Chapter 7
“From Within…”
Mark 7:1-23
MARK 7:1-23
1 The Pharisees and some of the scribes gathered around Him when they had come from Jerusalem, 2 and had seen that some of His disciples were eating their bread with impure hands, that is, unwashed. 3 (For the Pharisees and all the Jews do not eat unless they carefully wash their hands, thus observing the traditions of the elders; 4 and when they come from the market place, they do not eat unless they cleanse themselves; and there are many other things which they have received in order to observe, such as the washing of cups and pitchers and copper pots). 5 The Pharisees and the scribes *asked Him, “Why do Your disciples not walk according to the tradition of the elders, but eat their bread with impure hands?” 6 And He said to them, “Rightly did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written:
‘THIS PEOPLE HONORS ME WITH THEIR LIPS,
BUT THEIR HEART IS FAR AWAY FROM ME.
7 ‘BUT IN VAIN DO THEY WORSHIP ME,
TEACHING AS DOCTRINES THE PRECEPTS OF MEN.’
8 “Neglecting the commandment of God, you hold to the tradition of men.”
9 He was also saying to them, “You are experts at setting aside the commandment of God in order to keep your tradition. 10 “For Moses said, ‘HONOR YOUR FATHER AND YOUR MOTHER’; and, ‘HE WHO SPEAKS EVIL OF FATHER OR MOTHER, IS TO BE PUT TO DEATH’; 11 but you say, ‘If a man says to his father or his mother, whatever I have that would help you is Corban (that is to say, given to God),’ 12 you no longer permit him to do anything for his father or his mother; 13 thus invalidating the word of God by your tradition which you have handed down; and you do many things such as that.”
14 After He called the crowd to Him again, He began saying to them, “Listen to Me, all of you, and understand: 15 there is nothing outside the man which can defile him if it goes into him; but the things which proceed out of the man are what defile the man. 16 [“If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear.”]
17 When he had left the crowd and entered the house, His disciples questioned Him about the parable. 18 And He *said to them, “Are you so lacking in understanding also? Do you not understand that whatever goes into the man from outside cannot defile him, 19 because it does not go into his heart, but into his stomach, and is eliminated?” (Thus He declared all foods clean.) 20 And He was saying, “That which proceeds out of the man, that is what defiles the man. 21 “For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed the evil thoughts, fornications, thefts, murders, adulteries, 22 deeds of coveting and wickedness, as well as deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride and foolishness. 23 “All these evil things proceed from within and defile the man.”
Overview
A New Code of Cleanliness
These two studies represent the last part of our Lord’s public ministry. We can virtually divide his ministry into three overlapping parts:
1. Christ’s public ministry
2. Christ’s private preparation of the New Church
3. Christ’s sacrificial offering
Part I of this study finds Jesus harassed by religious leaders because his disciples do not attend to the rituals of the Pharisaical traditions. It is important to separate the Pharisee’s oral traditions from the Torah (the Law, as found in the first five books of the Old Testament and particularly in Leviticus). Our Lord blatantly tells the Pharisees that their traditions and their rituals have become more important to them than their relationship with God and their commission as leaders. They are more prone to judgment than to model compassion and they use their rules to distance themselves from people rather than advocate for the “least of these.”
It is a tough reading for it confronts all of us too. It is much too easy to be swept away in ritual and theology than to place myself on the street where the Gospel of Jesus cannot afford to be encumbered by denominationalism. Both in street and incarceration ministry, I find that I have about two to three minutes to present the Gospel in such a way that a person will either hunger for Christ or write me off as another blowhard.
Jesus often presented the Gospel in such vivid and coarse terms that it confused his disciples. It’s as if they are looking for a hidden secret in a message that is as plain as sand on a beach. This reading, Mark 7, is an example of that bluntness. Jesus’ response to the Pharisee’s ritual cleansing is acidic and abrasive; “It’s not what you eat that is dirty, it’s what you vomit.”
The disciples are left wondering; “Where’s the dainty rhetoric in that?”
It is vital to Jesus that his followers understand this point: It isn’t ritual and debate that will get us into heaven, it is the love of God. It is the touch of Jesus. What is our Lord’s new standard for cleanliness? It is not the ritualistic traditions of religious ceremony, but simply to fall upon Jesus. Which path am I offering those who are hungry for salvation?
This week I need to ask myself:
· Is my study and prayer life leading me to simplify my faith or is my “message” becoming more complicated and wordy with age?
· Is my faith becoming more judgmental and critical with time or am I becoming more humble, grateful, and encouraging?
· Does my week bring me closer to the least of these — do they call me “good news” — or am I getting deeper into theology and church?
Where will this week find me? Is my calendar more likely to be filled with “like believers” or am I getting further and further out with the neglected and the rejected?
MARK 7:1-5
1 The Pharisees and some of the scribes gathered around Him when they had come from Jerusalem, 2 and had seen that some of His disciples were eating their bread with impure hands, that is, unwashed. 3 (For the Pharisees and all the Jews do not eat unless they carefully wash their hands, thus observing the traditions of the elders; 4 and when they come from the market place, they do not eat unless they cleanse themselves; and there are many other things which they have received in order to observe, such as the washing of cups and pitchers and copper pots). 5 The Pharisees and the scribes *asked Him, “Why do Your disciples not walk according to the tradition of the elders, but eat their bread with impure hands?”
The Pharisees and some of the scribes
There is a certain type of person that comes to gatherings, not to build up or support, but instead to find a way to tear down the leadership or existing structure. They do not seek to improve or enhance; they only seek to maliciously undercut whatever they find. They bring problems, not solutions. They undercut leadership from the back row, never the front.
Biblically, they are called “scoffers” [H3917b Lets] and scripture deals with them quite severely. It is the name used for the cynical, the proud and the arrogant. Scripture tells us a great deal about such individuals:
They are unteachable — because they already “know it all.” They hate discipline and do not accept reproof:
Proverbs 21.24
“Proud,” “Haughty,” “Scoffer,” are his names, Who acts with insolent pride.
Proverbs 9:7,8
7 He who corrects a scoffer gets dishonor for himself, And he who reproves a wicked man gets insults for himself. 8 Do not reprove a scoffer, or he will hate you, reprove a wise man and he will love you.
The scoffer is to be banished from the people.
Proverbs 22:10
Drive out the scoffer, and contention will go out, even strife and dishonor will cease.
Yet, what happens when the worst scoffers become the people’s leaders?
Scoffers were the preeminent problem that the prophets (Haggai, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Micah and others) faced during their ministries;
II Chronicles 22:3-5
3 He also walked in the ways of the house of Ahab, for his mother was his counselor to do wickedly. 4 He did evil in the sight of the LORD like the house of Ahab, for they were his counselors after the death of his father, to his destruction.
5 He also walked according to their counsel, and went with Jehoram the son of Ahab king of Israel to wage war against Hazael king of Aram at Ramoth-gilead. But the Arameans wounded Joram.
Scoffers were a constant hindrance that John the Baptist faced in his mission:
Matthew 3:7-10
7 But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming for baptism, he said to them, “You brood of vipers, who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? 8 “Therefore bear fruit in keeping with repentance; 9 and do not suppose that you can say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham for our father’; for I say to you that from these stones God is able to raise up children to Abraham. 10 “The axe is already laid at the root of the trees; therefore every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.
Scoffers confronted Jesus almost daily:
As news of his miracles and preaching swept across the land the religious leaders became increasingly more suspicious. They came to challenge Jesus, not to listen to or verify his claims, but to undercut his increasing popularity. Their eyes were not set upon finding truth but upon protecting their positions.
When false leaders take a stand, truth will always be their first enemy. This is what Jesus faced; this was how low the state of God’s people had fallen.
It should make us question our premise of leadership as well. Is our energy spent in protecting our prejudices and rituals — defending the faith — or is our focus on spreading the miraculous joy of Jesus Christ? Are we like Pharisees and scribes focused on the arguments of law or are we like Jesus focused on bringing good news to the poor?
If we don’t know (but are willing to question) we need only look at our fruit. Our fruit will tell us whether we are growing the Kingdom or protecting ritual and tradition while despising those who have moved beyond legalistic argument. One sure way to know is to measure our ratio of “in church” versus “on the street” time. Do we spend as much time out seeking the lost sheep as we do protecting the flock?
Jeremiah 50:6
“My people have become lost sheep; Their shepherds have led them astray. They have made them turn aside {on} the mountains; They have gone along from mountain to hill And have forgotten their resting place.”
Matthew 10:6
“...but rather go to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.”
Matthew 15:24
But He answered and said, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.”
Luke 15:4
“What man among you, if he has a hundred sheep and has lost one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the open pasture and go after the one which is lost until he finds it?”
Luke 15:6
“And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and his neighbors, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep which was lost!’”
Some of His disciples
Evil has particular patterns that reveal its presence. As the ministry of Jesus develops, we find the religious rulers questioning the Lord — not directly — but through his disciples. In this incident, the leaders do not question Christ’s behavior, but the behavior of his followers.
Evil looks for a back door. It looks for the weakest link. Don’t expect evil to hit you head-on and question your affinity with the Lord. Expect evil to seek out your doubts and weaknesses and exploit them. Yet, also expect to find God’s grace there too. It was Paul who taught us that God can speak louder through our weaknesses than our strengths if we just give our temptations to him.
Romans 8:26-27
26 In the same way the Spirit also helps our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we should, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words; 27 and He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.
I Corinthians 2:3-5
3 I was with you in weakness and in fear and in much trembling, 4 and my message and my preaching were not in persuasive words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, 5 so that your faith would not rest on the wisdom of men, but on the power of God.
Indeed, as we grow nearer to Christ, we, like Paul, become ever-more reliant on our weaknesses than our strengths. Those weaknesses are no longer the playground of Satan. They are a joyful indication of God’s powerful presence in our life.
II Corinthians 12:7-9
7 Because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, for this reason, to keep me from exalting myself, there was given me a thorn in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to torment me — to keep me from exalting myself! 8 Concerning this I implored the Lord three times that it might leave me. 9 And He has said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.” Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me.
The traditions of the Elders
The worst abusers of religion always begin with scripture and twist it into rituals to which only a few elite professionals can adhere. This was Peter’s spiritual condemnation of the religious leaders who tried to prevent the spread of the Gospel to the Gentiles. Those leaders tried to encumber new Christian believers with the burden of their exclusive, “ritual-rich,” religion:
Acts 15:10-11
10 “Now then, why do you try to test God by putting on the necks of the disciples a yoke that neither we nor our fathers have been able to bear? 11 “No! We believe it is through the grace of our Lord Jesus that we are saved, just as they are.”
Jesus turned away from empty rituals or, more aptly, he attacked them! Telling the burdened people to accept a faith of the compassionate heart and not of perfunctory ritualism:
Matthew 11:28-30
28 “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”
As with all the preponderant rituals of the religious leaders, their tradition was based upon scripture. However, the Pharisees and the scribes were not satisfied with scripture as written. Instead, they added to it huge volumes of oral traditions. This is what they used to confront Jesus, not the law (the Torah).
The law of ritual cleansing was originally found in the books of Exodus and Leviticus:
Exodus 30:17-21
17 Then the LORD said to Moses, 18 “Make a bronze basin, with its bronze stand, for washing. Place it between the Tent of Meeting and the altar, and put water in it. 19 Aaron and his sons are to wash their hands and feet with water from it. 20 Whenever they enter the Tent of Meeting, they shall wash with water so that they will not die. Also, when they approach the altar to minister by presenting an offering made to the LORD by fire, 21 they shall wash their hands and feet so that they will not die. This is to be a lasting ordinance for Aaron and his descendants for the generations to come.”
Initially, there were four reasons why a Jew would cleanse himself ceremoniously:
When being elevated from a lower status to higher one
This is exemplified by Aaron and his sons preparing to become priests [Exodus 29:4; Leviticus 8:4-6].
Preparing for a religious service or event
Aaron and his sons were also supposed to cleanse themselves prior to entering the Tent of Meeting [Exodus 30:18-21; Leviticus 16].
Purifying oneself from actual defilement [Leviticus 12-15].
These four chapters explain how those who are “unclean” can be purified. It covered every rule from menstruation to leprosy.
A declaration of innocence from an impure act [Deuteronomy 21:1-9].
In these verses, the people of God are taught how to cleanse their city if a dead man is found within the walls or at the gates and no perpetrator has been identified.
These represented the written laws on the topic of impurity. These laws were meticulous but they were not preponderant or an unnecessary burden. They were not only necessary for the faith of the people, but even more so, for the sanitation of the maturing Jewish nation.
However, to these laws the religious leaders had added their oral traditions. Thousands of additional rules and regulations to further elaborate upon ritual purification. It was no longer an issue about sanitation or cleanliness, now it was an issue of public display of religiosity and “one-upmanship.” It had reached the point where the Pharisees ceremoniously washed after any exposure to the public. After all, you never know where you might find a Gentile or unclean Jew.
Compare their ritualistic lifestyle to the simplistic lifestyle of Mother Theresa as she cleansed the impoverished wounded and those who lay dying on the desolate streets of Calcutta. Jesus exposed the hypocrisy of these religious leaders in the story of the Good Samaritan [Luke 10:30-37]. In this story, Jesus declares the hated Samaritan was closer to God because of his compassion than the Religious Authorities were because of their acts of purity.
We find words of hope and encouragement through these stories. We can learn that Jesus cleanses us from the inside-out not like a ritual that only works on the exterior. We can also see how our obedient acts of compassion are a symbol of our closeness to God and cleanliness in his kingdom.
Nowhere is this clearer than in the story of the hemorrhaging woman in Mark 5:25-30. Therein we find a woman who has been cast out and declared unclean for twelve years. She would not be allowed to associate with family or friends. She would be an outcast in her own community. Silently, at risk of death, she sneaks up to Jesus in a large crowd; “If I can just touch the hem of his garment…” she whispers.
The healing compassion of Jesus flows out to her even though our Lord apparently did not know she was seeking to touch him. His love is so great that it simply flows to all who faithfully come to him. This was the New Covenant. This is the new code of cleansing, the fulfillment of all the Gospels: Seek Jesus!
In what manner or for what behavior do I desire cleansing? Past sins? Degradation? Shame? Anger? Drug or alcohol abuse? Here is the Son of God who not only can cleanse us but also desires to cleanse us with every fiber of his being:
Luke 5:12-13
12 And it came about that while He was in one of the cities, behold, {there was} a man full of leprosy; and when he saw Jesus, he fell on his face and implored Him, saying, “Lord, if You are willing, you can make me clean.” 13 And He stretched out His hand, and touched him, saying, “I am willing; be cleansed.” And immediately the leprosy left him.
MARK 7:6-8
6 And He said to them, “Rightly did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written:
‘THIS PEOPLE HONORS ME WITH THEIR LIPS, BUT THEIR HEART IS FAR AWAY FROM ME.
7 ‘BUT IN VAIN DO THEY WORSHIP ME, TEACHING AS DOCTRINES THE PRECEPTS OF MEN.’
8 “Neglecting the commandment of God, you hold to the tradition of men.”
“Rightly did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites…”
There is a side of Jesus that we never want to see. The religious leaders were frequently exposed to it and hated Jesus as a result. Why were the religious leaders so scorned by our Lord? In Matthew 23, Jesus lashes out against the Pharisees and their scribes casting judgment upon them for their transgressions:
Matthew 23:13-39
13 “But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you shut off the kingdom of heaven from men; for you do not enter in yourselves, nor do you allow those who are entering to go in.
14 [“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you devour widows’ houses, even while for a pretense you make long prayers; therefore you shall receive greater condemnation].
15 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you travel about on sea and land to make one proselyte; and when he becomes one, you make him twice as much a son of hell as yourselves.
16 “Woe to you, blind guides, who say, ‘Whoever swears by the temple, that is nothing; but whoever swears by the gold of the temple, he is obligated.’ 17 “You fools and blind men; which is more important, the gold, or the temple that sanctified the gold? 18 “And, ‘Whoever swears by the altar, {that} is nothing, but whoever swears by the offering upon it, he is obligated.’ 19 “You blind men, which is more important, the offering or the altar that sanctifies the offering?
20 “Therefore he who swears by the altar, swears {both} by the altar and by everything on it. 21 “And he who swears by the temple, swears {both} by the temple and by Him who dwells within it. 22 “And he who swears by heaven, swears {both} by the throne of God and by Him who sits upon it. 23 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint and dill and cummin, and have neglected the weightier provisions of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness; but these are the things you should have done without neglecting the others. 24 “You blind guides, who strain out a gnat and swallow a camel!
25 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you clean the outside of the cup and of the dish, but inside they are full of robbery and self-indulgence. 26 “You blind Pharisee, first clean the inside of the cup and of the dish, so that the outside of it may become clean also.
27 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs which on the outside appear beautiful, but inside they are full of dead men’s bones and all uncleanness. 28 “Even so you too outwardly appear righteous to men, but inwardly you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.
29 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you build the tombs of the prophets and adorn the monuments of the righteous, 30 and say, ‘If we had been {living} in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partners with them in {shedding} the blood of the prophets.’ 31 “Consequently you bear witness against yourselves, that you are sons of those who murdered the prophets. 32 “Fill up then the measure {of the guilt} of your fathers. 33 “You serpents, you brood of vipers, how shall you escape the sentence of hell?
34 “Therefore, behold, I am sending you prophets and wise men and scribes; some of them you will kill and crucify, and some of them you will scourge in your synagogues, and persecute from city to city, 35 that upon you may fall {the guilt of} all the righteous blood shed on earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah, the son of Berechiah, whom you murdered between the temple and the altar.
36 “Truly I say to you, all these things shall come upon this generation.
37 “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, the way a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were unwilling. 38 “Behold, your house is being left to you desolate! 39 “For I say to you, from now on you shall not see Me until you say, ‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!’"
What are the crimes of these religious leaders?
They used their positions of power and prestige to take advantage of others
They sought not to make people into God’s followers, but their own admirers
They changed the words of God to increase their own standing and line their own pockets
They reveled in ritual while all around them people suffered from injustice
Jesus saw the sin of these men from an eternal perspective. He had witnessed — from God’s viewpoint — their treatment of the prophets throughout the ages. He knew of their scorn and hypocrisy towards his cousin, John the Baptist, he saw them attacking his own disciples and experienced their constant harassment whenever he healed, fed or cleansed the outcast. For these reasons, Jesus condemns those religious leaders as hypocrites.
The word for hypocrites [G5273 Hupokrites] has fascinating roots. The original use of the word was for an actor who played a character. Yet, the two root words of hypocrite are quite disturbing:
Hupo [GSN5259], this word means “under” or to “place beneath” like an inferior condition.
Krino [GSN2919], this word means to condemn, damn, avenge, judge or call someone’s character into question.
These two words graphically describe the hypocrite. One who puts others in an inferior position and condemns them — judges them — slandering their character; all the while acting “holier than thou.”
Unfortunately, we must acknowledge the truth that none among us are many steps away from the Pharisee and the Scribe. Each of us lingers on the verge of hypocrisy. Each of us has condemned, put others beneath ourselves or acted “holier than thou.” Especially when we realize that Christ’s wants us freed from a sin that not only displays itself in actions, but pervades our heart and thoughts.
Matthew 5:21-22
21 “You have heard that the ancients were told, ‘You shall not commit murder’ and ‘Whoever commits murder shall be liable to the court.’ 22 “But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother shall be guilty before the court; and whoever shall say to his brother, ‘Raca,’ shall be guilty before the supreme court; and whoever shall say, ‘You fool,’ shall be guilty {enough to go} into the fiery hell.
What chance do we have of changing ourselves so deeply that even our very thoughts are continually focused on love and salvation? No chance! Except by the grace of Jesus and through the power of the Holy Spirit. Paul tells of the abiding grace of God in Romans 5:20; “…where sin increased, grace abounded all the more.”
Honor me with their lips
Stepping up the heat on the Pharisees, Jesus uses scripture to reveal their hypocrisy to all. We have previously discussed that Jesus rarely quoted scripture to anyone but his religious antagonists, including Satan. He needed little authority beyond his actions and most often spoke to his followers in enlightening (and sometimes, hilarious) parables. However, Christ’s grasp of the Scriptures frequently stunned his adversaries.
The first quote Jesus used was from Isaiah:
Isaiah 29:13
Then the Lord said, “Because this people draw near with their words and honor Me with their lip service, but they remove their hearts far from Me, and their reverence for Me consists of tradition learned by rote.”
God’s disgust with the religious leaders burned like a hot iron and Jesus sent these men scattering like someone turning a high beam on a cockroach festival.
He condemns the Pharisees for:
1. Their empty words
2. How they substituted ritual-by-rote for love of God and his people (humility, justice, and compassion)
3. Warping God’s words with preponderant traditions that flattered the High Priests and neglected the needy
4. Perhaps the most frightening accusation that Jesus makes against these religious leaders is that they were given a special position and commission by God but then they violated that trust.
“Neglecting the commandment of God, you hold to the tradition of men.” The word for neglect [G114 Atheteo] means not only to set aside but to despise, frustrate and bring to naught the commands of God.
What a horrendous sentence. What a terrifying thing to hear from the mouth of our Lord! Jesus declares; “God is done with you.”
Isaiah first declared it and Jesus served the warrant. Their time was up.
However, we have to read the next verse to understand God’s plan for their destruction. He doesn’t threaten a reign of fire upon their heads or a plague of scorpions in their undies:
Isaiah 29:14
Therefore behold, I will once again deal marvelously with this people, wondrously marvelous; And the wisdom of their wise men will perish, And the discernment of their discerning men will be concealed.”
Jesus promises that wonder upon wonder will take place all around these leaders. So many wonders that they will wind up looking likes fools; “The wisdom of their wise men will perish.” Quite literally, they will be pitied, disregarded, forgotten. Their only remembrance will be a shaking head and an utterance; “Don’t become like them!”
This is quite literally evidenced in Mark 6, when Jesus returns to his hometown of Nazareth only to be rebuffed by their lack of faith. Jesus and the disciples leave Nazareth to its own foolishness and do miracles in the villages all around that city of disbelief. Indeed, Jesus sends his disciples to the villages surrounding Nazareth performing miracles that must have left the Nazarenes grinding their teeth.
Where would I be found in this circle of doubters, scoffers, and believers? My prayer is that I would not be found among the Nazarene scoffers only hearing about the miracles around me and muttering; “Well, he didn’t do anything for me.”
I pray that I won’t be found among the Religious Leaders, condemned to my rituals, stymied by impotent traditions that are bereft of the power of a living God.
“Lord, lead us to your living power, alive and established in the midst of compassion and healing. Fill us with the power of good news. Make us a salve to the disheartened and a friend to the disenfranchised.”
MARK 7:9-13
9 He was also saying to them, “You are experts at setting aside the commandment of God in order to keep your tradition. 10 “For Moses said, ‘HONOR YOUR FATHER AND YOUR MOTHER’; and, ‘HE WHO SPEAKS EVIL OF FATHER OR MOTHER, IS TO BE PUT TO DEATH’; 11 but you say, ‘If a man says to his father or his mother, whatever I have that would help you is Corban (that is to say, given to God),’ 12 you no longer permit him to do anything for his father or his mother; 13 thus invalidating the word of God by your tradition which you have handed down; and you do many things such as that.”
“For Moses said…”
Just as you do not wish to stand between a mother bear and her cubs, you also should never stand between Jesus and the outcast. Hardness towards the poor was a criticism raised against religious leaders by all the prophets and through the teachings of the early church.
Nehemiah 9:34
“For our kings, our leaders, our priests, and our fathers have not kept Your law or paid attention to Your commandments and Your admonitions with which You have admonished them.
Isaiah 3:1-4
1 For behold, the Lord GOD of hosts is going to remove from Jerusalem and Judah. Both supply and support, the whole supply of bread and the whole supply of water; 2 The mighty man and the warrior, the judge and the prophet, the diviner and the elder, 3 The captain of fifty and the honorable man, the counselor and the expert artisan, and the skillful enchanter. 4 And I will make mere lads their princes, and capricious children will rule over them.
Jeremiah 32:31-34
31 “Indeed this city has been to Me a provocation of My anger and My wrath from the day that they built it, even to this day, so that it should be removed from before My face, 32 because of all the evil of the sons of Israel and the sons of Judah which they have done to provoke Me to anger-they, their kings, their leaders, their priests, their prophets, the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem. 33 “They have turned their back to Me and not their face; though I taught them, teaching again and again, they would not listen and receive instruction. 34 “But they put their detestable things in the house which is called by My name, to defile it.
Micah 3:11-12
11 Her leaders pronounce judgment for a bribe, her priests instruct for a price and her prophets divine for money. Yet they lean on the LORD saying, “Is not the LORD in our midst? Calamity will not come upon us.”
12 Therefore, on account of you Zion will be plowed as a field, Jerusalem will become a heap of ruins, and the mountain of the temple will become high places of a forest.
Luke 11:39-40
39 But the Lord said to him, “Now you Pharisees clean the outside of the cup and of the platter; but inside of you, you are full of robbery and wickedness. 40 “You foolish ones, did not He who made the outside make the inside also?”
Knowing the leaders of the law would listen to nothing but the law; Jesus begins by quoting Moses (to whom the religious leaders traced their tradition of oral law).
Deuteronomy 4:14
14 “The LORD commanded me at that time to teach you statutes and judgments, that you might perform them in the land where you are going over to possess it.”
Jesus refers to one of the simplest commandments taught to children at a young age: “Honor your father and your mother (See Exodus 20:12; 21:7 and Leviticus 20:9).” Jesus shows how these Pharisees and scribes have taken a law as simple as this and warped it to their own advantage.
Both Numbers and Deuteronomy speak of making a vow in God’s name:
Numbers 30:2
“If a man makes a vow to the LORD, or takes an oath to bind himself with a binding obligation, he shall not violate his word; he shall do according to all that proceeds out of his mouth.”
Deuteronomy 23:21
“When you make a vow to the LORD your God, you shall not delay to pay it, for it would be sin in you, and the LORD your God will surely require it of you.
This vow was called “Corban” (meaning, “Offering”). Jesus confronts the religious leaders for using the practice of Corban to neglect their parent’s needs in old age. Instead of caring for their own parents (as Mosaic Law clearly dictated), the Pharisees would declare they had set the money aside for the Lord. They could still use it however they chose, but they rid themselves of their parental obligations.
At the same time we might wonder how someone could live with actions such as these. We might simultaneously ask how we can devote billions of dollars to larger church buildings and softer pew cushions while there are hungry children and abandoned elderly within blocks of most of our nation’s churches.
We too can declare a type of Corban when we ignore the poor while worshipping God with religious decor and vestments that can cost tens of thousands of dollars per liturgical season. We argue that the Lord’s house must be resplendent, but the temple of God — the House of God — truly lies in the hearts of the least of these. If we want to give “Corban” to Jesus, we must clothe the poor.
MARK 7:14-23
14 After He called the crowd to Him again, He began saying to them, “Listen to Me, all of you, and understand: 15 there is nothing outside the man which can defile him if it goes into him; but the things which proceed out of the man are what defile the man. 16 [“If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear.”]
17 When he had left the crowd and entered the house, His disciples questioned Him about the parable. 18 And He *said to them, “Are you so lacking in understanding also? Do you not understand that whatever goes into the man from outside cannot defile him, 19 because it does not go into his heart, but into his stomach, and is eliminated?” (Thus He declared all foods clean.) 20 And He was saying, “That which proceeds out of the man, that is what defiles the man. 21 “For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed the evil thoughts, fornications, thefts, murders, adulteries, 22 deeds of coveting and wickedness, as well as deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride and foolishness. 23 “All these evil things proceed from within and defile the man.”
“Out of the heart of men”
Jesus’ straightforward speech was often so unadorned that the disciples seemed to regularly miss his point altogether. It was almost as though they were so used to the confusing arguments of the religious leaders that they tried to read too much into Christ’s statements. This was so evident that later versions of the bible included the statement, “Thus He declared all foods clean,” as if Jesus was not clear enough. This statement was added after the original document was circulated and it took decades for the church (particularly the church in Jerusalem) to concede this matter.
Jesus’ words were quite plain, even bordering on vulgar: “It ain’t what goes in the body that’s gross; it’s what comes out!”
Add this to his previous words to the Pharisees and the picture is not at all dainty; “These guys may have clean fingernails and the latest attire, but their hearts are empty graves and their breath is death.”
The confusion of the disciples is no different than our own confusion over public images and personal character. A person may have all the possessions, titles and trappings of success and yet their personal life might still be empty, corroded with false pride and vanity. We may see a successful and powerful person in this world, but we don’t see them with Christ’s eyes.
Christ looks at us after all the chaff has been burned away. Like Superman with X-Ray vision, he sees us as we will stand exposed before the Father. A position where all my earthly power and possessions are irrelevant.
His frank words are meant to shock and to save. They are designed to pull us back from the edge of oblivion and to shake us from our slumber; “Your body is a bag of dust clothed in dirty rags. It won’t fool God for a moment!”
MARK 7:21-22
21 “For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed the evil thoughts, fornications, thefts, murders, adulteries, 22 deeds of coveting and wickedness, as well as deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride and foolishness.
For from within
Our Lord lists a number of actions which are sinful in nature, and what a horrific list it is: Evil thoughts, fornications, thefts, murders, adulteries, coveting, deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride and just plain acting like willful fools.
However, these are just the signs of sin. The point of this whole interaction was not where sin ends up, but where sin starts. We will never conquer sin by trying to quash its results:
Romans 7:15-21
15 For what I am doing, I do not understand; for I am not practicing what I would like to do, but I am doing the very thing I hate. 16 But if I do the very thing I do not want to do, I agree with the Law, confessing that the Law is good. 17 So now, no longer am I the one doing it, but sin which dwells in me. 18 For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh; for the willing is present in me, but the doing of the good is not. 19 For the good that I want, I do not do, but I practice the very evil that I do not want.
Paul does not present an excuse for sin in these verses. Instead he presents the nature of sin. You cannot kill sin by whacking its tail with a noodle. You must cut off its head and the head of sin is the heart. If one’s heart changes then one’s actions change.
The love of Christ changes the heart. The love of Christ makes us desire his relationship far more than the temporal pleasures of sin. If we want to quit acting sinful we need to fall deeper in love with Jesus!
That is the essence of this tough interplay with the Pharisees. Loving Jesus makes us attractive from the inside out. I see it repeatedly in our prisons, the person who falls in love with Jesus approaches life with a new type of humility. Humility leads to gratitude, gratitude leads to simplicity, and simplicity leads to service — which leads us back to the suffering servant; Jesus Christ. That is the new code of cleansing. Change the heart. To seek the eternal, to embrace the greatest gift of God, change the heart. For from within Jesus does his greatest work.
Mark 7:24-37
“Even The Dogs…”
Mark 7:24-37
MARK 7:24-37
24 Jesus got up and went away from there to the region of Tyre. And when He had entered a house, He wanted no one to know of it; yet He could not escape notice. 25 But after hearing of Him, a woman whose little daughter had an unclean spirit immediately came and fell at His feet. 26 Now the woman was a Gentile, of the Syrophoenician race. And she kept asking Him to cast the demon out of her daughter. 27 And He was saying to her, Let the children be satisfied first, for it is not good to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs. 28 But she answered and *said to Him, Yes, Lord, but even the dogs under the table feed on the children’s crumbs. 29 And He said to her, Because of this answer go; the demon has gone out of your daughter. 30 And going back to her home, she found the child lying on the bed, the demon having left.
31 Again He went out from the region of Tyre, and came through Sidon to the Sea of Galilee, within the region of Decapolis. 32 They *brought to Him one who was deaf and spoke with difficulty, and they *implored Him to lay His hand on him. 33 Jesus took him aside from the crowd, by himself, and put His fingers into his ears, and after spitting, He touched his tongue with the saliva; 34 and looking up to heaven with a deep sigh, He *said to him, Ephphatha! that is, Be opened! 35 And his ears were opened, and the impediment of his tongue was removed, and he began speaking plainly. 36 And He gave them orders not to tell anyone; but the more He ordered them, the more widely they continued to proclaim it. 37 They were utterly astonished, saying, He has done all things well; He makes even the deaf to hear and the mute to speak.
MARK 7:24
Jesus got up and went away from there to the region of Tyre. And when He had entered a house, He wanted no one to know of it; yet He could not escape notice.
He could not escape notice
Jesus had taken the disciples out of Israel and into modern-day Lebanon to buy time and provide additional teaching to his apostles. In Israel, religious spies were following him everywhere trying to disrupt and undermine his message. In most situations this only helped to clarify our Lord’s message and further revealed the biases and weaknesses of those who attacked Jesus. We can learn a great deal from this situation. Even though people can argue endlessly over theology and doctrine no one will ever be able to successfully argue against a life bursting with the actions of peace and compassion.
Yet, Jesus obviously realized that his followers needed space too. For now, the religious leaders — realizing they could not win in a direct confrontation with Jesus — began to attack our Lord’s disciples on the fringes.
What an indication of how Satan works. If direct confrontation doesn’t work, he doesn’t rest, he doesn’t stop. Beelzebub goes after those around us, dealing in rumors and half-truths, trying to create internal dissension within our communities.
For that reason, Jesus sought to retreat and strengthen his inner core of followers. He went to Tyre, the land of the Syrophoenicians, hated among the Jews. Yet, another group of people the Jews called “Sons of Dogs.”
The region of Tyre
This week (July, 2006), Tyre is being demolished by the Israeli army. My government (the United States) stands on the side supplying weapons and moral support as the Israelis bomb Lebanese citizens to root out the terrorist group, Hezbollah. The irony is too pronounced to be ignored. Two thousand years ago in that city a mother cried out to the deaf ears of apostles that only ignored her cries. Indeed, revealing their prejudice, they tried to chase her away.
The fact that the disciples themselves were in Tyre seeking respite from religious persecution in Israel had no impact on them. They have no problem with turning right around and treating this grieving, pleading mother with absolute disgust.
In Tyre, this week, a woman still cries out for her daughter. She was not part of the hatred and politics that turned southern Lebanon into a disaster zone. Yet, that woman still cannot find a voice in an area torn asunder by religion and politics.
In a government (the U.S.) that has framed itself as conservative Christian, the irony is that no one has asked; “What didJesus do when he was in Tyre/Lebanon?”
In fact, the mood of the country would suggest that this would be a naïve question in today’s world. I wonder if the disciples also considered the love and compassion of Jesus “naïve?”
We pray to Jesus for our victory and our plans to succeed but we consider his ways and his words naïve. “What Would Jesus Do” in Tyre? We already know. The same thing he did 2,000 years ago in that ancient city. He would find the most ignored, most forgotten, most desperate person in that region and he would heal her daughter.
MARK 7:25-30
25 But after hearing of Him, a woman whose little daughter had an unclean spirit immediately came and fell at His feet. 26 Now the woman was a Gentile, of the Syrophoenician race. And she kept asking Him to cast the demon out of her daughter. 27 And He was saying to her, Let the children be satisfied first, for it is not good to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs. 28 But she answered and *said to Him, Yes, Lord, but even the dogs under the table feed on the children’s crumbs. 29 And He said to her, Because of this answer go; the demon has gone out of your daughter. 30 And going back to her home, she found the child lying on the bed, the demon having left.
Yes, Lord, but even the dogs under the table feed on the children’s crumbs
So was Jesus displaying the prejudices of his time (and ours) by virtually calling this woman and her child “dogs?” Before we formulate that answer, let’s look at a different perspective of the story from Matthew:
Matthew 15:22-25
22 And a Canaanite woman from that region came out and began to cry out, saying, Have mercy on me, Lord, Son of David; my daughter is cruelly demon-possessed. 23 But He did not answer her a word. And His disciples came and implored Him, saying, Send her away, because she keeps shouting at us. 24 But He answered and said, I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. 25 But she came and began to bow down before Him, saying, Lord, help me!
In this fuller version of the reading we find the woman completely ignored (if not harassed) by the disciples. They will not listen to a word she says and it is doubtful they are gracious in the process. In essence, the Apostle’s treat this woman like the Pharisee’s had treated them.
This is the primary focus of the entire journey Jesus took with his disciples. It is unquestionably the lesson that Jesus sought to teach his followers (then and now). How easy it is to pass the evil done to us on to someone else instead of ending the cycle of hate. This is what Jesus came to do and what he intended to teach in this lesson. Indignant behavior stops with Jesus and needs to stop with us if we claim his name. He absorbed it, he reshaped it and he took it to the cross, but evil stopped with Jesus.
“Because of this answer go; the demon has gone out of your daughter”
In Mark’s recollection of Peter’s gospel, Jesus tells this woman that her “answer” healed her daughter. Let’s look at her incredible answer; “Yes, Lord, but even the dogs under the table feed on the children’s crumbs [v28].”
In Matthew’s recollection, Jesus stated: “O woman, your faith is great; it shall be done for you as you wish.” And her daughter was healed at once [Matthew 15:28].
In both cases, what this woman learns is that healing comes from the faith within her not just from the external presence of Jesus. A daughter of a foreign country and a foreigner’s faith is not going to have much opportunity to run to Jerusalem for sacrifice nor would she be accepted if she did.
Yet, Jesus shows her that the power to trade joy for suffering is as close as her prayers; regardless of her religious affiliation or geographic location or political position.
It may come as a shock to most Christians today but we might do better to use this woman as a model of faith even more than the disciples. After all, we are neither Jewish nor Galilean. Most of us have no genetic or geographic claim to Jesus.
While the woman learns the power of faith rests internally, the disciples learn that faith can’t be measured by proximity to Jesus. They are right next to the Lord and yet they see the woman as a bother. They don’t lead her to Jesus or attempt to heal her daughter, her persistent faith does that. The Apostles are too blinded by their social prejudice and religious intolerance to offer miracles to anyone in Tyre.
Jesus words are obviously not meant to cut down the woman (her compassion runs too deep to even care if she is insulted). The words of Christ are meant to reprimand the disciples — and us — when our political and religious agenda blind us to compassion.
Which faith most resembles mine? Am I like the cocksure disciples steeped in religious and cultural prejudice, deeply self-assured of my proximity to Jesus? Or, am I like the outcast woman of Lebanon, indentured by compassion and uncaring of insults if I can just save one soul?
MARK 7:31-35
31 Again He went out from the region of Tyre, and came through Sidon to the Sea of Galilee, within the region of Decapolis. 32 They *brought to Him one who was deaf and spoke with difficulty, and they *implored Him to lay His hand on him. 33 Jesus took him aside from the crowd, by himself, and put His fingers into his ears, and after spitting, He touched his tongue with the saliva; 34 and looking up to heaven with a deep sigh, He *said to him, Ephphatha! that is, Be opened! 35 And his ears were opened, and the impediment of his tongue was removed, and he began speaking plainly.
He touched his tongue with the saliva
It may seem strange that Jesus heals the demoniac girl in Tyre without even seeing her and yet uses spittle, mud and touch to heal the deaf man in the Decapolis region. Why the different approaches?
Jesus is obviously less concerned about ceremony than he is about healing. He uses what is necessary for the seeker to experience healing.
In the case of the Decapolis mute, it was widely believed that the saliva (or some part of a spiritual leader’s body) held great powers. A lock of hair, a piece of bone, a fingernail from the venerated deceased or the spittle of a living one; all of these were viewed as a connection to the holy.
Clearly, Jesus didn’t need spit and mud to heal. He didn’t even need physical closeness. However the deaf man needed these actions while the woman from Tyre did not. Jesus used what worked to buoy the believer’s faith as long as it wasn’t a core distraction from ultimate unity from God.
In my work with the incarcerated, I can’t afford to rely on “the externals.” Normally, all I can take into an initial meeting with an adult or juvenile are the clothes on my back. That means no bible, cross, degree or other accoutrement. Just Jesus in my heart.
Nine times out of ten that is what most people take to work or school anyway. To adapt a contemporary commercial to our circumstances, we might ask, “What do you need in your wallet?”
Still, if the person that I am meeting wants to see a specific denominational leader. I’ll do whatever I can to bring Jesus into their cell in the manner they request. I’m not so proud as to consider my way as the only way. Whatever leads them to Jesus’ healing power; that’s what I’ll do.
What do the disciples learn from all this? Jesus shows them that healing is not a technique rooted in ritual. Healing is love revealed, pouring forth in compassion.
We often cannot heal others because we are too reliant on technique and not on simply being a conduit; a vessel of God’s compassion. If it were up to the Apostle’s there would have been no healing in Tyre or Sidon. Prejudice would have blocked their compassion and prevented them from being a conduit of God. To become a conduit, I must rid myself of my prejudice and my self-righteousness and I must be healed too. Healing flows from humility, humility flows from gratitude, the kind of gratitude I receive when I can admit that I am just a sinner adopted by Jesus too.
MARK 7:36-37
36 And He gave them orders not to tell anyone; but the more He ordered them, the more widely they continued to proclaim it. 37 They were utterly astonished, saying, He has done all things well; He makes even the deaf to hear and the mute to speak.
He gave them orders not to tell anyone
We have studied multiple occasions when Jesus told those he healed not to tell others about his works. Each situation has something in common:
· People come to Jesus only to relieve their physical distress
· The Lord heals that distress and people run out to tell others about how Jesus can heal their distress too
· Others come to Jesus solely to be relieved of their physical distresses
· Jesus is flooded by crowds wanting only one thing; relief from distress
Jesus healed for compassion but never for promotion. Often, the results of his healing became a distraction from his true work of earth; salvation. It was not compassion that was problematic. Indeed, compassion for those in need was central to the Christ’s mission. The distraction was the throngs that came only to have Jesus meet their physical needs — for food or healing — and never wanted the “living bread” or the “living water.”
Am I a distraction to Christ? Am I one of those to whom he would command; “Don’t tell anyone you met me!” Am I seeking Jesus just to rid myself of personal discomfort or simply to meet my petty needs? “Jesus, stop what you are doing and open up a parking space for me.” Or, have I truly understood the healing power of Jesus?
The word “healing [G2323 Therapeu]” had four components that combined to make the whole:
1. To be freed from disease
2. To be filled with gratitude
3. To become a menial servant
4. To be restored to community
Relieving our discomfort is not total healing. We are not fully healed until we are overwhelmed with gratitude, restored to community, and running out to serve others.
When we are fully healed we don’t see anyone as “dogs.” We see everyone as bearing the dignity of God who longs for nothing but fullness in their life. We see only the compassion that Jesus the Savior had for us and we long with all of our heart and through all of our actions to give that love to others.
Am I totally healed? Healed enough to serve others in radical gratitude? Jesus is willing, not only to give me an attitude of graciousness and a heart for service in my life, he is also willing to free me of the prejudices and self-righteousness that would keep me from the faith of the woman who cried; “Lord, even the dogs.”