Getting to the Heart of the Matter: Mark 7:1-23
By Phil Higley | June 2, 2010
Mark 7:1-23 (ESV)
Now when the Pharisees gathered to [Jesus], with some of the scribes who had come from Jerusalem, 2they saw that some of his disciples ate with hands that were defiled, that is, unwashed. 3(For the Pharisees and all the Jews do not eat unless they wash their hands, holding to the tradition of the elders, 4and when they come from the marketplace, they do not eat unless they wash. And there are many other traditions that they observe, such as the washing of cups and pots and copper vessels and dining couches.) 5And the Pharisees and the scribes asked him, “Why do your disciples not walk according to the tradition of the elders, but eat with defiled hands?” 6And he said to them, “Well did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written, “‘This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me; 7in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’ 8You leave the commandment of God and hold to the tradition of men.” 9And he said to them, “You have a fine way of rejecting the commandment of God in order to establish your tradition! 10For Moses said, ‘Honor your father and your mother’; and, ‘Whoever reviles father or mother must surely die.’ 11But you say, ‘If a man tells his father or his mother, whatever you would have gained from me is Corban’ (that is, given to God)- 12then you no longer permit him to do anything for his father or mother, 13thus making void the word of God by your tradition that you have handed down. And many such things you do.” 14And he called the people to him again and said to them, “Hear me, all of you, and understand: 15There 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.” [16 ] 17And when he had entered the house and left the people, his disciples asked him about the parable. 18 And he said to them, “Then are you also without understanding? Do you not see that whatever goes into a person from outside cannot defile him, 19since it enters not his heart but his stomach, and is expelled?” (Thus he declared all foods clean.) 20And he said, “What comes out of a person is what defiles him. 21For from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, 22coveting, wickedness, deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride, foolishness. 23All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person.”
Introduction
Verses 1 through 23 in chapter 7 present a very detailed account of Jesus’ ability to clarify and challenge the religious standards and authorities of the culture. In this portion of scripture we see Jesus speaking in the following chiastic structure:
A Purity of heart is what God seeks (v. 6)
B Human based religious teachings are worthless (v. 7)
B’ The teaching of the elders nullifies God’s word (vv. 9-13)
A’ Only evil from the heart defiles (vv. 14-23)
The Issue: Commands of God and Traditions of Men (vv. 1-13)
In the beginning verses we find that Jesus’ theology and praxis is attracting the attention of major “theologians” from Jerusalem itself. These religious teachers from Jerusalem immediately inspected the conduct of Jesus’ disciples and proceeded to direct their criticism to Jesus himself. The Pharisees’ questioning was of ceremonial purity verses ceremonial defilement. And this makes sense because we know that the Pharisaic Jews emphasized “ceremonial cleanness” because a whole section of the Mishnah is devoted to the subject. However in Jesus’ time there was no written form of the Mishnah (that came about 200A.D.) so it is likely an oral tradition that arose out of an interpretation of religious cleanness from the Old Testament. This cleanliness is likely what is meant by “tradition of the elders” (v. 3).
Basically this whole section and the complaints of the Pharisees directed toward Jesus had to do with the religious authorities elevating human tradition above God’s Word. It’s sometimes easy to do this in culture when scripture is taken for granted and irresponsibly used and interpreted. Case in point is Jesus’ quotation of Isaiah. Jesus is calling the religious authorities—in a theologically explicit way—unequivocal spiritual phonies. They followed the traditions of men because such teaching required only mechanical and thoughtless conformity without a pure heart. To make his accusation concrete Jesus uses the example of declaring “Corban.” What’s Corban? Mark tells his gentile readers that it means “given to God.” Through their religious tradition, some of the Pharisees’ were able to break the commandment of honoring father and mother by devoting their resources to God. Here’s how this worked, for example: “If a son became angry with his parents, he could declare his money and property “Corban.” Since Scripture teaches that any vow made to God could not be violated (Num 302), his possessions could not be used for anything but service to God and not as a resource to assist his parents financially.” But Jesus obviously condemned this practice by showing that the Pharisees and scribes were guilty of canceling out God’s Word (and his command to honor one’s parents) through their tradition. Hence Jesus’ quote of Isaiah and his calling the Pharisees hypocrites is quite apropos to the situation at hand.
The Real Problem: Legitimate Defilement (vv. 14-23)
If the Pharisees wanted to know what Jesus thought about the human condition in relation to their religious traditions, then he clearly states what he thinks in v. 15. Jesus proclaims what does and does not make a person unclean. What is external cannot defile a person. Food, for example, cannot do this—not even if it is eaten with unwashed hands or declared unclean by kosher food laws. (Keep in mind that this must have sounded quite shocking to Jesus’ audience.) What really makes a person unclean comes from within; out of the heart and will—what one thinks, says, desires, and does—these only can make a person unclean. This is part of the Gospel message.
But the disciples still aren’t apprehending Jesus’ message, so they ask him about the parable in v. 17. It seems that from Jesus’ response in v. 18 that he expects them to “get it.” But in his grace he answers: The reason nothing entering a person from the outside can defile him is because it enters into the stomach, not the heart (v. 19). And it is in the heart where the true issues of life are found. In Semitic expression the heart is the center of human personality that determines man’s actions and inaction (e.g., Isaiah 29:13 says “These people come near to me with their mouth and honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me”). The Gospel Jesus proclaims is not a set of “new” laws, but a changing of the heart. When the heart changes then the rest of a person’s being changes.
Topics: Blog, Mark, Scripture | 7 Comments »
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This is a great passage, but there is a lot to unpack. One verse I am trying to work on interpreting is verse 19, “Thus he declared all foods clean.”
This means several things. 1) He is changing the Jewish economy as the fulfiller of the law, thereby abrogating it in present time. 2) He is saying that normal non-cultic meals have never had clean/unclean standards and that is only scribal tradition. 3) He is interpreting the true intention of the law that although foods are called unclean ceremonially, that never meant they were “unclean” morally.
My problem with the first one is that Jesus came to fulfill the law, but while alive he was not changing the Torah as he went. So it seems it is either or a combination of 2 or 3. Need to keep working through it.
Ya, I thought you’d ask about that verse. It looks like it’s a parenthetical note by Mark. I’ve got some notes on it at home but I think it coincides with the fact that clean and unclean food were never meant to be “morally” unclean. It seems like Peter would have instructed Mark about this specifically given his vision in Acts (reference?). It also makes me think about John the Baptists call to repentance of the people of Israel. He said that they needed to repent and that God could call up children to Abraham from the rocks. I think there’s a connection here to the heart because just because people think they’re a child of God by some ceremonial keeping of the law or circumcision, it does not. Also recall that verse in Isaiah where God says he’s not interested in the blood of bulls and goats, but what he wants is a humble and contrite heart from his followers. (I’ll think about this more and then comment when I get home from work.)
I think it is always important to keep in mind both the intent of Jesus’ statement as well as the “original” law. The law was an important component for the Jews as an expression of their faith and devotion to the Lord. It was intended as a guide for those who chose, by faith, through love, to follow God. It later became corrupted as a step by step process to forgiveness and communion with God. As we continue to see in the New Testament, esp as we work through Mark, Jesus is referring to the intention behind the obedience of the law, right? By declaring all foods clean, Jesus is referring to moral implications of a physical act. I am not sure the the food is of any consequence but just happens to be the example he uses here. The idea is this, if you are following dietary laws because it will please God or gain his favor, then you are going in the wrong direction. If it is a reflection of obedience born from faith and love then, you’re on to something. For instance the Pharisees thought the Messiah would come as a political ruler and Jesus tried to set the record straight. I think this is addressing a similar misapplication of the law, as exhibited through clean and unclean food. I think you are on the right track if you are looking at the morality of unclean food.
Ok. That makes sense. Thanks.
Sorry I’m going to miss the sermon this week because I’m doing the Highland Games. I’ll definitely listen and see how you flush this beastly passage out online. Later:-)
I’ve been missing your notes the last few weeks, Phil!
Hey Tim: Notes are coming but we’re on a hiatus because Brent is going to start doctrines:-)