Mark 7:1-13
Godly living comes from a believing heart. Some folks are obsessed
with dirt. They are super – clean. We might call the “neat freaks”. They are ever dusting, cleaning, scrubbing, and
vacuuming. At the same time they can be dirty on the inside as their hearts are
filled with dirty thoughts, motives, and interests. This is the issue from this
morning’s Gospel.
The religious leaders of the day were mightily concerned with
washing hands, pots and pans but neglected to wash their hearts. Jesus points
out that dirtiness is not from without but from within the heart. A dirty heart
causes a person to perform dirty acts which are listed in vv. 21-22.
Our text begs the question – which is worse - dirty hands or a
dirty heart?
Dirty hands – Vv. 1-8
A religion of man’s traditions – V.8 You have let go of
the commands of God and are holding on to the traditions of men. Traditions
can and do change with time. But traditions and rituals are not the chief
concern! They mask the real issues. Here religion was used to avoid the demands
of faith. Building a religion of traditions and the use of traditions for
traditions sake helps one escape the demands of a true faith. Jesus called this
hypocrisy. (vs.6)
Scripture is specifically clear. The 4th Commandment
simply reads; “Honor your father and you
mother.” – Exodus 20
“Anyone who curses his
father or mother must be put to death.” - Exodus 21:17
“If anyone curses his father
or mother, he must be put to death. He has cursed his father or his mother, and
his blood will be on his own head.” - Leviticus 20:9
“Cursed is the man who
dishonors his father or his mother.” Then all the people shall say, “Amen!”
- Deuteronomy 27:16
And Jesus said to them, “You have a fine way of
rejecting the commandment of God in order to establish your tradition! For
Moses said, ‘Honor your father and your mother’; and, ‘Whoever reviles father
or mother must surely die.’ But you say,
‘If a man tells his father or his mother, “Whatever you would have gained from
me is Corban”’ (that is, given to
God)— then you no longer permit him to
do anything for his father or mother, thus making void the word of God by your
tradition that you have handed down. And many such things you do.” Vv. 9-13
Corban is an Aramaic word that refers to a sacrifice, an oath, or a gift to God. The Corban
rule was similar to the modern practice of deferred giving, which allows individuals to deed property and
other gifts to another at death while retaining control over the gift in the
meantime.
Under the Corban rule, persons could pledge
something to the temple and have it pass into the temple's possession at their
death.
But while the giver lived, they stewarded the property and lived
off its proceeds. This was considered Corban.
There was therefore a huge benefit as a gift and as an investment;
he lives off of the interest from the trust and the Temple uses the gift as an
endowment. This loophole in the Law the Pharisees exploited. The giver avoids
using the funds to support elderly parents. “Everyone wins;” the elders explained. “There are no losers;” except, in this case - elderly parents. And Jesus calls them out.
In itself, such a rule was not evil and in fact could be a good
thing. The problem was that the Pharisees and the scribes were allowing people
to use the Corban rule to escape
their obligations to other parts of the law.
According to the Corban
rule, men and women who made gifts to the temple in such a way were free
from having to support their elderly parents. With the permission of the
Pharisees, persons could circumvent the law by dedicating money meant for the
parents to the temple.
This broke God's command to honor our fathers and mothers.
The LORD was serious concerning care of family. He was serious
concerning oaths made to God.
Tradition can become a substitute for real religion. Customs and
ceremonies lose their significance and meaning if they are not centered in
Christ. When Christ is not at the center we run the risk of doing things
without knowing why we do them. Traditions can become like barnacles that
gradually grow on a ship and impede the progress of the boat.
One issue of the Reformation of the 16th Century
was the Bible vs. Tradition, the voice of God vs. the voice of the church. The
Reformers repudiated those traditions that were contrary to the Word of Christ.
Dirty hearts – Vv. 14-15, 21-23
The heart is the source of behavior – V. 21 For from
within, out of men's hearts, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft,
murder, adultery.
Jesus condemns this false belief – expressed in the 1st century
with the concern for ritual purity – expressed now in the 21st century
with the pretension of “clean living.”
Beauty is only skin deep. Ugly is rotten to the bone.
The Savior insists that cleanliness before God is not a matter of outwardly fulfilling
the Law. Beware of practicing your piety before men. On the outside you appear
to be pure as the driven snow. But on the inside there is nothing but disease
and death; because of a darkened and troubled heart.
You appear to be clean as whitewash on the outside but inwardly
you are filled with the stench and decay of death. And you know it! Your sin is
still there. And it bothers you. So stop putting on airs. Stop trying to be so
pious. Stop the false humility. It’s not working. Rather, confess your sin!
Repent. Turn to Christ. And then live in His righteousness!
Cleanliness before God must flow from the inside out; from the
heart out. It is the state of the heart and the inner life that determines
whether who you are and what you do is clean before God.
Christ alone can make a good heart. Christ gives you His
clean holy life as your own and washes away the stain and dirt of sin. This is
His definition of godliness. By the power of forgiveness we are able really to
do what the hypocrites of Jesus’ day could only mimic.
He offers a life to God that is clean and godly. In Christ, all
our actions as His people from the rituals of our worship to the duties of our
daily lives are clean in His sight.
Ajax, we were told years ago, is stronger than dirt. Christ by His
sacrifice on the cross at Calvary is stronger than any pretention intended to
give an appearance of greater importance, status, or knowledge than is
warranted.
By His stripes you are healed, giving you a clean new heart. By Christ’s suffering, death, and
resurrection you are now created to be sons and daughters in His Kingdom; to be
salt and light in this world.
Words-1,190
Passive
Sentences-10%
Readability
–74.5%
Reading
Level – 5.8
.JPG)
