Daily Devotions

Mark

Mark 
Day 
Day 157

2 Peter 1:7 "To brotherly kindness love"

Day 157 – Mark 7

“To brotherly kindness love” 2 Peter 1:7

UNVEILING THE SPIRIT OF THE SCRIBES AND PHARISEES

Jesus’ defence was masterful in more ways than one. Let us evaluate the significance of His defence.

1. The authority of the scribes and Pharisees was weakened

a) They were publicly shown down!
b) The basis of their appeal (the tradition of the elders) was shown to be nothing more than man-made laws, which had no divine authority behind it at all.

2. The scribes and Pharisees were exposed in the worst possible way

a) They were described as “hypocrites”.
i) They were merely pretenders.
ii) They may have wanted to appear holy and righteous, but they were not.
b) The prophetic Scriptures were applied to them forcibly.
Jesus masterfully and correctly applied this prophetic word from the Book of Isaiah to the scribes and the Pharisees. Four things were highlighted:-
i) Honour from the lips
What was the worth of giving lip-worship? Answer- “Nothing!”
ii) Hearts far from the Lord
What was the true state of the heart of the scribes and Pharisees? The fact was that their hearts were not in the right place. Their hearts had gone far away from the Lord!
iii) Vanity of their worship
The detractors of Jesus might have liked to portray themselves as people who truly worshiped God by keeping the traditions of the elders! Jesus dismissed their attempts as “vanity”.
iv) Teaching the doctrines of men
How could the scribes and Pharisees not have known what Moses clearly warned Israel not to do! They were not to add or subtract from the written word given to them (Cf. Deuteronomy 4:2)! Yet, here they were, appealing to the traditions of the elders, as if these doctrines came from the Lord Himself! The doctrines of men will never be on par in authority with the written Scriptures!