Mark 7:1-8
“You have let go of the commands of God…and instead are holding on to your own rules.” Or, to rephrase Jesus’ words, “You have made such a practice of following your own made-up-rules…..that you have forgotten and ignored – thrown away – the central commandments of God.”
Jewish leaders and teachers of the law had come from Jerusalem….and were asking Jesus, “Why don’t your disciples follow the accepted teachings of the elders about purification? Why do they eat without washing their hands properly?”
Jesus does not criticize the purification practices…nor any of the Mosaic laws, but he criticizes the leaders harshly with a quote from Isaiah: “Isaiah was right when he called you hypocrites. These people honor me with their lips….but their hearts are far from me.”
What did Jesus mean? And what did he mean later in verse 8 when he accuses them of focusing on their own rules and customs?
In verses 9-13 Jesus gave them an example of how they made up rules for their own convenience while ignoring God’s commands. He described their practice of “corban” – where they took money that they could use to support their parents and gave it as a special offering to the temple….or simply called it “a special offering”. This somehow seemed to relieve them of any further need to support their parents. The temple actually encouraged them to do this. And so even though the Mosaic law commanded them to “honor your father and your mother” in this way, they felt free to create new rules that allowed them to ignore their parents.
Then in verse 14-15 Jesus turns and talks to the crowd that is following him. He says this: “Listen to me, everyone, and understand this. Nothing outside a person can make them `unclean’ by going into them. Rather, it is what comes out of a person that makes them `unclean.’ “
Now we know that there are many things that can enter our bodies and destroy us. Drugs, alcohol, pornography, and yes, even a bad diet….. but Jesus is not talking about these things. He is saying that “fundamentally, our biggest problem is not the many bad things on the outside, but the fact that our sinful thoughts and actions spring from within us….from a defiled heart, from a sinful heart.
Finally, when his own disciples don’t know what he means, he explains it further in verses 20-23: “What comes out of a man is what makes him `unclean.’ For from within, out of men’s hearts, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance and folly. All these evils come from inside and make a man `unclean.'”
What can we take away from this passage? Jesus seems to be addressing both the actual question of the Jewish leaders (one dealing with purification and defilement….”why don’t your disciples wash their hands?”) as well as the tendency of the religious leaders to be focused on their own made-up rules and rituals, while completely ignoring the central commands of God. A summary of Jesus’ teachings may be the following:
- Don’t focus on your own traditions and rituals. Focus on the central commands of God.
- Our sinfulness (in this passage referred to as “defilement”) doesn’t come from the outside. It comes from within our hearts.
In regard to the first issue, what commands have we thrown away…in favor of our own “Christianity”, our own faith, our own flavor of worship? If we were to define the “central commands of God” what would we say? Jesus has already clarified that when talking to the young ruler who asked him, “Teacher, what is the most important command?” In summary, Jesus answered, “Love God. Love your neighbor as yourself.”
In regard to the 2nd issue above, how do we perceive our fundamental problem of sin? Is it primarily on the outside…. all around us…attacking us from all sides? While there IS a great amount of evil in this world and surrounding us….Jesus reminds us that our central problem that needs a solution is the sinful condition of our heart.
This has always been the case. Even in the old testament account of King David, who had one of his loyal military leaders murdered so that he could cover up his adultery with that man’s wife, David pleads for a forgiven, pure heart. Psalm 51:10 “Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.” Only through true repentance, and a sacrifice offered at the altar could David have this problem of sin resolved. Those of us who live on this side of the cross, know that the answer to our defilement, our sinful hearts, is not more rules, certainly not made-up rules….but repentance and a plea of forgiveness to our Savior, Jesus Christ. Jesus has completed that sacrifice, that offering, once on the cross. We too, receive pure hearts, and a right relationship with God through the cross.
This week let’s take these two truths to heart:
Our Fundamental Task: Love God….Love Neighbor!
Our Fundamental Need: a clean, pure heart through repentance and forgiveness.
These are daily and ongoing realities in our lives. Amen!
(the above is a summary of the message shared during our worship on September 1, 2024.)
Japanese Congregational Church 