Gospel of Mark: A Matter of Heart (7:1-23)
Have you ever found yourself disillusioned, tired, or even indifferent about religion? It seems Jesus was as well. Yesterday, we looked at the first section of chapter 7 in Mark’s Gospel. The people are still trying to figure out who Jesus, and it seems Jesus has a surprise for them around ever turn.
The scene starts with Jesus receiving a public challenge from the pharisees and other teachers of the law. People have seen Jesus healing the sick, calming storms, and even raising people from the dead. The Jewish people were hoping for a Messiah — could this be the person? So, this challenge from the pharisees was meant to test Jesus’ knowledge of obedience to the laws of God’s people going all the way back to Moses. In this case, Jesus’ disciples were not following some of the cleanliness laws by not participating in the ceremonial washing of hands prior to eating. This both bothered the religious leaders and provided an opportunity to attempt to trap Jesus, who had become an influential teacher in the region.
So, the pharisees and other religious leaders asked Jesus why his disciples are not following these customs. Jesus’ reply was a direct challenge back to the religious leaders that they also are not following all of the traditions. In fact, Jesus quotes Isaiah and says that their religious customs are really just “vain” attempts to earn God’s favor, but they are merely giving lip service to religion, not actually dealing with what is most important — the heart.
Jesus then redefines what actually matters when it comes to our relationship to God. He says that things from the outside, like food, clothes, and even our actions are not what makes us unclean, but it is the sin our hearts that makes us unclean. Therefore, if things from the outside do make us unclean, then things from the outside cannot make us clean.
Many people go through life believing that if they just act the right way, say the right things, wear the right clothes that they will become clean. Jesus, though, says that since evil comes from the heart, from the inside, then the solution must also come from the inside.
Here is Jesus’ pathway from unclean to clean:
Understand that our hearts damaged — the source of evil in the world comes from within each of us.
External rules only cover the cracks — like trying to fix a foundation problem using duct tape, trying harder to follow the rules will not fix the problem of the heart.
Jesus offers a cure for the problems of the heart — the Bible says that result of sin in our lives is ultimately death. Jesus took that death upon himself, including the sin and evil of the entire world, so that our hearts can be healed through a relationship with him.
Are you living with a specific failure in your past that you feel guilty about and that you have spent your life trying to make up for? How can you take a step toward Jesus today and accept his forgiveness and healing? Has God forgiven you, but you are struggling to forgive yourself? Ask God today, through the power of his Holy Spirit for complete forgiveness.