Let's bow our heads for prayer.
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Our Father and our God, what
a joy it is to be here for this
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very special
presentation on Mark 7:1-13.
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Lord we need the
guidance of Your Holy Spirit
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as we open Your Word.
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So we ask for Your presence
through the ministry of the
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Spirit and the angels.
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Give us understanding.
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And I ask, Lord, that not only
will You give us understanding,
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but You will give us the
willingness to follow Your Word
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as the only
standard in our lives.
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And we thank You for hearing
our prayer for we ask it in
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Jesus' name, Amen.
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In our last study together
I read a series of quotations
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from Flavius Josephus,
the great Jewish historian,
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who was born in the year 37 A.D.
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I read some statements
from Marcel Semo, a Jew,
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and also from George Foot
Moore, from his monumental work,
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Judaism, which is
composed of two volumes.
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And the central theme of those
quotations had to do with the
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Jewish view of
tradition in the days of Christ.
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What I'd like to begin with this
evening is reviewing what we
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studied last night about
the Jewish view of tradition.
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If you remember, there are three
main elements that are contained
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in their view of tradition:
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1. They believe that there was
a deposit of tradition that was
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composed of the writings of
Moses, as well as certain oral
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traditions that Moses
received on Mount Sinai
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which were not written down.
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So there was the deposit
that contained the written Word,
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as well as the
unwritten traditions.
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The second point that we noticed
is that there needed to be
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a way of
transmitting this information
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from generation to generation;
a transmitting mechanism.
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And the reason why is because
in the process of transmission,
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particularly oral traditions,
or unwritten traditions,
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have a way of changing.
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And so there needed to be a way
in which these traditions could
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be passed along in
a trustworthy way from
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generation to generation.
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And, of course, this
required an unbroken succession
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of religious scholars who
would pass on the information
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from one generation to the
next in unbroken succession.
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And then we noticed
also that at each stage,
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at each generation, it was
necessary to have a living,
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teaching office, or a
magisterium composed of a group
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of scholars who were experts
in infallibly explaining,
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amplifying, applying, and
even bringing forth new truths
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from the oral deposit of
tradition that had supposedly
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been given to
Moses at Mount Sinai.
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So, basically, we have
these three elements of Jewish
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tradition in the days of Christ:
The deposit composed of the
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written word, the writings of
Moses, and the oral traditions
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that God supposedly
gave to Moses on Mount Sinai
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which were not written.
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Secondly a transmitting
mechanism, unbroken succession
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handing along not only the
written word, but handing along
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also the oral traditions
in a trustworthy fashion.
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And in each generation a living,
teaching, office that could say
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whether a certain
tradition was genuine or not.
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And they would take these
traditions and they would apply
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them to daily life
at each generation.
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Now the key words that
are used to describe this
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are the following: tradition,
receive, pass on, hold.
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Whenever you find these four
words you know that the Bible
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is describing this process
that the Jews believed in
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in the
transmission of tradition.
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Once again, the key
words are tradition, receive,
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pass on, and hold.
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Now I'd like to read a
statement from the Talmud.
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That was a compilation of
all of the oral traditions.
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It was actually put together
after the times of Christ,
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but most of it existed
before the times of Christ.
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And in a book in the Talmud,
which is called Pirkei Avot,
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which means the sayings
of the fathers, in chapter 1,
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and verses 1 and 2, we find
a description of this process
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of transmission. It says
there, Moses received the Torah,
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that is the written
law, the five books of Moses.
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Moses received... Notice
the key word received, right?
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The Torah, that is the law.
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And passed it on...
There's another one of the
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very key expressions.
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...passed it on...
There's the expression again.
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The Great Assembly, of course,
is the group of scholars that
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came into existence
after the Babylonian captivity.
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Now verse 3 of Pirkei Avot
states that the last scholar
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of the Great Assembly
was called Simon the Just.
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And then in verses 4 to 13
we find a list of 6 pairs of
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scholars that come after
the time of Simon the Just.
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And this list of scholars
culminates with the names of
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two individuals which were
known in the days of Christ.
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Their names were Shammai
and Hillel, two great Jewish
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scholars in the days of Christ.
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So basically what we have
here is a process of passing on
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tradition from Moses to Joshua,
to the elders, the elders to the
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prophets, the prophets to
the men of the Great Assembly,
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the last man of the Great
Assembly was Simon the Just.
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Then you have six pairs
of scholars that culminate
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with Shammai and
Hillel in the days of Christ.
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In other words, not only was
the written Word passed along
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throughout each generation,
but all of these oral traditions
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were supposedly kept
pure as they were passed along
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from one generation to the
next in unbroken succession.
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Now it's interesting that in
those verses, verses 4 to 13,
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the expression
passed on is used twice.
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And the word received is used
seven times in those verses.
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I want you to remember those
terms because we're going to
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come back to them in a few
moments when we discuss Mark 7.
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Now in the Exegetical Dictionary
of the New Testament we find
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these words about this process
of transmission of tradition.
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It says there: The absolute
authority of the tradition...
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In other words, what gave
these traditions authority was
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the belief that these had
been passed along in unbroken
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derivation from the
times of Moses all the way
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till the days of Christ.
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Now we've been
studying a theoretical concept.
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What we want to do in the next
few minutes is take a look at a
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passage that we find in the
gospel of Mark that illustrates
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in living color how this
idea actually was applied
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in real life situations.
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So what I want to do is
read Mark 7:1-13 so that we get
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the view of what we're going
to discuss, so that we have it
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in our minds, and then
we're going to take this passage
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verse by verse, and we're
going to explain it. Mark 7:1:
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Remember these are the
ones that believed in this
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concept of tradition.
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That is some of
Jesus' disciples.
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And then we have
this explanation:
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Now here we have
one of those key words.
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Here's another key word.
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Verse 4:
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Now what's the next word?
00:10:02.16\00:10:03.23
Do you see the
terminology that is used here?
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There it is again!
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Now here comes the
key word again. You what?
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And then again the key word.
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Here's the word again.
00:11:11.43\00:11:12.46
And now Jesus is going to
give an example of how they
00:11:13.95\00:11:17.85
stick to tradition instead
of to the written Word of God.
00:11:17.88\00:11:20.71
Notice what it says in verse 10.
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That's a quotation from the
writings of Moses. Verse 11.
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In other words in
contrast to Moses you say...
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Now lets examine this passage
verse by verse and try and
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determine the meaning of
what Jesus is saying to these
00:12:17.19\00:12:22.51
religious leaders in His day.
00:12:22.54\00:12:24.15
So lets go to verse 1 where
it says, Then the Pharisees,
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and some of the
scribes, came together to Him
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having come from Jerusalem.
00:12:31.94\00:12:34.98
Now the question is,
why did these individuals
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come from Jerusalem?
00:12:38.16\00:12:39.19
Why did the Pharisees and
the scribes come from Jerusalem?
00:12:39.22\00:12:42.65
In the Review and Herald,
March 8, 1898, Ellen White
00:12:42.68\00:12:47.30
explains the reason why
these individuals were sent.
00:12:47.33\00:12:51.38
This is how she explains it.
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In other words this group.
00:12:55.13\00:12:56.35
In other words they were spying
Jesus out to find some reason
00:13:07.48\00:13:12.39
to accuse Jesus Christ.
00:13:12.42\00:13:14.45
Now the question is,
who were these leaders?
00:13:14.48\00:13:17.48
Let me give you a summary of the
types of people that they were,
00:13:17.51\00:13:21.46
these scribes and Pharisees.
00:13:21.49\00:13:23.20
First of all, we know that these
individuals loved to receive
00:13:23.23\00:13:29.39
recognition from the multitudes.
00:13:29.42\00:13:31.68
In fact their religion consisted
mostly of externals with the
00:13:31.71\00:13:36.81
purpose of
impressing the populous.
00:13:36.84\00:13:39.65
We know, according to Jesus,
if you read this in Matthew 23:7
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that they really
enjoyed, and relished the idea
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of being called
Rabbi or teacher.
00:13:48.80\00:13:51.70
They also loved to be called
Father, interestingly enough.
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In fact, this led Jesus to say
in Matthew 23:9, Don't call any
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man on earth your father,
because you have only one
00:14:03.08\00:14:05.82
Father, your God
who is in heaven.
00:14:06.40\00:14:08.67
Also we find in Matthew
23:14 that Jesus described these
00:14:08.70\00:14:13.85
religious leaders as
devouring the material
00:14:13.88\00:14:17.01
possessions of the widows.
00:14:17.04\00:14:18.57
In other words,
they were greedy.
00:14:18.60\00:14:20.66
Also Jesus said in Matthew 6:5,
6, as well as Matthew 23:14,
00:14:20.69\00:14:29.90
that these individuals
loved to utter long prayers,
00:14:29.93\00:14:35.83
repetitious prayers to impress
the people with their piety.
00:14:35.86\00:14:40.11
And they loved to give alms in
public so that people believed
00:14:40.14\00:14:45.62
that they were
extremely religious.
00:14:45.65\00:14:47.53
These are the types of people
that Jesus was dealing with
00:14:47.56\00:14:51.09
in the scribes
and the Pharisees.
00:14:51.12\00:14:53.43
And these were the ones
that were sent to spy out Jesus,
00:14:53.46\00:14:58.01
to find
something to accuse Him of.
00:14:58.05\00:15:00.42
Now let's go to verse 2.
00:15:00.45\00:15:02.72
That is some of
the disciples of Jesus.
00:15:05.64\00:15:07.76
Now in a moment we're going to
notice that this is not dealing
00:15:15.04\00:15:17.62
with hygiene. This is
not dealing with cleanliness.
00:15:17.65\00:15:21.05
It's dealing with
ceremonial washing.
00:15:21.08\00:15:23.45
Lets go on to verses 3 and 4.
00:15:23.48\00:15:25.85
It explains why
they accused Jesus.
00:15:25.88\00:15:29.63
And in the Greek that means
frequently, in a special way.
00:15:38.29\00:15:42.71
A better translation is they
washed their hands frequently.
00:15:42.74\00:15:46.23
And then notice, holding,
that's one of our key words.
00:15:46.26\00:15:49.66
That's another
one of our key words.
00:15:51.27\00:15:52.90
Here comes the key word again.
00:16:03.27\00:16:04.71
And another key word.
00:16:05.63\00:16:06.66
Now this accusation has
nothing to do with hygiene.
00:16:13.36\00:16:17.65
It has nothing to do
with physical cleanliness.
00:16:17.68\00:16:20.57
We all know that when we come
to the table, we are supposed
00:16:20.60\00:16:25.52
to wash our hands before we eat.
00:16:25.55\00:16:27.98
But this issue does not
have anything to do with washing
00:16:28.01\00:16:31.65
your hands before a meal.
00:16:31.68\00:16:33.12
This is dealing with
ritual, or ceremonial cleansing.
00:16:33.15\00:16:38.11
It's a religious
ritual cleansing that is being
00:16:38.14\00:16:42.10
spoken of here. It's not
talking about washing your
00:16:42.13\00:16:44.57
hands before you eat.
00:16:44.60\00:16:46.60
Now I don't know whether you
noticed, but three times in this
00:16:46.63\00:16:50.58
passage Jesus makes it very
clear that this issue of washing
00:16:50.61\00:16:56.31
was only the tip of the iceberg,
because there were many other
00:16:56.34\00:17:00.54
such things. It says three times
Jesus says there are many other
00:17:00.57\00:17:04.01
things, many other
such things that you do
00:17:04.04\00:17:06.78
because of tradition.
00:17:06.81\00:17:08.41
In other words, the washing
issue was only one of many
00:17:08.44\00:17:13.16
practices that
they based on tradition.
00:17:13.19\00:17:16.87
Now I want you to notice
the technical terminology.
00:17:16.90\00:17:21.15
I know that I've underlined
this, but it's important
00:17:21.18\00:17:23.54
that we underline it again.
00:17:23.57\00:17:24.93
Notice in chapter 7, verse
3, it speaks about the holding
00:17:24.96\00:17:31.27
to the tradition of the elders;
technical terms that we read
00:17:31.30\00:17:35.93
from Josephus, we read
from George Foot Moore,
00:17:35.96\00:17:37.69
and we read from Marcel Semo.
00:17:37.73\00:17:40.76
They used these identical terms
to describe Jewish tradition
00:17:40.79\00:17:44.17
in the days of Christ.
00:17:44.20\00:17:45.43
Also in chapter 7, verse
4, we have the expression,
00:17:45.46\00:17:49.06
which they have
received, to hold.
00:17:49.09\00:17:52.64
In other words, they
receive it by transmission,
00:17:52.67\00:17:54.88
and they hold it.
00:17:54.91\00:17:55.94
In chapter 7, and verse 5,
it speaks about the tradition
00:17:55.97\00:17:59.87
of the elders. In chapter
7, and verse 8, they hold.
00:17:59.90\00:18:04.06
Notice once again the key term:
they hold the tradition of men.
00:18:04.09\00:18:07.90
Verse 9 says, your tradition.
00:18:07.93\00:18:11.30
And in chapter 7, verse 13,
it speaks about the tradition
00:18:11.33\00:18:15.90
which you have handed down.
00:18:15.93\00:18:18.03
Now let me ask you,
the expression received,
00:18:18.07\00:18:20.83
and handed down. Does that
have an idea of transmitting?
00:18:20.86\00:18:24.72
Of course it does.
00:18:24.75\00:18:26.19
Handed down means that they got
it from previous generations,
00:18:26.22\00:18:31.24
and received means
that they've received it.
00:18:31.27\00:18:33.55
And what do they do?
00:18:33.58\00:18:34.91
They hold it. They hold these
traditions because they believe
00:18:34.94\00:18:38.73
that it's part of the deposit
of tradition that God supposedly
00:18:38.76\00:18:45.53
gave to Moses on Mount Sinai.
00:18:45.56\00:18:48.21
Now regarding this idea of
the tradition of the elders
00:18:48.24\00:18:53.89
that is used several
times in this passage,
00:18:53.92\00:18:56.10
the Jerome Bible Commentary,
which interestingly enough
00:18:56.13\00:18:59.34
is a Roman Catholic commentary,
has this to say about the
00:18:59.37\00:19:02.95
expression, tradition of the
elders, which is used several
00:19:02.98\00:19:05.28
times in this
passage. It explains:
00:19:05.31\00:19:08.82
So what was this expression,
the tradition of the elders?
00:19:27.33\00:19:31.45
What does that mean?
00:19:31.48\00:19:32.51
It means, according to
this Roman Catholic commentary,
00:19:32.54\00:19:36.28
a rabbinical term.
00:19:36.31\00:19:37.77
That's a term of the Rabbi's
for the body of unwritten laws.
00:19:37.80\00:19:41.99
This is oral tradition.
00:19:42.02\00:19:43.10
That the Pharisees
considered as equally binding
00:19:43.13\00:19:47.21
as the written Torah.
00:19:47.24\00:19:49.18
Now Ellen White described this
mass of tradition that existed
00:19:49.21\00:19:54.65
in the days of Christ.
00:19:54.68\00:19:55.71
In Manuscript
Releases, Volume 20, page 338,
00:19:55.74\00:20:00.39
she explains about these
traditions that were held
00:20:00.42\00:20:03.98
by the religious
leaders. She says this:
00:20:04.01\00:20:06.55
See the terminology?
00:20:23.64\00:20:24.67
And then she explains what?
00:20:25.76\00:20:27.62
Are you catching the
nuance of what this view is?
00:20:29.98\00:20:32.34
And then she says:
00:20:34.62\00:20:35.96
A mass of oral traditions!
00:20:44.76\00:20:47.25
All of these oral traditions
supposedly were given to Moses
00:20:47.28\00:20:50.77
at Mount Sinai. And in each
generation the living voice,
00:20:50.80\00:20:55.30
or the magisteriam, would take
some of these oral traditions
00:20:55.33\00:20:59.13
that had been preserved,
and they would bring them forth,
00:20:59.16\00:21:01.54
and they would say, This was
given to Moses at Mount Sinai.
00:21:01.57\00:21:04.53
But you could not find these
things in the writings of Moses.
00:21:04.56\00:21:08.56
They were supposedly brought
forth by the religious leaders
00:21:08.59\00:21:11.94
in succeeding generations.
00:21:11.97\00:21:13.82
Now I want you to remember
all these details because
00:21:13.85\00:21:17.73
in our next lecture we're
going to show how Jesus always
00:21:17.76\00:21:21.59
answered accusations,
and always answered questions
00:21:21.62\00:21:25.30
appealing to the written
scriptures, never to tradition.
00:21:25.33\00:21:28.28
And then in the following two
lectures we're going to examine
00:21:28.31\00:21:31.44
the Roman
Catholic view of tradition
00:21:31.47\00:21:33.24
from their own writings.
00:21:33.27\00:21:35.81
And we're going to discover
that the terminology that Roman
00:21:35.84\00:21:39.36
Catholics use is identical
to the terminology that was used
00:21:39.39\00:21:44.32
in the days of Christ
regarding Jewish tradition.
00:21:44.35\00:21:47.78
Now the Pharisees
and the scribes had a
00:21:47.81\00:21:51.05
rigorous casuistry.
00:21:51.08\00:21:52.64
In Matthew 23 we see a
description of these rigorous
00:21:52.67\00:22:01.22
details that they had
for every aspect of life.
00:22:01.25\00:22:05.06
Ellen White describes
these burdensome and oppressive
00:22:05.09\00:22:09.47
observances that
supposedly were given to Moses,
00:22:09.50\00:22:13.50
and which were handed down.
00:22:13.53\00:22:14.84
She says in The
Desire of Ages, page 617:
00:22:14.87\00:22:17.94
In other words, these oral
requirements were so complex
00:22:24.70\00:22:29.67
that no matter how much people
tried, they could not obey them,
00:22:29.70\00:22:33.31
because they
were too complicated.
00:22:33.34\00:22:34.65
In fact, some of the traditions
contradicted other traditions,
00:22:34.68\00:22:38.83
as we're going to notice.
00:22:38.86\00:22:39.89
She also says in Signs of
the Times, January 3, 1900:
00:22:39.92\00:22:45.34
Notice once
again the terminology.
00:22:56.60\00:22:58.79
The oral traditions
were regarded as what?
00:23:06.50\00:23:09.78
as the Word of God, as
much as written scripture.
00:23:09.81\00:23:12.85
Then she continues saying:
00:23:12.88\00:23:15.33
In fact no dimension of
life escaped their prescriptions
00:23:32.42\00:23:39.12
and proscriptions.
00:23:39.15\00:23:40.88
Most often the Rabbi's majored
in minors, and minored in
00:23:40.91\00:23:48.17
the weightier
matters of the law.
00:23:48.20\00:23:50.70
In fact in Matthew 23:4
it says, speaking about the
00:23:50.73\00:23:55.96
scribes as Pharisees:
00:23:55.99\00:23:57.21
They became oppressive in their
enactments, in their ceremonies,
00:24:08.57\00:24:12.86
and in their teachings.
00:24:12.89\00:24:14.15
And the people were suffocated
by all of these traditions
00:24:14.18\00:24:17.09
that supposedly were given
to Moses, but which were really
00:24:17.12\00:24:20.99
not given to Moses.
00:24:21.02\00:24:22.05
They were never written down.
00:24:22.08\00:24:23.56
Now Marcel Semon, this
individual who wrote this very
00:24:23.59\00:24:28.64
good book, Jewish Sects, on
page 32, has this to say about
00:24:28.67\00:24:34.65
this concept of tradition that
existed in the days of Christ,
00:24:34.68\00:24:37.93
and how this concept
was a rigorous casuistry,
00:24:37.96\00:24:41.56
and very oppressive to
the people. He says this:
00:24:41.59\00:24:45.02
This is the writings of Moses.
00:24:47.69\00:24:50.71
That's because the writings of
Moses deal in principles, right?
00:25:01.95\00:25:04.94
They don't give every little
detail about what to do in every
00:25:04.97\00:25:08.18
little circumstance of life.
00:25:08.21\00:25:09.41
Now he continues saying:
00:25:09.44\00:25:11.18
In other words they had
to take these big principles,
00:25:15.68\00:25:18.19
and then they had to explain how
these were to be applied in each
00:25:18.22\00:25:22.97
situation in life.
00:25:23.00\00:25:24.62
Now he continues saying:
00:25:24.65\00:25:26.69
What a way of describing it!
00:26:03.81\00:26:05.81
And that's what
Jesus had to deal with.
00:26:05.84\00:26:08.22
And that's why we're going to
find that Jesus always answered
00:26:08.25\00:26:12.11
objections based on
the written scriptures.
00:26:12.14\00:26:15.41
He never speculated.
00:26:15.44\00:26:16.67
He never said Moses
brought this forth, you know,
00:26:16.70\00:26:19.84
and he gave it to the
next generation in an oral way
00:26:19.87\00:26:23.03
for them to pass it on.
00:26:23.06\00:26:24.24
Jesus always faced
issues in His day by quoting
00:26:24.27\00:26:29.38
the written scriptures.
00:26:29.41\00:26:30.90
We're going to notice
that in presentation 4.
00:26:30.93\00:26:33.53
Now Ellen White, in The Desire
of Ages, page 617, describes
00:26:33.56\00:26:38.40
this casuistry which
was practiced by the Jews
00:26:38.43\00:26:42.20
of Christ's day. Particularly
the religious leaders,
00:26:42.23\00:26:44.84
the scribes and the
Pharisees. She says:
00:26:44.87\00:26:47.32
Now listen to how
ridiculous it was.
00:26:57.37\00:26:59.45
Here's an example.
00:26:59.48\00:27:00.51
In The Desire of
Ages, page 616, she says:
00:27:27.67\00:27:31.85
Now listen to this:
00:27:45.92\00:27:47.47
In The Desire of Ages, page 395,
she further describes as before,
00:28:09.67\00:28:15.07
and she's speaking
about Mark 7 specifically.
00:28:15.10\00:28:17.64
Are you
understanding the situation that
00:28:46.30\00:28:48.13
Jesus had to deal with?
00:28:48.16\00:28:49.19
And we're going to find that in
the contemporary Christian world
00:28:49.22\00:28:53.84
the same is
happening in Roman Catholicism.
00:28:53.87\00:28:58.29
Now lets go on
to verse 5. It says:
00:28:58.32\00:29:01.93
Now it's important to realize
that the scribes and Pharisees
00:29:13.51\00:29:17.19
expected Jesus to
compel His disciples to obey
00:29:17.22\00:29:21.04
the tradition of the elders.
00:29:21.07\00:29:22.25
And this indicates that this
tradition had the force of law,
00:29:22.28\00:29:26.29
right? Because they expected
Jesus to enforce this law
00:29:26.32\00:29:30.25
among His disciples.
00:29:30.28\00:29:31.31
They're saying, Why
don't You enforce this
00:29:31.34\00:29:33.24
tradition of the elders?
00:29:33.27\00:29:35.12
The Rabbi's in the times of
Christ were expected to compel
00:29:35.15\00:29:39.76
their disciples to obey this,
and other traditions, by precept
00:29:39.79\00:29:44.80
and by example. Now I mentioned
that this has nothing to do with
00:29:44.83\00:29:49.33
hygiene, or cleanliness.
00:29:49.36\00:29:51.04
Let me share with you a list
of the rules and regulations
00:29:51.07\00:29:55.37
regarding washing, so that
you see the type of problem
00:29:55.40\00:29:59.22
that Jesus was dealing with.
00:29:59.25\00:30:00.45
I'm getting this list
from a book written by
00:30:00.48\00:30:04.01
Rabbi Shlomo Ganzfried.
00:30:04.04\00:30:05.92
It's called, Code of Jewish Law.
00:30:05.95\00:30:08.90
It's a collection of Jewish
laws, and it's pages 125 to 130.
00:30:08.93\00:30:13.34
And I'm just taking some
examples from these pages.
00:30:13.37\00:30:16.40
Now these are the rules
and regulations that existed.
00:30:16.43\00:30:20.44
The water must be
poured out of a perfect vessel,
00:30:20.47\00:30:24.26
having neither a
hole, nor a crack.
00:30:24.29\00:30:27.77
It must be even at the
top without any indents
00:30:27.80\00:30:31.55
or projecting parts.
00:30:31.58\00:30:32.93
Here's another one.
00:30:32.96\00:30:35.43
When using a vessel with
a spout, the water cannot
00:30:35.46\00:30:39.32
run through the spout.
00:30:39.69\00:30:40.72
Here's another regulation.
00:30:40.75\00:30:43.20
First wash the right
hand and then wash the left.
00:30:43.23\00:30:46.77
Here's another one.
00:30:46.80\00:30:48.69
The water must cover the
entire hand up to the wrist.
00:30:48.72\00:30:54.69
Here's another one.
00:30:54.72\00:30:56.17
No part of the hand
can remain unwashed,
00:30:56.20\00:30:59.23
therefore the fingers must be
slightly parted that the water
00:30:59.26\00:31:03.44
might run down the
entire length of the fingers.
00:31:03.47\00:31:06.56
Here's another one.
00:31:06.59\00:31:08.43
The water must cover the
fingertips, and the entire
00:31:08.46\00:31:11.53
circumference of the fingers.
00:31:11.56\00:31:13.03
Here another. Water should
be poured twice on each hand.
00:31:13.06\00:31:17.08
Here's another one.
00:31:17.11\00:31:18.48
After washing each hand
you should rub them together
00:31:18.51\00:31:21.23
and recite Psalm 134:2.
00:31:21.26\00:31:23.81
That shows that this
has to do with religion,
00:31:23.84\00:31:26.46
not only with cleanliness.
00:31:26.49\00:31:28.05
Here's another one.
00:31:28.08\00:31:29.11
You must thoroughly dry
your hands, but it is forbidden
00:31:29.14\00:31:31.84
to dry them on your shirt.
00:31:31.87\00:31:33.39
Here's another one.
00:31:33.42\00:31:34.94
If after pouring out water
on one hand, you touch it with
00:31:34.97\00:31:38.25
the other hand, or
someone else touches it,
00:31:38.28\00:31:40.79
the water on the hand becomes
contaminated by the contact.
00:31:40.82\00:31:44.54
You must dry the
hand and wash it again.
00:31:44.57\00:31:46.89
Here's another one.
00:31:46.92\00:31:48.35
Before washing the hands we
must examine them to make sure
00:31:48.38\00:31:52.05
that there is no coating
on them, as that would be an
00:31:52.08\00:31:55.08
obstruction between
the hands and the water.
00:31:55.11\00:31:57.43
Here's another one.
00:31:57.46\00:31:59.14
If we have big nails we must
clean them well so that there
00:31:59.17\00:32:03.41
would be no clay or
dirt under them as that, too,
00:32:03.44\00:32:06.83
is considered an obstruction.
00:32:06.86\00:32:08.52
We must also remove
the rings from the fingers
00:32:08.55\00:32:11.54
before the washing.
00:32:11.57\00:32:12.60
And finally, if one touched
during the meal, a part of the
00:32:12.63\00:32:16.66
body which is usually
covered, or scratched the head,
00:32:16.69\00:32:19.77
or urinated, one
must wash the hands again,
00:32:19.80\00:32:22.54
but without
saying the benediction.
00:32:22.57\00:32:25.01
How would you like to
live in a situation like that,
00:32:25.04\00:32:27.76
where you're just concentrating
on all of the little details
00:32:27.79\00:32:31.87
that you have to fulfill
in order to live in harmony
00:32:31.90\00:32:34.76
with the
tradition of the elders?
00:32:34.79\00:32:36.03
Where in the writings of Moses
do you find these prescriptions?
00:32:36.06\00:32:40.15
You find them
absolutely no where.
00:32:40.18\00:32:41.94
They are supposedly traditions
that God gave to Moses
00:32:41.97\00:32:46.57
orally at Sinai that
were passed on from generation
00:32:46.60\00:32:49.74
to generation, and they
were rescued from the deposit
00:32:49.77\00:32:53.26
of oral traditions by the
Rabbi's at different stages
00:32:53.29\00:32:57.18
in the process of transmission.
00:32:57.21\00:32:59.47
Now Jesus had to
confront these leaders.
00:32:59.50\00:33:03.35
And when Jesus confronted
the leaders, He confronted them
00:33:03.38\00:33:08.11
with the written Word of God.
00:33:08.14\00:33:10.62
He did not speculate.
00:33:10.65\00:33:12.54
He did not put one
Rabbi against another Rabbi.
00:33:12.57\00:33:17.02
Jesus simply quoted scripture
when He faced this issue.
00:33:17.05\00:33:21.99
In fact Jesus
used three quotations.
00:33:22.02\00:33:26.47
The first quotation comes from
Isaiah 29:13, and this one is
00:33:26.50\00:33:32.69
mentioned in verse
6, in verse 6 of Mark 7.
00:33:32.72\00:33:39.90
Is Jesus going to
quote scripture now?
00:33:46.26\00:33:49.30
You'd better believe it!
00:33:49.33\00:33:50.66
His answer is
based on scripture.
00:33:50.69\00:33:52.27
So Jesus is using scripture
to accuse them, and He says
00:34:04.47\00:34:09.37
Isaiah spoke about you folks.
00:34:09.40\00:34:11.71
And Isaiah actually wrote this.
00:34:11.74\00:34:14.52
Now Jesus continues
saying, quoting Isaiah 29:13.
00:34:14.55\00:34:20.63
In other words they're to
fear the Lord based on the
00:34:27.34\00:34:30.17
commandments of men.
00:34:30.20\00:34:31.23
Can you think of another
text that uses the word fear
00:34:31.26\00:34:35.12
and the word
worship in the same text?
00:34:35.15\00:34:37.10
How about Revelation 14:6, 7?
00:34:37.13\00:34:40.81
Fear God and give glory to
Him for the hour of His judgment
00:34:40.84\00:34:44.44
is come. And
what? and worship Him.
00:34:44.47\00:34:47.07
Fearing God and worshipping
Him is in the same verse:
00:34:47.10\00:34:49.95
Revelation 14:7. You say,
Now why is that important?
00:34:49.98\00:34:53.96
Because Jesus says, Their fear
towards Me is because of the
00:34:53.99\00:34:57.49
commandments of men, not because
of the commandments of God.
00:34:57.52\00:34:59.86
And then in verse 7
notice what He adds.
00:34:59.89\00:35:02.89
Now I don't know if you noticed,
there's three conclusions that
00:35:10.35\00:35:13.42
we can reach
from this quotation:
00:35:13.45\00:35:15.42
1. The battle is
between the written Word of God,
00:35:15.45\00:35:18.87
and the
unwritten tradition of men.
00:35:18.90\00:35:20.83
Do you see that clearly there?
00:35:20.86\00:35:22.62
In other words the
written Word of God,
00:35:22.65\00:35:26.59
versus the
unwritten tradition of men.
00:35:26.62\00:35:28.77
2. Even more specifically,
the conflict is between the
00:35:28.80\00:35:33.06
commandments of God,
and the commandments of men.
00:35:33.09\00:35:35.30
Not only the Word of God, and
the unwritten traditions of men,
00:35:35.33\00:35:39.78
but it's the commandment of God
versus the commandments of men.
00:35:39.81\00:35:44.26
And did you notice also that the
issue has to do with worship?
00:35:44.29\00:35:49.14
In other words by teaching
the commandments of God they are
00:35:49.17\00:35:52.82
practicing vain worship.
00:35:52.85\00:35:55.14
In other words,
worship is involved.
00:35:55.17\00:35:57.00
When people follow the
commandments of men they are
00:35:57.03\00:36:01.10
practicing vain
worship, according to Jesus.
00:36:01.13\00:36:04.87
Now Jesus did not quote Isaiah
29:14, but I think that it would
00:36:04.90\00:36:10.14
be a good idea for us to quote
that verse immediately after
00:36:10.17\00:36:13.45
the verse that Jesus did quote.
00:36:13.48\00:36:14.86
Notice what Isaiah 29:14 says:
00:36:14.89\00:36:19.33
God is speaking here.
00:36:20.57\00:36:22.12
Isn't it interesting that that
verse comes immediately after
00:36:39.49\00:36:43.54
Isaiah 29:13 where Jesus has
said, Well did Isaiah prophesy
00:36:43.57\00:36:50.49
of you hypocrites. As it is
written, this people honors Me
00:36:50.52\00:36:53.43
with their lips, but
their heart is far from me,
00:36:53.46\00:36:55.75
and their fear toward Me
is taught by the commandment
00:36:55.78\00:36:59.19
of men. And even though
Jesus doesn't quote verse 14,
00:36:59.22\00:37:03.02
God is saying in verse 14 that
He is going to make the wisdom
00:37:03.05\00:37:09.78
of the wise men to
perish, and the traditions
00:37:09.81\00:37:13.27
of men to disappear.
00:37:13.30\00:37:15.57
Now verse 8 of Mark 7.
00:37:15.60\00:37:22.18
Here Jesus is going to explain
the reason why He has just said
00:37:22.21\00:37:28.57
that Isaiah
prophesied about them.
00:37:28.60\00:37:30.50
Isaiah talked about
you, is what Jesus says.
00:37:30.53\00:37:32.87
Now why? What is the reason why
Isaiah prophesied about them?
00:37:32.90\00:37:37.68
Notice verse 8.
For, that is because.
00:37:37.71\00:37:40.70
Isaiah wrote this because...
00:37:40.73\00:37:43.43
In a moment we're going to
see that this refers to one
00:37:48.46\00:37:51.09
of the ten commandments.
00:37:51.12\00:37:52.15
That's an important point.
00:37:52.18\00:37:53.21
There's a key word.
00:37:57.20\00:37:58.23
So what is the
contrast in this verse?
00:38:06.72\00:38:09.88
It is between the commandment
of God, and the tradition of
00:38:09.91\00:38:14.11
men that contradicts
the commandment of God.
00:38:14.14\00:38:17.34
Are you following me or not?
00:38:17.37\00:38:19.89
Very important! And it
has to do with worship.
00:38:19.92\00:38:24.12
When we teach the commandments
of men our worship is vain,
00:38:24.15\00:38:30.13
which means that
our worship is useless.
00:38:30.16\00:38:33.36
Now lets go to verse 9.
00:38:33.39\00:38:35.88
We noticed that
Jesus quoted three verses.
00:38:35.91\00:38:38.57
We've only referred to one
so far, which is Isaiah 29:13.
00:38:38.60\00:38:42.32
We're coming now to
number 2, and number 3.
00:38:42.35\00:38:44.80
Verse 9. He said to them,...
00:38:44.83\00:38:47.13
The word reject in the Greek
is better translated invalidate
00:38:49.97\00:38:53.84
or nullify. In other
words, all too well you reject
00:38:53.87\00:38:57.94
or invalidate, and
nullify the commandment of God,
00:38:57.97\00:39:02.33
that you may
keep your tradition.
00:39:02.36\00:39:05.38
So what were they doing
by keeping their tradition?
00:39:05.41\00:39:08.32
They were
making, or invalidating,
00:39:08.35\00:39:11.25
or nullifying what?
the commandment of God.
00:39:11.28\00:39:14.97
Now the question is,
which commandment was
00:39:15.00\00:39:18.17
Jesus referring to when He
said, Your tradition invalidates
00:39:18.20\00:39:22.36
the commandment of God?
00:39:22.39\00:39:23.50
He's going to speak about
one of the ten commandments.
00:39:23.53\00:39:25.81
You say, Which one?
00:39:25.84\00:39:28.28
Well, it has to do with
the practice which was known as
00:39:28.31\00:39:34.45
Corban. Have you
ever heard of Corban?
00:39:34.48\00:39:36.73
Let me just read you a
statement from Ellen White,
00:39:36.76\00:39:39.79
The Desire of Ages, 396.
00:39:39.82\00:39:41.30
And then I'll give
you an added explanation
00:39:41.33\00:39:43.89
about what Corban was.
00:39:43.92\00:39:45.22
By the way, the word
Corban means dedicated.
00:39:45.25\00:39:49.74
Now this is what The
Desire of Ages, 396 says:
00:39:49.77\00:39:53.51
In other words dedicated,
he would say over his property;
00:40:01.12\00:40:05.60
Corban, that is dedicated.
00:40:05.63\00:40:07.67
In other words he
would say, This is dedicated.
00:40:31.65\00:40:34.57
And his parents would be
in need, and he would say,
00:40:34.60\00:40:37.31
I can't help you because
this has been dedicated to God.
00:40:37.34\00:40:39.99
Are you understanding
what's happening here?
00:40:40.02\00:40:43.73
In other words the law of
Corban, we're going to notice,
00:40:43.76\00:40:48.60
contradicted the
commandment that said,
00:40:48.63\00:40:51.79
Honor your
father and your mother.
00:40:51.82\00:40:53.65
Their tradition contradicted
one of the commandments of God.
00:40:53.68\00:40:56.77
In fact, let's notice verse 10
where we find Jesus presenting
00:40:56.80\00:41:02.27
quotation number
two to answer this issue
00:41:02.31\00:41:06.16
that is brought forth.
00:41:06.19\00:41:07.58
In verse 10 Jesus says:
00:41:07.61\00:41:09.73
Remember that they
claimed to sit on Moses' seat,
00:41:11.37\00:41:15.07
and have authority to
teach with all wisdom,
00:41:15.10\00:41:18.71
and all knowledge?
00:41:18.74\00:41:19.77
And whatever they said,
you know, was what Moses was
00:41:19.80\00:41:22.10
given at Mount Sinai
orally by God? But Jesus says:
00:41:22.13\00:41:26.02
Now what is Jesus
going to appeal to?
00:41:28.39\00:41:30.45
Is He going to appeal to some
oral tradition that God gave
00:41:30.48\00:41:32.95
to Moses? No, no, no. Notice!
00:41:32.98\00:41:35.16
Now lets just take the first
expression, honor your father
00:41:44.99\00:41:48.68
and your mother. Let
me ask you, Where is that
00:41:48.71\00:41:50.69
quotation coming from?
00:41:50.72\00:41:51.87
It's coming from
the ten commandments.
00:41:51.90\00:41:54.43
Exactly! Exodus
20:12 where it says:
00:41:54.46\00:41:59.60
Jesus is saying, Your
tradition of Corban contradicts
00:42:01.54\00:42:05.48
this commandment of God.
00:42:05.51\00:42:06.55
It is opposed to
this commandment of God.
00:42:06.58\00:42:08.77
Because by dedicating all of
your possessions to the temple,
00:42:08.80\00:42:14.63
and not helping your parents,
your tradition is contradicting
00:42:14.66\00:42:18.42
the commandment that
says, Honor your father
00:42:18.45\00:42:20.24
and your mother.
The fifth commandment.
00:42:20.27\00:42:21.63
And then Jesus quotes also
Exodus 21:17, which is the last
00:42:21.66\00:42:26.51
part of this verse, verse 10.
00:42:26.54\00:42:30.73
This, by the way, is a
quotation from Exodus 21:17.
00:42:38.42\00:42:43.42
Now what is the purpose of
this second and third quotation?
00:42:43.45\00:42:47.80
The quotation from Exodus
20:12, and the quotation from
00:42:47.83\00:42:51.12
Exodus 21:17? The purpose
of these is Jesus is saying
00:42:51.15\00:42:56.72
to them, Listen, you have
this tradition of Corban that
00:42:56.75\00:42:59.56
supposedly was given to Moses,
and you brought it forth from
00:42:59.59\00:43:02.51
the deposit of oral tradition.
00:43:02.54\00:43:04.32
But that tradition
contradicts the Word of God.
00:43:04.35\00:43:07.35
So, in other words,
what do you go with?
00:43:07.38\00:43:11.20
Do you go with the written
Word of God, or do you go with
00:43:11.23\00:43:14.69
the tradition which contradicts
the commandment of God?
00:43:14.72\00:43:17.47
Now a little later on in this
series we're going to apply this
00:43:17.50\00:43:20.52
to another commandment.
00:43:20.55\00:43:21.79
And those of you who
are perceptive know which
00:43:21.82\00:43:25.16
commandment we're
talking about here.
00:43:25.19\00:43:26.47
You see the Bible says, Remember
the Sabbath day to keep it holy.
00:43:26.50\00:43:30.51
And it says that the
seventh day is the Sabbath
00:43:30.54\00:43:33.41
of the Lord your God.
00:43:33.44\00:43:34.47
But the Roman Catholic Church
says, No, Sunday is the Sabbath,
00:43:34.50\00:43:40.23
because it has been
handed down to us by tradition.
00:43:40.26\00:43:44.58
And so interestingly
enough, by their tradition
00:43:44.61\00:43:49.62
of Sunday
observance, what are they doing?
00:43:49.65\00:43:51.72
They're contradicting
the fourth commandment
00:43:51.75\00:43:54.01
of the written law of God.
00:43:54.04\00:43:55.43
Is it the same principle?
00:43:55.46\00:43:57.21
What would Jesus do
today if He was alive?
00:43:57.24\00:44:00.26
Would He say the same
thing; that you contradict
00:44:00.29\00:44:03.85
the written commandment
of God by your tradition?
00:44:03.88\00:44:06.34
He most
certainly would say that.
00:44:06.37\00:44:08.67
Now let's notice
verse 10, and we'll continue
00:44:08.70\00:44:13.19
to verses 11 and 12.
00:44:13.22\00:44:15.18
He's quoting scripture.
00:44:17.31\00:44:18.34
See Moses wrote, but you say.
00:44:26.14\00:44:29.49
Are you understanding
what's going on here?
00:44:44.54\00:44:46.93
Now in verse 13 we have
the closing argument of Jesus.
00:44:46.96\00:44:53.05
This is what verse 13 says:
00:44:53.08\00:44:56.49
That means you invalidate the
Word of God through your what?
00:45:00.82\00:45:05.80
You have what?
Notice the expression.
00:45:08.59\00:45:11.46
And this is the tip
of the iceberg, folks.
00:45:12.71\00:45:15.40
Three times in this
passage Jesus says...
00:45:15.43\00:45:18.90
In other words, the idea
of washing was only one issue
00:45:22.84\00:45:27.38
of many where
tradition contradicted
00:45:27.41\00:45:30.31
the written Word of God.
00:45:30.34\00:45:32.29
Ellen White in Review and
Herald, March 8, 1898 had this
00:45:32.32\00:45:40.60
very significant statement
where she's commenting about
00:45:40.63\00:45:44.24
this law of Corban, and how
Jesus used it in His argument
00:45:44.27\00:45:48.14
against the
scribes and Pharisees.
00:45:48.17\00:45:49.79
She says, They set
aside the fifth commandment
00:45:49.82\00:45:53.94
as of no consequence, but
were very exact in carrying out
00:45:53.97\00:46:00.96
the tradition of the elders.
00:46:00.99\00:46:03.08
The sayings of supposed
great men had been what?
00:46:03.11\00:46:08.60
Oh, great men! Who
were the great men?
00:46:08.63\00:46:11.77
Were they lay people?
00:46:11.80\00:46:12.83
Common ordinary people?
00:46:12.86\00:46:14.84
No, they were the scholars.
00:46:14.87\00:46:16.76
They were the PhD's!
00:46:16.79\00:46:18.80
They were the ones that had
studied in the universities.
00:46:18.83\00:46:21.95
The ones that
had lots of footnotes
00:46:21.98\00:46:24.45
in the works that they wrote.
00:46:24.48\00:46:26.79
The wise men of the earth.
00:46:26.82\00:46:29.23
She says, They set
aside the fifth commandment
00:46:29.26\00:46:35.22
as of no consequence, but
they were very exact in carrying
00:46:35.25\00:46:38.69
out the tradition of the elders.
00:46:38.72\00:46:40.24
The sayings of
supposed great men...
00:46:40.27\00:46:42.99
And now what does she say?
00:46:43.02\00:46:45.10
Had been what?
There it is again!
00:46:45.13\00:46:47.68
Had been handed down from
what? from Rabbi to Rabbi.
00:46:47.71\00:46:53.94
See the process of transmission?
00:46:53.97\00:46:55.72
From Rabbi to Rabbi nullifying
the plain requirements of God,
00:46:55.75\00:47:01.61
making the Word of God
of none effect, said Christ.
00:47:01.64\00:47:05.81
And many other
such like things ye do.
00:47:05.84\00:47:11.28
Now, what Jesus said
went over like a lead balloon.
00:47:11.31\00:47:16.55
You know when the Lord Jesus
contradicted their views by
00:47:16.58\00:47:21.05
appealing to written
scripture, these leaders
00:47:21.08\00:47:24.13
were infuriated against
Him, and they started laying
00:47:24.16\00:47:28.30
plans to slay Jesus, because He
upheld the written Word of God
00:47:28.33\00:47:33.50
contrary to their
supposed oral traditions
00:47:33.53\00:47:37.37
handed down from Moses.
00:47:37.40\00:47:39.75
In fact, the logic
of Jesus was impeccable,
00:47:39.78\00:47:43.22
and it could not be refuted.
00:47:43.25\00:47:45.60
And they knew that
it could not be refuted.
00:47:45.63\00:47:47.38
And so they hated Jesus because
He came at them with the written
00:47:47.41\00:47:52.16
Word of God, and
with the ten commandments,
00:47:52.19\00:47:55.52
and showed them that
their traditions contradicted
00:47:55.55\00:47:58.66
the written
scriptures of the Lord.
00:47:58.69\00:48:01.12
In The Desire of Ages,
page 397, Ellen White explains:
00:48:01.15\00:48:06.95
That's the written law, right?
00:48:16.59\00:48:17.85
Because Jesus required
proof from the scriptures,
00:48:36.22\00:48:38.70
the religious leaders led
the people to hate Jesus Christ.
00:48:38.73\00:48:43.00
And He led the people
eventually to clamor for the
00:48:43.03\00:48:46.71
destruction of Jesus.
00:48:46.74\00:48:48.44
Now let me ask you, Is
this going to happen again
00:48:48.47\00:48:51.86
at the end of time?
00:48:51.89\00:48:52.92
Is God going to have a people
on the earth that will say,
00:48:52.95\00:48:57.30
It is written,
thus says the Lord.
00:48:57.33\00:49:01.12
Not the traditions of
men, not your feelings,
00:49:01.15\00:49:05.01
not your emotions, not
what has been passed along
00:49:05.04\00:49:08.07
from generation to
generation, but It is written!
00:49:08.10\00:49:12.08
Is that going to happen once
again that the religious world
00:49:12.11\00:49:14.85
will be enraged against
God's people? Absolutely!
00:49:14.88\00:49:18.06
In the book, Christ's Object
Lessons, page 304 and 305,
00:49:18.09\00:49:22.41
we find this statement
from the Spirit of Prophecy:
00:49:22.44\00:49:25.85
Notice who were
the guilty party here.
00:50:09.55\00:50:11.41
It wasn't the common
populace, the people. She says:
00:50:11.44\00:50:15.04
Is it going to happen again that
the religious leaders of the
00:50:34.87\00:50:38.83
world will turn the members
of their churches against
00:50:38.86\00:50:42.57
the people of God for upholding
the written Word of God?
00:50:42.60\00:50:47.21
Absolutely! And
do you know what?
00:50:47.24\00:50:49.91
The test at the end is going
to be the same test that existed
00:50:49.94\00:50:55.34
at the very beginning.
00:50:55.37\00:50:56.40
You see I, in another
presentation that I made
00:50:56.43\00:51:00.44
in the Genesis series, I showed
how in Genesis 3 the Devil used
00:51:00.47\00:51:05.73
five ways to lead
the human race into sin.
00:51:05.76\00:51:10.74
First of all the Devil
performed a counterfeit miracle.
00:51:10.77\00:51:16.98
He gave the snake, or the
serpent, the apparent capacity
00:51:17.01\00:51:21.95
to speak. That
would be a miracle.
00:51:21.98\00:51:24.58
Secondly, he
misquoted the Word of God.
00:51:24.61\00:51:28.11
He said, So God has said
that you can't eat of any tree
00:51:28.14\00:51:31.66
of the garden. And, of
course, Eve corrects him.
00:51:31.69\00:51:34.79
She says, Oh no, no, no, no.
00:51:34.82\00:51:35.85
God said that we can eat
of every tree except this one.
00:51:35.88\00:51:39.20
And so what the Devil is
doing through the serpent is he
00:51:39.23\00:51:44.02
is twisting, giving the
Word of God a certain twist.
00:51:44.05\00:51:47.60
He's not quoting it as
it's found from the lips of God.
00:51:47.63\00:51:51.11
In the third place, we find that
the serpent is trying to lead
00:51:51.14\00:51:56.55
Eve to use her
human reasoning instead of
00:51:56.58\00:52:00.17
following the Word of God.
00:52:00.53\00:52:01.56
Basically the Devil says to her,
Listen, do you really want to
00:52:01.59\00:52:05.20
know why God told you that you
shouldn't eat from this tree?
00:52:05.23\00:52:07.40
You're not going to die.
00:52:07.43\00:52:08.46
God told you you were going
to die, but He didn't tell you
00:52:08.49\00:52:11.40
why you were
going to die, right?
00:52:11.44\00:52:12.64
Now I'm going to tell you why
God said you were going to die
00:52:12.67\00:52:16.10
when you're really not going to.
00:52:16.13\00:52:17.35
And Eve at this point is saying,
Wow, I want to know more!
00:52:17.38\00:52:21.55
And so the Devil says, Listen,
God knows that the day that you
00:52:21.58\00:52:25.75
eat from this tree you're
going to be just like Him,
00:52:25.78\00:52:28.07
and God doesn't
want any rivals around.
00:52:28.10\00:52:29.94
See the reason why He said that
you would die is He wants to
00:52:29.97\00:52:33.01
intimidate you
because He doesn't want
00:52:33.04\00:52:34.64
anybody to be like Him.
00:52:34.67\00:52:35.74
In fact what the Devil
is hinting at is that God,
00:52:35.77\00:52:40.34
at some point,
ate from the tree.
00:52:40.38\00:52:41.96
And when He ate from the tree,
that's where He got His powers
00:52:41.99\00:52:46.01
as God. And when He saw that
the powers that the tree gave
00:52:46.04\00:52:49.33
He said, Wow, I don't
want anybody else to have these
00:52:49.37\00:52:51.84
powers, so from now on
I'm going to tell anybody,
00:52:51.87\00:52:54.30
and everybody that if
they eat from the tree
00:52:54.33\00:52:56.10
they're going to die.
00:52:56.13\00:52:57.16
But they're not
going to really die,
00:52:57.19\00:52:58.65
they're going to be like Me.
00:52:58.68\00:53:00.45
And I don't want any rivals.
00:53:00.48\00:53:01.84
And so he's playing
mind games with Eve.
00:53:01.87\00:53:04.50
And Eve says, Ah, I
have my explanation!
00:53:04.53\00:53:07.04
So God is selfish, huh?
00:53:07.07\00:53:08.54
God doesn't want
anybody to be like Him.
00:53:08.57\00:53:10.74
So the Devil is
using her reasoning powers
00:53:10.77\00:53:14.23
independently of God.
00:53:14.26\00:53:15.93
And then in the fourth place,
the Devil attempts to lead Eve
00:53:15.96\00:53:19.86
to follow the
testimony of her senses.
00:53:19.89\00:53:22.38
She saw that the
fruit looked good.
00:53:22.41\00:53:26.38
It looked tasty.
00:53:26.41\00:53:27.44
See her eyes are involved?
00:53:27.47\00:53:28.74
Her ears are involved.
00:53:28.77\00:53:30.00
Her taste is involved.
00:53:30.03\00:53:31.62
And then the serpent plucks...
00:53:31.65\00:53:33.37
Ellen White explains how
the serpent plucks the fruit
00:53:33.40\00:53:36.28
and puts it in her hand, and the
serpent says, You said that God
00:53:36.31\00:53:39.73
had said that if you
touched it you would die.
00:53:39.76\00:53:41.59
Here, it's in your
hand and you're alive!
00:53:41.62\00:53:44.00
You haven't died, see?
00:53:44.03\00:53:45.21
So the fourth method that the
Devil used is to appeal to the
00:53:45.24\00:53:52.28
senses of Eve to lead
her to trust her senses.
00:53:52.31\00:53:55.50
And so he's leading
her to trust in miracles,
00:53:55.53\00:53:58.57
to trust in a
word which is changed,
00:53:58.61\00:54:03.50
to trust in her
reasoning powers,
00:54:03.53\00:54:06.17
to trust in the
testimony of her senses.
00:54:06.20\00:54:08.79
And then, of course,
we know how Adam sinned.
00:54:08.82\00:54:11.35
He was tempted by Eve.
00:54:11.38\00:54:14.22
Let me ask you, Is the
Devil leading multitudes astray
00:54:14.26\00:54:18.42
today by what other
individuals tell them to do
00:54:18.45\00:54:21.80
contrary to the
Word of God? Absolutely!
00:54:21.83\00:54:24.30
And so the Devil from the
very beginning has attempted to
00:54:24.34\00:54:30.44
lead human beings to
accept standards regarding their
00:54:30.47\00:54:36.08
behavior, and their beliefs,
based not upon the written
00:54:36.11\00:54:39.88
Word of God, but based
upon many, many other factors.
00:54:39.91\00:54:43.58
You know, what
should Eve have done?
00:54:43.61\00:54:47.12
Well, hindsight is 20/20, right?
00:54:47.15\00:54:50.41
You know, Eve should have said,
You know what, I didn't know
00:54:50.44\00:54:54.34
that a serpent could talk.
00:54:54.37\00:54:56.50
That's a surprise to me.
00:54:56.54\00:54:57.64
And, you know, I see that you
know how to quote God's Word.
00:54:57.68\00:55:01.87
But it's not
quoted exactly right.
00:55:01.90\00:55:03.41
But, you know, you have
heard somewhat what God said.
00:55:03.44\00:55:06.50
And, you know, what you
say, the explanation you give
00:55:06.53\00:55:09.58
about, you know, God
knowing that we'll be like Him.
00:55:09.61\00:55:11.86
That sounds pretty reasonable.
00:55:11.89\00:55:13.39
And, you know, my eyes tell
me that it's a beautiful fruit.
00:55:13.42\00:55:16.81
And my taste says
I'd like to try it.
00:55:16.84\00:55:18.76
And, you know, my
touch; I haven't died.
00:55:18.79\00:55:21.82
And, you know, what you're
saying appears to be beautiful.
00:55:21.86\00:55:24.81
But what Eve should have said
is, you know, It is written.
00:55:24.84\00:55:29.63
Man shall not live by
bread alone, but he shall live
00:55:29.66\00:55:33.18
by every word that proceeds
out of the mouth of God.
00:55:33.21\00:55:34.96
If that had happened we wouldn't
be in this studio tonight.
00:55:34.99\00:55:38.49
We would be in the Garden
of Eden, which would be a much
00:55:38.52\00:55:41.98
better place to be.
00:55:42.02\00:55:43.05
And so, folks, basically,
the battle lines are being drawn
00:55:43.08\00:55:46.99
in the world today.
00:55:47.02\00:55:48.05
What the Devil has tried
to do is undermine confidence
00:55:48.08\00:55:51.97
in the written Word of God;
mainly by postmodern thought;
00:55:52.00\00:55:56.26
the idea that you make your own
ethical decisions independently
00:55:56.30\00:56:00.51
of an objective source of truth.
00:56:00.54\00:56:02.67
They say truth is subjective.
00:56:02.70\00:56:04.82
Truth comes from inside.
00:56:04.85\00:56:06.10
Truth doesn't come
from outside in a book.
00:56:06.13\00:56:08.26
It comes from your heart.
00:56:08.29\00:56:09.89
And so the Devil has led
the world to think that their
00:56:09.92\00:56:13.38
standard of truth needs to be
internal rather than external.
00:56:13.41\00:56:17.07
And when that happens you
can never trust your own heart.
00:56:17.11\00:56:20.77
In fact, Martin Luther
once said, I fear my own heart
00:56:20.80\00:56:25.07
more than the Pope
and all of his Cardinals.
00:56:25.11\00:56:27.98
And I believe that
Luther was absolutely right,
00:56:28.01\00:56:31.30
because the enemy
within is far greater than any
00:56:31.34\00:56:34.63
enemy from without.
00:56:34.66\00:56:36.03
And so the big question is will
God's people in these last days
00:56:36.07\00:56:42.27
live by the written Word
of God, or will they live
00:56:42.31\00:56:47.73
by the traditions of men?
00:56:47.76\00:56:49.28
Will they live by the standard
that comes from their hearts,
00:56:49.31\00:56:53.49
or the standard that
comes from tradition,
00:56:53.52\00:56:55.71
or the standard that
comes from other individuals?
00:56:55.74\00:56:59.00
That is the decision which
will lead you to be on one side
00:56:59.03\00:57:03.81
or the other side in
this great controversy
00:57:04.31\00:57:06.60
between good and evil.
00:57:06.63\00:57:07.66
And I pray to God that all
of those who are gathered here,
00:57:07.69\00:57:11.28
and all of those who are
watching this programming
00:57:11.31\00:57:13.78
on television, will
make the right choice.
00:57:13.81\00:57:16.03
And they will choose not to
live according to what others
00:57:16.06\00:57:20.80
say, according to an internal
standard, but they will choose
00:57:20.83\00:57:24.63
to live by every
word that proceeds out
00:57:24.66\00:57:28.51
of the mouth of God.
00:57:28.54\00:57:30.51
May that be our decision.
00:57:30.55\00:57:31.58