Law/Gospel Theme: We sometimes get caught up in details of rules and regulations. We care about what others think or how we might appear, when none of it really matters. The message that Jesus tried to share was that He came not to abolish, but to fulfill the law. He wasn’t breaking the rules just to be a rebel; rather, He wanted to show that the attitudes of our hearts matter more. Jesus came to give new life so that we don’t need to worry about rules. His blood cleans our hearts, far more than any sort of rule-following ever could.
Prayer for steadfast faith: Almighty God, our heavenly Father, because of Your tender love toward us sinners You have given us Your Son that, believing in Him, we might have everlasting life. Continue to grant us Your Holy Spirit that we may remain steadfast in this faith to the end and finally come to life everlasting, through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.
Hymn: Crown Him with Many Crowns Vv. 1-3
Confession/Absolution:
LORD - we pray to you also for the forgiveness of our sins. Have mercy upon us, most merciful Father.
In Your compassion forgive us our sins. Known and unknown. Things done. And left undone. And so uphold us by Your Spirit.
That we may live and serve you in newness of life. To the honor and glory of Your Name. Through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Almighty God have mercy on you. Forgive you all your sins.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ. And may He strengthen you in all goodness.
And by the power of the Holy Spirit keep you in eternal life. Amen.
Mark 7:1-8, 14-15, 21-23
Now when the Pharisees gathered to him, with some of the scribes who had come from Jerusalem, 2 they saw that some of his disciples ate with hands that were defiled, that is, unwashed. 3 (For the Pharisees and all the Jews do not eat unless they wash their hands properly, holding to the tradition of the elders, 4 and when they come from the marketplace, they do not eat unless they wash. And there are many other traditions that they observe, such as the washing of cups and pots and copper vessels and dining couches.) 5 And the Pharisees and the scribes asked him, “Why do your disciples not walk according to the tradition of the elders, but eat with defiled hands?”
6 And he said to them, “Well did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written,
“‘This people honor me with their lips,
but their heart is far from me.
7 in vain do they worship me,
teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’
8 You leave the commandment of God and hold to the tradition of men.”
And he called the people to him again and said to them, “Hear me, all of you, and understand: 15 There is nothing outside a person that by going into him can defile him, but the things that come out of a person are what defile him.”
For from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, 22 coveting, wickedness, deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride, foolishness. 23 All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person.”
Hymn: Crown Him with Many Crowns Vv. 4-5
We have come to realize how important it is to keep things clean, right? We make sure to wash our hands and sanitize surfaces, because we want to keep germs away.
But what will help me be clean inside? Who can wash my sinful heart? If I swallow some soap, will that do the trick? No, of course not! And you would never EVER think to put cleaning products in your mouth.
So what can I rely on to clean me up on the inside? Well, we know that Jesus does that!
In our story for today there were people who got angry at Jesus about washing hands. It’s true!
You see, the Pharisees and leaders had a lot of special rules about things. In fact, outside of the Ten Commandments, they added hundreds of special rules and regulations about how they should live and do things.
One of the things they had a lot of rules about was washing. They wanted people to wash their hands and pots and everything in just a certain special ceremonial way.
The purpose of this wasn’t even to be clean, really. The rule was just in place to make people say they followed the rule!
They criticized Jesus and His disciples for not following their special rules. They said He wasn’t clean because He ate with hands that hadn’t been properly washed. And He was going to be dirty and sinful if He didn’t follow their specific rules.
They were concerned and focused on what Jesus did not do. Rather than recognizing who He was and noticing the amazing things that He did do!
So Jesus explained to them that life was not about following rules. Or doing things in just a specific certain way.
Things that we eat cannot make us sinful. But things that we do.
Jesus taught that the attitudes of our hearts are more important than the words that we say. Or the rules that we have.
Washing hands in just the right way wasn’t going to truly impact how the people followed God.
Jesus turned the criticism back by pointing out how they were so upset about the rules that they failed to consider the reason for the rules.
They didn’t follow God with their hearts.
It might seem silly to us to get so worked up over the method of washing things. However, we can easily become distracted by the wrong thing.
For instance, we might be concerned with the way people are dressed. Or the order that we have our services. Or what kind of prayers. We can become focused on these details and forget what the most important things are.
It’s more important to recognize that we come to worship. To put our hearts and minds on Jesus. He is the center of our faith.
And that’s the good news! Jesus came to transform what we rely on. The temple leaders were worried over following all the rules. And doing things right. To make themselves look good.
They thought they could somehow be closer to God if they stuck to the law.
Jesus gave Himself for us. So that even when we make mistakes. And don’t keep all the rules just right, we have forgiveness.
His blood cleanses us from our sinful thoughts and behaviors. He helps us to have faith. And believe in that truth to give us new hope and peace.
So. Of course. We still wash our hands. And make sure we clean things on the outside.
But we can realize that the most important kind of cleanliness is how we become clean inwardly.
Christ has washed us inside and made us new. We give thanks to Him for that and focus on Him for all we have and who we are.
Lord, thank you for your love and care. Help us to remember that you came for the purpose of cleaning our hearts. Help us remember to put our hope in you. And not in outward things. You are the most important thing to focus on.[1]
Words –1,260
Passive Sentences –4.8%
Readability –81.7%
Reading Level -4.5
[1] https://ministry-to-children.com/clean-hearts-for-christ-childrens-sermon-mark-7/
Prayer for steadfast faith, Lutheran Service Book, copyright 2006 Concordia Publishing House, St. Louis
Lift High the Cross copyright Ed Riojas, Higher Things
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