jesus’ ministry Herod Antipas ruled in Galilee and Pontius Pilate governed Judea and Samaria. Sadducees partnered with the Roman government and controlled the temple. The Pharisees focused on obedience to Torah, according to the traditions of the elders. The Sanhedrin was a council in Jerusalem made of Sadducees and Pharisees that controlled a police force and ruled on legal issues. Scribes copied scripture and had expert knowledge of the Law of Moses. Jesus lived in a time of fragile peace when Roman provocations threatened to light the match of Jewish revolution at any moment. The post 10: Key Background for Reading the New Testament first appeared on Living Hope.

Lesson 10 Notes Download Recent History Persians: Cyrus the Great Greeks: Alexander the Great, Antiochus Epiphanes Hellenization (2 Maccabees 4.7, 10-15; 1 Maccabees 1.41-53) Maccabean Revolution: Mattathias, Judah the Maccabee, Jonathan Apphus, Simon Thassi, John Hyrcanus, Aristobulus I, Alexander Jannaeus, Salome Alexandra, Hyrcanus II, Aristobulus II Romans: Pompey the Great annexed Judea in 63bc Herodian Dynasty: Herod the Great and his descendants Geographical and Political Setting Roman Empire: Augustus (27bc-ad14), Tiberius (14-37), Caligula (37-41), Claudius (41-54), Nero (54-68) Provinces: every region outside of Italy Galilee: Herod the Great (37-4bc), Herod Antipas (4bc-ad39), Herod Agrippa I (37-44) Judea: Herod the Great (37-4bc), Herod Archelaus (4bc-ad6), Coponius (6-9), Marcus Ambivulus (9-12), Annius Rufus (12-15), Valerius Gratus (15-26), Pontius Pilate (26-36), Marcellus (36-37), Marullus (37-41), Herod Agrippa I (41-44) Samaria: under Judean jurisdiction; Samaritans and Jews conflicted with each other Jewish Groups Sadducees controlled the temple partners with Roman governors wealthy aristocrats chief priests were the leaders only accepted the Torah as scripture didn't believe in resurrection or angels Pharisees focused on obedience to Torah accepted the law (Torah), prophets (Nevi'im), and writings (Kethuvim) oral tradition & fence laws not in power at the time of Jesus, except those in the Sanhedrin Sanhedrin Romans established 5 councils over 5 districts most important council was in Jerusalem had temple police at their disposal to arrest people could meet out punishments except capital punishment, which was reserved for the Roman governor Scribes every group had scribes even Paul used scribes to write his letters (Tertius in Rom 16.22) writing was a skill copy scripture to preserve it called lawyers or experts in the law Revolutionaries wanted to overthrow Roman occupation Josephus, Antiquities of the Jews23 “But of the fourth sect of Jewish philosophy, Judas the Galilean was the author. These men agree in all other things with the Pharisaic notions; but they have an inviolable attachment to liberty; and say that God is to be their only Ruler and Lord. They also do not value dying any kind of death, nor indeed do they heed the deaths of their relations and friends, nor can any such fear make them call any man Lord” John's Renewal Movement called people to repent baptized them in the Jordan River possible connection with the Essenes Important Issues Temple Taxes Torah Unrest Review When the Greeks conquered the world, they made cities adopt their customs, culture, language, and religion. When Antiochus Epiphanes forcibly Hellenized Judah, it resulted in the Maccabean Revolution under Mattathias and his sons. After they won their independence, the Hasmonean Dynasty ruled up until 63bc when Pompey annexed Judea into the Roman Empire. Herod the Great and his descendants ruled over the region for many years, though in Judea the Romans directly ruled through governors. During Jesus’ ministry Herod Antipas ruled in Galilee and Pontius Pilate governed Judea and Samaria. Sadducees partnered with the Roman government and controlled the temple. The Pharisees focused on obedience to Torah, according to the traditions of the elders. The Sanhedrin was a council in Jerusalem made of Sadducees and Pharisees that controlled a police force and ruled on legal issues. Scribes copied scripture and had expert knowledge of the Law of Moses. Jesus lived in a time of fragile peace when Roman provocations threatened to light the match of Jewish revolution at any moment. The post 10: Key Background for Reading the New Testament first appeared on Living Hope.

Lord, as we end one year and begin another, we thank you for your grace. We thank you for preserving us to this moment, sustaining us by the power of your spirit. And we thank you Lord that you continue to reveal yourself to us. That's what we long for. More than anything else, is your presence. We long to know you. We long to know your will and Lord, as we open up the scriptures and as we look at a text where you emphasize the preeminence of God's law, I pray, make us a people that love your law, love your 10 commandments. Stare deeply, gaze deeply into your law, seeking how we can grow in faithfulness, how we can grow in obedience. And as we do, you will grow us in fruitfulness. Lord, to make our church a church that loves your word, reveres your word. Make Bostonians like the Bereans that eagerly accept your word and on a daily basis, examine to see if it's true.If it's true that you are a God who reveals yourself, a God who guides us, and God who gave us the law to guard us from evil, show us what it means that you sent your son Jesus Christ because we disobeyed the law, we sinned against you. You sent your son to walk in the ways of faithfulness and then to offer himself as a sacrifice in our behalf in order to forgive us. And we thank you Lord that you offer that sacrifice. If anyone is not yet a believer today, Lord, show them where they've transgressed the commandments and show them that sin and the penalty for is eternal damnation and that Christ took all of that on the cross and whosoever believes, repents and turns from sin to Christ is granted forgiveness and eternal life. I pray save many even today and Lord bless our time in the holy scriptures and we pray all this in Christ's name.Amen.We're continuing our servant series through the Gospel of Mark. We've called it Kingdom Come, the Gospel of Mark and the secret of God's kingdom. And the idea is that the kingdom has come and Jesus has come to establish the kingdom and we are to be a people that pray. Lord, may your kingdom continue to expand in our life and where we live. And as we end one year and begin another, it's helpful to take account of the year past. Remember lessons learned, consider changes to make and make resolutions that pesky word, pesky, pesky. We don't like that word resolutions, but I urge you, church, I challenge you, make this resolution. If you have never read the Bible cover to cover, resolve that this year you are going to change that. Cover to cover, four chapters a day. There's about 1200 chapters in the Bible, four chapters a day that's got you reading 300 or so days of the year.You've got 65 days off to study the Psalter and the Proverbs and go deeper. But four chapters a day, it's about 20 minutes and that's a tremendous time to spend with the Lord. And I say that because it's not the resolutions that change us, it's the reformation that we make in our life. It's the restructuring of the routine. It's the spiritual disciplines that we welcome in. That's what really changes us. We need not just resolutions or short-term change, we need a reformation. We need to be reformed into the image of Jesus Christ. We're like clay in the potter's hands. He's shaping us, he's forming us, he's reforming us. And this reformation or transformation as Romans 12 puts it happens when our minds are renewed according to the word of God, when our minds are saturated with the word of God. It's the word of God when applied by the spirit of God that leads to true transformation and lasting reformation.One of the great principles that came out of the reformation along with the five solos, if you're not familiar with them, here they are. Sola scriptura, that's scripture alone, Sola gratia, that's grace alone, Sola fide, that's faith alone, Solus Christus, that's Christ alone, and Soli Deo gloria to the glory of God alone.Well, along with those five, there was also the principle of semper reformanda, which is always reforming. The title of my sermon today is always becoming reformed and the idea isn't that we are capitulating to the culture, that we're evolving in order to make the message more palatable. No, the message is that we study the holy scriptures and we long for the holy scriptures to reform us and reform how we live, reform how we worship the Lord. And the church should always be seeking to change in ways that make its testimonies more faithful to God's revelation.The church is formed by the word of God and it's always being reformed by the word of God just as individuals are. And how does reformation happen in our lives and in the churches in our land? When we look into the word of God and to the law of God and say, "Lord, where have I been unfaithful to your word? Where have I added to your word or where have I subtracted from your word?" Deuteronomy 4:2 says, "You shall not add to the word that I command you, nor take from it, that you may keep the commandments of the Lord your God that I command you."And you say, "Well, which word is he talking about here in Deuteronomy?" Don't add or take away from which word? Well, in the same chapter in verse nine through 14, he explains, "Only take care and keep your soul diligently, lest you forget the things that your eyes have seen unless they depart from your heart all the days of your life. Make them known to your children and your children's children.""How on the day that you stood before the Lord your God at Horeb, the Lord said to me, gather the people to me that I may let them hear my words so that they may learn to fear me all the days that they live on the earth and that they may teach their children also. And so you came near and stood at the foot of the mountain where the mountain burned with fire to the heart of heaven, wrapped in darkness, cloud and gloom. Then the Lord spoke to you out of the midst of the fire. You heard the sound of words but saw no form. There was only a voice. And he declared to you his covenant which he commanded you to perform, that is the Ten Commandments. And he wrote them on two tablets of stone. And the Lord commanded me at that time to teach you statutes and rules that you might do them in the land that you were going over to possess."Well, what word do we not to add or subtract from? It's the 10 commandments. And adding to the law of God is legalism and taking away from the law of God is antinomianism and Jesus didn't add to the law of God, but he did uphold the 10 laws to show us primarily that we have sinned against God, therefore we need Christ's sacrifice. And then once we've received Christ's sacrifice and his grace, we are then to out of gratitude, live according to the law that in primarily motivated by love for God and neighbor.Today we're in Mark 7:1-23. As we continue our series, would you look at the text with me?Now when the Pharisees gathered to him with some of the scribes who had come from Jerusalem, they saw that some of his disciples ate with hands that were defiled, that is unwashed. For the Pharisees and all the Jews did not eat unless they washed their hands properly holding to the tradition of the elders. And when they come from the marketplace, they do not eat unless they wash. And there are many other traditions that they observe such as the washing of cups and pots and copper vessels and dining couches. And the Pharisees and the scribes asked him, "Why do your disciples not walk according to the tradition of the elders but eat with defiled hands?" And he said to them, "Well, did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites as it is written. This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me. In vain do they worship me teaching his doctrines the commandments of men? You leave the commandment of God and hold to the tradition of men." And he said to them, "You have a fine way of rejecting the commandment of God in order to establish your tradition.""For Moses said, honor your father and your mother and whoever reviles father or mother must surely die." But you say, "If a man tells his father or his mother, whatever you would've gained from me is Corban, that is given to God, then you no longer permit him to do anything for his father or mother, thus making void the word of God by your tradition that you have handed down and many such things you do."And he called the people to him again and said to them, "Hear me all of you and understand, there is nothing outside a person that by going into him can defile him, but the things that come out of a person are what defile him." And when he had entered the house and left the people, his disciples asked him about the parable and he said to them, "Then are you also without understanding? Do you not see that whatever goes into a person from outside cannot defile him since it enters not his heart but his stomach and is expelled?" Thus he declared all foods clean. And he said, "What comes out of a person is what defiles him for from within out of the heart of man come evil thoughts, sexual morality, theft, murder, adultery, coveting, wickedness, deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride, foolishness, all these evil things come from within and they defile a person."This is the reading of God's holy, inherent and infallible, authoritative word. May He write these eternal truths upon our hearts. Three points to frame up our time. First traditions are not God's commandments. Second God's 10 commandments are God's commandments. And three, the law cuts and Jesus regenerates.First, traditions are not God's commandments. In Mark 7:1 says, "The Pharisees gathered to him and some of the scribes who had come from Jerusalem." These are the representatives of the big establishment religion.The scribes in the Pharisees did not approve of Jesus. Jesus did not have their stamp of approval as he's doing his ministry. They were furious with Jesus that he would eat with sinners and tax collectors. They became angrier when Jesus rejected their distinctions between clean and unclean. And the scribes and the Pharisees challenged Jesus' view of fasting as well as Jesus' view of the Sabbath observance. And Jesus showed no qualms whatsoever in defying these traditions, rejecting their oral traditions. In many ways, I was sharing the gospel recently with someone. They say, "You know what? Jesus sounds kind of like a rebel, kind of like a renegade." And I was like, "Yes, he's the revolutionary of deregulating religion. He's God, it's his law, it's his word. He's come." And he said, "That's all made up and that's all made up and that's all made up." And he's pointing people to the law of God because it's only the law of God that can show us our need for God's grace.So yes, he confounded the canon lawyers and he sent them into fits of rage. How? By just teaching the plain word of God, God's law, what it says, what it doesn't say with absolute precision. For Jesus the oral traditions were not binding, they were not law, they were just decorum. Jesus rejects the authority of their tradition and therefore he openly contradicted what they taught and practiced. And so he made a lot of enemies and that's what ultimately got him crucified. And these men were sent from Jerusalem indicating that their representatives of the Sanhedrin, which was the Jewish ruling body in Jerusalem. Like Herod Antipas, members of the Sanhedrin had heard about Jesus Christ. They perceived him to be someone that can mobilize people, therefore they perceive him to be a threat. And some of the religious leaders even accused Jesus Christ of doing his ministry because he was demon possessed.They said, you cast out demons by the power of Satan. And as a result, Jesus places upon them the ultimate covenant curse that no forgiveness in this age or in the age to come was given to the blasphemers of the blessed Holy Spirit. So the Jewish leadership, the Pharisees, they've sworn to destroy Jesus, they've partnered with the Herodians and they gather to him, the verb used to gather to him here is the same one used in Psalm 2, which is a messianic prophetic Psalm about Christ that the anointed one will come and the rulers of the day will rise against him in opposition. And that's exactly what they're doing. In other Psalms, the same verb is used for the wicked conspiring against the righteous to take his life. For example, Psalm 31:13. "For I hear the whispering of many terror on every side as they scheme together against me as they plot to take my life," or Psalm 35:15."But at my stumbling, they rejoiced and gathered. They gathered together against me, wretches whom I did not know, tore at me without ceasing."And the fact that the scribes who interrogate Jesus, they come down from Jerusalem marks that the opposition is coming from the center of power from Jerusalem where Jesus will be eventually executed. In verse two, "They saw that some of his disciples ate with hands that were defiled, that is unwashed for the Pharisees and all the Jews do not eat unless they wash their hands properly holding to the tradition of the elders. And when they come from the marketplace, they do not eat unless they wash. And there are many other traditions that they observe such as the washing of cups and pots and copper vessels and dining couches."The hand washing is not a biblical... You should wash your hands. That's not what we're talking.We're talking about what makes you moral. That's what they're getting. What they're doing is immoral. They're sinning. That's the conversation. The hand washing that they're alluding to. It's not a biblical requirement for lay people. In the Old Testament, only the priests are required to wash their hands before offering a sacrifice. And the Pharisees however they thought, you know what, this is a good thing to do. We should have everybody do it. We're going to regulate this on absolutely everyone on the theory that every Jew should live as a priest and every Jewish home should become like the temple. The reasoning sounds very rational. And in this tradition, that's what the tradition forces forms the basis of their challenge. Though this was only a priestly requirement from the law of God, all the pious Jews at the time of Jesus had been doing this for about 200 years.So Jesus shows up and he says, that's not in the Bible, that's not regulation for everybody. And their response is, "Jesus, we've always done it this way. Our parents have always done it this way, our grandparents and they've all done it this way.By Jesus' day it had become firmly entrenched this tradition as a requirement for those that want it to be clean and people wash their hands in the morning before morning prayer. The benediction used by the priest of that time of consecration was now being recited by the people as part of the course of daily life. And many felt that even eating bread without a ceremonial washing rendered the bread unclean. And verse five, "The Pharisees and the scribes asked him, why do your disciples not walk according to the tradition of the elders but eat with defiled hands?" And the word for walk here is standard metaphor for living a certain way.Why don't your disciples live in the way that our elders taught us to live? In the tradition of the elders, not the law of Moses, but oral and written tradition received from antiquity and honored only because it was from antiquity. Honored as the word of God just because it's old for the Pharisees, the oral tradition was equally binding with the law of God and with the scriptures. And some of them even believed that tradition was more precious and more authoritative than holy scripture. And with this kind of tradition, the gospels record that Jesus always expressed angry impatience. On the surface, this looks like an argument brought about Jesus' disciples watching procedures, but in reality it's a debate about authority. Is oral tradition authoritative over God's people? And the answer is no. The problem was that with the Pharisees and what the Pharisees had to be doing is they'd been controlling people with their religious regulation.They had been requiring demanding that people obey their oral traditions even though this tradition had no biblical support. Put it another way, the scribes and the Pharisees big religion, they were binding people's consciences to things that were not required of them by scripture. And as the scribes saw the matter, it was their sacred duty to teach the people and then enforce this manmade law upon the people. These legalistic religious lawyers force their rules and regulations on everyone and try to adjudicate.Jesus answers on two levels. Those who criticize him first, he answers on their level by showing that their premise, their presupposition is unsubstantiated. And then after doing that, he demolishes their position from within by going deeper. Verse six, "And he said to them, well did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written. This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me; in vain do they worship me teaching us doctrines and commandments of men."On the principle that the best defense is a good offense, Jesus goes on the offense against these guys and he responds to their hostility by not answering their question about hand washing but actually dismantling this false presupposition that their human traditions are on the same level as God's word in terms of binding moral authority calls them hypocrites. In the classical Greek, it was a word to designate actors, pretenders. And he's saying, you guys are hypocrites because you present a religious godly front, but it's a front based on your own regulations. You made up rules, you've been playing according to these rules. You look really wholly according to those rules, but that's not the game. You're playing the wrong game. And he accuses them of a hypocrisy because they're masking God's law with human made regulations. And the Pharisees certainly would not have agreed with Jesus here, with his charge that tradition represented a betrayal of the commandments of God.No, they would've said, "No. Tradition is part of God's revelation to us." Yet God revealed himself to Moses, but he's also been revealing himself through us, through the pharisaical sect of Judaism. This feeling of connection with ancient revelation is what has given rabbinic Judaism the successor of Phariseeism, a great sense of continuity. But what they teach depends entirely on their authority, on people's authority, not on divine authority. And humans, as Jesus makes clear at the end of the text, we're sinners and everything we touch is singe tinged with sin. And even if we try with our greatest attempts of wisdom to add to the commandments of God, those additions are going to be tinged with sin. This clinging to human traditions makes them actually neglect the plain commandment of God, which is what led to their downfall. Not only does Jesus use one of Israel's most widely red prophets, Isaiah, he quotes Isaiah, they knew this was God's word, but in that context, Isaiah was prophesying to the people of God and he says, "You, the kingdom of Israel, you're in shambles because you have left the commandments of God." And what Jesus is doing by quoting that same text to these people, he's saying in the same way that Israel had fallen from glory because they had moved away from the commandments of God, you guys are doing the same thing.And that's why Israel was in the state it was. They've replaced the law of God with laws of humans and that never leads to shalom or universal flourishing. Notice that Jesus does not even attempt to answer their trick question. He doesn't even want to talk about hand washing. These are manmade rules and traditions. They're not binding. Only the law of God is, and these rules and regulations, they may be signs of great zeal, but in actuality they demonstrate this sad fact that they don't know God. Their hearts are far from God because they're spending all of their time living according to their own interpretations of what God said. They're hypocrites because they pretend to love God, but they don't even do what he says. They prefer to do what they say about what he said. And to the people of Israel, the scribes and Pharisees look like holy and godly men, but they're not because they're not worshiping God in the way he said to worship him.These men claim to defend the law of God by arguing, but their humanly contrived rules actually block the word of God. They distort the law of God and they rob the word of God of its power. According to Jesus, the scribes and Pharisees have so buried the true meaning and purpose of the law under countless layers of canon law and oral tradition. They've made the law null and void. Their traditions not only bury the law under rules of men that so much that people don't even know what God's law actually says.So that brings us to point too. God's manmade traditions are not God's law, but God's 10 commandments are. Look at verse eight, what Jesus does. He says, "You leave the commandment of God and hold to the tradition of men." Well, what does Jesus mean by the commandment of God? Well, he explicitly tells us in verse 10 that he's referring to the 10 commandments because in verse 10 he says, "Case in point hears a command that you have nullified with your own tradition." And he goes to commandment number five. So by command he's referring to the 10 commandments. In verse 10, "For Moses said, honor your father and your mother and whoever reviles father and mother must surely die."For Moses said here, that's what Jesus says. There's a parallel account where Jesus is having a similar conversation in Matthew 15, four. And there it doesn't say Moses said. There, it just says, for God said. God said this. These are his words. God had written the 10 commandments with his finger. So making the contrast that the commandment of God and it makes the contrast even more direct between command of God and tradition. Matthew 15:4, "For God commanded honor your father and your mother and whoever reviles father or mother must surely die. Their hearts had strayed from God and the people have fallen under the sway of human tradition that emptied the divine word of its force and blinded its possessors to God's true will."And that's why in Mark 7:9, Jesus said to them and he said to them, you have a fine way of rejecting the commandment of God in order to establish your tradition. They weren't in complete disobedience. Here Jesus adds the word fine as a touch of sarcasm because they had done this so beautifully. No one even noticed that they sidestep the word of God in order to establish their own tradition. But by supplanting and replacing the commandment, they're actually rejecting it.In verse 10 of Mark 7, Moses said, "Honor your father and your mother, whoever reviles father or mother must surely die." That's from Exodus 20:12, "Honor your father and your mother that your days may be long in the land that the Lord your God is giving you." And that's repeated in Deuteronomy 5:16. This is the fifth commandment and it does include material support of parents as parents grow older.That's the conversation here and that commandment honor your father and your mother. It was so important that the penalty for breaking that commandment was capital punishment. Exodus 21:17, "Whoever curses his father or his mother shall be put to death." In Leviticus 20:9, "For anyone who curses his father or his mother shall surely be put to death, he has cursed his father or his mother, his blood is upon him."Just as being angry or refraining from performing a cure is equivalent to murder. So withholding support from parents is equivalent to cursing them. That's what Christ is saying, that dishonoring of parents is a capital offense according to the Torah. Yet the Pharisees facilitate it by their Corban practice. They're like, "Well, that's what the commandment said, honor your father and your mother." They're getting a little older and you should start thinking about how you're going to provide for them.And they're elderly age. And then the Pharisees come in and they say, that's a lot of money and that's a lot of time and that's a lot of resources. We could actually increase the budget of our ministries, of our synagogues, of our temples by tweaking the commandment a little bit. And children, instead of actually supporting your parents when they're older, just give that money to the Lord so to speak. And that was their Corban stuff. Verse 11, "But you say, if a man tells his father or his mother, whatever you want, whatever you would've gained from me is Corban that is given to God then you no longer permit him to do anything for his father or mother, thus making void the word of God by your tradition that you have handed down in many such things you do."Corban was a transliteration from the Hebrew and Aramaic of sacrifice, their offering. And what they're saying is, "Okay, this money I would've given to you mom and dad. I'm going to offer to the Lord therefore making it unavailable for any other use." The person declares that any material support he might have given his parents is pledged to God. Not that he necessarily intends to deliver it to God, but he just wants to remove it from the parents. If you think about it's just incredibly diabolical this rule that they invented. Yeah, they're going to fill their coffers, but you're also actually, you're doing the opposite what the commander said. Commander said, to honor your father and your mother and you're dishonoring them by pretending to honor the Lord. And Jesus here zeroes in on this specific example of Pharisaic tradition that empties the word of God of its force and it did it through a legal fiction maneuver just to avoid the law.And so what begins as a trick question quickly turns into a lesson in biblical hermeneutics or the interpretation of scripture. Jesus here is saying the law is perfect. Any addition or subtraction to the 10 commandments is the incorrect interpretation. Jesus does not set aside the law, he doesn't question its authority or do anything to weaken its demands, but he's saying traditions added to the law of God, they're not morally binding. And for these traditions and the Pharisees, it was actually subversion of the Lord of the word of God, a betrayal of it. And what's fascinating is the word for tradition in the Greek has two meanings. It could be translated as tradition parados, but there's other places where the same exact word means betrayal. When John the Baptist was handed over, this word was used when Jesus was betrayed, this word was used. And when Christians were betrayed and suffering and death, this word parados was used.So you can read this text and say you forsake the commandment of God and hold fast to the betrayal of human beings because by adding to the law, they have betrayed the word of God. You do a good job of annulling the commandment of God so that you may establish your betrayal, thus avoiding the word of God for the sake of your betrayal, parados by means of which you have betrayed. And the word for human here or person is anthropos. It's not the word for men that's used when Jesus feeds the 5,000. It's anthropos, person, human being. When humans add to the word, when they add to the law, they are subverting the commandments. Mark's point seems to be that human traditions, no matter how laudable in their original intention, they end up suffocating revelation because of the basic warp of the human heart of the anthropos.There's evil inside every single one of us that corrupts everything that we touch including the word of God. So whenever you listen to anybody interpreting the word of God, you do have to be like the Bereans. Word of God I welcome you eagerly, but I'm going to examine everything the person says according to the scriptures. Christians are not and indeed cannot be bound by the rules of men. And while many of these rules are based in wisdom, they cannot be used to bind a Christian's conscience to things that God has not forbidden in his word or expressly or implied. When we say we believe in sola scripture, what are we saying? We're saying we are bound to obey the law of God and in our case, the moral law, the 10 commandments, and that we are not bound by any manmade rules or traditions. God's word is our ultimate authority, not human tradition, not the tradition of the church.And this is why we are not Catholic. We understand that the Pope is not infallible. The Pope is actually very fallible and clearly he's adding to the word of God in a way that subverts the word of God. No, we reject that. We keep on reforming. Scripture speaks of the law of God as the perfect law, the law of liberty. And to put it rather simplistically, God gave us 10 commandments, not countless volumes of canon law. And these 10 commandments are for the most part, very simple. Even our children know the 10 Commandments and we do this in our home. You should try doing this in your home. We go through the 10 commandments and as we're doing our devotionals and we call each other out. We're Slavic, we're direct. We call it like, "Which commandments did you break today? I know, I know I live with you."And you're like, "Yes, I have broken the commandments. Lord, forgive me. I need grace. Help me and no longer break them."God binds us to obey his commandments, not to obey the rules of man. It's that simple. And this leads to the second evil that we see in our passage, just the evil of self-righteousness. These Pharisees had invented rules that they added to the commandments, which protects them from the commandments actually revealing their own sin. And then they walk around and they say, "I have the cleanest hands. I have the cleanest hands, I'm undefiled." And they judge everyone else according to these manmade rules. And that's why Jesus didn't spend time with them. They thought they weren't sick and Jesus would rather spend time with tax collectors, sinners who knew that they were sinners in need of a doctor.The 10 Commandments are given to us to show us our need for Christ and then also show us after we've received Christ what it means to follow him. And these are, I think about 10 lanes on a track. You know there's 10 lanes. I know this because I ran track as a kid for a season and my daughter reminded me of this recently. We're going through a trophy case and she's like, "Oh, here's a trophy." And it was for 10th place in track and field. That's how I know there's 10 lanes. Back when they started giving out trophies for absolutely every single person. Terrible. That was the beginning of the end.And it's like 10 lanes, 10 lanes. This is the straight and narrow. This is how we walk in the ways of righteousness. There's no other lanes and people try to add the lanes through ceremonial minutia and stuff. That's not the law.Point three is the law cuts and Jesus regenerates. Mark 7:14, "And he called the people to him again and said to them, hear me all of you and understand there is nothing outside a person that by going into him can defile him, but the things that come out of a person are what defile him."And this is the ultimate answer to the question of the Pharisees and the scribes when they said, "Well, why aren't your disciples washing their hands as they are?" The Pharisees thought and their system of theology, they thought that to eat with unwashed hands made you ritually impure because the contagion of impurity was outside of you. So if you ate something that was impure, all of a sudden you become impure. They thought that the evil was outside of them and they had to protect themselves from the evil coming in. And Jesus counters that false idea by saying that external things like unwashed hands have no power to transmit defilement. In Matthew 15:11, "It's not what goes into the mouth that defiles a person, but what comes out of the mouth that this defiles a person." And this bold statement ran contrary to all of their rabbinic teaching.To the rabbis and to the Pharisees for any defilement to occur, there must be a mother of defilement, an external source by physical contact with that source, you become unclean. That's why they stayed away from the Gentiles, your sinners. Your sin might be transmitted to me that's why they stayed away from anyone with leprosy. They thought this is how the sin or defilement comes upon, and that's why they stayed away from the sinners and tax collectors and they were shocked. "Jesus, how are you spending time with these people? You're going to get contaminated by their sin." And Jesus says, you're false because you're assuming an initially pure state. You're assuming that you are pristine and it's someone else's sin that makes you sin. And this is false. Jesus says, "The source of defilement is not external, but within." It's already existent. We're born with a sin nature, and every mom and dad in the room says, amen.Our children prove the doctrine of total depravity. They're born as little individualistic sinners and we need God's grace and their hearts and our hearts and we need the transformation to come from within. To the Pharisees, lack of ceremonial purity, as in the case of the disciples was sin. And Jesus saying, that's not sin. Don't just throw that word around. They didn't break a commandment. That's not sin. They broke the decorum. Mark 7:17, "When he had entered the house and left the people, his disciples asked him about the parable." They didn't understand what's happening so they asked for interpretation of verse 18. He said to them, "Then, are you also without understanding, do you not see that whatever goes into a person from outside cannot defile him since it enters not his heart but his stomach and is expelled, thus he declared all foods clean."Here Jesus shows us that he has authority over ritual purity to redefine ritual purity. And he declared all foods clean, meaning that he, by his word and by his authority and by his power, shows that the ceremonial law, which was given by God was to point to Jesus Christ and he has fulfilled the ceremonial law. Therefore, he can redefine ritual purity. Romans 14:17 says, "For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. Whoever thus serves Christ is acceptable to God and approved by men. So then let us pursue what makes for peace and for mutual up building. Do not for the sake of food, destroy the work of God. Everything is indeed clean, but it is wrong for anyone to make another stumble by what he eats."So we see that Jesus in the same text does not abrogate the 10 Commandments. He actually upholds the 10 commandments, but he is abrogating the Old Testament food laws, the same laws that divided the Jews from the Gentiles and significant that this happens here because Jesus in the next section is going to begin his Gentile ministry. And we see that with the Syrophoenician woman. And then we see that with Jesus feeding 4,000 Gentiles, Gentile men.Ephesians 2:11 says, "Therefore, remember that one time you gentiles in the flesh called the uncircumcision by what is called the circumcision, which is made in the flesh by hands. Remember that you were at that time separated from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus, you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For he himself is our peace who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility, by abolishing the law of commandments expressed in ordinances that he might create in himself one man in place of the two, so making peace and might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby killing the hostility."So having declared all foods clean and thus having shown that there's no longer anything external to human beings that can defile them, Jesus identifies the real source of defilement. How does sin enter the world? How does sin enter our lives? It's the human heart. It's not what goes into people, what comes out of the human heart that is actually sin. Mark 7:20, "And he said, what comes out of a person is what defiles him for from within out of the heart of man come evil thoughts, sexual morality, theft, murder, adultery, coveting, wickedness, deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride, foolishness, all these things come from within and they defile a person." This catalog of human offenses truly paints a hellish picture. And Jesus says that that's all inside every single one of us.And there's a series of seven offenses in the plural, which he's showing crimes against the law, against the 10 commandments, followed by a series of more sinister things that are the reason or the root causes of the evil action. He says, out of the heart of man, come evil, thoughts, evil as defined by the law. All the other evil flows out of this one. Evil thoughts, the battleground for the soul. It begins with the mind. It begins with thoughts.In Genesis 8:21, "When the Lord smelled the pleasing aroma, and the Lord said in his heart, I will never again curse the ground because of man for the intention of man's heart is evil from his youth neither will I ever again strike down every living creature as I have done."The word of God teaches that we're born with the sin nature, that there's sin in this world because we're born as sinners and the sin comes from within our hearts. It begins with the word sexual sin, sexual morality or porneia, which originally meant fornication. The Pharisees didn't want to talk about that. They want to talk about washing hands. Let's not talk about anything deeper than that. And after the sexual sins, he talks about robbery and murder and adultery, all transgressions of the 10 commandments. Then he gives seven singular words that talk about internal disposition that then leads to external action. Mark 7:23, "All these evil things come from within and they defile a person." And that word person anthropos, I've already mentioned it's used over and over and over in our passage, five times in a short passage, anthropo. And he says, this is where the sin comes from within the heart of a person. And that's really why adding traditions to the law of God is so sinister because anything that we add is tinged with our own sin.What the Pharisees could not see is that in their desire for piety and zeal, they were actually covering the law with their sin. These men looked like they were pious and godly individuals, but their hearts were far from God because their hearts were sinful. Jeremiah 17:9, "The heart is deceitful above all things and desperately sick. Who can understand it?"And then who can change it? Who can do something about it? And this is the beauty of the gospel. God gives us the 10 commandments like the scalpel. The 10 commandments show us that our hearts are stoned toward God, their hearts are sinful, that their hearts are evil. And the 10 commands, they cut, they cut, they cut, they cut. And then we look to the cross of Jesus Christ and we realized that the Son of God, the perfect Lamb of God, spotless Lamb of God who would never sinned, not one commandment that Jesus ever break in his whole life, and then he offers his spotless record as a sacrifice in our stead on the cross in order to do what, in order to transform us.Scripture talks about this as regeneration, to be born again, be born from within spiritual heart surgery. Jesus has this conversation with a Pharisee, a religious person named Nicodemus in John 3. And Nicodemus said, "Jesus, how do I go to heaven?" And Jesus answered him and said, "Truly, truly I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God." Nicodemus said to him, "How can a man be born when he's old? Can he enter a second time to his mother's womb and be born?' And Jesus answered, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.""Do not marvel at this that I said to you, you must be born again. The wind blows where it wishes and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from and where it goes. So it is with everyone who was born of the Spirit.""Lord, I need a new heart." That's what Nicodemus says, and he says, "How do I get it?" He said, "You got to be born again.""How do I do that?"And Jesus' answer, "The Spirit blows where it wishes." The Spirit is the one that converts therefore, church and therefore Christians, we can just proclaim the plain word of God to people and not be afraid, not be ashamed, not try to cover it in these layers to make it more palatable. What he's saying is Nicodemus is like, I want to go to heaven. And Jesus is like, well, hopefully the Holy Spirit converts you. That's his answer. But he tells him the truth.And Nicodemus at that point then what does he do? He starts begging the Holy Spirit, convert me. Holy Spirit regenerate. Holy Spirit, I need this transformation reformation from the inside. And then later on we find out Nicodemus was converted and did become a child of God. So if you're not sure that you are a Christian, if you're not sure that you have a heart that loves God, how does your heart respond when you hear about the 10 Commandments, when you hear about the law of God, the true regenerated believer, Christian child of God, when you hear about the law of God, all you want to do is know more so that you can love God more by obeying the word. And if you hear about the law and you're like, 'I don't want the law, I want nothing to do with God's law," then most likely you still have a heart of stone.Most likely you still are on your path to hell. And therefore we plead with you. I beg you, end the year right. End the year the way you should by repenting of your sins. Say, Lord Jesus, please forgive me for breaking the commandments. Lord Jesus, give me a brand new heart. Holy Spirit, fill me and God will. And that's the promise of God. Ezekiel 36:26, "And I will give you a new heart and a new spirit I will put within you, and I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit within you and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules. You shall dwell in the land that I gave your fathers, and you shall be my people and I will be your God."New heart that desires to do what? Desires to obey God's law, because of God's grace. The law is both the teacher of sin and the rule of gratitude. It is important to see that while Jesus completely rejects the rules of men with equal force, he reaffirms the authority of the law of God. The rules of men are not to be confused with the law of God no matter how much wisdom, how much piety or how much zeal these rules appear to have, it's the law of God, the 10 Commandments which are binding upon God's people. This is because the law of God reveals his will to us. Therefore, as Christians, we define sin in light of God's law, not in light of rules and ceremonies invented by the self-righteous who actually think that they keep these rules, they are righteous. While those who don't keep them as well or not. God has made his will perfectly clear. The rules of men only obscure what God has said.Jesus calls out to us today. He says, repent of your sins and believe the good news. And the moment you do, his righteousness is counted to you. His recorders counted to you. Righteousness covers you. And Jesus loves repentance, sinners, but he has no patience for the self-righteous. So let's look at this text and let's be convicted that often we are like the Pharisees and let's repent of that self-righteousness and repent of our sin, continue to follow Christ. And honestly, may this be the year that we read the Bible. Everybody, everyone's going to read the Bible this year, and that's how revival is coming into the world. In Jesus' name, amen. Let us pray.Lord Jesus, we thank you for your word and we thank you that the word of God, you became incarnate. And I pray, Lord Jesus, by the power of your blood and by the power of your Holy Spirit, make us the people that embody your word. Make us the people that love your word so much. Study your word so much that our hearts are absolutely transformed by your word. That our minds are renewed by the transformation that the word gives us. And Lord, make us a missionary force here in the city pointing people to the word of God, pointing people to the cross of Jesus Christ and pointing people to the fact that the church is God's plan to rebuild this world. Lord, we love you and pray this in Christ. Holy name.Amen.

Lord, as we end one year and begin another, we thank you for your grace. We thank you for preserving us to this moment, sustaining us by the power of your spirit. And we thank you Lord that you continue to reveal yourself to us. That's what we long for. More than anything else, is your presence. We long to know you. We long to know your will and Lord, as we open up the scriptures and as we look at a text where you emphasize the preeminence of God's law, I pray, make us a people that love your law, love your 10 commandments. Stare deeply, gaze deeply into your law, seeking how we can grow in faithfulness, how we can grow in obedience. And as we do, you will grow us in fruitfulness. Lord, to make our church a church that loves your word, reveres your word. Make Bostonians like the Bereans that eagerly accept your word and on a daily basis, examine to see if it's true.If it's true that you are a God who reveals yourself, a God who guides us, and God who gave us the law to guard us from evil, show us what it means that you sent your son Jesus Christ because we disobeyed the law, we sinned against you. You sent your son to walk in the ways of faithfulness and then to offer himself as a sacrifice in our behalf in order to forgive us. And we thank you Lord that you offer that sacrifice. If anyone is not yet a believer today, Lord, show them where they've transgressed the commandments and show them that sin and the penalty for is eternal damnation and that Christ took all of that on the cross and whosoever believes, repents and turns from sin to Christ is granted forgiveness and eternal life. I pray save many even today and Lord bless our time in the holy scriptures and we pray all this in Christ's name.Amen.We're continuing our servant series through the Gospel of Mark. We've called it Kingdom Come, the Gospel of Mark and the secret of God's kingdom. And the idea is that the kingdom has come and Jesus has come to establish the kingdom and we are to be a people that pray. Lord, may your kingdom continue to expand in our life and where we live. And as we end one year and begin another, it's helpful to take account of the year past. Remember lessons learned, consider changes to make and make resolutions that pesky word, pesky, pesky. We don't like that word resolutions, but I urge you, church, I challenge you, make this resolution. If you have never read the Bible cover to cover, resolve that this year you are going to change that. Cover to cover, four chapters a day. There's about 1200 chapters in the Bible, four chapters a day that's got you reading 300 or so days of the year.You've got 65 days off to study the Psalter and the Proverbs and go deeper. But four chapters a day, it's about 20 minutes and that's a tremendous time to spend with the Lord. And I say that because it's not the resolutions that change us, it's the reformation that we make in our life. It's the restructuring of the routine. It's the spiritual disciplines that we welcome in. That's what really changes us. We need not just resolutions or short-term change, we need a reformation. We need to be reformed into the image of Jesus Christ. We're like clay in the potter's hands. He's shaping us, he's forming us, he's reforming us. And this reformation or transformation as Romans 12 puts it happens when our minds are renewed according to the word of God, when our minds are saturated with the word of God. It's the word of God when applied by the spirit of God that leads to true transformation and lasting reformation.One of the great principles that came out of the reformation along with the five solos, if you're not familiar with them, here they are. Sola scriptura, that's scripture alone, Sola gratia, that's grace alone, Sola fide, that's faith alone, Solus Christus, that's Christ alone, and Soli Deo gloria to the glory of God alone.Well, along with those five, there was also the principle of semper reformanda, which is always reforming. The title of my sermon today is always becoming reformed and the idea isn't that we are capitulating to the culture, that we're evolving in order to make the message more palatable. No, the message is that we study the holy scriptures and we long for the holy scriptures to reform us and reform how we live, reform how we worship the Lord. And the church should always be seeking to change in ways that make its testimonies more faithful to God's revelation.The church is formed by the word of God and it's always being reformed by the word of God just as individuals are. And how does reformation happen in our lives and in the churches in our land? When we look into the word of God and to the law of God and say, "Lord, where have I been unfaithful to your word? Where have I added to your word or where have I subtracted from your word?" Deuteronomy 4:2 says, "You shall not add to the word that I command you, nor take from it, that you may keep the commandments of the Lord your God that I command you."And you say, "Well, which word is he talking about here in Deuteronomy?" Don't add or take away from which word? Well, in the same chapter in verse nine through 14, he explains, "Only take care and keep your soul diligently, lest you forget the things that your eyes have seen unless they depart from your heart all the days of your life. Make them known to your children and your children's children.""How on the day that you stood before the Lord your God at Horeb, the Lord said to me, gather the people to me that I may let them hear my words so that they may learn to fear me all the days that they live on the earth and that they may teach their children also. And so you came near and stood at the foot of the mountain where the mountain burned with fire to the heart of heaven, wrapped in darkness, cloud and gloom. Then the Lord spoke to you out of the midst of the fire. You heard the sound of words but saw no form. There was only a voice. And he declared to you his covenant which he commanded you to perform, that is the Ten Commandments. And he wrote them on two tablets of stone. And the Lord commanded me at that time to teach you statutes and rules that you might do them in the land that you were going over to possess."Well, what word do we not to add or subtract from? It's the 10 commandments. And adding to the law of God is legalism and taking away from the law of God is antinomianism and Jesus didn't add to the law of God, but he did uphold the 10 laws to show us primarily that we have sinned against God, therefore we need Christ's sacrifice. And then once we've received Christ's sacrifice and his grace, we are then to out of gratitude, live according to the law that in primarily motivated by love for God and neighbor.Today we're in Mark 7:1-23. As we continue our series, would you look at the text with me?Now when the Pharisees gathered to him with some of the scribes who had come from Jerusalem, they saw that some of his disciples ate with hands that were defiled, that is unwashed. For the Pharisees and all the Jews did not eat unless they washed their hands properly holding to the tradition of the elders. And when they come from the marketplace, they do not eat unless they wash. And there are many other traditions that they observe such as the washing of cups and pots and copper vessels and dining couches. And the Pharisees and the scribes asked him, "Why do your disciples not walk according to the tradition of the elders but eat with defiled hands?" And he said to them, "Well, did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites as it is written. This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me. In vain do they worship me teaching his doctrines the commandments of men? You leave the commandment of God and hold to the tradition of men." And he said to them, "You have a fine way of rejecting the commandment of God in order to establish your tradition.""For Moses said, honor your father and your mother and whoever reviles father or mother must surely die." But you say, "If a man tells his father or his mother, whatever you would've gained from me is Corban, that is given to God, then you no longer permit him to do anything for his father or mother, thus making void the word of God by your tradition that you have handed down and many such things you do."And he called the people to him again and said to them, "Hear me all of you and understand, there is nothing outside a person that by going into him can defile him, but the things that come out of a person are what defile him." And when he had entered the house and left the people, his disciples asked him about the parable and he said to them, "Then are you also without understanding? Do you not see that whatever goes into a person from outside cannot defile him since it enters not his heart but his stomach and is expelled?" Thus he declared all foods clean. And he said, "What comes out of a person is what defiles him for from within out of the heart of man come evil thoughts, sexual morality, theft, murder, adultery, coveting, wickedness, deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride, foolishness, all these evil things come from within and they defile a person."This is the reading of God's holy, inherent and infallible, authoritative word. May He write these eternal truths upon our hearts. Three points to frame up our time. First traditions are not God's commandments. Second God's 10 commandments are God's commandments. And three, the law cuts and Jesus regenerates.First, traditions are not God's commandments. In Mark 7:1 says, "The Pharisees gathered to him and some of the scribes who had come from Jerusalem." These are the representatives of the big establishment religion.The scribes in the Pharisees did not approve of Jesus. Jesus did not have their stamp of approval as he's doing his ministry. They were furious with Jesus that he would eat with sinners and tax collectors. They became angrier when Jesus rejected their distinctions between clean and unclean. And the scribes and the Pharisees challenged Jesus' view of fasting as well as Jesus' view of the Sabbath observance. And Jesus showed no qualms whatsoever in defying these traditions, rejecting their oral traditions. In many ways, I was sharing the gospel recently with someone. They say, "You know what? Jesus sounds kind of like a rebel, kind of like a renegade." And I was like, "Yes, he's the revolutionary of deregulating religion. He's God, it's his law, it's his word. He's come." And he said, "That's all made up and that's all made up and that's all made up." And he's pointing people to the law of God because it's only the law of God that can show us our need for God's grace.So yes, he confounded the canon lawyers and he sent them into fits of rage. How? By just teaching the plain word of God, God's law, what it says, what it doesn't say with absolute precision. For Jesus the oral traditions were not binding, they were not law, they were just decorum. Jesus rejects the authority of their tradition and therefore he openly contradicted what they taught and practiced. And so he made a lot of enemies and that's what ultimately got him crucified. And these men were sent from Jerusalem indicating that their representatives of the Sanhedrin, which was the Jewish ruling body in Jerusalem. Like Herod Antipas, members of the Sanhedrin had heard about Jesus Christ. They perceived him to be someone that can mobilize people, therefore they perceive him to be a threat. And some of the religious leaders even accused Jesus Christ of doing his ministry because he was demon possessed.They said, you cast out demons by the power of Satan. And as a result, Jesus places upon them the ultimate covenant curse that no forgiveness in this age or in the age to come was given to the blasphemers of the blessed Holy Spirit. So the Jewish leadership, the Pharisees, they've sworn to destroy Jesus, they've partnered with the Herodians and they gather to him, the verb used to gather to him here is the same one used in Psalm 2, which is a messianic prophetic Psalm about Christ that the anointed one will come and the rulers of the day will rise against him in opposition. And that's exactly what they're doing. In other Psalms, the same verb is used for the wicked conspiring against the righteous to take his life. For example, Psalm 31:13. "For I hear the whispering of many terror on every side as they scheme together against me as they plot to take my life," or Psalm 35:15."But at my stumbling, they rejoiced and gathered. They gathered together against me, wretches whom I did not know, tore at me without ceasing."And the fact that the scribes who interrogate Jesus, they come down from Jerusalem marks that the opposition is coming from the center of power from Jerusalem where Jesus will be eventually executed. In verse two, "They saw that some of his disciples ate with hands that were defiled, that is unwashed for the Pharisees and all the Jews do not eat unless they wash their hands properly holding to the tradition of the elders. And when they come from the marketplace, they do not eat unless they wash. And there are many other traditions that they observe such as the washing of cups and pots and copper vessels and dining couches."The hand washing is not a biblical... You should wash your hands. That's not what we're talking.We're talking about what makes you moral. That's what they're getting. What they're doing is immoral. They're sinning. That's the conversation. The hand washing that they're alluding to. It's not a biblical requirement for lay people. In the Old Testament, only the priests are required to wash their hands before offering a sacrifice. And the Pharisees however they thought, you know what, this is a good thing to do. We should have everybody do it. We're going to regulate this on absolutely everyone on the theory that every Jew should live as a priest and every Jewish home should become like the temple. The reasoning sounds very rational. And in this tradition, that's what the tradition forces forms the basis of their challenge. Though this was only a priestly requirement from the law of God, all the pious Jews at the time of Jesus had been doing this for about 200 years.So Jesus shows up and he says, that's not in the Bible, that's not regulation for everybody. And their response is, "Jesus, we've always done it this way. Our parents have always done it this way, our grandparents and they've all done it this way.By Jesus' day it had become firmly entrenched this tradition as a requirement for those that want it to be clean and people wash their hands in the morning before morning prayer. The benediction used by the priest of that time of consecration was now being recited by the people as part of the course of daily life. And many felt that even eating bread without a ceremonial washing rendered the bread unclean. And verse five, "The Pharisees and the scribes asked him, why do your disciples not walk according to the tradition of the elders but eat with defiled hands?" And the word for walk here is standard metaphor for living a certain way.Why don't your disciples live in the way that our elders taught us to live? In the tradition of the elders, not the law of Moses, but oral and written tradition received from antiquity and honored only because it was from antiquity. Honored as the word of God just because it's old for the Pharisees, the oral tradition was equally binding with the law of God and with the scriptures. And some of them even believed that tradition was more precious and more authoritative than holy scripture. And with this kind of tradition, the gospels record that Jesus always expressed angry impatience. On the surface, this looks like an argument brought about Jesus' disciples watching procedures, but in reality it's a debate about authority. Is oral tradition authoritative over God's people? And the answer is no. The problem was that with the Pharisees and what the Pharisees had to be doing is they'd been controlling people with their religious regulation.They had been requiring demanding that people obey their oral traditions even though this tradition had no biblical support. Put it another way, the scribes and the Pharisees big religion, they were binding people's consciences to things that were not required of them by scripture. And as the scribes saw the matter, it was their sacred duty to teach the people and then enforce this manmade law upon the people. These legalistic religious lawyers force their rules and regulations on everyone and try to adjudicate.Jesus answers on two levels. Those who criticize him first, he answers on their level by showing that their premise, their presupposition is unsubstantiated. And then after doing that, he demolishes their position from within by going deeper. Verse six, "And he said to them, well did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written. This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me; in vain do they worship me teaching us doctrines and commandments of men."On the principle that the best defense is a good offense, Jesus goes on the offense against these guys and he responds to their hostility by not answering their question about hand washing but actually dismantling this false presupposition that their human traditions are on the same level as God's word in terms of binding moral authority calls them hypocrites. In the classical Greek, it was a word to designate actors, pretenders. And he's saying, you guys are hypocrites because you present a religious godly front, but it's a front based on your own regulations. You made up rules, you've been playing according to these rules. You look really wholly according to those rules, but that's not the game. You're playing the wrong game. And he accuses them of a hypocrisy because they're masking God's law with human made regulations. And the Pharisees certainly would not have agreed with Jesus here, with his charge that tradition represented a betrayal of the commandments of God.No, they would've said, "No. Tradition is part of God's revelation to us." Yet God revealed himself to Moses, but he's also been revealing himself through us, through the pharisaical sect of Judaism. This feeling of connection with ancient revelation is what has given rabbinic Judaism the successor of Phariseeism, a great sense of continuity. But what they teach depends entirely on their authority, on people's authority, not on divine authority. And humans, as Jesus makes clear at the end of the text, we're sinners and everything we touch is singe tinged with sin. And even if we try with our greatest attempts of wisdom to add to the commandments of God, those additions are going to be tinged with sin. This clinging to human traditions makes them actually neglect the plain commandment of God, which is what led to their downfall. Not only does Jesus use one of Israel's most widely red prophets, Isaiah, he quotes Isaiah, they knew this was God's word, but in that context, Isaiah was prophesying to the people of God and he says, "You, the kingdom of Israel, you're in shambles because you have left the commandments of God." And what Jesus is doing by quoting that same text to these people, he's saying in the same way that Israel had fallen from glory because they had moved away from the commandments of God, you guys are doing the same thing.And that's why Israel was in the state it was. They've replaced the law of God with laws of humans and that never leads to shalom or universal flourishing. Notice that Jesus does not even attempt to answer their trick question. He doesn't even want to talk about hand washing. These are manmade rules and traditions. They're not binding. Only the law of God is, and these rules and regulations, they may be signs of great zeal, but in actuality they demonstrate this sad fact that they don't know God. Their hearts are far from God because they're spending all of their time living according to their own interpretations of what God said. They're hypocrites because they pretend to love God, but they don't even do what he says. They prefer to do what they say about what he said. And to the people of Israel, the scribes and Pharisees look like holy and godly men, but they're not because they're not worshiping God in the way he said to worship him.These men claim to defend the law of God by arguing, but their humanly contrived rules actually block the word of God. They distort the law of God and they rob the word of God of its power. According to Jesus, the scribes and Pharisees have so buried the true meaning and purpose of the law under countless layers of canon law and oral tradition. They've made the law null and void. Their traditions not only bury the law under rules of men that so much that people don't even know what God's law actually says.So that brings us to point too. God's manmade traditions are not God's law, but God's 10 commandments are. Look at verse eight, what Jesus does. He says, "You leave the commandment of God and hold to the tradition of men." Well, what does Jesus mean by the commandment of God? Well, he explicitly tells us in verse 10 that he's referring to the 10 commandments because in verse 10 he says, "Case in point hears a command that you have nullified with your own tradition." And he goes to commandment number five. So by command he's referring to the 10 commandments. In verse 10, "For Moses said, honor your father and your mother and whoever reviles father and mother must surely die."For Moses said here, that's what Jesus says. There's a parallel account where Jesus is having a similar conversation in Matthew 15, four. And there it doesn't say Moses said. There, it just says, for God said. God said this. These are his words. God had written the 10 commandments with his finger. So making the contrast that the commandment of God and it makes the contrast even more direct between command of God and tradition. Matthew 15:4, "For God commanded honor your father and your mother and whoever reviles father or mother must surely die. Their hearts had strayed from God and the people have fallen under the sway of human tradition that emptied the divine word of its force and blinded its possessors to God's true will."And that's why in Mark 7:9, Jesus said to them and he said to them, you have a fine way of rejecting the commandment of God in order to establish your tradition. They weren't in complete disobedience. Here Jesus adds the word fine as a touch of sarcasm because they had done this so beautifully. No one even noticed that they sidestep the word of God in order to establish their own tradition. But by supplanting and replacing the commandment, they're actually rejecting it.In verse 10 of Mark 7, Moses said, "Honor your father and your mother, whoever reviles father or mother must surely die." That's from Exodus 20:12, "Honor your father and your mother that your days may be long in the land that the Lord your God is giving you." And that's repeated in Deuteronomy 5:16. This is the fifth commandment and it does include material support of parents as parents grow older.That's the conversation here and that commandment honor your father and your mother. It was so important that the penalty for breaking that commandment was capital punishment. Exodus 21:17, "Whoever curses his father or his mother shall be put to death." In Leviticus 20:9, "For anyone who curses his father or his mother shall surely be put to death, he has cursed his father or his mother, his blood is upon him."Just as being angry or refraining from performing a cure is equivalent to murder. So withholding support from parents is equivalent to cursing them. That's what Christ is saying, that dishonoring of parents is a capital offense according to the Torah. Yet the Pharisees facilitate it by their Corban practice. They're like, "Well, that's what the commandment said, honor your father and your mother." They're getting a little older and you should start thinking about how you're going to provide for them.And they're elderly age. And then the Pharisees come in and they say, that's a lot of money and that's a lot of time and that's a lot of resources. We could actually increase the budget of our ministries, of our synagogues, of our temples by tweaking the commandment a little bit. And children, instead of actually supporting your parents when they're older, just give that money to the Lord so to speak. And that was their Corban stuff. Verse 11, "But you say, if a man tells his father or his mother, whatever you want, whatever you would've gained from me is Corban that is given to God then you no longer permit him to do anything for his father or mother, thus making void the word of God by your tradition that you have handed down in many such things you do."Corban was a transliteration from the Hebrew and Aramaic of sacrifice, their offering. And what they're saying is, "Okay, this money I would've given to you mom and dad. I'm going to offer to the Lord therefore making it unavailable for any other use." The person declares that any material support he might have given his parents is pledged to God. Not that he necessarily intends to deliver it to God, but he just wants to remove it from the parents. If you think about it's just incredibly diabolical this rule that they invented. Yeah, they're going to fill their coffers, but you're also actually, you're doing the opposite what the commander said. Commander said, to honor your father and your mother and you're dishonoring them by pretending to honor the Lord. And Jesus here zeroes in on this specific example of Pharisaic tradition that empties the word of God of its force and it did it through a legal fiction maneuver just to avoid the law.And so what begins as a trick question quickly turns into a lesson in biblical hermeneutics or the interpretation of scripture. Jesus here is saying the law is perfect. Any addition or subtraction to the 10 commandments is the incorrect interpretation. Jesus does not set aside the law, he doesn't question its authority or do anything to weaken its demands, but he's saying traditions added to the law of God, they're not morally binding. And for these traditions and the Pharisees, it was actually subversion of the Lord of the word of God, a betrayal of it. And what's fascinating is the word for tradition in the Greek has two meanings. It could be translated as tradition parados, but there's other places where the same exact word means betrayal. When John the Baptist was handed over, this word was used when Jesus was betrayed, this word was used. And when Christians were betrayed and suffering and death, this word parados was used.So you can read this text and say you forsake the commandment of God and hold fast to the betrayal of human beings because by adding to the law, they have betrayed the word of God. You do a good job of annulling the commandment of God so that you may establish your betrayal, thus avoiding the word of God for the sake of your betrayal, parados by means of which you have betrayed. And the word for human here or person is anthropos. It's not the word for men that's used when Jesus feeds the 5,000. It's anthropos, person, human being. When humans add to the word, when they add to the law, they are subverting the commandments. Mark's point seems to be that human traditions, no matter how laudable in their original intention, they end up suffocating revelation because of the basic warp of the human heart of the anthropos.There's evil inside every single one of us that corrupts everything that we touch including the word of God. So whenever you listen to anybody interpreting the word of God, you do have to be like the Bereans. Word of God I welcome you eagerly, but I'm going to examine everything the person says according to the scriptures. Christians are not and indeed cannot be bound by the rules of men. And while many of these rules are based in wisdom, they cannot be used to bind a Christian's conscience to things that God has not forbidden in his word or expressly or implied. When we say we believe in sola scripture, what are we saying? We're saying we are bound to obey the law of God and in our case, the moral law, the 10 commandments, and that we are not bound by any manmade rules or traditions. God's word is our ultimate authority, not human tradition, not the tradition of the church.And this is why we are not Catholic. We understand that the Pope is not infallible. The Pope is actually very fallible and clearly he's adding to the word of God in a way that subverts the word of God. No, we reject that. We keep on reforming. Scripture speaks of the law of God as the perfect law, the law of liberty. And to put it rather simplistically, God gave us 10 commandments, not countless volumes of canon law. And these 10 commandments are for the most part, very simple. Even our children know the 10 Commandments and we do this in our home. You should try doing this in your home. We go through the 10 commandments and as we're doing our devotionals and we call each other out. We're Slavic, we're direct. We call it like, "Which commandments did you break today? I know, I know I live with you."And you're like, "Yes, I have broken the commandments. Lord, forgive me. I need grace. Help me and no longer break them."God binds us to obey his commandments, not to obey the rules of man. It's that simple. And this leads to the second evil that we see in our passage, just the evil of self-righteousness. These Pharisees had invented rules that they added to the commandments, which protects them from the commandments actually revealing their own sin. And then they walk around and they say, "I have the cleanest hands. I have the cleanest hands, I'm undefiled." And they judge everyone else according to these manmade rules. And that's why Jesus didn't spend time with them. They thought they weren't sick and Jesus would rather spend time with tax collectors, sinners who knew that they were sinners in need of a doctor.The 10 Commandments are given to us to show us our need for Christ and then also show us after we've received Christ what it means to follow him. And these are, I think about 10 lanes on a track. You know there's 10 lanes. I know this because I ran track as a kid for a season and my daughter reminded me of this recently. We're going through a trophy case and she's like, "Oh, here's a trophy." And it was for 10th place in track and field. That's how I know there's 10 lanes. Back when they started giving out trophies for absolutely every single person. Terrible. That was the beginning of the end.And it's like 10 lanes, 10 lanes. This is the straight and narrow. This is how we walk in the ways of righteousness. There's no other lanes and people try to add the lanes through ceremonial minutia and stuff. That's not the law.Point three is the law cuts and Jesus regenerates. Mark 7:14, "And he called the people to him again and said to them, hear me all of you and understand there is nothing outside a person that by going into him can defile him, but the things that come out of a person are what defile him."And this is the ultimate answer to the question of the Pharisees and the scribes when they said, "Well, why aren't your disciples washing their hands as they are?" The Pharisees thought and their system of theology, they thought that to eat with unwashed hands made you ritually impure because the contagion of impurity was outside of you. So if you ate something that was impure, all of a sudden you become impure. They thought that the evil was outside of them and they had to protect themselves from the evil coming in. And Jesus counters that false idea by saying that external things like unwashed hands have no power to transmit defilement. In Matthew 15:11, "It's not what goes into the mouth that defiles a person, but what comes out of the mouth that this defiles a person." And this bold statement ran contrary to all of their rabbinic teaching.To the rabbis and to the Pharisees for any defilement to occur, there must be a mother of defilement, an external source by physical contact with that source, you become unclean. That's why they stayed away from the Gentiles, your sinners. Your sin might be transmitted to me that's why they stayed away from anyone with leprosy. They thought this is how the sin or defilement comes upon, and that's why they stayed away from the sinners and tax collectors and they were shocked. "Jesus, how are you spending time with these people? You're going to get contaminated by their sin." And Jesus says, you're false because you're assuming an initially pure state. You're assuming that you are pristine and it's someone else's sin that makes you sin. And this is false. Jesus says, "The source of defilement is not external, but within." It's already existent. We're born with a sin nature, and every mom and dad in the room says, amen.Our children prove the doctrine of total depravity. They're born as little individualistic sinners and we need God's grace and their hearts and our hearts and we need the transformation to come from within. To the Pharisees, lack of ceremonial purity, as in the case of the disciples was sin. And Jesus saying, that's not sin. Don't just throw that word around. They didn't break a commandment. That's not sin. They broke the decorum. Mark 7:17, "When he had entered the house and left the people, his disciples asked him about the parable." They didn't understand what's happening so they asked for interpretation of verse 18. He said to them, "Then, are you also without understanding, do you not see that whatever goes into a person from outside cannot defile him since it enters not his heart but his stomach and is expelled, thus he declared all foods clean."Here Jesus shows us that he has authority over ritual purity to redefine ritual purity. And he declared all foods clean, meaning that he, by his word and by his authority and by his power, shows that the ceremonial law, which was given by God was to point to Jesus Christ and he has fulfilled the ceremonial law. Therefore, he can redefine ritual purity. Romans 14:17 says, "For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. Whoever thus serves Christ is acceptable to God and approved by men. So then let us pursue what makes for peace and for mutual up building. Do not for the sake of food, destroy the work of God. Everything is indeed clean, but it is wrong for anyone to make another stumble by what he eats."So we see that Jesus in the same text does not abrogate the 10 Commandments. He actually upholds the 10 commandments, but he is abrogating the Old Testament food laws, the same laws that divided the Jews from the Gentiles and significant that this happens here because Jesus in the next section is going to begin his Gentile ministry. And we see that with the Syrophoenician woman. And then we see that with Jesus feeding 4,000 Gentiles, Gentile men.Ephesians 2:11 says, "Therefore, remember that one time you gentiles in the flesh called the uncircumcision by what is called the circumcision, which is made in the flesh by hands. Remember that you were at that time separated from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus, you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For he himself is our peace who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility, by abolishing the law of commandments expressed in ordinances that he might create in himself one man in place of the two, so making peace and might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby killing the hostility."So having declared all foods clean and thus having shown that there's no longer anything external to human beings that can defile them, Jesus identifies the real source of defilement. How does sin enter the world? How does sin enter our lives? It's the human heart. It's not what goes into people, what comes out of the human heart that is actually sin. Mark 7:20, "And he said, what comes out of a person is what defiles him for from within out of the heart of man come evil thoughts, sexual morality, theft, murder, adultery, coveting, wickedness, deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride, foolishness, all these things come from within and they defile a person." This catalog of human offenses truly paints a hellish picture. And Jesus says that that's all inside every single one of us.And there's a series of seven offenses in the plural, which he's showing crimes against the law, against the 10 commandments, followed by a series of more sinister things that are the reason or the root causes of the evil action. He says, out of the heart of man, come evil, thoughts, evil as defined by the law. All the other evil flows out of this one. Evil thoughts, the battleground for the soul. It begins with the mind. It begins with thoughts.In Genesis 8:21, "When the Lord smelled the pleasing aroma, and the Lord said in his heart, I will never again curse the ground because of man for the intention of man's heart is evil from his youth neither will I ever again strike down every living creature as I have done."The word of God teaches that we're born with the sin nature, that there's sin in this world because we're born as sinners and the sin comes from within our hearts. It begins with the word sexual sin, sexual morality or porneia, which originally meant fornication. The Pharisees didn't want to talk about that. They want to talk about washing hands. Let's not talk about anything deeper than that. And after the sexual sins, he talks about robbery and murder and adultery, all transgressions of the 10 commandments. Then he gives seven singular words that talk about internal disposition that then leads to external action. Mark 7:23, "All these evil things come from within and they defile a person." And that word person anthropos, I've already mentioned it's used over and over and over in our passage, five times in a short passage, anthropo. And he says, this is where the sin comes from within the heart of a person. And that's really why adding traditions to the law of God is so sinister because anything that we add is tinged with our own sin.What the Pharisees could not see is that in their desire for piety and zeal, they were actually covering the law with their sin. These men looked like they were pious and godly individuals, but their hearts were far from God because their hearts were sinful. Jeremiah 17:9, "The heart is deceitful above all things and desperately sick. Who can understand it?"And then who can change it? Who can do something about it? And this is the beauty of the gospel. God gives us the 10 commandments like the scalpel. The 10 commandments show us that our hearts are stoned toward God, their hearts are sinful, that their hearts are evil. And the 10 commands, they cut, they cut, they cut, they cut. And then we look to the cross of Jesus Christ and we realized that the Son of God, the perfect Lamb of God, spotless Lamb of God who would never sinned, not one commandment that Jesus ever break in his whole life, and then he offers his spotless record as a sacrifice in our stead on the cross in order to do what, in order to transform us.Scripture talks about this as regeneration, to be born again, be born from within spiritual heart surgery. Jesus has this conversation with a Pharisee, a religious person named Nicodemus in John 3. And Nicodemus said, "Jesus, how do I go to heaven?" And Jesus answered him and said, "Truly, truly I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God." Nicodemus said to him, "How can a man be born when he's old? Can he enter a second time to his mother's womb and be born?' And Jesus answered, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.""Do not marvel at this that I said to you, you must be born again. The wind blows where it wishes and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from and where it goes. So it is with everyone who was born of the Spirit.""Lord, I need a new heart." That's what Nicodemus says, and he says, "How do I get it?" He said, "You got to be born again.""How do I do that?"And Jesus' answer, "The Spirit blows where it wishes." The Spirit is the one that converts therefore, church and therefore Christians, we can just proclaim the plain word of God to people and not be afraid, not be ashamed, not try to cover it in these layers to make it more palatable. What he's saying is Nicodemus is like, I want to go to heaven. And Jesus is like, well, hopefully the Holy Spirit converts you. That's his answer. But he tells him the truth.And Nicodemus at that point then what does he do? He starts begging the Holy Spirit, convert me. Holy Spirit regenerate. Holy Spirit, I need this transformation reformation from the inside. And then later on we find out Nicodemus was converted and did become a child of God. So if you're not sure that you are a Christian, if you're not sure that you have a heart that loves God, how does your heart respond when you hear about the 10 Commandments, when you hear about the law of God, the true regenerated believer, Christian child of God, when you hear about the law of God, all you want to do is know more so that you can love God more by obeying the word. And if you hear about the law and you're like, 'I don't want the law, I want nothing to do with God's law," then most likely you still have a heart of stone.Most likely you still are on your path to hell. And therefore we plead with you. I beg you, end the year right. End the year the way you should by repenting of your sins. Say, Lord Jesus, please forgive me for breaking the commandments. Lord Jesus, give me a brand new heart. Holy Spirit, fill me and God will. And that's the promise of God. Ezekiel 36:26, "And I will give you a new heart and a new spirit I will put within you, and I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit within you and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules. You shall dwell in the land that I gave your fathers, and you shall be my people and I will be your God."New heart that desires to do what? Desires to obey God's law, because of God's grace. The law is both the teacher of sin and the rule of gratitude. It is important to see that while Jesus completely rejects the rules of men with equal force, he reaffirms the authority of the law of God. The rules of men are not to be confused with the law of God no matter how much wisdom, how much piety or how much zeal these rules appear to have, it's the law of God, the 10 Commandments which are binding upon God's people. This is because the law of God reveals his will to us. Therefore, as Christians, we define sin in light of God's law, not in light of rules and ceremonies invented by the self-righteous who actually think that they keep these rules, they are righteous. While those who don't keep them as well or not. God has made his will perfectly clear. The rules of men only obscure what God has said.Jesus calls out to us today. He says, repent of your sins and believe the good news. And the moment you do, his righteousness is counted to you. His recorders counted to you. Righteousness covers you. And Jesus loves repentance, sinners, but he has no patience for the self-righteous. So let's look at this text and let's be convicted that often we are like the Pharisees and let's repent of that self-righteousness and repent of our sin, continue to follow Christ. And honestly, may this be the year that we read the Bible. Everybody, everyone's going to read the Bible this year, and that's how revival is coming into the world. In Jesus' name, amen. Let us pray.Lord Jesus, we thank you for your word and we thank you that the word of God, you became incarnate. And I pray, Lord Jesus, by the power of your blood and by the power of your Holy Spirit, make us the people that embody your word. Make us the people that love your word so much. Study your word so much that our hearts are absolutely transformed by your word. That our minds are renewed by the transformation that the word gives us. And Lord, make us a missionary force here in the city pointing people to the word of God, pointing people to the cross of Jesus Christ and pointing people to the fact that the church is God's plan to rebuild this world. Lord, we love you and pray this in Christ. Holy name.Amen.