Mark 7:1-8, “You leave the commandment of God and hold to the tradition of men”
In these verses, Jesus is telling the Pharisees and scribes they have missed the boat about what is truly important which is following the Word of God, not man made precepts which only hinder people from accepting the truth. The Pharisee and scribes were so worried about keeping their traditions and customs they forgot what is truly important, a heart wrenched for God.
Sadly this attitude is not limited to Jesus' day. There are a good many churches in America today more worried about filling the church pews then they are about spreading the truth of the Gospel and the Word of God.
Once Jesus is done reprimanding the Pharisee and scribes for making void the Word of God because of their man made traditions He turns to the conditions of a man's heart. This leads to the second portion of Jesus' reprimand of the Pharisees and scribes in Mark 7
Mark 7:15 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
He declares to all in attendance it is not what a person puts in their bodies, or touches with their fingers which makes them unclean. It is the condition of a person's heart which make them unclean. The Pharisees and scribes while keeping their religious rituals, which were supposed, to bring them closer to God forgot the most important part of walking with God, a rented heart and repentance of sin.
Traditions in church are a good thing. They remind Christians of where they came from or bring them closer to God. Unfortunately when traditions are used the way the Pharisees or scribes used them, to judge others as being outside the faith, they can cause trouble for everyone. All we need to do as Christian is focus on is what God calls us to do and not what a certain tradition which may or may not be a part of certain church service calls us to do.
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