Sermon: Secular Pharisees (Mark 6:45-7:13)

Secular Pharisees
Sunday, August 6th, 2023
Christ Covenant Church – Centralia, WA

Mark 6:45-7:13

45 And straightway he constrained his disciples to get into the ship, and to go to the other side before unto Bethsaida, while he sent away the people. 46 And when he had sent them away, he departed into a mountain to pray. 47 And when even was come, the ship was in the midst of the sea, and he alone on the land. 48 And he saw them toiling in rowing; for the wind was contrary unto them: and about the fourth watch of the night he cometh unto them, walking upon the sea, and would have passed by them. 49 But when they saw him walking upon the sea, they supposed it had been a spirit, and cried out: 50 For they all saw him, and were troubled. And immediately he talked with them, and saith unto them, Be of good cheer: it is I; be not afraid. 51 And he went up unto them into the ship; and the wind ceased: and they were sore amazed in themselves beyond measure, and wondered. 52 For they considered not the miracle of the loaves: for their heart was hardened.

53 And when they had passed over, they came into the land of Gennesaret, and drew to the shore. 54 And when they were come out of the ship, straightway they knew him, 55 And ran through that whole region round about, and began to carry about in beds those that were sick, where they heard he was. 56 And whithersoever he entered, into villages, or cities, or country, they laid the sick in the streets, and besought him that they might touch if it were but the border of his garment: and as many as touched him were made whole.

7 Then came together unto him the Pharisees, and certain of the scribes, which came from Jerusalem. 2 And when they saw some of his disciples eat bread with defiled, that is to say, with unwashen, hands, they found fault. 3 For the Pharisees, and all the Jews, except they wash their hands oft, eat not, holding the tradition of the elders. 4 And when they come from the market, except they wash, they eat not. And many other things there be, which they have received to hold, as the washing of cups, and pots, brasen vessels, and of tables. 5 Then the Pharisees and scribes asked him, Why walk not thy disciples according to the tradition of the elders, but eat bread with unwashen hands? 6 He answered and said unto them, Well hath Esaias prophesied of you hypocrites, as it is written, This people honoureth me with their lips, but their heart is far from me. 7 Howbeit in vain do they worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men. 8 For laying aside the commandment of God, ye hold the tradition of men, as the washing of pots and cups: and many other such like things ye do. 9 And he said unto them, Full well ye reject the commandment of God, that ye may keep your own tradition. 10 For Moses said, Honour thy father and thy mother; and, Whoso curseth father or mother, let him die the death: 11 But ye say, If a man shall say to his father or mother, It is Corban, that is to say, a gift, by whatsoever thou mightest be profited by me; he shall be free. 12 And ye suffer him no more to do ought for his father or his mother; 13 Making the word of God of none effect through your tradition, which ye have delivered: and many such like things do ye.

Prayer

O Father your Word says that where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. Father, we confess that our churches, our cities, our state and our nation, has walked contrary to Your Spirit, we have grieved Your Spirit, we have hardened our hearts against Your Spirit and so we are in bondage to sin. Grant us deliverance we ask. Give us life from the dead, for we ask this in Jesus name, and Amen.

Introduction

Last week we saw Jesus perform the miracle of feeding 5,000 men. What began with five loaves and two fishes, concluded with thousands of full bellies, and twelve disciples each with his own personal take-home basket. We saw in this miracle that while bread and fish can feed a man’s body, only the Eternal Word from the Father, can feed a man’s soul. And unlike bread and fish which perish in the using, the teaching of Christ is imperishable, unlimited, and infinitely valuable, for it shows us the way to God.

Now in every miracle that Jesus performs, there is a sign and there is a thing signified. Miracles are living parables that have a surface or external meaning, which is usually pretty obvious (ex. multiplying loaves, calming the sea, casting out a demon, etc.), but only those with living faith, “eyes to see, and ears to hear,” can understand their significance.

• As the Apostle Paul says in 2 Corinthians 3:6, “the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.”
• In other words, you could be standing in front of Jesus, listening to him teach, you could be like the disciples, watching him heal the sick, raise the dead, and walk upon the waves, and yet still not recognize who He is.
• So far in Mark’s Gospel, nobody understands who Jesus is. They might recognize Him as a great prophet, as a great teacher, as a mighty worker of miracles, but none of them see that this is God in the flesh.
• Our text this morning continues the same theme and gives us three different groups of people who encounter Jesus but continue to not see Him as He is.

Outline

• In verses 45-52, the disciples continue to not understand, their heart is hardened.
• In verses 53-56, the crowds continue to seek Jesus, but only for their bodily/physical needs.
• In verses 1-13 of chapter 7, the scribes and Pharisees continue to make themselves look silly by arguing with God.
• Starting in verse 45, let us walk through our text.

Verses 45-46

45 And straightway he constrained his disciples to get into the ship, and to go to the other side before unto Bethsaida, while he sent away the people. 46 And when he had sent them away, he departed into a mountain to pray.

• So Jesus has fed the sheep, he has taught them and given them food, and now he sends them away. And the purpose for sending his disciples on ahead of him, is so that he can be alone to pray.
• In that Jesus is Divine, he has no need to pray, for He is the God who answers prayer. But by this human action we are given an example of what is most needful as humans. We need solitude, we need elevation, we need quietness of mind. We need sanctuary.
  • When God talked to Moses, where was it? Upon a mountain (Ex. 3). When God talked to Elijah, where was it? Upon a mountain (1 Kings 19). What is the tabernacle and temple, but symbolic mountains? They are the high points, the high places where sacrifice is offered, where heaven meets earth, and God comes down to speak with us.
• What Jesus does physically in ascending the mountain, all of us are called to do spiritually.
  • This is why Paul says in Colossians 3, “seek those things which are above…set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth.”
  • This is what Jesus is teaching us by his actions, he sends everyone away, and “departs into a mountain to pray.”
  • Send away the crowds of thoughts, put off the carnal man, and put on the Lord Jesus, ascend with him to prayer.

Verses 47-50

47 And when even was come, the ship was in the midst of the sea, and he alone on the land. 48 And he saw them toiling in rowing; for the wind was contrary unto them: and about the fourth watch of the night (that is between 3am-6am) he cometh unto them, walking upon the sea, and would have passed by them. 49 But when they saw him walking upon the sea, they supposed it had been a spirit, and cried out: 50 For they all saw him, and were troubled. And immediately he talked with them, and saith unto them, Be of good cheer: it is I; be not afraid.

• So Jesus is alone on the mountain to pray, and he is there from the evening until the early morning hours. And when the fourth watch had come (that is, the last watch before morning light) he sees the disciples toiling in rowing. The wind is fighting them. And so “he cometh unto them.”
• It says in Psalm 102:19, “The LORD hath looked down from the height of his sanctuary,” and therefore, Jesus looking down upon his struggling disciples, descends the mountain, and walks upon the sea.
• Who is this man that he has such power?
  • A pious Jew would recognize that walking upon the sea is something only God does.
  • It says in Job 9:8, “He alone spreadeth out the heavens, And treadeth upon the waves of the sea.”
  • Job 41 says that God, “draws out the great sea dragon with a hook,” and “plays with Leviathan as with a bird.”
  • Psalm 74:13 says, “He breaks the heads of the dragons in the waters.”
• So who is Jesus, if God alone “treadeth upon the waves of the sea?” He is the Lord. The Creator. The ruler over all.
• And if walking upon the sea was not enough to make this plain, Mark draws our attention to two other things that reveals Jesus’ divine identity.
  • First, it says in verse 48, that Jesus “would have passed by them.” That is, just as the glory of God was revealed and passed by Moses on the mountain (Ex. 33), so also Jesus passes by his disciples.
    • And whereas God said to Moses, “thou shalt see my back parts: but my face shall not be seen,” to the disciples, God reveals his very face, it is the face of Jesus Christ.
    • This is the irony. Although they see the physical face of Jesus, they do not perceive that this is the glory of God. That kind of perception requires a different kind of sight, which we call the light of faith.
    • Paul says in 2 Cor. 4:6, “For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.”
    • So at this point in Jesus ministry, the disciples see, but do not see. They are looking at the face of God and don’t even realize.
  • Second, Mark draws our attention to what Jesus says to the disciples before he gets into the boat. In verse 50, Jesus says, “Be of good cheer: it is I; be not afraid.”
    • This phrase, “it is I,” in Greek is “ἐγώ εἰμι,” “I AM.” Which should remind us of God’s personal name, “I AM THAT I AM” (Gk. Ἐγώ εἰμι ὁ ὤν).
    • So Jesus is hinting at, if not outright revealing, that He is the great I AM, who revealed Himself to Moses at the burning bush.
    • The disciples, however, do not perceive this. They are like Eliphaz, one of Job’s worthless counselors who says, “the spirit passed before my face…but I could not discern the form thereof” (Job 4:15).

Verses 51-52

51 And he went up unto them into the ship; and the wind ceased: and they were sore amazed in themselves beyond measure, and wondered. 52 For they considered not the miracle of the loaves: for their heart was hardened.

• Notice that amazement and wonder is not the same thing as having true and saving faith. You can be amazed by the miracles of Jesus, you can be impressed by his teaching and power, and yet have a heart as hard as Pharoah. The disciples then are in dangerous territory. Like Pharoah they have seen signs and wonders firsthand, they have as Hebrews 6:5 says, “tasted the good Word of God, and powers of the age to come.”
• But despite this close and up-front experience, Mark says, “they considered not the miracle of the loaves,”that is they failed to perceive that Jesus is God when he multiplied loaves and fishes. And now, again, they fail to perceive that Jesus is God, when he walks upon the sea.
• The exhortation for us then is summed up by Hebrews 3:12, “Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the living God.”
• Many people have found themselves amazed and impressed by Jesus, amazed and impressed even by the Christian religion and what is wrought in the Western world. But admiration and respect for Jesus, is not the same thing as true belief. It is not the same thing as love for God.
• So take heed brother and sisters, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief.
• In verses 53-56, we see the crowds coming again to Jesus for healing. This itself is a multiplication of what we saw back in chapter 5, when Jesus came into the region of the Gadarenes (Mark 5:1). There a demoniac came running to him and found healing, and now the crowds come running bringing the sick.

Verses 53-56

53 And when they had passed over, they came into the land of Gennesaret, and drew to the shore. 54 And when they were come out of the ship, straightway they knew him, 55 And ran through that whole region round about, and began to carry about in beds those that were sick, where they heard he was. 56 And whithersoever he entered, into villages, or cities, or country, they laid the sick in the streets, and besought him that they might touch if it were but the border of his garment: and as many as touched him were made whole.

• This section sets up a contrast between the masses who are sick (and know it) and therefore Jesus makes them whole. And the Pharisees, who think they are healthy, clean, holy, and therefore criticize Jesus for not washing his hands.
  • One group knows they are physically sick, and therefore receive physical healing.
  • The other group (the scribes and Pharisees) are physically clean but spiritually they are sick, and do not realize it.
  • Both of these groups have the same problem in that they do not recognize their true need. Physical healing is great, but what they really need is spiritual healing, the forgiveness of sins. Washing your hands before you eat is a good and fine tradition, but washing your heart is infinitely more important.
  • Like the disciples, both of these groups see the sign, but not the thing signified. They see Christ’s power, but not His purpose for revealing that power.
• So as we get into chapter 7, verses 1-13, we launch into a debate over tradition and authority. What is the place of tradition in relation to God’s Word?
• In verses 1-5, the Pharisees pose a question, and in verses 6-13, Jesus gives his response.

Verses 1-5 – The Pharisees’ Question

Then came together unto him the Pharisees, and certain of the scribes, which came from Jerusalem. 2 And when they saw some of his disciples eat bread with defiled, that is to say, with unwashen, hands, they found fault. 3 For the Pharisees, and all the Jews, except they wash their hands oft, eat not, holding the tradition of the elders. 4 And when they come from the market, except they wash, they eat not. And many other things there be, which they have received to hold, as the washing of cups, and pots, brasen vessels, and of tables. 5 Then the Pharisees and scribes asked him, Why walk not thy disciples according to the tradition of the elders, but eat bread with unwashen hands?

• The theological position of the Pharisees was that Israel was called by God to be a holy people, but because of their unholiness, God had judged them. And this is true insofar as it goes.
• However, the Pharisees erred in two major places as Jesus will show.
  • First, they did not understand the nature of true holiness. They equated external cleanliness with internal cleanliness, and therefore only had the appearance of godliness without the substance.
  • And second, they misapplied the law of God. They took a true command that was unique to the priests at the Tabernacle and applied it to the whole nation, and enforced as if it had Divine warrant.
• This tradition of washing hands before eating appearsto have its roots in Exodus 30:19-21 which says,
  • “For Aaron and his sons shall wash their hands and their feet [in the bronze laver]: 20 When they go into the tabernacle of the congregation, they shall wash with water, that they die not; or when they come near to the altar to minister, to burn offering made by fire unto the Lord: 21 So they shall wash their hands and their feet, that they die not: and it shall be a statute for ever to them, even to him and to his seed throughout their generations.”
• So while it is certainly no sin to wash your hands before you eat, it is a great sin to treat a voluntary custom as if it is equal to the Ten Commandments.
• And what Jesus exposes in the Pharisees is that human beings care far more about looking righteous than being righteous.Mankind has an incessant need to justify himself in the eyes of others, and so we invent laws and customs and regulations that give us the appearance of godliness, without ourselves being godly.
• Let us watch how Jesus exposes this.

Verses 6-13 – Jesus’ Response

6 He answered and said unto them, Well hath Esaias prophesied of you hypocrites, as it is written, This people honoureth me with their lips, but their heart is far from me. 7 Howbeit in vain do they worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men. 8 For laying aside the commandment of God, ye hold the tradition of men, as the washing of pots and cups: and many other such like things ye do. 9 And he said unto them, Full well ye reject the commandment of God, that ye may keep your own tradition. 10 For Moses said, Honour thy father and thy mother; and, Whoso curseth father or mother, let him die the death: 11 But ye say, If a man shall say to his father or mother, It is Corban, that is to say, a gift, by whatsoever thou mightest be profited by me; he shall be free. 12 And ye suffer him no more to do ought for his father or his mother; 13 Making the word of God of none effect through your tradition, which ye have delivered: and many such like things do ye.

• Jesus goes for the jugular here and minces no words with the Pharisees.
• He meets them on their own turf by quoting the authority that they claim to hold in highest esteem, Moses.
  • For Moses said, “Honor thy father and thy mother.” But notice, Jesus stops there, he does not give the full citation which is, “that thy days may be long upon the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee.”
  • Instead of giving the promise for keeping the 5th commandment, Jesus inserts the penalty for breaking the 5th commandment, also from Moses.
    • Exodus 21:17, “And he that curseth his father, or his mother, shall surely be put to death.”
• So Jesus gives two witnesses from their highest authority, Moses. And then he proceeds to demonstrate that they are guilty of breaking God’s law, and according to Moses, should be put to death.
  • The example Jesus gives is that instead of providing financial support to their aging parents, they write it off as Corban (a gift). In other words, they have the wealth to support their needy parents, but they give it to their buddies at the Temple instead, using God as their “tax shelter.”
  • Why can’t they help their mother and father, why can’t they give them honor? Because they must honor God above them. You can see how holy this sounds. And Jesus says, you deserve to die for this.
  • Not only are you breaking the 5th commandment by not giving your parents honor, you are blaspheming the name of God by invoking Him as your excuse.
• So Jesus hangs them by their own principles. If Moses is the highest authority in your tradition, well according to Moses you deserve to die.
• This is the threat and warning Jesus gives them when he says, “This people honoureth me with their lips, but their heart is far from me.”
  • He is quoting Isaiah 29:13, which is a prophesy of Jerusalem’s destruction.
  • Just as God destroyed Jerusalem for idolatry in 586, so also the Son of Man will destroy Jerusalem in 70 AD.
    • Why? Because “in vain do they worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.”

Conclusion

There are a multitude of applications we could make from this passage, but I will limit myself to just one.

• We are presently governed by Secular Pharisees (hypocrites) because there is still a little Pharisee inside all of us. Satan was the original Pharisee, he wanted to make the rules instead of following God’s rules, and ever since Adam and Eve heeded the voice of the serpent, we have been inventing and enforcing false versions of godliness, false versions of righteousness.
  • What were the Covid restrictions but Militant Secular Pharisaism?
  • Our government worships itself, their prophet was Dr. Fauci, and the CDC was their divine lawgiver. And if you did not sanitize sufficiently, or mask up, or keep your 6 feet of distance, you were not keeping the laws of cleanliness. You were unclean.
  • They shut down churches, they locked up pastors, they prevented family members from seeing their loved ones in the hospital, and all in the name of “public safety.” Because they care about your wellbeing. This is the hypocrisy we are ruled by.
  • God makes it very clear in Scripture, that when you worship idols, you get the bondage of bureaucracy. Proverbs 28:2 says, “When a land transgresses, it has many rulers.”
  • If we as a nation, continue to harden our hearts against God, we will continue to be governed by Pharisees. The kind of Pharisees that Jesus denounces saying, “They tie up heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on people’s shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to move them with their finger.”
• If you don’t want to be ruled by Pharisees, crucify the Pharisee in your own heart. It’s not hard to spot a Pharisee out there, it is very hard to kill the Pharisee in here. But this is what Christ calls us to do.
• Our old man deserves to die. All of us have broken all of the commandments. And this is exactly why God came to earth in Jesus Christ. This is why Jesus is walking on water, healing the sick, and arguing with Pharisees. It is because he loves them.
  • Jesus loves his hard-hearted disciples, and eventually he will open their eyes.
  • Jesus loves the crowds coming to him for healing like sheep without a shepherd, and eventually he will save their souls.
  • Jesus loves even the Pharisees, and he is going to take their best and brightest, a man named Saul of Tarsus, and turn him into an Apostle.
• So while it may seem bleak out there (and it really is) and wicked in here (which all of us must fight against), Jesus has the power to make us actually holy, actually righteous, and that is what his death and resurrection offers to all.
• In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Ghost. Amen.