SCRIPTURE: Mark 7
OBSERVATION/APPLICATION:
Nothing outside a man can make him ‘unclean’ by going into him. Rather, it is what comes out of a man that makes him ‘unclean.’” [Mark 7:15] By ‘unclean’, Jesus is not talking about visibly dirty, but spiritually dirty, and therefore unacceptable to God. His point in this passage is that God is concerned about spiritual and moral purity, not physical or ritual purity. The Pharisees would have acknowledged that their ritual hand-washing was symbolic of spiritual and moral cleansing, but they had become so focused on these external practices that they were ignoring the deeper issues and concerns. They remained spiritually and morally unclean, but prided themselves on their ritualistic perfection.
If nothing on the outside makes a person ‘unclean’ or unacceptable, then this was also true for this non-Jewish woman pleading with Jesus to help her daughter. Jesus refers to the religious separation between Jews and Gentiles, but uses her faith to show the Jews what sincere faith was. On this and other occasions, Jesus is more impressed by the non-Jews than the Jews [see Matthew 8:8-10].
I suspect that putting His fingers in the deaf-mute’s ears, and touching his tongue with His spit would also be an unclean act. This miracle occurred in Gentile territory, the Decapolis, and so he was probably also a Gentile. Once again Jesus is redefining the Jews’ religious boundaries, showing them that the heart of a person is more important than the race of a person.
In this passage, I hear the concern of God for our character, as well as the truth that our real problem is in our heart. For from within, out of men’s hearts, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance and folly. All these evils come from inside and make a man ‘unclean.’ [Mark 7:21-23] For the Pharisees, the disciples, the Gentile woman and the deaf-mute man, the deepest concern is for our spiritual heart condition. Religious rituals (external behaviours) cannot appease God’s concern for evil thoughts, sexual immorality, etc.
God sees my heart. He knows whether I truly love Him, honour Him, and do what is right from the heart. He sees my secret thoughts and sins, He knows everything about me. Better to be honest and seek His help, than pretend I am OK and cover my sin with religious charades.
PRAYER:
Lord, touch my spiritual ears, spit on my spiritual tongue, heal my spiritual center, and make me clean on the inside.
The problem with the world is also the problem with me. I sense that Jesus is right on here when He locates the real problem as in our heart. You might say, we have spiritual, moral heart disease. If I am honest, I have issues with pride, greed, lust, selfishness, impatience, unforgiveness, etc. The way these issues show themselves in me will be different than how they show themselves in others, but the underlying issues are the same. My external actions may be different, but my internal motivations are the same.
If I can’t control greed in myself, how can I judge a thief who can’t control greed in him/herself? If I can’t overcome my anger, how can I judge the murderer who didn’t overcome his?
Sure, maybe I didn’t act out the same way, but I still have the same poison within me. Often, I just find different, more subtle or sophisticated ways of acting out my inner sins. I’ve never verbally assaulted or physically lynched a person of visible minority, but have I felt differently about them, talked down to them, or ignored or avoided them? Same root issue, different outward manifestation.
Jesus challenges us (and me) to look at the root, the heart. He calls us to be honest, to admit the inner problem. This is the only way He can help me change from the inside out. And this is the only way He can make this world the way its supposed to be. By performing spiritual, moral heart surgery.