Then the Pharisees and some of the scribes came together to Him, having come from Jerusalem. 2 Now when they saw some of His disciples eat bread with defiled, that is, with unwashed hands, they found fault. 3 For the Pharisees and all the Jews do not eat unless they wash [their] hands in a special way, holding the tradition of the elders. 4 [When they come] from the marketplace, they do not eat unless they wash. And there are many other things which they have received and hold, [like] the washing of cups, pitchers, copper vessels, and couches. 5 Then the Pharisees and scribes asked Him, “Why do Your disciples not walk according to the tradition of the elders, but eat bread with unwashed hands?” 6 He answered and said to them, “Well did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written: ‘This people honors Me with [their] lips, But their heart is far from Me. 7 And in vain they worship Me, Teaching [as] doctrines the commandments of men.’ 8 “For laying aside the commandment of God, you hold the tradition of men–the washing of pitchers and cups, and many other such things you do.” 9 He said to them, “[All too] well you reject the commandment of God, that you may keep your tradition. 10 “For Moses said, ‘Honor your father and your mother’; and, ‘He who curses father or mother, let him be put to death.’ 11 “But you say, ‘If a man says to his father or mother, “Whatever profit you might have received from me [is] Corban”–‘ (that is, a gift [to God]), 12 “then you no longer let him do anything for his father or his mother, 13 “making the word of God of no effect through your tradition which you have handed down. And many such things you do.” 14 When He had called all the multitude to [Himself], He said to them, “Hear Me, everyone, and understand: 15 “There is nothing that enters a man from outside which can defile him; but the things which come out of him, those are the things that defile a man. 16 “If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear!” 17 When He had entered a house away from the crowd, His disciples asked Him concerning the parable. 18 So He said to them, “Are you thus without understanding also? Do you not perceive that whatever enters a man from outside cannot defile him, 19 “because it does not enter his heart but his stomach, and is eliminated, [thus] purifying all foods?” 20 And He said, “What comes out of a man, that defiles a man. 21 “For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, 22 “thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lewdness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness. 23 “All these evil things come from within and defile a man.”
– Mark 7:1-23 (NKJV)
It’s easier to wash your dishes than it is to wash your heart. The Pharisees were upset that the disciples weren’t clean freaks like they were. Well it actually goes a little deeper than that. They were concerned that the disciples weren’t keeping their traditions. The traditions they had set up around the Law of God in order to keep the Law of God. Kind of like when you play a game and someone adds rules to the game to help put things to their advantage.
The Law of God is hard to keep, indeed it’s impossible for anyone other than Christ to keep it fully. The reason is because it reveals our hearts. Try as we might to keep the Law, we are broken and flawed creatures. That’s because we are sinners. Loving God with all your heart or loving your neighbor as yourself just doesn’t happen in selfish hearts like it should, so try as we may to keep all the rules, we just can’t. And that’s the point we need someone to save us (fix us).
But what if we make up our own rules to help us cheat at the game and get a sense that we are winning? We can’t change our hearts apart from Jesus, but we can clean up really good on the outside. We can wash some dishes and tell other people that theirs are dirty!
So somewhere along the way these secondary “preferences” or man-made laws became as important or more important to the Pharisees than the actual law of God. They thought by keeping those rules and sticking to them as close as possible, that it somehow made them right. (But they were still rotten). Perhaps they thought that if they could point to someone else breaking the rules, even the ones they made, it would make them look better! (Kind of like when you tattle on your brother or sister).
But someone else’s wrong never makes us right and that’s true especially when we’ve added our own rules to the game. Jesus rightly corrects the Pharisees here. They are more concerned with keeping their own rules that coming to God for a clean heart. What about you? It’s pretty easy to feel like you are a better person than some other people when you are keeping score, but the only score that matters is the one God keeps. Have you come to him for a clean heart?
Father, We love you and want to grow in knowledge of you and your word. We know that there is no one who is righteous on their own. We all need you to give us clean hearts. We ask you now to search our hearts. Keep us from being proud like the men in this passage who were too proud to even see what you were doing. Give us pure hearts that really do love you and seek after you. Take our brokenness and make something new. Please guide us in your will and direct our paths. In Jesus Name, Amen.
The Hill House 