What Makes A Person Clean or Unclean? - Mark 7:1-23
What Makes A Person Clean or Unclean? - Mark 7:1-23
By Pastor Lee Hemen
March 21, 2010 AM
It is amazing to me that there are those who do not believe in God and those who do believe in God that presume to speak for God. Non-believers can have a false sense of security and self-righteousness by thinking they can just dismiss that God exists, therefore, justifying a kind of self-made morality. Then, there are those who say they believe there is some sort of a god, yet by doing their own thing, they live in kind of a spiritual fantasyland of their own making. For both groups feelings have become their personal spiritual guide. We find no such theology in the Bible.
While the Greeks and Romans, of Jesus’ day, could be found spiritually in one of these two aforementioned groups, there were also the Pharisees who followed their own self-inflicted form of spirituality. They justified their pious imprisonment by saying their righteousness came from following the letter of the law. Jesus, in today’s passage from Mark, slaps down all the above groups: Both those who depended upon feelings or those of a self-made righteousness. Feelings or self-imposed restrictions can never make anyone holy. The disciples were then curious as to what makes a person clean or unclean. They ask Jesus for clarification on his teaching. Let’s discover what Jesus taught concerning what makes a person clean or unclean.
READ: Mark 7:1-23
As humans, we have a tendency to think that spirituality is measured by our emotional state. It often has more to do with how we feel about ourselves at a given moment in time than our true spirituality. That is the inherent danger in thinking this way. We may have a tendency to be way too confident in our piety or way too guilt-ridden. The Pharisees of Jesus’ day based much of their faith on the practice of manmade ritual, rather than an actual relationship with God. In fact, we discover that…
I. Spiritual blindness can make a person unclean! (Vv. 1-6)
1. There is none so blind, as those who refuse to see! The Pharisees of Jesus’ day were like that. Jesus saw through their hypocrisy immediately. They were intently looking at his follower’s personal habits, as a smokescreen for their own two-faced lives. Notice they asked, “Why don't your disciples live according to the tradition of the elders instead of eating their food with 'unclean' hands?” The Pharisees were not so concerned with whether or not the disciples had actually washed their hands for personal cleanliness, but rather they were watching for some reason to entrap Jesus. The disciple’s hands were not necessarily dirty, but they might have touched the things of the “world.” Therefore, they could have been exposed to something that was perhaps ceremoniously unclean. To guard against such transgressions, the “elders” of the day practiced washing their hands before every meal, when they came indoors, or before they sat to meet together. The disciple’s hands were therefore “common” (koinais) from being exposed to the everyday world. These interpretations regulated every aspect of Jewish life. They were considered as binding as the written Law was and were passed on to each succeeding generation. The oral tradition was collected in the 3rd Century and codified in the Mishnah which provided the foundation for the Talmud. Jesus, however, sees through their hypocrisy and tells them, “Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you hypocrites; as it is written: ‘These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me.’” (Mark 7:6) Jesus knew that Spiritual blindness can make a person unclean.
EXAMPLE: Sometimes we can be so intent on being right, we fail in being righteous. This was the case for the Pharisees. They were right, but they failed in righteousness. Being bullheaded is a surefire way to spiritual blindness in the life of any Christian. Paul is a good example. He had formed an incorrect opinion of John Mark, the one who probably wrote the gospel we are studying this morning, and he later had to admit his own error in doing so. The Pharisees thought they spoke for God and the Law concerning even personal hygiene. Yet, because of their hypocrisy, they were spiritually blind and unclean themselves. Jesus knew that spiritual blindness can make a person unclean.
We have all heard that the seven deadly words of a church are, “We have never done it that way before!” However, other excuses that churches or Christians can use can be just as “deadly.” One such is, “We have always done it this way!” While some traditions can in fact be good for us to remember, adhering to manmade traditions for your salvation can lead to spiritual death. In fact, Jesus taught that…
II. Adhering to false traditions can make a person unclean! (Vv. 7-16)
1. Traditions can become religiously hazard forming! Here’s what I mean: Jesus immediately goes to the heart of the issue - the Pharisee’s own spiritual hypocrisy. They could mouth the words of the requirement, but they themselves did not hold to them! They “let go of the commands of God” and held “onto the traditions of men” instead! Jesus gives them an on point example: “Moses said, ‘Honor your father and your mother,’ and, ‘anyone who curses his father or mother must be put to death.’” But they did not “honor” their parents. They pronounced their income and their goods as “corban.” It was a dedicatory formula pronounced over money and property donated to the temple and its service by an unbreakable vow. Such gifts considered corban could only be used for religious purposes. The son could claim his property and money as “corban,” vowed to the temple, and then not held responsible for caring for his parent’s needs! They actually thought that by using word games with God they could nullify the intent of God’s holy law! Jesus sarcastically tells them, “Thus you nullify the word of God by your tradition that you have handed down. And you do many things like that.” Jesus, in a rather in your face way, calls the unwashed crowd to him and tells them in front of the Pharisees, “Listen to me, everyone, and understand this. Nothing outside a man can make him ‘unclean’ by going into him. Rather, it is what comes out of a man that makes him “unclean.’” (Mark 7:14-15) Jesus knew where true spiritual filth came from. The adherence to their ungodly “traditions” made them unclean. A person is defiled morally by what he thinks in his heart even though he may scrupulously observe outward rituals. The inner “deeds” of a person’s heart God rewards. God told Jeremiah, “I the LORD search the heart and examine the mind, to reward a man according to his conduct, according to what his deeds deserve.” (Jeremiah 17:10) Jesus teaches us that adhering to false traditions can make a person unclean!
EXAMPLE: We can measure another’s spirituality by the music they use in worship because it makes us feel uncomfortable. We can judge a person’s theological standing by what version of the Bible they use simply because we grew up with something else that we like the sound of instead. Many of the things the Pharisees objected to as they painstakingly watched Jesus and his followers were simply traditions they had grown up with and had nothing to do with righteous behavior. When we adhere to false traditions instead of the gospel, we become unclean in ourselves. We become judge and jury just like the Pharisees of old. Jesus knew that adhering to false traditions can make a person unclean.
When the Prophet Samuel looked for a replacement for Israel’s king, God had him ignore the individual’s appearance. God told Samuel, “The LORD does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.” (1 Samuel 16:7) While the outward expression of an individual can reflect their inner qualities, Jesus taught that what you ate would not affect your spiritual condition, but what was truly inside of you did. We discover that…
III. What truly exists within a person makes them unclean! (Vv. 17-23)
1. Your inner wallow will muck up your soul! Jesus never minced words, whether it was in mixing it up with the hypocritical Pharisees or his own dense disciples. They ask Jesus the meaning of his words. Mark relates that Jesus remarks “Are you so dull? Don't you see that nothing that enters a man from the outside can make him ‘unclean’?” Jesus just declared all foods “clean.” (Paul would later understand this even though Peter had a tougher time grasping the concept and had to be confronted over it.) Jesus understood that food “doesn't go into (a person’s) heart but into his stomach and then out of his body.” Get this intrinsic spiritual truth straight in your mind and understand its implications for your lives: “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.’” We all hide what truly exists within us. We are all-good, at deceiving ourselves, and thinking that as long as we act right, are polite, and say nice and kind things then we are being the people God desires. However, be forewarned, what you think inwardly will affect your life outwardly. Your thoughts are just as important to the Lord as your actions. And none of us measure up. It was because of this truth Paul would cry out, “What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death?” (Romans 7:24) The Contemporary English Version relates Paul’s answer this way, “Thank God! Jesus Christ will rescue me. So with my mind I serve the Law of God, although my selfish desires make me serve the law of sin.” (Romans 7:25) Praise God Jesus came to rescue us from our uncleanliness! For we have all sinned. Jesus knew that what truly exists within a person makes them unclean.
EXAMPLE: We can look down our spiritual noses at the sinful “sliver” in the lives of our fellow brothers and sisters in the Lord, and fail to see the terrible timber sticking out of our eye. The Pharisees were very good at this game. The verbal tisk-tisk of the pious pew-sitter can be a means to make one feel better about the hidden ungodliness lying unexposed to the prying eyes of the world. Yet, at the very doorway of the human heart can squat the demonic beasts of “evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance and folly.” Each whitewashed sin-stain as vile as the next, waiting to be revealed. Jesus knew that what truly exists within a person makes them unclean.
Conclusion:
Jesus knew that Spiritual blindness can make a person unclean. Jesus knew that adhering to false traditions can make a person unclean. Jesus knew that what truly exists within a person makes them unclean.
---
Pastor Lee Hemen has been the outspoken pastor of the same church for 25 years in Vancouver, WA. He writes regularly on spirituality and conservative causes and maintains several web blogs. This article is copyrighted © 2010 by Lee Hemen and is the sole property of Lee Hemen, and may not be used unless you quote the entire article and have my permission. You now have my permission...
By Pastor Lee Hemen
March 21, 2010 AM
It is amazing to me that there are those who do not believe in God and those who do believe in God that presume to speak for God. Non-believers can have a false sense of security and self-righteousness by thinking they can just dismiss that God exists, therefore, justifying a kind of self-made morality. Then, there are those who say they believe there is some sort of a god, yet by doing their own thing, they live in kind of a spiritual fantasyland of their own making. For both groups feelings have become their personal spiritual guide. We find no such theology in the Bible.
While the Greeks and Romans, of Jesus’ day, could be found spiritually in one of these two aforementioned groups, there were also the Pharisees who followed their own self-inflicted form of spirituality. They justified their pious imprisonment by saying their righteousness came from following the letter of the law. Jesus, in today’s passage from Mark, slaps down all the above groups: Both those who depended upon feelings or those of a self-made righteousness. Feelings or self-imposed restrictions can never make anyone holy. The disciples were then curious as to what makes a person clean or unclean. They ask Jesus for clarification on his teaching. Let’s discover what Jesus taught concerning what makes a person clean or unclean.
READ: Mark 7:1-23
As humans, we have a tendency to think that spirituality is measured by our emotional state. It often has more to do with how we feel about ourselves at a given moment in time than our true spirituality. That is the inherent danger in thinking this way. We may have a tendency to be way too confident in our piety or way too guilt-ridden. The Pharisees of Jesus’ day based much of their faith on the practice of manmade ritual, rather than an actual relationship with God. In fact, we discover that…
I. Spiritual blindness can make a person unclean! (Vv. 1-6)
1. There is none so blind, as those who refuse to see! The Pharisees of Jesus’ day were like that. Jesus saw through their hypocrisy immediately. They were intently looking at his follower’s personal habits, as a smokescreen for their own two-faced lives. Notice they asked, “Why don't your disciples live according to the tradition of the elders instead of eating their food with 'unclean' hands?” The Pharisees were not so concerned with whether or not the disciples had actually washed their hands for personal cleanliness, but rather they were watching for some reason to entrap Jesus. The disciple’s hands were not necessarily dirty, but they might have touched the things of the “world.” Therefore, they could have been exposed to something that was perhaps ceremoniously unclean. To guard against such transgressions, the “elders” of the day practiced washing their hands before every meal, when they came indoors, or before they sat to meet together. The disciple’s hands were therefore “common” (koinais) from being exposed to the everyday world. These interpretations regulated every aspect of Jewish life. They were considered as binding as the written Law was and were passed on to each succeeding generation. The oral tradition was collected in the 3rd Century and codified in the Mishnah which provided the foundation for the Talmud. Jesus, however, sees through their hypocrisy and tells them, “Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you hypocrites; as it is written: ‘These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me.’” (Mark 7:6) Jesus knew that Spiritual blindness can make a person unclean.
EXAMPLE: Sometimes we can be so intent on being right, we fail in being righteous. This was the case for the Pharisees. They were right, but they failed in righteousness. Being bullheaded is a surefire way to spiritual blindness in the life of any Christian. Paul is a good example. He had formed an incorrect opinion of John Mark, the one who probably wrote the gospel we are studying this morning, and he later had to admit his own error in doing so. The Pharisees thought they spoke for God and the Law concerning even personal hygiene. Yet, because of their hypocrisy, they were spiritually blind and unclean themselves. Jesus knew that spiritual blindness can make a person unclean.
We have all heard that the seven deadly words of a church are, “We have never done it that way before!” However, other excuses that churches or Christians can use can be just as “deadly.” One such is, “We have always done it this way!” While some traditions can in fact be good for us to remember, adhering to manmade traditions for your salvation can lead to spiritual death. In fact, Jesus taught that…
II. Adhering to false traditions can make a person unclean! (Vv. 7-16)
1. Traditions can become religiously hazard forming! Here’s what I mean: Jesus immediately goes to the heart of the issue - the Pharisee’s own spiritual hypocrisy. They could mouth the words of the requirement, but they themselves did not hold to them! They “let go of the commands of God” and held “onto the traditions of men” instead! Jesus gives them an on point example: “Moses said, ‘Honor your father and your mother,’ and, ‘anyone who curses his father or mother must be put to death.’” But they did not “honor” their parents. They pronounced their income and their goods as “corban.” It was a dedicatory formula pronounced over money and property donated to the temple and its service by an unbreakable vow. Such gifts considered corban could only be used for religious purposes. The son could claim his property and money as “corban,” vowed to the temple, and then not held responsible for caring for his parent’s needs! They actually thought that by using word games with God they could nullify the intent of God’s holy law! Jesus sarcastically tells them, “Thus you nullify the word of God by your tradition that you have handed down. And you do many things like that.” Jesus, in a rather in your face way, calls the unwashed crowd to him and tells them in front of the Pharisees, “Listen to me, everyone, and understand this. Nothing outside a man can make him ‘unclean’ by going into him. Rather, it is what comes out of a man that makes him “unclean.’” (Mark 7:14-15) Jesus knew where true spiritual filth came from. The adherence to their ungodly “traditions” made them unclean. A person is defiled morally by what he thinks in his heart even though he may scrupulously observe outward rituals. The inner “deeds” of a person’s heart God rewards. God told Jeremiah, “I the LORD search the heart and examine the mind, to reward a man according to his conduct, according to what his deeds deserve.” (Jeremiah 17:10) Jesus teaches us that adhering to false traditions can make a person unclean!
EXAMPLE: We can measure another’s spirituality by the music they use in worship because it makes us feel uncomfortable. We can judge a person’s theological standing by what version of the Bible they use simply because we grew up with something else that we like the sound of instead. Many of the things the Pharisees objected to as they painstakingly watched Jesus and his followers were simply traditions they had grown up with and had nothing to do with righteous behavior. When we adhere to false traditions instead of the gospel, we become unclean in ourselves. We become judge and jury just like the Pharisees of old. Jesus knew that adhering to false traditions can make a person unclean.
When the Prophet Samuel looked for a replacement for Israel’s king, God had him ignore the individual’s appearance. God told Samuel, “The LORD does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.” (1 Samuel 16:7) While the outward expression of an individual can reflect their inner qualities, Jesus taught that what you ate would not affect your spiritual condition, but what was truly inside of you did. We discover that…
III. What truly exists within a person makes them unclean! (Vv. 17-23)
1. Your inner wallow will muck up your soul! Jesus never minced words, whether it was in mixing it up with the hypocritical Pharisees or his own dense disciples. They ask Jesus the meaning of his words. Mark relates that Jesus remarks “Are you so dull? Don't you see that nothing that enters a man from the outside can make him ‘unclean’?” Jesus just declared all foods “clean.” (Paul would later understand this even though Peter had a tougher time grasping the concept and had to be confronted over it.) Jesus understood that food “doesn't go into (a person’s) heart but into his stomach and then out of his body.” Get this intrinsic spiritual truth straight in your mind and understand its implications for your lives: “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.’” We all hide what truly exists within us. We are all-good, at deceiving ourselves, and thinking that as long as we act right, are polite, and say nice and kind things then we are being the people God desires. However, be forewarned, what you think inwardly will affect your life outwardly. Your thoughts are just as important to the Lord as your actions. And none of us measure up. It was because of this truth Paul would cry out, “What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death?” (Romans 7:24) The Contemporary English Version relates Paul’s answer this way, “Thank God! Jesus Christ will rescue me. So with my mind I serve the Law of God, although my selfish desires make me serve the law of sin.” (Romans 7:25) Praise God Jesus came to rescue us from our uncleanliness! For we have all sinned. Jesus knew that what truly exists within a person makes them unclean.
EXAMPLE: We can look down our spiritual noses at the sinful “sliver” in the lives of our fellow brothers and sisters in the Lord, and fail to see the terrible timber sticking out of our eye. The Pharisees were very good at this game. The verbal tisk-tisk of the pious pew-sitter can be a means to make one feel better about the hidden ungodliness lying unexposed to the prying eyes of the world. Yet, at the very doorway of the human heart can squat the demonic beasts of “evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance and folly.” Each whitewashed sin-stain as vile as the next, waiting to be revealed. Jesus knew that what truly exists within a person makes them unclean.
Conclusion:
Jesus knew that Spiritual blindness can make a person unclean. Jesus knew that adhering to false traditions can make a person unclean. Jesus knew that what truly exists within a person makes them unclean.
---
Pastor Lee Hemen has been the outspoken pastor of the same church for 25 years in Vancouver, WA. He writes regularly on spirituality and conservative causes and maintains several web blogs. This article is copyrighted © 2010 by Lee Hemen and is the sole property of Lee Hemen, and may not be used unless you quote the entire article and have my permission. You now have my permission...
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