Daily Devotions
This story can be hard to understand, but one thing comes through loud and clear: Jesus gets ferocious when religious people fuss about details and ignore human need. This time He skips right over the hand-washing and goes to a bigger problem in their way of doing things.
Let me explain. In those days it was possible for a man to make a vow dedicating something to God forever. That thing, whatever it was, was called “Corban.” You couldn’t take back a vow like that; whatever you promised was permanent.
So Jesus gives the example of a man who uses this custom to get out of paying support for his elderly parents. All he has to do is say, “Sorry, I’ve vowed all your future support to God,” and from that point on, it doesn’t matter if his parents starve in the streets—the religious leaders would tell him to keep his vow.
Now that’s shocking! And what’s worse is, Jesus says, “You have a lot of things like that.” Who should know better than Jesus, the very God who gave the Law to start with?
I’m sure the religious leaders were hugely offended. But God is even more offended when we use religious rules to harm other human beings. And this is all too easy to do, when we stop looking at the lovingkindness of God, and the needs of our neighbors.
What is the cure for this? Only one thing—to allow Jesus to live within us, with all His kindness and mercy, using us to care for the people around us. And that can only happen if we allow Jesus to care for us first—to forgive us and remake us as God’s children through His own death and resurrection. Because that’s what He came to do—to lay down His own life and take it up again, so that we could share in His own everlasting life and joy and freedom. It’s not more rules that we need; we need Jesus. Only He can change our hearts. And He is enough.
WE PRAY: Lord Jesus, when I get caught up in the rules, help me to look at You instead, and trust in Your love for us. Amen.
This Daily Devotion was written by Dr. Kari Vo.
Reflection Questions:
1. Have you ever seen someone get so caught up in the rules that they ignore human need?
2. Why does this happen?
3. If Jesus is living inside you and through you, how does that set you free?