B-Side - Mark 6:53-7:13

When you follow God's leading, sometimes you later look back and it looks completely different from what you thought he was calling you to. But if we're following his will, he is with us!

Jesus touches the unclean to heal them, and the Pharisees challenge him for his uncleanliness. Jesus prioritized the unclean and reached out to them, and the Pharisees prioritized their oral traditions.

In the sermon on the mount (Matthew 5), Jesus spends a lot of time prying off the heavy yoke imposed by the Pharisees, and getting people back to God's Word. His yoke is easy and his burden is light!

Jesus calls the Pharisees hypocrites, tearing down the Word of God to establish a monument to their traditions. Some churches today will cancel Sunday service when Christmas falls on a Sunday, giving priority to a tradition of man (celebration of Christmas) over the weekly assembly commanded in the Bible. We need to hold ourselves as closely as we can to Scripture, to avoid deviating from what God has said.

Mark 12:38... don't be like the scribes, who are outwardly pious but inwardly dastardly. They would convince people to dedicate elderly relatives' property to God (making the property "corban," irrevocably dedicated to God), leaving the elderly relatives with nowhere to live.

This is a rare New Testament passage that addresses honoring parents. Also 1Timothy 5:7-9. Someone refusing to take care of their aging parents (and elderly in the church) is worse than an unbeliever. To provide for the elderly is to receive a blessing from the Lord!

Regarding ceremonial washing... Hebrews gives the elementary principles of the Christian faith. The only washing we need is baptism. Our sins are washed once and for all by the blood of Jesus!