We must be dedicated to cleansing the filth in our hearts.

We must be dedicated to cleansing the filth in our hearts.

 

 

After speaking to the Pharisees and the teachers of the law (scribes), who were making the word of God of no effect through traditions like human-made laws and doing many similar things (Mark 7:1, 7, 13), Jesus called the crowd to Him again and said, "Listen to me, everyone, and understand this: nothing outside a person can defile them by going into them.  Rather, it is what comes out of a person that defiles them" (vv. 14-15, Korean Modern Bible).  When He entered the house and His disciples asked about this parable, He said to them, "Are you so dull?  Don't you see that nothing that enters a person from the outside can defile them?  For it doesn't go into their heart but into their stomach, and then out of the body" (By this, He declared all foods clean.) "What comes out of a person is what defiles them.  For it is from within, out of a person's heart, that evil thoughts come—sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance, and folly.  All these evils come from inside and defile a person" (vv. 17-23, Korean Modern Bible).  As I reflect on these words, several thoughts come to mind::

 

(1)    Jesus said to the crowd, “Listen to me and understand this” (v. 14, Korean Modern Bible) [“Listen and understand” (Matthew 15:10, Korean Modern Bible)], while to His disciples He said, “Are you still so dull?” (v. 16, Korean Modern Bible; Mark 7:18, Korean Modern Bible).  This reflects that both the crowd and Jesus' disciples did not understand this parable.  However, the difference is that only Jesus' disciples [according to Matthew 15:15 in the Korean Modern Bible, it was "Peter" among them] asked Jesus to explain the meaning of this parable (Mark 7:17) [asked for an explanation (Matthew 15:15, Korean Modern Bible)].  Psalms 119:169 in the Korean Modern Bible says: “Hear my prayer, O Lord; give me understanding according to your word.”  Our desire for understanding comes because understanding comes from God (Proverbs 2:6).  When we strive for understanding (v. 3) and decide to humble ourselves before God to gain understanding, God will hear our prayer and answer it from the first day of that decision (Daniel 10:12).  The answer to that prayer will be that the Lord gives us understanding, so that we may know the true God (1 John 5:20).  In fact, the Bible says, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom” (Proverbs 9:10, Korean Modern Bible).  Therefore, the Bible says that those who have this understanding are happy (Proverbs 3:13).  This understanding will protect us (2:11) and give us life (Psalms 119:144).

 

(2)    The Pharisees, who heard Jesus' parable, became angry [they were offended by it (Korean New Revised Bible)], and the disciples asked Jesus if He was aware of this (Matthew 15:12) (this account is not in Mark 7).  In response, Jesus answered, "Every plant that my heavenly Father has not planted will be pulled up.  Leave them; they are blind guides.  If the blind lead the blind, both will fall into a pit" (Matthew 15:13-14, Korean Modern Bible).  Why did the Pharisees get angry after hearing Jesus' parable?  Why did this parable become an offense to them?  The reason is that through the parable, Jesus pointed out their "wrong understanding of the law" (Hokma).  The fact that the Pharisees were angered shows that they did not accept Jesus' words as the true truth but were offended by them, becoming adversaries of the truth (Hokma).  According to Hokma: "In fact, anger toward a person who speaks the truth arises from two causes: (a) the loss of trust in what they had previously believed was right and a sense of betrayal toward themselves, and (b) the refusal to acknowledge that their judgment was false and unjust, and instead, the anger comes from an attitude that condemns the person speaking the truth, which reflects a distorted mindset that cannot honestly accept the truth and fears and turns away from it" (Hokma).  Not only did the Pharisees oppose Jesus' words of truth, but they also opposed Jesus, who is the truth (John 14:6).  As hypocrites, they are like "plants not planted by my (Jesus') heavenly Father," and on the Day of Judgment, they will "be pulled up" (Matthew 15:13, Korean Modern Bible) and face final destruction [Matthew 13:19, 40 (Hokma)].  Furthermore, Jesus' statement about them being "blind guides" and the saying, "If the blind lead the blind, both will fall into a pit" (Matthew 15:14, Korean Modern Bible), implied that the hypocritical Pharisees, who could not discern the truth and instead opposed it, were walking the path of falsehood and destruction.  Those who followed their false teachings and outward appearances would also be spiritual "blind" followers, and together with the Pharisees, they would reach eternal damnation and be cast into the fires of hell (Hokma).

 

(3)    The reason Jesus told his disciples, “Nothing that goes into a person from outside can defile him,” is because “it does not enter the heart but passes through the stomach and out of the body.” “That is why Jesus declared all foods clean” (Mark 7:18-19, Korean Modern Bible).  1 Timothy 4:3-5, Korean Modern Bible: “They [those who reject the faith and follow deceiving spirits and teachings of demons, lying hypocrites whose consciences are numbed (vv. 1-2, Korean Modern Bible)] forbid marriage and forbid the eating of certain foods.  But foods are given by God to be eaten with thanksgiving by those who believe and know the truth.  Everything created by God is good, and nothing should be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving, because the food is made holy by the word of God and prayer.”  Therefore, the apostle Paul said, “Why should I be criticized for the food for which I am thankful when I eat it with thanksgiving?” (1 Corinthians 10:30, Korean Modern Bible)

 

(4)    Jesus said to His disciples, "What comes out of a person's heart is what defiles them" (Mark 7:20, Korean Modern Bible).  The reason for this is that "from within, out of a person's heart, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance, and folly" (vv. 21-22) [In Matthew 15:19, Korean Modern Bible, "greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance, and folly" are listed, but instead of those, it mentions "false testimony and slander"].  Jesus said, "All these evils come from inside and defile a person" (v. 23, Korean Modern Bible) [In Matthew 15:20, Korean Modern Bible, it also says, "eating with unwashed hands does not defile a person"].  Through Jesus' explanation of this parable, we must discern what defiles us and what does not.  Therefore, we should not, like the Pharisees, fall into extreme mannerism and hypocrisy, constantly focused only on washing away outward defilement (Hokma).  Instead, we must recognize our internal sins, believe in the power of the precious blood that Jesus shed on the cross, confess our sins, repent, and commit ourselves to cleansing the defilement of our hearts.