Jesus and the Pharisees: Salvation and Religion

There's a huge difference between salvation through Jesus and the religion of the Pharisees. Jesus had this to say to the Pharisees: "You abandon the commandments of God to follow human traditions" (Mark 7:8). Jesus' words are a challenge to us - Will we stand on the Word of the Lord? or Will we let our own ideas become more important than God's Word? The woman who "happened to be Greek" (Mark 7:26) is a better example to us than the Pharisees. She's a woman of faith. Her trust is in Jesus. Faith brings blessing into our lives. Tradition sees no real need for a living faith - so long as we keep doing that have always been done. When Jesus is at work in us, He touches our ears - so that we may hear the Word of God clearly - and our tongues - so that we may not speak the Word of God faithfully and powerfully: "At once", following on from the touch of Jesus, "the man could hear and talk normally" (Mark 7:35).