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.”
Tradition is a powerful thing. It gives a common ground for us to pull from and stand upon. We form traditions because they simplify things and because they make us feel like one group. Traditions are not a universally bad thing.
But here, here we have Jesus telling people off for using traditions. It is not because they are traditions, no. It is because they conflict with the Word of God.
The Word of God is given to us as a strategy guide and rubric to live by. It gives case studies, rules, best practices, exceptions and demands. It offers promises and blessings to those who know about them, and gives warnings and cautions for those who don’t heed its words.
When Christ says “making void the word of God by your tradition” what he is saying is that you are destroying the relationship with God people form through following it by binding them in tradition. He contrasts the Pharisees teachings with the scriptures, making it clear where the discrepancy he is holding a problem with lies.
Now in my own life, I have encountered this in churches. Where people undermine the promises and commands of God by utilizing tradition. “We don’t dance in church” “We know that at one time spiritual gifts were a thing, but we don’t believe that happens any more” “We don’t ask for the holy spirit” “We don’t do baptism” “We don’t do communion” on and on. Now on the other hand, often times we see churches adding additional barriers to coming to god “You aren’t saved unless…” “You must pray to the saints” “You must attend a membership class” etc.
Now, I’m not saying that all of these things are equally bad, or even that they all explicitly change the gospel or commandments in a fundamental way. Earlier today I was listening to a sermon on this exact passage1 and the pastor brought up four fundamental sentences to what the gospel is. I summarized them for myself as
God created the world and humanity for us to obey and worship him
We rebelled and the price of rebellion is death
God so loved us that he sent his son to die in our place
Therefore, whomever seek repetence shall be made whole and reunited with God
Any tradition which changes any of these four makes the whole gospel void. There is no adjusting or changing any of these which will allow you to be one with God. I’m not fond of using categories for sin, but if ever there was a mortal sin, changing these through tradition is one. Better a millstone about your neck and to be cast into the sea than to change one (or more) of those four sentences.
But it doesn’t stop with those four. The Ten Commandments are not to be changed, lest you lead someone away from Christ. The promises and blessings laid out shalt not be changed. You are promised spiritual gifts. Don’t let tradition rob you! You are promised spiritual fruit. Do not be deprived.
Last week, I somewhat jokingly shared "Who among you, when your child asks to paint minis with you, will ignore him? How much more will your father in heaven reward requests for his attention?" in a couple of communities. Now this is a take on some very famous scripture, but I’m playing on it by aligning with it. The promise is God is Generous. Don’t let yourself be stolen from by tradition. Believe in his word, and measure your traditions by that ruler and that scale. God is Good, and his promises endure forever. Don’t be swept up by traditions established by some pastor or priest some years ago. Stand firm on the word of god and it shall not lead you astray.
Peace of Christ
-Wo’ah the Wise
I’m writing this because I was challenged to from listening to that sermon and suggesting I’ve heard it enough to give an equivalent sermon
Well said Woah. Much of what is happening in the "American" church has me saddened. We burden ourselves with additional teachings, but utterly fail to properly apply what is already laid clear in the scriptures.