The Role of Religious Acts

Mark 12:28-34

      Have you ever noticed that some people put so much energy into doing things for a cause, whether the cause is God, saving the whales, abandoned pets, organic food, vaccines, or facebooking. It can seem as if their life depended on their pursuit of their cause. Not that their cause would ultimately change the world, but that their expending of their energy would save them from whatever bad might come their way. If they were just dedicated enough, then everything would work out in their lives.

      In a religious context we call these things that we do in order to get something in return ‘works’ of righteousness. We give, pray, fast, say kind things, volunteer in the nursery, witness, read the Scriptures, wear the right clothes to church, and smile politely. For some these religious acts are done in order to somehow earn God’s favor, get on God’s side.

      Our text today tells of the third questioner of Jesus. The first two were direct assaults made in order to trip Him up. They were trying to find an excuse to bring charges against Jesus with the goal of killing Him, thus eliminating what they viewed as a threat to their power and position in society. They wanted to knock Jesus out of the running.

      This third questioner is from the third group of people who want Jesus gone. The teachers of the law were the religious scholars of that day. They were charged with education. And Jesus was an unauthorized teacher. The real problem was that people listened to Jesus, probably because His words were backed up with action.

      One of their group comes with a question. It doesn’t have an obvious trap connected to it. It might be that this individual had a more open heart to the Truth than the previous questioners. And there isn’t an obvious trap connected to his question.

      Jesus answers the question in a way that draws this man even closer. He places the religious acts below our relationship with God and with other people. When we love then our acts fall in their right place. When worship is attended to with the heart, the religious acts that flow from that love are in their right place.

      If we aren’t in right relationship with the LORD and with each other, our religious acts are worthless. They flow from a heart that is divided. And nothing pure can come from something divided like this.

      Where do you place the good things that you do? Are they a means to get in God’s good graces? Or do they flow from a heart that is already in God’s good graces?

I’m Good Enough!

Mark 10:18-19

      How many times have I heard that response when asking people about heaven! There is the popular notion that heaven, or at least entrance to heaven, can be earned, or perhaps is even deserved, if we are just good enough. If we do the right things, certainly God would not lock us out on judgment day. Sometimes it gets worded in the negative. “I’ve haven’t murdered anyone?” “I’m not as bad as some people.”

      No matter how it is worded, some people feel they are getting in because of their own actions. They feel they have been ‘good enough’ here on earth. It is almost as if there were a big scale and all the good was placed on one side and all the bad on the other, and if the scale tipped, even if ever so slightly toward the good, then you get in. This results in a false sense of security.

      The real problem is the underestimation of the badness of bad. We think sin is just a little slipup, a little mistake, a temporary lapse in judgment. We think sin can easily be wiped away with a diaper wipe, and then we are all clean again. The problem with this view is that sin is pervasive in us. It isn’t simply on our outside. It penetrates every fabric of our being, affecting every thought and action from day one. It traces blacken ever water it touches.

      A man came to Jesus wondering what he could do to earn heaven. Jesus cuts him off at the pass. He does so in several steps. The first deals with his view of who Jesus is. This man puts Jesus on par with many other religious teachers. He is just one of the many who have come teaching about God’s ways.

      Jesus stops him in his tracks. He says, if you are going to call me good, and only God is good, then you are calling me God. Is that what you mean? Are you making that kind of statement? Or are you just throwing words around without considering their impact?

      But Jesus is also making a powerful statement about goodness. He says that only God is good. This man’s attempts to be good must necessarily fall short, since only God is good. So if he claims to be good, then he must be claiming to be God. But Jesus knows he isn’t claiming that. He just doesn’t realize how good you have to be in order to be in heaven.

      So Jesus gives this man the standard list of dos and don’ts, the Commandments. It is interesting that Jesus only quotes those commandments that deal with our relationships with other people. He leaves out those that deal with our relationship with God. Jesus’ focus with this man in on his relationship with people.

      How is your relationship with people? Do you get along with them? Do you honor them with your time, talent and attention?

      What is your list of dos and don’ts? Are you keeping score accurately? What is the prize you get when you have a perfect score?

Leading the Witness

Mark 10:17

      Have you ever buttered someone up before asking them a question for which you wanted a favorable answer? You put the big smile on your face and engage in small pleasantries before asking for that favor. Or maybe you just compliment them on something they are wearing, or on their work or support in the past. You purposely try to get them in a good mood, lift their spirits, before you ask.

      There isn’t anything necessarily wrong with this, except there is an element of manipulation in the actions. You can tell you are manipulating if these gestures only happen when you are trying to get something out of the other person. I think it is this personality shift that signals you are manipulating.

      I wonder if the man in our text was buttering Jesus up. He does run up to him, showing the urgency of his request, perhaps even some eagerness to get an answer. He then falls on his knees, a sign of submission. He is the lesser person kneeling before the greater, Jesus. Surely this would indicate at least he know to get his outward in line with his question. His outward actions certainly seem to show that he wants to know the answer to his question.

      If you were watching this man’s actions from a distance, it would seem as if he was getting it right. He didn’t come demanding an answer. He was, after all, a member of the wealthy class. He had certain standing in the community. People often provided him with what he needed. He could well afford to buy the best and demand the best service. If he didn’t like the way he was treated, he could take his business elsewhere. There were other people who would gladly take his money.

      And then he opens his mouth. On the surface these words don’t seem so bad. If they were asked to any ordinary teacher, they would be perfectly acceptable. Perhaps this man had asked this same question of all the influential teachers of his day. Maybe Jesus is just the next in the line of teachers. We don’t know. He does come to Jesus.

      It is interesting to see how he frames the question. He wants to know the ‘do’ of eternal life’s prerequisites. He has been taught all his life that if you do certain things, you are a shoe in for heaven. Just complete the right list of do’s and don’t’s and you get in. Is he looking for Jesus’ list?

      Were his actions rehearsed like the now famous rant, “What difference does it make?” Is he willing to take responsibility for his actions in the past, or will he just point fingers at others? Is his request genuine, or just another attempt at earning what can’t be earned?

Exchange Rate

Mark 7:6-8

      When you travel to a foreign country you often have to obtain some of the local currency. This isn’t usually a problem for us these days. You just go to the local ATM, put in your card and enter your PIN, and out comes local currency at the bank’s exchange rate. This exchange rate, the price of one currency paid for in another currency, is constantly changing. When you can purchase more of the local currency in your own money your purchasing power goes up. It becomes less expensive to visit. If you buy less with that same amount of your own money, things get relatively more expensive.

      When people exchange one thing for another there is always a risk. We do it every day when we use money. We exchange our labor for goods and services using money as the medium of that exchange. We work, they give us money, then we spend the money and get what we want and need. You give your money hoping that what you receive is worth what you paid. You just never know.

      The religious leaders of Jesus’ day were involved in an exchange that in the end would disappoint them. They would never get what they hoped for. Let’s take a look at their exchange.

      The religious leaders thought they could say the right things and keep a very strict set of rules and that would win them God’s favor. If they just said and did all the right things, then they would be in good with God. They thought their outward look would lock in their destiny.

      Jesus enters their lives. He flips everything they believe on its head. He is with His disciples and they are not keeping the carefully prescribed set of rules that govern daily life. They don’t ritually wash their hands after coming home from being among non-Jews. They don’t wash the religious contamination off. They just eat.

      Jesus begins to point out their hypocrisy by quoting the Old Testament prophet Isaiah. He was God’s spokesperson at a critical time in Israel’s history. And every one of these religious leaders would have recognized Jesus’ quote. And this quote goes right to the heart of the problem with any system that requires outward performance measures that validate a religious level of purity. They all fail.

      We can hide under our words. Politicians have perfected this art. They carefully craft their statements to ensure they have plenty of wiggle-room. Currently is seems as if all their hearts are bent on getting power and keeping power. They are not carrying out our wishes. They are doing “what’s best for us” in hopes we will like it enough to keep them in power. This attitude is very condescending. Since when do politicians know what is best for us! And then they have the gall to exempt themselves from this “best.”

      These religious leaders could only deal in one currency at a time. They either obeyed God or kept their own set of rules. They could not do both. We can’t do both either. We can either rely on our ability to do the right thing as a means to relationship with God, or we can rely on His ability to rescue us from our failure. We can’t hold onto both.