The Cancer of
Hypocrisy in the Body
of Christ is Killing It
Mark 7:1-9
Outline
Disputes over Tradition
I. The Issue of Washing Hands (1-8)
II. The Issue of Corban (9-13)
III. The Issue of Kosher Food (14-23)
Mark 7:1
• Then came together unto him [Jesus]
the Pharisees, and certain of the
scribes, which came from Jerusalem.
Pharisees
Members of a Jewish sect of the
intertestamental period noted for strict
observance of rites and ceremonies of the
written law and for insistence on the validity
of their own oral traditions concerning the
law.
Scribes
A class of scholars who taught, copied,
and interpreted the Jewish law for the
people.
Luke describes scribes as lawyers.
Mark 7:2
• And when they saw some of his disciples
eat bread with defiled, that is to say,
with unwashen, hands,
• they found fault.
Look at these 3 words
Mark 7:3
• For the Pharisees, and all the Jews,
except they wash their hands oft, eat
not,
• holding the tradition of the elders.
tradition
an inherited, established, or
customary pattern of thought,
action, or behavior (as a religious
practice or a social custom)
• Each Jewish community had its council of elders,
who had general administrative oversight and
represented the community in relations with Roman
authorities. Their primary duty was judicial. They
were custodians of the law and its traditional
interpretations (see Mt 15:2), and they were
charged with both its enforcement and the
punishment of offenders. The most important of
these councils of elders was the Sanhedrin in
Jerusalem, a group of 71 men who acted as the final
court for the entire nation.
Mark 7:4
• And when they come from the
market, except they wash, they eat
not.
• And many other things there be,
which they have received to hold,
as the washing of cups, and pots,
brasen vessels, and of tables.
Mark 7:5
• Then the Pharisees and scribes asked
him, Why walk not thy disciples
according to the tradition of the
elders, but eat bread with unwashen
hands?
Let’s Look @
Christ’s Response
Mark 7:6
• He answered and said unto them, Well
hath Esaias [Isaiah] prophesied of you
hypocrites,
Isaiah spoke these
words 800 years
before Christ quoted
from Isaiah 29.
The word
hypocrisy comes
from a time
when actors
would play
multiple parts by
changing their
masks.
The Art of
professing
CHRISTIAN
beliefs, feelings,
or virtues that
one does not
really hold or
possess.
unknown
Hypocrisy
Hypocrisy must be viewed as a
cancer that has to be cut out of
the body of Christ as soon as it
is identified.
Let’s Talk about Cancer
Surgery in the Body of
Christ
Cancer Surgery
1 John 1:9
• If we confess our sins, he is faithful
and just to forgive us our sins, and to
cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
Advanced Cancer Surgery
James 5:16
• Confess your faults one to another, and
pray one for another, that ye may be
healed.
• The effectual fervent prayer of a
righteous man availeth much.
Mark 7:6
• He answered and said unto them, Well
hath Esaias [Isaiah] prophesied of you
hypocrites, as it is written, This people
honoureth me with their lips, but their
heart is far from me.
Isaiah 29:13 LXX
Isaiah 29:13
• Wherefore the Lord said, Forasmuch
as this people draw near me with
their mouth, and with their lips do
honour me, but have removed their
heart far from me, and their fear
toward me is taught by the precept
of men:
Baptist Hypocrisy
• Without a good explanation, this could be
perceived as hypocrisy—going to the
movie theater is wrong, but watching the
same movie at home is ok.
Baptist Hypocrisy
• Overeating could be perceived as
hypocrisy.
• Dipping snuff is sin that God hates,
but God is “ok” with my overeating
habits.
Baptist Hypocrisy
• Great potential exists for Baptists
to be perceived as hypocrites when
a big deal is made of the sin of
homosexuality but fornication in
the body of Christ is ignored or,
worse yet, swept under the rug.
Mark 7:7
•Howbeit (conjunction) [And]
•in vain do they worship me,
What a statement!
Mark 7:7
•teaching for
doctrines the
commandments
of men.
Do Baptist
churches do
this today?
Doctrine is Dogma
•something held as an established
opinion; especially: a definite
authoritative tenet
Merriam-Webster
KJB
The KJB issue is nowhere
to be found in the Bible and
was not an issue for 1900 years yet it has
become exceptionally divisive in the last 50
years.
Is this a tradition? It is a commandment
of men?
Commandments of Men
• Sunday School, Sunday morning, Sunday
evening, and Wednesday evening services
• Organized Visitation on a particular night
• Separate altar call with music playing
• Southern Gospel is “ok” but that other music
is…
Question
If these things are
commandments of men—why
do we do them?
Commandments of Men
• Sunday School, Sunday morning, Sunday
evening, and Wednesday evening services
• Organized Visitation on a particular night
• Separate altar call with music playing
• Southern Gospel is “ok” but that other
music is…
Mark 7:8
• For laying aside the commandment of
God,
• ye hold the tradition of men,
• as the washing of pots and cups: and
many other such like things ye do.
Traditions of Men
Are Scribal Interpretations
Illustration
Deuteronomy 22:5
• The woman shall not
wear that which
pertaineth unto a man,
neither shall a man put
on a woman’s garment:
for all that do so are
abomination unto the
LORD thy God.
Tradition is often formed as
someone attempts to interpret this
commandment. The more people
accept the interpretation, the more
ingrained the tradition becomes in
a particular community.
Warning
I am not going to interpret the gray areas
for you. People are going to come down
differently on different issues and we are
going to need to respect our soul liberty in
the body of Christ to keep the traditions of
men from becoming superior to the Word
of God.
Jesus Said
Matthew 7:5
• Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam
out of thine own eye;
• and then shalt thou see clearly to cast
out the mote out of thy brother’s eye.
Critical Self-Examination
Is the key to avoiding the
cancer of hypocrisy! Early
detection is crucial for
survivor.
Our Church Name—Berean
Acts 17:10–11
• And the brethren immediately sent away Paul
and Silas by night unto Berea: who coming
thither went into the synagogue of the Jews.
• These were more noble than those in
Thessalonica, in that they received the word
with all readiness of mind, and searched the
scriptures daily, whether those things were so.
Traditions in the church
should be like traditions
for holidays in your home.
Do you have
Turkey or Ham for
Christmas Dinner?
Look Back at V. 2
When I find fault with others
because of my tradition there
is a problem
When does the tradition
become a problem in
God’s eyes?
Mark 7:9
• And he said unto them, Full well ye
reject the commandment of God,
Why
• that ye may keep your own
tradition.
Question
What is “the
commandment of God?”
Turn to Mark 12:28ff
For the Answer
• And one of the scribes came, and having
heard them reasoning together, and
perceiving that he had answered them well,
asked him, Which is the first commandment
of all?
• And Jesus answered him, The first of all the
commandments is, Hear, O Israel; The Lord
our God is one Lord: And thou shalt love the
Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all
thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all
thy strength: this is the first commandment.
You know you have a
problem when you love
your rules more than
your relationship with
God.
1 John 4:20
• If a man say, I love God, and
hateth his brother, he is a liar:
• for he that loveth not his
brother whom he hath seen,
how can he love God whom he
hath not seen?
You know you have a
problem when you love
your tradition more
than you love those
that God loves.
Conclusion
Matthew 23
13, 14, 15, 23, 25, 27, 28, 29
Matthew 24:51
• And shall cut him asunder, and appoint
him his portion with the hypocrites:
there shall be weeping and gnashing of
teeth.