"For God's sake, wash your hands"

 

And the Lord said: "Because this people draw near with their mouths and honor me with their lips, while their hearts are far from me, and their fear of me is a commandment taught by men, therefore, behold, I will again do wonderful things with this people, with wonder upon wonder; and the wisdom of their wise men shall perish, and the discernment of their discerning men shall be hidden."--Isaiah 29:13-14

We hear a lot about health and safety these days.  "Wear a mask and wash your hands to stop the spread of the Virus," is a message that is being pounded into our brains incessantly.  Most people hear it as one would accept a message from a nagging mother, and begrudgingly comply.  Some, however, are making it like a mantra, a religious edict, and anyone found not in compliance are branded heretics.  It is very much like idolatry, this sect that worships at the feet of Hygieia, the goddess of health (from which we get our word "hygiene").

Taken to ridiculous extremes, this cult of fear has mandated that some churches be shut down and that church leaders be fined or imprisoned, or at the very least publicly ridiculed and shunned.  The people who bow to this idol of public health do not believe they are being religious, but they are worshiping at the altar of Asclepius, the Greek god of medicine whose serpent draped staff is the symbol of medical practice today.  They preach with the fervor of revivalists, and condemn any non-believers to hell.

Such has it always been.  Even in Jesus' day we see that religious leaders known then as scribes and Pharisees were publicly criticizing Jesus and His disciples for, of all things, not washing their hands.

Now when the Pharisees gathered to Him, with some of the scribes who had come from Jerusalem, they saw that some of His disciples ate with hands that were defiled, that is, unwashed.  (For the Pharisees and all the Jews do not eat unless they wash their hands properly, holding to the tradition of the elders, and when they come from the marketplace, they do not eat unless they wash.  And there are many other traditions that they observe, such as the washing of cups and pots and copper vessels and dining couches.)  And the Pharisees and the scribes asked Him, "Why do your disciples not walk according to the tradition of the elders, but eat with defiled hands?"  --Mark 7:1-5

To be clear here, the Pharisees were not faulting the disciples for poor hygiene. They observed that Jesus did not teach His disciples to do the ceremonial or ritual hand washing that had been handed down in Jewish tradition for generations. In fact, the tradition may have begun as a hygienic measure, but was ritualized over time. Exodus 30:17-20 required the priests to wash their hands and feet before offering sacrifices or entering the Tabernacle. Remember, this was before people knew about germs and microorganisms that can bring disease and even death; God's law was given so that they would not defile the altar of sacrifice. The practice evolved into a cleansing ritual followed by all practicing Jews. According to myjewishlearning.com/article/hand-washing,

Traditionally, Jews are required to wash their hands and say a blessing before eating any meal that includes bread or matzah. The ritual, known as netilat yadayim, is typically done using a two-handled cup, but any vessel will do. There are various customs regarding how the water should be poured, but a common practice is to pour twice on the right hand followed by twice on the left (this is reversed for those who are left-handed). Hasidic custom is to pour three times on each hand. 

Using the non-dominant hand to pour first can feel unnatural or awkward, highlighting that the washing is done for ritual rather than pragmatic purposes. The tradition is unrelated to personal hygiene, and a person is still required to perform this ritual even if his or her hands are clean. It is also customary not to speak following the recitation of this blessing until reciting the blessing for bread and partaking of some.

After washing, the following is recited in Hebrew: "Blessed are You, Lord our God, King of the universe, who has sanctified us with Your commandments, and commanded us concerning the washing of the hands."

 The Pharisees were making a big deal out of the fact that Jesus and His followers did not follow this custom.  Jesus shot back with a scathing attack on the Pharisees relying on tradition rather than Scripture, and on their hypocrisy of twisting that tradition when it suited them.

And He said to them, "Well did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written, 'This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me; in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.'  You leave the commandment of God and hold to the tradition of men."  And He said to them, "You have a fine way of rejecting the commandment of God in order to establish your tradition!  For Moses said, 'Honor your father and mother"; and 'Whoever reviles father or mother must surely die.'  But you say, 'If a man tells his father or mother, "Whatever you would have gained from me is Corban" (that is, given to God), then you no longer permit him to do anything for his father or mother, thus making void the word of God by your tradition that you may have handed down.  And many such things you do."  --Mark 7:6-13

Jesus says that tradition should not take the place of true devotion to God, because traditions can be manipulated by the leadership.  Leaders are human, and they may not always do everything 24/7 for the glory of God or the furtherance of their religious beliefs.  We must go back to worshiping God in spirit and in truth, not by traditions.  Friend, if you attend a church or denomination that elevates Church teaching to the level of Scripture, then you are practicing heresy.  Whether you attend a Catholic church, a Mormon tabernacle, or a "health and prosperity" preaching evangelical denomination, if they preach anything other than faith alone imparted by grace alone through Christ alone as taught by Scripture alone to the glory of God alone, then that teaching is defiled.

Matthew 15:13-14 says, "Every plant that my heavenly Father has not planted will be rooted up.  Let them (the Pharisees) alone; they are blind guides.  And if the blind lead the blind, both will fall into a pit."

Jesus went on with His teaching that the Pharisees had interrupted.

And He called the people to Him again and said to them, "Hear me, all of you, and understand.  There is nothing outside a person that by going into him can defile him, but the things that come out of a person are what defile him."  And when He had entered the house and left the people, His disciples asked Him about the parable.  And He said to them, "Then are you also without understanding?  Do you not see that whatever goes into a person from outside cannot defile him, since it enters not his heart but his stomach, and is expelled?" (Thus He declared all foods clean.)  And He said, "What come out of a person is what defiles him.  For from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, coveting, wickedness, deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride, foolishness.  All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person."  --Mark 7:14-23

You can follow all of the CDC recommended guidelines and still come down with the coronavirus.  In the same way, you can follow all the religious traditions to the letter, but if your heart is hardened you will still be stuck in sin.  James 4:8 says, "Draw near to God and He will draw near to you.  Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded."  Wash your hands, yes, but make sure you set your hands to do the will of God.  When we stand before God with clean hands, it does not mean that we have washed under our fingernails; rather, it means that our hearts are pure and we have set out to do good, that the work of our hands may bring glory to God.