Welcome to Day 18 of our 40 Day challenge! Mark 7:1-23

(Catch up with us, with our reading list March, reading list for April,  and Day 1, Day 2, Day 3, Day 4, Day 5, Day 6, Day 7, Day 8, Day 9, Day 10, Day 11, Day 12, Day 13, Day 14, Day 15, Day 16, Day 17)

Today we are reading Mark 7:1-23:

Mark 7:1-23

That Which Defiles

The Pharisees and some of the teachers of the law who had come from Jerusalem gathered around Jesus ² and saw some of his disciples eating food with hands that were defiled, that is, unwashed. ³ (The Pharisees and all the Jews do not eat unless they give their hands a ceremonial washing, holding to the tradition of the elders.⁴ When they come from the marketplace they do not eat unless they wash. And they observe many other traditions, such as the washing of cups, pitchers and kettles.^[a])

⁵ So the Pharisees and teachers of the law asked Jesus, “Why don’t your disciples live according to the tradition of the elders instead of eating their food with defiled hands?”

⁶ He replied, “Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you hypocrites; as it is written:

“‘These people honor me with their lips,
but their hearts are far from me.
⁷ They worship me in vain;
their teachings are merely human rules.’

⁸ You have let go of the commands of God and are holding on to human traditions.”

⁹ And he continued, “You have a fine way of setting aside the commands of God in order to observe^[c]your own traditions! ¹⁰ For Moses said, ‘Honor your father and mother,’ and, ‘Anyone who curses their father or mother is to be put to death.’ ¹¹ But you say that if anyone declares that what might have been used to help their father or mother is Corban (that is, devoted to God)— ¹² then you no longer let them do anything for their father or mother. ¹³ Thus you nullify the word of God by your tradition that you have handed down. And you do many things like that.”

¹⁴ Again Jesus called the crowd to him and said, “Listen to me, everyone, and understand this.¹⁵ Nothing outside a person can defile them by going into them. Rather, it is what comes out of a person that defiles them.” ^[16] 

¹⁷ After he had left the crowd and entered the house, his disciples asked him about this parable.¹⁸ “Are you so dull?” he asked. “Don’t you see that nothing that enters a person from the outside can defile them? ¹⁹ For it doesn’t go into their heart but into their stomach, and then out of the body.” (In saying this, Jesus declared all foods clean.)

²⁰ He went on: “What comes out of a person is what defiles them. ²¹ For it is from within, out of a person’s heart, that evil thoughts come—sexual immorality, theft, murder, ²² adultery, greed,malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance and folly. ²³ All these evils come from inside and defile a person.”

When we’re young, and we watch movies and TV shows, we tend to identify with the kids in the story. And then, once grown, if we watch the same media, now we see from the perspective of the adults, and the story is so very different.

Reading this passage today feels like that to me. The first times I read it, I would see myself at the table with Jesus, being criticized along with Him by those in charge of the religious teachings. But now, so many years later, it’s a message to me not to put any cultural ideas about God over the clear messages He has given us.

There was a recent poll, I think it was by Pew Research, that asked what the biggest stumbling block for non-Christians to become Christians is. The most common answer Christians gave was the problem of suffering: how can a loving God allow suffering in the world? But the most common answer non-Christians said was hypocrisy by Christians (!).

And so we are not much different from the religious leaders in the days of Jesus. The problem with evangelism today is not that others don’t know about Jesus. It’s that they do know about Jesus but don’t see Him in our behavior. Ouch.

I used to love to read the scathing words of Jesus to the religious leaders, you brood of vipers, you whitewashed tombs. I thought of myself as one of the ones receiving the “lording it over” and not one of the leaders held accountable. But now, I feel the strong rebuke at any behavior, especially any behavior in His name, that does not have the kindness and love of Christ at the beginning, middle, and end.

So many of us here have been hurt by church people in power who excused or covered up abuses of power, great and small. And so it can be tempting to see ourselves only as the masses in this story. And believe me, God cares so very much for the hurts people have done to you in His name. And, we also have been given the Kingdom of God, and His calling to bring it to every place we go. This is a very high calling and weighty responsibility. But we don’t (can’t) do it alone. It is because of Him and His indwelling Spirit that empowers us to bring His Kingdom in every situation. His joy, His peace, His love, His compassion, His power, His mercy, His forgiveness, etc.

Options for further  journaling or discussion throughout the challenge:

• Choose a part of the passage to write out by hand. Writing by hand helps us slow down and focus on what the Lord might highlight for us in the passage. Our brains can focus and remember better by writing than just reading alone.
• Journal about what the passage brings to mind. Does the passage tell us anything about God? Does it tell us anything about our response to Him?
• Does your heart respond in gratitude to any part of the passage? Write or pray your gratitude to the Lord.

We’ll see you next time, for Day 19 and Mark 9:2-13

♥ Samantha