Defiled Mark 7:1-23
Today’s reading is in two parts but they are intricately related. In the first part Jesus is again arguing with the Pharisees. He again is telling them that as the ones who are supposed to be leading Israel to God, the ones who are supposed to be explaining the meaning of scripture and the grace of God to the people, they are wrong in their assumptions and their interpretations of God’s word.
In this conversation Jesus is telling the Pharisees that indeed they study the scripture but instead of finding the grace and mercy of a loving God they are searching for ways to assert control through laws and tradition. And because of this they are driving people farther from God. Look at verses 9-12 again,
“You have a fine way of rejecting the commandment of God in order to establish your tradition. Moses said ‘Honor your mother and father and whoever reviles their mother or father must surely die.’ But you say, ‘If a man tells his father or his mother ‘Whatever you would have gained from me 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…And many such things you do.”
Jesus is pointing out the word games that ancient Israel has played. That they developed ways and traditions that allowed them to circumvent the clear word of God and still allow themselves to believe and say “I kept the law of Moses.”
Is this a warning for us today, absolutely. Take a walk through a bookstore – if you can find one, there is a whole section of self-help books. Look at some of the titles; “Marriage by the Book, Relationships for Life, How to Raise Exceptional Children;”and there are hundreds more. Don’t get me wrong, there is useful information in many of these volumes but almost none of them mention the Bible or God. In fact they tend to dismiss the Bible and God’s words for us. If we exclusively follow the doctrines in these books and never turn to the Bible, then were following in the footsteps of the Pharisees Jesus is confronting in our reading.
As we read this passage we saw the Pharisees were appalled that the disciples were eating without washing their hands. So what, right; a little dirt never hurt anyone?
Hand washing here is not just for hygiene. It is a practice meant to wash away ritual defilement. The Law of Moses mandates that priests wash their hands before they attend to their duties in the sacred areas of the Temple. Over time the Pharisees have extended the practice to other circumstances as well. Morna Hooker in her book “The Gospel According to Saint John” wrote that hand washing was a “boundary marker,” It was a way for the Israelites to distinguish themselves from the surrounding pagan population.
Today, anything like this going on? The more I study and talk with scholars I can see more of this going on in churches today. Jesus establishes the practice of baptism. Matthew 28:19-20 “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them…teaching them to observe all I have commanded you.”
Disciple simply means “follower” so Jesus is telling his followers to go and make more followers of him and his teaching then baptize them as a way to demonstrate their belief and then more, continue to teach them Christ’s way.
Paul writes in Ephesians 2:8-9, “For it by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is a gift from God, not a result of works…” How many denominations have adopted the theology that it is baptism that saves you?
I’m sorry if this upsets anyone but here is a demonstration of why I believe certain things. Baptism is important, but the idea of the act of baptism is what saves you is flawed according to scripture. By making baptism the condition for salvation we are dismissing the grace of God and placing salvation back in the realm of our work. As an adult, your baptism is your declaration of the sincerity of your faith. As a child, it is your parents who declare their sincerity of faith and promise to raise the child to know God but ultimately it is each individual who either on their own believes or does not.
Many ministers I know struggle with baptism because many times it is requested by parents who we never see in church because it is tradition; something we do but the faith behind the act has been removed from the act itself. Again I’m not trying to insult you; I’m not a radical preacher, I am just starting to see how the Old Testament, Jesus teaching and Paul’s letters come together to clarify God’s word. So baptism is just an example I use like the disciple’s eating without washing; as a way to demonstrate that all churches, all denominations, all men to one degree or another replace faith and God’s grace with human acts. This doesn’t necessarily mean we’re horrible Christians, its human nature to want to feel like we’ve done something to earn what we’re given. Just believing’s not enough; I have to do something to earn God’s grace. Yes believing is doing something but believing comes from your heart not your hands. It’s not a physical action and that’s the distinction between faith and works.
Now all these laws and traditions started out as man’s way of being able to keep the laws of God and the laws were meant as a way to point out and keep you away from those things that come between you and God. Jesus addresses this issue with the second half of our reading; Verses 14-15, “Hear me all of you and understand. There is nothing outside a person that by going into him can defile him, but the things that come out of a person are what defile him.”
What a shock that must have been to those listening. This is a complete turnaround. And again it’s not just meant for the people 2000 years ago, it is relevant today.
Again let me say that this is not directed at any one church or denomination it’s just observations I have made. It makes me angry when I hear ministers preach that as Christians we are to stay away from certain people. For centuries the pulpit was used to separate white and people of color. It was used to separate Christians from Muslims, even Christians and Jewish people. Today some teach you can’t be a good Christian if you associate with someone who is LGBT or a foreigner. Worse yet is some have preached that associating with sinners can somehow make you an unforgiven sinner and jeopardize your salvation.
Jesus is God; no one that he associated with made him “not God.” Mark 1:40-41, “A leper came to him…saying ‘If you will, you can make me clean’…he stretched out his hand and touched him and said to him ‘I will; be clean.’” The leper did not infect Jesus with his sin, Jesus infected the leper with God’s healing.
Associating with others, whoever they are; associating with others In the way of God will never infect you but you may infect them with the love of God.
All humanity are sinners, have we forgotten that Jesus ate with the sinners? It didn’t matter if the woman was an adulterer, it didn’t matter if the woman had five husbands, it didn’t matter if the man was a tax collector or possessed by a demon, or diseased with leprosy, Jesus was with them; giving of himself, honoring their humanity and honoring God.
In the Old Testament there are indeed a number of things that would defile the ancients and therefore keep them at a distance from God. These included the cloths one wore, the type of food one ate, disease and disfigurement and even childbirth. But as the Old Testament is a shadow of what is to come with Jesus, he here tells us what that shadow of defilement was pointing to; that the real defilement doesn’t come from our surroundings, it comes from our heart.
Faith comes from our heart, and we can say that the faith of our heart is where the Holy Spirit resides within us. If we do things that go against our faith, mistreat our neighbors, exclude those who are different for whatever reason; if we act out against the faith of our hearts we act out against the Holy Spirit and that defiles us in the eyes of God.
Now yes the Bible gives us a list of things we’re supposed to avoid; thou shall not steal. But does this mean anyone who steals is above redemption, no. God says to us in Acts 10:15 “Do not call anything impure that God has made clean.” We don’t know what is in a person’s heart therefore we cannot make judgment on their life. We all make mistakes, if someone judged us only on our mistakes would we be able to stand on our faith.
I like to listen to the bluegrass music station on my way to church and I heard a song last week about a man who had a dream. He dreamt that he was arrested and brought before a judge. The judge told him he was accused of being a Christian but his life showed no evidence of the charge so they were letting him go.
We’ve heard the term “Rhino” in the news lately. It describes those who disagree with our last president. We all need to guard against being known as “Chino” Ch-I-N-O, Christian in name only.
Today Jesus warns us against making traditions and rituals more important than faith. Traditions and rituals are important, they give us a sense of stability, they connect us with past and future generations. But the Bible is clear, just because one follows rituals doesn’t necessarily mean they have salvation. The Bible is very clear that it is faith in Jesus and the cross that gains you the gift of salvation.
Men are good at putting salvation back under works. And while we baptize our children, while we wear a cross around our neck or worship in a beautiful church; it’s not our actions that save us, it’s our faith that does.
Jesus goes on from this truth to another; that following him means we are called to be like him. And that includes being an advocate for our fellow men. To follow Jesus means we accept that no one is beyond the redemption of the cross. To follow Jesus means we are to engage with each other for God. We are to engage with each other no matter their “uncleanness.” And nothing someone else does can undermine your standing with God. Only your thoughts and actions can do that.
Jesus says that following him is hard but considering all he did for me at the cross, I am willing to try my best to be like him. I pray all Christians will do the same.
Amen