Download Mark 7:1-23 - Friends in Faith

Mark Chapter 7
1-13 God’s word verses traditions
14-23 What defiles the man
24-30 The Syrophoenician’s daughter
31-37 Christ heals a deaf mute
Hired Guns
Mark mentioned in 3:22 that the scribes came from
Jerusalem
This is the first mention of Pharisees from
Jerusalem
Apparently the local Pharisees are looking for some
hired help
I don’t think they realize who they are up against!!!
7:1 The Pharisees and some of the
scribes gathered around Him when they
had come from Jerusalem,
The scene is that once again we have a
contingency of religious leaders (hit men)
coming to check out what Jesus is doing and
hopefully, trip Him up with their questions or
catch Him doing something they can charge
Him with.
Notice where they are from…
7:2 and had seen that some of His disciples
were eating their bread with impure hands,
that is, unwashed.
3 (For the Pharisees and all the Jews do not
eat unless they carefully wash their hands,
thus observing the traditions of the elders;
4 and when they come from the market place,
they do not eat unless they cleanse
themselves; and there are many other things
which they have received in order to observe,
such as the washing of cups and pitchers and
copper pots.)
The parentheses here is Mark’s and helps us to see
that the book is meant for Gentiles since the
Jews would know the proper traditions
God’s word Verses Tradition
Notice that the reference in verse 3 is to the:
“tradition’s of the elders”
This ceremonial washing required the hands to be
immersed or rinsed with the fingers point up and
then, with them pointing down coupled with a
rubbing of the fist in the palm of each hand.
7:5 The Pharisees and the scribes asked^ Him, "Why
do Your disciples not walk according to the tradition
of the elders, but eat their bread with impure
hands?"
Again, “traditions of the elders” not God’s word.
These oral traditions were written down in the Mishna
which provided the foundation of the Talmud
The closest thing to this in God’s law is Lev. 22:6-7
which only applies to the priesthood
Understand, this is not washing to be physically clean
but rather to be ceremonially clean
Why “your disciples”?
To connect Him with these evil doers!!!
7:6 And He said to them, "Rightly did Isaiah
prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written:
'THIS PEOPLE HONORS ME WITH THEIR LIPS,
BUT THEIR HEART IS FAR AWAY FROM ME.
What is a hypocrite?..
The Greek word is interchangeable with the word: Actor!!!
A hypocrite is someone playing a role
That is what the Pharisees did, they
acted as if they were pious and were
truly serving God when in reality they
only served themselves!!
I sometimes think we “play the role”
7 'BUT IN VAIN DO THEY WORSHIP ME,
TEACHING AS DOCTRINES THE PRECEPTS
OF MEN.' (Is. 29:13)
So, Jesus calls them hypocrites and now He says
their worship is in vain:
“vain” = MATEN = PURPOSELESS
Unless you give all of your heart to the worship of
the Lord, your worship is purposeless!
God wants all of our heart, and with that, He
expects truthful worship
John 4:24 “God is spirit, and those who
worship Him must worship in spirit and
truth
Does your heart belong to God 100%?
When we worship, is it in spirit and truth?
7:8 "Neglecting the commandment of God,
you hold to the tradition of men."
9 He was also saying to them, "You are
experts at setting aside the commandment of
God in order to keep your tradition.
The Pharisees had enforced their system for so long
that the traditions had a greater meaning then Scripture
Like the layers of an onion, the religious leaders had
piled on so many traditions over the Scripture that it
made getting to God’s actual word impossible
Isn’t it the same today?
What are some examples?
10 "For Moses said, 'HONOR YOUR FATHER AND
YOUR MOTHER'; and, 'HE WHO SPEAKS EVIL OF
FATHER OR MOTHER, IS TO BE PUT TO DEATH';
11 but you say, 'If a man says to his father or his
mother, whatever I have that would help you is
Corban (that is to say, given to God),'
12 you no longer permit him to do anything for his
father or his mother;
Corban means “a gift devoted to God”
Is there anything wrong with devoting your estate to God?...
No
So, what is the issue?...
These guys declared their possessions as a gift to God but never
gave it until maybe after their death!
They only did it to avoid paying for their parents health care!
7:13 thus invalidating the word of God by your
tradition which you have handed down; and
you do many things such as that."
Look at the downward spiral:
Verse 8.
Neglecting or avoiding the word
After all if it does not fit our desires, just ignore or avoid it.
Verse 9.
Set aside or reject the word
Here, we say things like “I don’t believe that or I don’t think that’s
what God means”
Verse 13.
Invalidate or rob God’s word of its’ power
What we want now, takes precedent over God’s word!!!
Now, we are writing our own Bible and shaping God to fit our
own image therefore living our selected lifestyle with
JUSTIFICATION
rather than following God’s word as it is written
7:14 After He called the crowd to Him again,
He began saying to them, "Listen to Me, all of
you, and understand:
15 there is nothing outside the man which
can defile him if it goes into him; but the
things which proceed out of the man are
what defile the man.
16 "If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear."
(there is no 16 in the NIV as it is missing from the Alexandrian
text)
His attention now shifts from the religious leaders to the people
Why does Jesus, in verse 14 emphasize what He is about to say
by saying: Listen…and understand?…
Because what He is about to say is quite important!
Why does He say that “nothing outside” defiles a man? After all,
we can eat unto gluttony and drink unto drunkenness or take
drugs etc. so, what does he mean?…
It is the inner man that counts. Yes we can do these things and
commit sin and that is important but the central issue in God’s eye
is the condition of the heart
I.E., is it pure, meaning re-born or not?
This would have really thrown the Pharisees for a loop because
they always believed the opposite – the inner man is pure and it is
what is touched that defiles him
Jesus corrects that view with this statement!!
Be sure that you are clear on this…
What is outside of the body
can influence the body
but it is the condition of the
inside that directs it
And, rest assured that the
outer actions of the person
will reflect the true
condition of his heart!
Matt. 7:17-20
7:17 When he had left the crowd and entered
the house, His disciples questioned Him
about the parable
Once again His disciples have dull ears and
cannot Spiritually appraise the teaching.
7:18 And He said^ to them, "Are you so lacking in
understanding also? Do you not understand that
whatever goes into the man from outside cannot defile
him,
19 because it does not go into his heart, but into his
stomach, and is eliminated?" (Thus He declared all foods
clean.)
Why do you think Jesus is so upset with the disciples?…
They are as dull or lacking in understanding as the Pharisees!!
How do you interpret verse 19?…
Food does not change a person’s heart. It may satisfy your
hunger, but it does not change your heart
Do you think that Jesus intended to change the Mosaic laws
here?..
No, rather He is making the point that the defilement that came
from eating “unclean” foods was not caused by the food itself but
by the rebellious heart of the person eating it
7:20 And He was saying, "That which
proceeds out of the man, that is what defiles
the man
Why?..
Because it is a representation of what is IN the
man – his heart or simply, who he is
Now, Jesus gives us an idea of what He means
by giving us an example of the actions of the
defiled heart
7:21 "For from within, out of the heart of men,
proceed the evil thoughts, fornications,
thefts, murders, adulteries,
22 deeds of coveting and wickedness, as well
as deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride and
foolishness.
23 “ All these evil things proceed from within
and defile the man."
This is a list of actions that begin with thought (21)
The thought reveals the inner man and the actions are a reflection of that
Like Paul’s list in Galatians 5, these actions are on going or representative of a lifestyle
not a sporadic, occasional or one time incident.
Fornications Porneia = sexual immorality (NIV). This is a broader term that is intended to
mean general illegitimate sexual relations
Coveting = Greed, as it is used here has sexual overtones
Wickedness = malice
Sensuality = lewdness, open and shameless immorality
Envy = Ophthalmous poneros: “evil eye” a term for envious jealousy
Slander, blasphemia is against man or God
Pride & foolishness = Arrogance & folly describes the man who lacks moral judgments
Remember this sex thing is part of God’s creation. the problem is that like most
other gifts of God, we have perverted and distorted them
Jesus says that these are the thoughts that proceed from within a man, from his
heart that defile him
fornications, thefts, murders, adulteries, deeds of coveting wickedness,
deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride and foolishness
Do these describe a believer?
NO!!!!
Jesus is explaining to His disciples who the hypocrites (actors) are…
At the same time, do we sometimes fall to these thoughts?
YES!!!!
When?...
James 1:14 But each one is tempted when he is
carried away and enticed by his own lust.
15 Then when lust has conceived, it gives birth to
sin; and when sin is accomplished, it brings forth
death
We have covered a lot, what do we take home?
1. Nothing is more important than scripture!!
Don’t neglect, set aside or invalidate God’s word
2. Worship is to be in spirit and truth!!
3. What is outside the body influences it, what is
inside the body (heart) directs it!!
(How is the heart fed?.. By God’s word!!!!!)
4. Guard your heart by guarding your mind!!
In relation to Sam’s comments last week:
John 13:34 “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one
another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one
another. 35 “By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if
you have love for one another.”
Romans 12:10 Be devoted to one another in brotherly love; give
preference to one another in honor;
Rom. 12:16 Be of the same mind toward one another; do not be
haughty in mind, but associate with the lowly.
Rom. 15:7 Therefore, accept one another, just as Christ also
accepted us to the glory of God.
Eph. 4:1 Therefore I, the prisoner of the Lord, implore you to walk
in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been
called, 2 with all humility and gentleness, with patience, showing
tolerance for one another in love