Weblog Entry - 10/09/2005: Volume 83 - The Gospel of Jesus Christ vs. Tradition by Milt Rodriguez

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10/09/2005: Volume 83 - The Gospel of Jesus Christ vs. Tradition by Chris Pridham"

The Gospel of Jesus Christ vs. Tradition

Imagine if you would Tevya in 'Fiddler on the Roof' singing the song 'Tradition', Tradition….Tra di tion! One of the reasons why the Jewish people have been able to stay a people for as long as they have with no land of their own is their traditions. It has held a people together for 1850+ years so we can't say there are no benefits to tradition. We all have them from opening up Christmas gifts on Christmas Eve or Christmas morning to going to church Sunday morning; some have a tradition of Saturday. Some people follow a tradition of praying before they eat; others follow a tradition of shaking the right hand as a greeting. Jesus quoted what Isaiah wrote when he says Isa 29:13 Then the Lord said, "Because this people draw near with their words And honor Me with their lip service, But they remove their hearts far from Me, And their reverence for Me consists of tradition learned by rote," NASU
When Jesus came to earth and began to announce his good news he was announcing it to a people whose relationship with God was one of a long tradition learned by rote.
I have found what I believe to be an interesting story about tradition in Luke's gospel the 17th chapter. Here we find Jesus in a village between Galilee and Samaria. Ten leprous men who stood at a distance met Him; and they raised their voices, saying, "Jesus, Master, have mercy on us! When He saw them he spoke to them the words of Moses and said "Go and show yourselves to the priests." The process would be a lengthy one that you can read about in Lev.14:2-20 - the total process these men would go through would last about 9-14 days along with several offerings. On the way to the priest these men were healed. Now Jesus had healed others of leprosy and told them to go to the priest and show themselves. But in this account as recorded by Luke Jesus seems to be making some kind of a point to His disciples. Among the ten men one is referred to as a foreigner, more specifically a Samaritan. Jews had little or nothing to do with Samaritans as we can read in other stories. The leprosy these men had seems to be enough to bring the Jew and Samaritan together breaking the long tradition of separation. On the trip to the priest, the ten men find themselves healed and the foreigner responded the way any grateful and happy person would by turning back to find Jesus. When he found Him he fell on his face and gave thanks. Jesus then comments to His disciples and says "Where are the other nine? Did none of my fellow Jews return to give glory to God? You mean only the foreigner returned?" I believe he was showing His disciples the degree to which the Jews were bound by there traditions. It seemed to be more important for them to follow the law and tradition of going to the Priest than turning around, as the foreigner did, to thank Jesus for healing him. Dealing with traditions was something the disciples would face through their entire lives.
You can read Paul's letter to the Galatians about his confrontation with Peter. He did not eat with the Gentiles while other brothers from the church in Jerusalem were there in Antioch (Gal.2:11);
Traditions are strong and they can keep us from entering into the kingdom of God. Traditions have been, over time, seared into our minds to the point that we don't even give them much conscious thought. We simply follow them. Not all traditions are wrong; just the ones that raise themselves above the mind of Christ.
The Son of God says - Matt 7:20-23 "So then, you will know them by their fruits. Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter. Many will say to Me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?' And then I will declare to them, 'I never knew you; DEPART FROM ME, YOU WHO PRACTICE LAWLESSNESS'." NASU
The kingdom of God is entered into with the mind and heart that is within. We are guided by the Spirit of Truth to the thoughts and ways of God. These thoughts and ways are not by nature our thoughts and ways. But in the kingdom the old thoughts are uprooted, the new way is planted and these new thoughts bear much fruit.
Moses and tradition states - "that the man who does not commit adultery is not an adulterer."
The Son of God says "Matt 5:28-29 anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart."
The Lord is not after the outward actions of a man but his mind, or, as it were, his heart. It is His desire to have His brothers and sisters come and dwell with Him in His kingdom. This kingdom is inside of us and we have the Spirit of Truth that has been given to guide our minds, hearts and thoughts into the kingdom that Jesus has prepared for us.
Tradition demands sacrifice and offerings. The Son of God wants us to believe the way little children believe their Dad. Whatever he says must be right, just because he is Dad.
Tradition demands that we follow the law in a certain outward way. The Son of God wants us to follow the Spirit of Truth into the Kingdom where the law and thought of God is written on our hearts and minds transforming our very being from within.
Tradition is large and loud (Remember Moses on Mt Sinai, it says the people all got afraid) The Son of God sends the Spirit of Truth that speaks to us in a still small voice.
Children of God, Jesus Christ came with a great Invitation from his Father to come and join Him in His kingdom for a great feast. To the ones He came to first, because of there traditions, they rejected the invitation. We don't want to be like them! Don't let our forms or thoughts or anything that raises itself above Jesus Christ stand in our way of entering into the kingdom. Inside the kingdom, the transformation of the heart of man takes place. Step by step, thought by thought, the kingdom is there for us to take. As the Promised Land was offered to Abraham, so the kingdom of God has been offered to us. We need only to follow the Spirit of Truth as he leads us into a kingdom where the enemy has already been defeated. It only needs us to go and take possession. We may see giants that we fear in that land but, I tell you today, those giant thoughts and fears have been defeated by Jesus Christ. It is up to us to follow the Spirit of Truth into that land. Stop wandering in the wilderness of darkness and fear looking to see what new thing might come down the path where we can see a glimpse of Christ. Stop living on manna and start living on the meat, milk and honey of the kingdom of God. In that land is the great fruit of joy, love, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, meekness, temperance and. There are no traditions or laws that can stand up to these thoughts when these fruits have so saturated, renewed and transformed our hearts and minds. This is the way of righteousness. It is a narrow way so the Spirit of Truth says come children of the living God and follow me and I will show you how to take this kingdom by force. This is the good news announced by Jesus Christ to a world in dire need of a real heart transforming walk to their Father. Amen!
Ps.4:4…Meditate in your heart upon your bed, and be still. NASU
Written by Chris Pridham