Invalidate:“Transitive Verb; to deprive something of its value, to make something worthless. Synonyms: Cancel, annul, nullify, indo, quash, overthrow”

Is this perhaps the greatest indictment in the Bible and the greatest irony in history? People who prided themselves that they were the guardians and keepers of God’s Law being told bluntly and with authority that the very traditions they had carefully built up to do that made it of no value, worthless.

“Some Pharisees and teachers of the law came to Jesus from Jerusalem and asked, ‘Why do your disciples break the tradition of the elders? They don’t wash their hands before they eat.’”

This is not a question about hygiene but a point on ceremonial cleanliness. We see such observances today in religions where people wash ceremonially before entering a building, before praying etc. Others make signs and gestures before entering and on leaving and while praying and otherwise through the day to invoke heaven’s blessing and/or protection. It is often sincerely done and can help concentrate minds on the object of worship and supplication – or so the argument goes. But it also lends itself to superstition and hypocrisy as people go through the motions but allow nothing of spiritual substance to touch their lives.

Jesus gave the example of the man who dedicates his possessions to the temple, continues to live on them but denies his parent’s the help he owes them in the law because his possessions are, technically, no longer his to give. In this way he neither honours the temple, God or his father and mother as Moses said he should. But it is worst that than because these observances prevented them seeing that they needed a Saviour. Jesus had earlier quoted Isaiah:

“You will be ever hearing but never understanding;
You will be ever seeing but never perceiving.
For this people’s heat has become calloused;
They hardly hear with their ears
and they have closed their eyes.
Otherwise they might see with their eyes,
hear with their ears,
understand with their hearts and turn
and I would heal them” (Is.6:9-10)

Now he once again cites the prophet:

“You hypocrites! Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you:
‘These people honour me with their lips
but their hearts are far from me<
They worship me in vain;
their teachings are but rules taught by men.’” (Is.29:13)

They had been to so much trouble to bring their message of ceremonial cleanliness and to challenge Jesus, coming from Jerusalem specifically to do so. It was obviously of great importance to them and they felt it their duty to make known what they felt God demanded of people. It is much the same today with people who come around our doors bringing their message of religious observances, duties and obligations. But the message of Jesus is that such things do not make a man ‘clean’ or acceptable to God.

“Out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander. These are what make a man ‘unclean’”(Mt.15:19-20)

The heart of the matter is the matter of the heart and no religious observances can change a person’s heart. By depending on anything we do to make us right with God only puts up obstacles between us and the provision God has made for our salvation. That is what the Pharisees and teachers of the law were doing, putting up obstacles to the very thing that might heal people, and that is what many do today. They believe they are making progress and helping others do the same but theirs is a lip service, their worship vain and their teachings meaningless. They, like us, must come to the Cross empty-handed crying, “Nothing in my hand I bring, simply to the Cross I cling.” Let’s be sure this is the message we share and watch that we don’t entrap people in our own traditions and prevent them from hearing, seeing, understanding and being healed.