Today’s reading deals with a first-century practice known as Korban. Let me say at the outset, that I’m no expert on Korban. However, as I understand the practice, it was essentially a process whereby a Jew could donate something of value (e.g., land) to the Temple. So long as the person giving the land was alive, he was allowed to receive income from it. Upon the man’s death, however, it became the property of the Temple.
So, what’s the problem? Wouldn’t Jesus be supportive of folks giving things to God? Jesus’ problem was not with Korban per se, but with the way it was being used by some wealthy Jews to “weasel out” of the command to honor their parents.
What happened was that when one or both of a man’s elderly parents approached him seeking help because they could no longer support themselves, he would say: “Gosh…I’d really like to help you, but the land/money/etc. that I would have given to you, has already been given to God.” As if using God as a shield to justify their own selfishness wasn’t bad enough, these guys actually had the audacity to give Jesus a hard-time because His disciples didn’t follow their tradition about hand-washing!
It’s pretty easy to see the hypocrisy of the Pharisees in this instance; But I wonder how many times we play the Korban game ourselves. One simple example from my own fellowship (i.e., Churches of Christ) has been the debate over how to help orphans. Some of my brethren feel very strongly that the Bible forbids sending “collection plate money” to an orphanage. “The authorized way to help orphans is by taking them into our own homes,” they say. Fine and dandy…however, I have met more than one brother who holds such a view, yet has no orphans living in his home. Yet, He remains vehemently opposed to “church money” going to the orphanage.
It’s not too difficult to find abusers of Korban “out there.” However, I want us to take a closer look at our own lives and churches. Are we “by our traditions, [violating] the direct commandments of God?” (15:3) Our checkbooks and church financial statements probably offer the answer. How much money goes out to help others in need versus eating out? How much of our church budget is spent on local and/or international benevolence versus on the purchase, expansion, and upkeep of our own building?
Let us live in such a way that when Judgment comes, we will not have to hear the following words: You hypocrites! Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you, for he wrote: These people honor Me with their lips, but their hearts are far from Me. Their worship is a farce, for they teach man-made ideas as commands from God.
-- Justin
For Everyone: The Blessing Video
You said it! Love the video.
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