The True Believer
Truth Taught- The True believer follows Christ, teaches Christ and worships Christ
Mark wants to show us today that there are many people in Christian circles who look the part but are really not what they seem. He has taken an account of Jesus’ teaching and focuses on three types of people who looked genuine, the things they did seemed perhaps right to many but our Lord goes down past the surface and really digs up what’s beneath and once He exposes them, they are revealed to be vain hypocrites.
Apart from God working in our hearts and showing us what it means to be a follower of Christ, a teacher of Christ and thirdly, a worshipper of Christ, we might all gravitate to the place of these people in our text today. We can praise God today that He has shown us grace, given us His Holy Spirit and led us into a genuine relationship with Christ. So, unless God works, we will all at best be like the hypocrites here in our text today.
Matthew’s Gospel follows this same mode of thought that we find here in Mark. Let’s look today and see what God has for us in the Gospel of Mark. Here Jesus exposes vanity so that we can see how not to be.
My goal today is to look with you briefly at Superficial Followers, False Teachers, and Vain Worshippers and then see what real followers, real teachers and real worshippers look like. Then ask how do we line up? Then seek God and His grace if we are found lacking.
Mark 6:53–7:13 (ESV)
53 When they had crossed over, they came to land at Gennesaret and moored to the shore. 54 And when they got out of the boat, the people immediately recognized him 55 and ran about the whole region and began to bring the sick people on their beds to wherever they heard he was. 56 And wherever he came, in villages, cities, or countryside, they laid the sick in the marketplaces and implored him that they might touch even the fringe of his garment. And as many as touched it were made well.
7 Now when the Pharisees gathered to him, with some of the scribes who had come from Jerusalem, 2 they saw that some of his disciples ate with hands that were defiled, that is, unwashed. 3 (For the Pharisees and all the Jews do not eat unless they wash their hands properly, holding to the tradition of the elders, 4 and when they come from the marketplace, they do not eat unless they wash. And there are many other traditions that they observe, such as the washing of cups and pots and copper vessels and dining couches.) 5 And the Pharisees and the scribes asked him, “Why do your disciples not walk according to the tradition of the elders, but eat with defiled hands?” 6 And he said to them, “Well did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written,
“ ‘This people honors me with their lips,
but their heart is far from me;
7 in vain do they worship me,
teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’
8 You leave the commandment of God and hold to the tradition of men.”
9 And he said to them, “You have a fine way of rejecting the commandment of God in order to establish your tradition! 10 For Moses said, ‘Honor your father and your mother’; and, ‘Whoever reviles father or mother must surely die.’ 11 But you say, ‘If a man tells his father or his mother, “Whatever you would have gained from me is Corban” ’ (that is, given to God)— 12 then you no longer permit him to do anything for his father or mother, 13 thus making void the word of God by your tradition that you have handed down. And many such things you do.”
1. Superficial Followers (6:53-56)
53 When they had crossed over, they came to land at Gennesaret and moored to the shore. 54 And when they got out of the boat, the people immediately recognized him 55 and ran about the whole region and began to bring the sick people on their beds to wherever they heard he was. 56 And wherever he came, in villages, cities, or countryside, they laid the sick in the marketplaces and implored him that they might touch even the fringe of his garment. And as many as touched it were made well.
The news of Jesus’ healing power came to the region and everyone was excited that He had actually come into their land. Notice there was a very determined effort to seize this unexpected opportunity for healing. So, these people send word out for everyone to bring their sick so that Jesus could heal them. There was great expectation.
The people were convinced that if they could only get to Jesus and just touch the fringe of His garment they would be healed. So, we see this clamoring crowd in their feverish attitude to push their way through in their hysteria to touch Jesus.
This type of frenzy is why Jesus often avoided larger populated areas.
Mark 1:45 (ESV)
45 But he went out and began to talk freely about it, and to spread the news, so that Jesus could no longer openly enter a town, but was out in desolate places, and people were coming to him from every quarter.
Jesus shows us His amazing compassion even to those whose commitment to Him isn’t much. I mean they show some faith in that He was able to heal them by bringing their sick to Jesus but look with me that all they wanted was to touch His cloak and be healed. He could have thrown it out like a rock star and they could have passed it around and all who touched it would have been healed. It seems very impersonal, yet Jesus was merciful to them all.
Here, we should also notice that there is no mention of preaching or teaching of Jesus at all. This is important because all they really wanted was physical healing. They were not interested in anything spiritual. They were not interested in repentance or faith in Christ, just healing only. Just heal our sick, Jesus and You can leave.
They were superficial followers. They only wanted what they could get from Jesus such as health, a better quality of life, food. They really didn’t want Jesus just what Jesus could give them.
We must be cautious that we follow Christ because we love Him first and foremost and not all the benefits first and foremost.
So, we see this example of superficial followers. Let’s look to Jesus’ own definition of what a true follower looks like.
To truly follow Christ means He has become everything to us. Everyone follows something: friends, popular culture, family, selfish desires, or God. We can only follow one thing at a time (Matthew 6:24). God states we are to have no other gods before Him (Exodus 20:3; Deuteronomy 5:7; Mark 12:30). To truly follow Christ means we do not follow anything else. Jesus said in Luke 9:23, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me.” There is no such thing as a “halfway disciple.”
Matthew 10:34–39 (ESV)
34 “Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I have not come to bring peace, but a sword. 35 For I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. 36 And a person’s enemies will be those of his own household. 37 Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. 38 And whoever does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. 39 Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.
To follow Jesus means He is the One we worship, He is the One we learn from, He is the One who means more to us than anything else. It’s true, following Jesus has many benefits and we do enjoy them but the end is not the benefits but Christ Himself.
Are you a true follower of Christ or a superficial follower?
2. False Teachers (7:1-5)
7 Now when the Pharisees gathered to him, with some of the scribes who had come from Jerusalem, 2 they saw that some of his disciples ate with hands that were defiled, that is, unwashed. 3 (For the Pharisees and all the Jews do not eat unless they wash their hands properly, holding to the tradition of the elders, 4 and when they come from the marketplace, they do not eat unless they wash. And there are many other traditions that they observe, such as the washing of cups and pots and copper vessels and dining couches.) 5 And the Pharisees and the scribes asked him, “Why do your disciples not walk according to the tradition of the elders, but eat with defiled hands?”
False teachers inevitably add to God’s Word. Most often what is added are works and certain traditions that have influenced them in their lives. The Pharisees were guilty of both additions.
Here, Jesus specifically focuses on their adding tradition and teaching tradition as if it were God’s truth.
Jesus and His disciples did not practice ceremonial hand washing as was the tradition of the Elders, Pharisees and Scribes.
What is ceremonial hand washing?
Traditionally, Jews are required to wash their hands and say a blessing before eating any meal that included bread or matzah. The ritual, known as netilat yadayim, is typically done using a two-handled cup, but any vessel will do. There are various customs regarding how the water should be poured, but a common practice is to pour twice on the right hand followed by twice on the left (this is reversed for those who are left-handed). Hasidic custom is to pour three times on each hand.
Using the non-dominant hand to pour first can feel unnatural or awkward, highlighting that the washing is done for ritual rather than pragmatic purposes. The tradition is unrelated to personal hygiene, and a person is still required to perform this ritual even if his or her hands are clean. It is also customary not to speak following the recitation of this blessing until reciting the blessing for bread and partaking of some.
Often times the water used in this ceremony was itself dirty. This was in no way to actually clean your hands before a meal. The real issue Jesus had with this tradition was that the Pharisees and Scribes had elevated it to the same level as God’s Law in the Old Testament. In other words, they taught the people this as God’s Law.
Ceremonial washing was commanded by God for the Priests in the Tabernacle and later the Temple but not for Pharisees or anyone else. They had taken a command of God meant for the Priest only and said, well if God commands the priests to ceremonially wash to be rid of defilement, then we should too. This was then even commanded by the Pharisee for the people to do.
It usually works out that whenever tradition is set up to be on the same plane as God’s Word it’s the tradition that is taught more and God’s Word is neglected.
When we elevate tradition or any practice not found in the Bible to biblical status we are in danger and have opened ourselves to being misled and even attacked by Satan. This was Eve’s problem. She added to God’s Word and made obedience to God more difficult than it needed to be.
Genesis 3:1–3 (ESV)
3 Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the Lord God had made.
He said to the woman, “Did God actually say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree in the garden’?” 2 And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden, 3 but God said, ‘You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the midst of the garden, neither shall you touch it, lest you die.’ ”
God never said don’t touch it. That might be a good rule but it is not what God said. We cannot make the Bible say things it does not say and we must affirm all it does say.
In our day the Catholic Church has elevated tradition and the Pope to a status on the same level as the Bible. As usually happens, it’s much easier to have the Pope tell you what to believe and do rather than to read the Bible for yourself so then that’s what the people do. Now, the Pope and tradition have taken even a higher position than the Bible.
A true Teacher of God’s Word must steer clear of adding anything to the Scriptures. He must teach in such a way as to allow the Bible to dictate what we believe and add nothing to it.
This is why we seek to practice Expository Preaching here at our Church. That is the best way to safeguard that the Scriptures and not man’s traditions take first place. True teachers of the Word must teach the hard truths as well as the easier truths. There are some things God’s Word tells us that are not popular and don’t sit well with people but we still must teach those things.
Superficial Followers and False Teachers will always lead to Vain Worship because only true followers under true teaching can truly worship.
3. Vain Worshippers (7:6-13)
6 And he said to them, “Well did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written,
“ ‘This people honors me with their lips,
but their heart is far from me;
7 in vain do they worship me,
teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’
8 You leave the commandment of God and hold to the tradition of men.”
9 And he said to them, “You have a fine way of rejecting the commandment of God in order to establish your tradition! 10 For Moses said, ‘Honor your father and your mother’; and, ‘Whoever reviles father or mother must surely die.’ 11 But you say, ‘If a man tells his father or his mother, “Whatever you would have gained from me is Corban” ’ (that is, given to God)— 12 then you no longer permit him to do anything for his father or mother, 13 thus making void the word of God by your tradition that you have handed down. And many such things you do.”
These Scribes and Pharisees saw their traditions as means to worship God. They twisted God’s commands to their own benefit. The command to honor parents comes with many different nuances. There are times when this is easy and times when it is difficult. What does it mean to honor your parents? Love them, pray for them, show respect, and in their old age especially in the ancient world, help them.
We are called to honor our parents as much as we can. Sometimes based on their actions, this honoring may in fact be limited. For example, in the case of unconverted parents, we cannot honor them like we could saved parents. Our Lord has told us that to follow Him will sometimes mean there is a great rift in the family. That parents may even be enemies because the children desire to follow Christ and not their parents. So, this honoring looks different from case to case…but we honor them as much as we can, showing them respect where we can.
The Pharisees had developed a system where they could get out of helping their elderly parents by taking the money, they may have given them and declared it to be slated to be given to God.
Jesus is quoting Isaiah 29:13. The context of that passage is the religious leaders have been going through the motions of worshipping God; they are looking the part but it’s all an act. Because of their hypocrisy God hides His truth from them. Isaiah writes that God’s Word becomes like a book they can’t get open because it’s locked shut or it’s like handing someone a book who can’t read. Either way they cannot access the truth within.
Because they have for so long held up man’s tradition on the level of God’s Word and even used their tradition to nullify God’s Word, God has closed their minds to its truth.
Isaiah and Jesus both say that they pretend to be religious but their hearts are far from God and all the things they do that look like worship are simply a waste of time.
The emphasis we place on God’s Word greatly affects our understanding of God’s Word and greatly affects our worship of God.
A judgment of God for sin is the sinner cannot understand God’s Word and cannot worship God rightly and/or acceptably.
The vain worshipper often can say and even do right things. However, down deep they really don’t love God. As the quote from Isaiah goes…
“ ‘This people honors me with their lips,
but their heart is far from me;
7 in vain do they worship me,
teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’
Before anything else, the true worshipper’s heart is fixed to Christ. He alone is our treasure and He alone is our Lord. Many today, as with the Scribes and Pharisees in Jesus’ day, go through the motions of worship without the heart worshipping Christ.
The Apostle Paul gives us a picture of the true worshipper…
Romans 12:1–2 (ESV)
12 I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. 2 Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.
True worship is not confined to what we do in church (although these things are both good, and we are told in the Bible to do them). True worship is the acknowledgment of God and all His power and glory in everything we do. The highest form of praise and worship is obedience to Him and His Word. To do this, we must know God; we cannot be ignorant of Him (Acts 17:23). Worship is to glorify and exalt God—to show our loyalty and admiration to our Father.
How is your worship? Is your heart (your mind, emotions, being) praising and glorifying God through Jesus Christ? Or is your worship simply going through the motions and vain actions?
Conclusion
We learned today the difference between
Superficial Follower and a True Follower- The Superficial Follower just wants what Jesus can give them a True Follower desires Jesus more than the benefits.
Luke 9:23, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me
False Teacher and a True Teacher- The False Teacher adds other things to God’s Word such as human tradition while the True Teacher teaches God’s Word without adding to it. They teach the hard passages as well as the easy passages.
Vain Worshipper and a True Worshipper- The Vain Worshipper simply looks the part and goes through the motions but their hearts have no real affection for Jesus. The True Worshipper glorifies their Lord and Savior Jesus Christ because they truly love Him and their hearts are fixed to Him.
I pray you are a True Follower, True Teacher, and a True Worshipper
Resources Used:
Mark by William Lane
Mark by J C Ryle
Words of grace
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