Hi friends. I'm Annie F. Downs. Let's read the Gospels. The Gospels are the first four books of the New Testament in the Bible, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. These are the stories of Jesus Christ's life on earth. The friendships, the parables, the sacrifices, the meals, the miracles. So here's how this works. I'm going to read three chapters to you today. We're reading all four books in 30 days. So I'm going to read three chapters. You can listen. You can read

along in your own Bible. You can watch on YouTube. And then I'll pray. And that is it. So today is

18 and I'll be reading Mark chapter 7 through 9 in the New Living Translation. And for those of you

with the Let's Read the Gospels guided

journal, we are on page 121. Mark 7. One day, some Pharisees and teachers of religious law

arrived from Jerusalem to see Jesus. They noticed that some of his disciples failed to follow the Jewish

ritual of handwashing before eating. The Jews, especially the Pharisees, do not eat until they

have poured water over their cupped hands as required by their ancient traditions. Similarly,

they don't eat anything from the market until they immerse their hands in water. This is but one of

many traditions they have clung to, such as their ceremonial washing of cups, pitchers, and kettles.

So the Pharisees and teachers of religious law asked him, why don't your disciples follow our age-old

tradition? They eat without first performing the hand-washing ceremony. Jesus replied, 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.

For you ignore God's law and substitute your own tradition. Then he said, you skillfully sidestep

God's law in order to hold on to your own tradition. For instance, Moses gave you this law from God.

Honor your father and mother and anyone who speaks disrespectfully of father or mother must be put to

death. But you say it is all right for people to say to their parents,

sorry, I can't help you, for I have vowed to give to God what I would have given to you.

In this way, you let them disregard their needy parents.

And so you cancel the word of God in order to hand down your own tradition.

And this is only one example among many others.

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