Mark 7:1-8

“So the Pharisees and the scribes asked him, ‘Why do your disciples not live according to the tradition of the elders, but eat with defiled hands?’” 

The Law had been a great gift to the Jewish people but it was broken! While it had initially been designed to keep the people on the path of righteousness, it quickly got out of hand. What had been a brief set of commandments turned into an overwhelming mass of traditions and regulations that became an end in itself. The initial Ten Words became 613 statutes governing every aspect of human behavior. And that was just a start! The intention had been to protect the Law by setting up a hedge around it–the rabbis didn’t want anyone to accidentally become unclean so they codified everything. Jesus was an observant Jew, but he believed that loving God and loving neighbor was more important than anything else, and from his perspective the Law had become a burden. As his followers we know how quickly petty legalisms can take over our lives. When life gets unruly and the people in our lives aren’t living as we think they ought, it is so tempting to get back in control by “laying down the law.” We think the rules will be a temporary and quick fix, but it isn’t long before they displace the gospel of grace. What a blessing it is to walk in the way of the Lord and not worry about following the rules!

Thought for the Day: When is it important to have rules?