Genuine or Fake?

“The Pharisees and some of the teachers of the law who had come from Jerusalem gathered around Jesus and saw some of his disciples eating food with hands that were defiled, that is, unwashed. (The Pharisees and all the Jews do not eat unless they give their hands a ceremonial washing, holding to the tradition of the elders.  When they come from the marketplace they do not eat unless they wash. And they observe many other traditions, such as the washing of cups, pitchers and kettles.)

So the Pharisees and teachers of the law asked Jesus, ‘Why don’t your disciples live according to the tradition of the elders instead of eating their food with defiled hands?’

He replied, ‘Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you hypocrites; as it is written: “These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. They worship me in vain; their teachings are merely human rules.”  You have let go of the commands of God and are holding on to human traditions.’

And he continued, ‘You have a fine way of setting aside the commands of God in order to observe your own traditions! For Moses said, “Honor your father and mother,” and, “Anyone who curses their father or mother is to be put to death.” But you say that if anyone declares that what might have been used to help their father or mother is Corban (that is, devoted to God)—then you no longer let them do anything for their father or mother. Thus you nullify the word of God by your tradition that you have handed down. And you do many things like that.’” (Mark 7:1-13 NIV)

A few years ago, the charger for my Mac stopped working.  I looked online for a new one, and read the reviews for various replacements. There were a lot of warnings about some of them being fakes.  The sellers described them as genuine, but reviewers said, upon closer examination, they were knock-offs and didn’t work well at all.  

No one likes being taken in by a fake.  There is the great anticipation that you have something genuine, but after you purchase it, you realize it’s not the real thing.  What a letdown!

I think this is why Jesus is being so hard on the Pharisees and the teachers of the law.  They are trying to sell the people on their own righteousness in order to have them admire and follow them.  But, as Jesus points out, they are a bunch of fakes.  What they claim to be and what they truly are is very different.  And Jesus, like the rest of us when we have been duped, is quite disappointed and let’s them know it.  (At another time, He gets downright angry.  See Matthew 23.)

Jesus, while being fully God, was fully human as well, and one of the things we humans like the least is fakes, whether they be politicians, car salesmen, or religious hypocrites.  We want what is genuine and authentic, and we hate being duped.  I think that is why so many are skeptical of or turn against Christianity.  They have seen too many fakes.

None of us is perfect, but we need to be acutely aware of our day-to-day lives and what they project about the Lord.  Are we living in ways that are genuine and reflect truthfully on our God?  Or are we faking it? You need to realize people eventually can tell the difference.

Today, reflect on your own life in the Lord.  Is it genuine or is it fake? Only you and the Lord know for sure, but it won’t take others long to find out.

© Jim Musser 2017