Skip to main content

142. White Washed Tombstones!


Key Verse: "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

Approximately six hundred years before Jesus, the people of Judah had sinned so badly by ignoring the word of the Lord that God allowed them to be punished by being destroyed by the Babylonians. Jerusalem was completely ruined. Many of the citizens were killed and only a relatively few, referred to as "the remnant," were carried off to live in Babylon for 70 years before being allowed to return and begin again.

This event proved to be a real wake up call for the people. The priests and Levites developed an extensive list of rules and regulations by which the people were to live that would outline very clearly how not to break the Ten Commandments again, or any of the whole Law, or "Torah," from Moses in the first five books of the Bible.  In all, 603 extra laws were created, referred to as, "the hedge around the Law," which orthodox Jews still try to live by today. As time passed, following these man made laws became more important than worship of God Himself. They thought that they were worshiping God, but in truth, they were worshiping His law and ignoring God's heart altogether. This is the issue that Jesus is addressing in today's readings.

"Why aren't your disciples observing the proper ceremony before they eat?" That is probably a better way to understand the Pharisees' accusations against the disciples here. The washing was for ceremony more than cleanliness. It was an outward show, something that could be observed and criticized if not done correctly.

Jesus, instead, returns to the original intent of the law that He gave to Moses on Mt. Sinai during the exodus. "You find your manmade laws more important to follow than God's law itself. While the fifth commandment says, "Honor your father and your mother," you're even willing to dishonor your parents by letting them starve for the sake of these manmade rules that you love so much. You are so blind to the truth! You only focus on the externals so that you can judge rather than get your heart in order, where God is focused."

The Pharisees were concentrating on getting the outward behavior correct so that the world would judge them worthy. What they didn't understand is that if they could get their heart right, the behavior would follow.

It's like the difference between a movie and genuine love. The actors on the screen can do all of the right moves. They can help us believe that they are in love by their actions, but we all know that when the camera turns off, all of that changes. They go back to their regular lives, or the next scene, depending upon what is called for. Genuine love, however, needs no director to tell the lovers how to behave. They know what to do and want to because their hearts are committed to act appropriately.

While the Pharisees wanted to condemn for appearing "unclean," Jesus warns us to begin by being "clean" from within. It's a heart issue. Each one is responsible for his or her own heart. Your salvation is not dependent on the world's opinion of you. The world may see you as a "good person," and not be able to conceive of God seeing you otherwise. God, however, looks inside at the heart condition. If your heart is right with Him, then all is right, no matter what the world thinks of you.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

211. The Sons of Thunder's Request

Matthew 20:20-28 , Mark 10:35-45 , Key verse: "Whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all." Mark 10:43B-44 In our readings for yesterday, in which Jesus outlined what was about to happen to Him, for His disciples, the passage in Luke ends: "The disciples did not understand any of this. It's meaning was hidden from them, and they did not know what He was talking about." ( Luke 18:34 ) Now, we see just how truly clueless they were. Jesus had laid out a plan before them of pain and suffering and death and now James and John are focused on a promotion. The disconnect is so obvious. It's really not important to know whether James and john came up with this request on their own or if their mother put them up to it. The request was made and James and John thought that they could handle the responsibility that would come with it. What is that saying, "Fools rush in where angels fe...

These Boots are Made for Walking

Scripture: Ephesians 6:10-15 These Boots are Made for Walking. Of course, I picked that title because it has a reference to popular culture, and it connects with our text today about “feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace.” I was tempted to play the video of that song, but it’s really not amenable to worship. If you remember that old song, it was quite confrontational. The singer had a righteous complaint against a boyfriend or spouse who was cheating on her. She’s not going to put up with that, and the song goes on to say, “One of these days these boots are gonna walk all over you!” And that “take a stand” bravado made her a hero! It was a #1 hit in 1966. I mention it because it has one interesting parallel and one major contrast with the message of grace and forgiveness. That parallel is this. God has a righteous complaint against the entire human race for cheating Him out of the loving relationship He desires with us. As the God who created us, he h...

201. All for God's Glory

John 9 & 2 Corinthians 12:7-12 Key Verse: "Neither this man nor his parents sinned," said Jesus, "but this happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his life." John 9:3 In this event John records my personal favorite from all four gospels. I love it for its detail. I love it because it demonstrates so much of our human frailty. It shows us how powerful our fears can be in the midst of God's amazing grace and glory. First, we have the disciples who are suffering under the misconception that sickness and unfortunate circumstances are the result of sin only. They are thinking like Job and his friends. If you obey you will always be blessed and if you sin, God will punish you for it. They couldn't imagine that God could have possibly designed this man, blind, for His own glorious purposes. Then we have the neighbors who are all amazed, but then what? What do you do when the mold has been broken? This man was blind and now he...