The Preface:
Is your religion something on the outside, or something on the inside? If you did an inventory of your heart, what kind of things would you find there? Jealousy? Pride? Envy? These are all too often “hidden” sins that we don’t deal with because no one knows about them. When we couple that with evil thoughts and lustful desires, if we are honest, it shows a pretty ugly heart. This is how Jesus describes what comes out of our hearts. (Mark 7:21-22)
As I examine my own heart, I see these things in my heart as well. If we aren’t careful we can be guilty of Jesus’ rebuke to the religious leaders in our passage today. He exposed the deeper issue of their hearts and declared their worship was a farce. They honored God with their lips, but their hearts were far from Him. They substituted tradition for truth, external rituals for internal righteousness.
The Passage: Mark 7:1-23
The Process:
- Mark 7:1-5 What was the accusation the religious leaders brought to Jesus. Seeing this came just after observing the disciples feeding the 5000, what conclusions can be drawn?
- Mark 7:6-8 In Jesus response, what was he insinuating regarding the religious leaders?
- Mark 7:9-13 What was Jesus counter argument against the religious leaders and what practical example does he give?
- Mark 9:14-23 What did Jesus mean when he said, “It’s not what goes into your body that defiles you; you are defiled by what comes from your heart.”
The Purpose:
Jesus pointed to the real source of defilement—not dirty hands, but dirty hearts. Evil thoughts, pride, deceit, and selfish desires flow from within. The Pharisees were obsessed with external contamination, but ignored the corruption inside. They believed themselves to be clean because of the traditions they followed on the outside. When all the time, their hearts were evil and far from God. In contrast, Jesus, though accused of being “unclean,” because he refused to follow their external rituals, was actually the very source of righteousness itself.
This passage reminds us that God is not impressed by outward appearances or rituals. He looks at the heart. True worship is not about following traditions, but about surrendering our inner life to Him.
The Plan:
As I ask these questions of myself, I encourage you to ask them too.
- What can I learn from this? What is God saying to me and my life from this passage?
I am not exempt from the kinds of things Jesus describes here. Issues of the heart that defile me. I know there are things that I do a good job at hiding. My internal voice can sometimes be quick to judge, or quick to slander. My pride often raises it’s head. And when I say one thing, while at the same time my heart is harboring something different, Jesus says, at that moment, my worship is a farce.
- What do I need become more aware of?
I need the Holy Spirit to reveal my heart. What is truly coming out of my heart? When I am in the middle of a tough conversation, how aware am I of the story I am telling myself and the goal I am seeking?
- How does God want me to engage with this? What does He want me to do because of what He is saying here?
In the moment if/when my heart is thinking/speaking to myself something different than what is coming out of my mouth, I need to stop and search my heart.
“What story must I be telling to create these emotions? What story is creating these emotions?”
“What evidence do I have to support this story?”
Watch for clever stories. Victim, Villain, and Helpless Stories sit at the top of the list.
The Power; Implement and Integrate
The power to change is in the implementation and integration of what God is saying to us. We can talk all we want, make lots of plans, but until we do something about it, and develop habits that integrate those truths, we will never change. What is the one thing I need to do as a result of this study today?
Seeking the will of God in all things… not my own thinking, not my man made ideas, not my solutions, but God’s. Seek first His kingdom, His name glorified.
Commentary: Verse by Verse
The Religious leaders argument
Mark 7:1-5 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 hand washing 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.”
After his sermon on the bread of life (in Capernaum), a delegation from Jerusalem came up and began to challenge Jesus about how his disciples were behaving.
Their argument consisted of observing that Jesus disciples failed to follow the Jewish ritual of ceremonially washing their hands before eating. Their claim, “every good jew does not eat anything without ceremonially washing their hands first.” (v3)
This, they claimed, was just one example of the many traditions they saw the disciples not following.
v5 “Why don’t your disciples live according to the traditions of the elders? instead they eat with “unclean hands.”
Pentecost:
These rituals had arisen because of the demands of the law to maintain separation from Gentiles and the consequent Jewish sense of the uncleanness of Gentiles.
To slight hand washing was a crime worthy of death. “Better go four miles to water, than incur guilt by neglecting hand-washing.” One who neglected hand- washing after eating was as bad as a murderer.” Hillel and Sharnmai, two great rival teachers and heroes of Jewish traditionalism just before the time of Christ, united on eighteen decrees which might not under any circumstances be modified. These decrees were designed to separate the Jews from all contact with the Gentiles. To touch a Gentile involved defilement; hence the necessity of a complete bath (immersion) after returning from the market-place.
This accusation coming just after the feeding of the 5000 is a indication that these accusations were likely observed during this miracle
Jesus neither vindicated their conduct, nor apologised for their breach of the Rabbinic ordinances, implied at least an attitude of indifference towards traditionalism. This is the more notice-able, since, as we know, the ordinances of the Scribes were declared more precious, and of more binding importance than those of Holy Scripture itself.”
Jesus Response
Mark 7:6-8 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.”
Jesus quotes Is 29:13, “They honored me with their lips, but their hearts were far from me.” Jesus claims that their religion is a farse. They teach man-made ideas as commands from God. They ignore God’s law and substitute it for their own tradition.
This is a dangerous place to be. They had made the ordinances of the Scribes were declared more precious, and of more binding importance than those of Holy Scripture itself.
Pentecost:
When Christ, therefore, next proceeded to show, that in a very important point-nay, in “many such like things”-the Halakhah was utterly incompatible with Scripture, that, indeed, they made “void the Word of God” by their traditions which they had received, He dealt the heaviest blow to traditionalism. Rabbinism stood self-condemned; on its own showing, it was to be rejected as incompatible with the Word of God. Christ now proceeded to show how the Pharisees had very cleverly used their traditions to find ways of circumventing the stringent requirements of the law.
Jesus counter argument:
Mark 7:9-13 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.”
Fruchenbaum
“Corban” – At any time, a Pharisee could raise his hand and say corban, meaning that everything he owned at that moment, materially speaking, had been dedicated.[51] Therefore, he could do one of two things with his assets. He could give all or part of it to the Temple treasury, or he could keep it for his own private use. What he could not do was donate it for somebody else’s private use. The Law of Moses said, Honor your father and your mother (Ex. 20:12). The development of this Mosaic commandment included the fact that children were responsible for the welfare of their older parents if they became physically or mentally too infirm to take care of themselves. That was the Law of Moses
the son would declare his present possessions as corban. Legally, he then could do nothing on behalf of his parents. This did not necessitate his intention to donate his material goods to the Temple treasury; he could opt to keep it for his own private use. By means of this tradition, Pharisees actively broke the Mosaic commandment to honor one’s father and mother. In the words of Matthew: And ye have made void the word of God because of your tradition (Mt. 15:6).
v7-8 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.”
Jesus shows how they have made their traditions more important than God’s Word. Instead of seeking to listen and obey God, they built up their own traditions.
Jesus now turns to the crowds and speaks in a parable. Fruchenbaum notes that since the unpardonable sin, Jesus has continued to speak publically in parables and explain things only to his disciples in secret. We see this pattern here as well.
The parable:
Mark 7:14-16 Then Jesus called to the crowd to come and hear. “All of you listen,” he said, “and try to understand. It’s not what goes into your body that defiles you; you are defiled by what comes from your heart.”
At this point, Matthew records the disciples observing the Pharisees response and saying, “ “Do you realize you offended the Pharisees by what you just said?” To which Jesus declares that the Pharisees aren’t “planted by the Father” and therefore need to be uprooted! They are blind guides leading the blind! (Matt 15:12-14)
The private interpretation:
Mark 7:17-23 Then Jesus went into a house to get away from the crowd, and his disciples asked him what he meant by the parable he had just used. “Don’t you understand either?” he asked. “Can’t you see that the food you put into your body cannot defile you? Food doesn’t go into your heart, but only passes through the stomach and then goes into the sewer.” (By saying this, he declared that every kind of food is acceptable in God’s eyes.) And then he added, “It is what comes from inside that defiles you. For from within, out of a person’s heart, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, wickedness, deceit, lustful desires, envy, slander, pride, and foolishness. All these vile things come from within; they are what defile you.”
Pentecost:
The Pharisees considered themselves to be clean within and therefore wholly acceptable to God. According to their thinking, only that which touched them from outside could render them unclean and defiled in the sight of God. Christ repudiated this erroneous doctrine and taught that the seat of uncleanness and defilement is not external but internal (Mark 7:15). This concept was so strange to even the Twelve that when they were alone with Christ, they asked Him to interpret this saying. Christ explained very clearly that it is not that which touches a man from without that defiles what was clean, but rather the uncleanness comes from within.
The Pharisees were concerned about external contamination. They scrupulously observed traditional rituals to rid themselves of that uncleanness and did not deal with the uncleanness that came from within. The Pharisees’ concept led them to reject Jesus, who offered them a righteousness from God. They sensed no need of such a righteousness and insisted that ceremonial cleansings were sufficient, thinking they were essentially clean within.
They believed themselves to be clean, because of the traditions they followed on the outside. When all the time, their hearts were evil and far from God. Jesus on the other hand did not follow their traditional outward rituals, therefore they declared him unclean. While on the inside Jesus was the source of all righteousness!
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