Inner Cleanliness as it is Written

Mark 7:1-23 

Defilement Comes from Within

1 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."

This parable points us to the inner cleanliness of spirit without hypocrisy or rules based on tradition instead of the word of God as the ones Jesus spoke to here.  Some Pharisees and scribes approached Him, those who spent time interpreting and enforcing the Jewish Law with many things added on to the scriptures over time and contradicted the intent by emphasizing a skewed interpretation based on their own rules and traditions, with the intent on rebuking and correcting the Anointed one who is the Word of God.  They chastised the Lord for allowing the disciples to eat without ceremonial hand washing first.  There was no concern for gratitude to God for His provision but only nitpicking with a law conceived outside of scripture and laid as a heavy burden to enforce a purely religious requirement not given by God through Moses or the prophets.  May we be vigilantly on the lookout for our own unscriptural traditions we may expect others to follow as well to avoid this trap!  The traditions of any elders is no substitute for the unadulterated word of God applied in grace and mercy with love and compassion, even when correction is required to honor God and lead to holiness of righteous living.  Therefore when these hypocrites asked Jesus why His disciples did not dollop the traditions of the Jewish elders, He pointed straight back to God’s word of their underlying issue from Isaiah 29:13 with the understanding that would cause the scribes at least to look at context of the following verse in Isaiah 29:14 which speaks of God’s work and wisdom trumping hardened hearts following the commands of mere men instead of God’s word.  The key issue was who they worshipped and how they followed Him as it was written, not as their teaching addendums turned the hearts of men away from the Lord in such compromise.  He told them plainly that by doing this they put God’s commandments to the side and reject God’s good word, all to keep their own traditions as new beliefs and necessities of religious practice.  Those traditions kept people from loving and serving each other as well as the Lord by putting their own needs above others in opposition to the command from God’s word to put the needs of others above themselves (Philippians 2:3-4).  He then explained this further to His disciples off to the side how it is what comes out of the heart that is inwardly cleansed or defiled that makes or breaks a man in the sight of God and among each other.  Like food that is bad, if we allow it to pass through and be eliminated as waste, we do good; if, however, we allow it to come back up and out in our words of judgment and hate in opposition to God’s word, we then adversely affect the hearers around us and do them harm instead of good according to the word of God.  It is out of our sinful hearts that these things erupt like a volcano to defile us instead of an inner cleanness that rejects evil thoughts and actions.  What do we allow to pass through us and what do we need to stop allowing to resurface as regurgitated evil?  What can we instead focus on and take in our spiritual diet to put off the bad and replace it by putting on as good according to God’s word over our pet traditions?  May God continue to provide wisdom from His word as His Spirit works in us to sanctity and help us put to death what we allow in and begin to replace bad intake with the godly as it is written (Romans 8:13, Colossians 3:5).