Mark 7:1-23
Jane and I were at a Folk Camp the other week. We hadn’t been camping for about ten years, but we enjoyed it. All the catering was done for us – and that’s a very big thing – so we were able enjoy the various activities, which included folk music and dancing. Because of the Swine Flu scare we were advised to take precautions – to wash our hands frequently and use the dispensers for antiseptic gel which were provided.
The medical experts tell us that hygiene is very important when it comes to keeping away infection. And we all teach our children to wash their hands after they have been playing in the garden and before they eat. That’s because we now know about microbes and how infections are spread. But this was not so in the past. 150 years ago surgeons operated in filthy blood-stained coats, and never washed their hands!
Yes, hygiene is very important. So it’s interesting to read in the Old Testament of the rules in the Law of Moses about defilement and washing. Certain things were recognised as causing ritual defilement – contact with a dead body, for example.These rules were probably very important from a hygiene point of view. If the people of Israel kept these rules they were more likely to be free from illness than the other nations.
Of course, they didn’t have modern notions of hygiene. Rather, they thought of the defilement as a spiritual thing – something which restricted their access to God. For an observant Jew it was (and still is) thought to be almost morally wrong not to wash your hands before eating. And the Rabbis elaborated all sorts of rules about how it should be done and what objects should be washed before a meal – pots, pans, dishes, etc. There were also all sorts of rules in addition to the Law of Moses. These rituals were known as the “Tradition of the Elders”.
Criticism
In our reading from Mark chapter 7 we see the Pharisees and some of the Teachers of the Law criticising the disciples of Jesus. They noticed that not all of Jesus’ disciples followed the correct procedure before eating. They didn’t always bother to wash their hands. Most of these disciples had come from humble backgrounds - simple fishermen from Galilee, farm labourers, unsophisticated people. They had never been taught the “correct procedure”.
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 ‘unclean’ hands?
(Mark 7:5)
Jesus was angry at this criticism of his followers. Some of them had previously lived lives of sin and immorality. But they had repented and now they wanted to go God’s way in their lives. How unfair that they should be pulled down for a small ceremonial infraction by those who had received a privileged upbringing! Yes these Pharisees and Teachers of the Law were wealthy men who could well afford the time to go through such rituals.
Hypocrites
But Jesus saw that they were hypocrites too. How dare they criticise his disciples when they themselves set aside God’s law and put human traditions in its place!
Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you hypocrites; as it is written:
‘These people honour me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me.
They worship me in vain; their teachings are but rules taught by men.’
You have let go of the commands of God and are holding on to the traditions of men.
(Mark 7:6-8)
Jesus gave an example of how they these men would neglect to provide for their parents in their old age – thus breaking the commandment about honouring your father and mother. Then to cover up their fault they would say that they could not afford to keep them because they had already given the money to God’s work. (The word “Corban” is used – it means a gift dedicated to God. Once it is given it can not be taken back and put to another pupose – never mind the fact that providing for your parents would be God’s work.) These Pharisees were using their religiosity as a cover up for their moral failings. Hypocrites!
“And you do many other things like this”, Jesus said.
In the previous chapters of Mark we read about Jesus healing the sick, raising the dead, stilling the storm, feeding the multitude, walking on water, delivering people from demonic powers. He was performing all these signs and wonders as well as teaching the most sublime truths, and all the Pharisees could do in response was to carp at his disciples not washing their hands!
Priorities
About 30 years ago Jane and I were youth leaders in the church we belonged to. It was a rather stuffy church in those days – you had to come to church wearing a sober suit and tie if you were a man, or a dress if you were a woman. But the youth work was successful and there were a lot of young people coming to our after church fellowship on a Sunday evening. Most did not come to the church service beforehand, but some did. And we were always pleased to see them in church, even though the service was rather formal and not the sort of thing they really could relate to. They would usually turn up wearing jeans and tee-shirt and trainers. We were glad to see them however they were dressed but some members of the church did not like this. They thought the young people should wear suits and ties! But which is more important, that a person really wants to know God and follow Jesus, or that they should wear a smart suit?
It’s all a matter of priorities. What is the most important thing in life? Is it the outward appearance or is it what you have in your heart? The Pharisees were putting the Tradition of the Elders before what God wanted of them. And they were more concerned with externals than anything else.
Inner life
Jesus said to the crowd, “Don’t worry about what the Pharisees say. It’s not the things you eat that make you unclean – rather its what is already inside you.”
Afterwards the disciples asked him about this. They didn’t quite understand what he meant.
“Well,” he said, “it’s not the food you eat that makes you unclean. That goes though the digestive system and then it is eliminated. No it’s what’s in your heart that really counts. If you are pure in heart you don’t need to worry about outward man-made rituals. But if your heart is full of evil thoughts: lusts, dishonesty, greed, hatred and so on – these things defile you.”
For from within, out of men’s hearts, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery,
greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance and folly.
All these evils come from inside and make a man ‘unclean’.
(Mark 7:21- 23)
So it is that in the Christian faith we don’t lay any emphasis on dietary laws. Other religions make a great deal of this. To the Jew everything has to be kosher. To the Muslim it has to be hallal. The Hindu won’t eat beef and many are vegetarians, as are many Buddhists. But we believe that Jesus declared all foods clean. We don’t forbid certain foods but we leave it to the individual’s choice. And we do not lay down rules for ritual hand washing before meals, even though we do recognise the importance of hygiene.
What we do stress is what is the heart – and that is much more challenging. In a sense it’s easier to follow a religion that just sets rules. “ Eat this, don’t eat that, follow this ritual, fast on that day, make a pilgrimage to this shrine, recite that prayer.”
You can do all these things and still be a long way from God.
But when we look into our own hearts and we see the sin there, all the evil things Jesus spoke of, then we are brought to trust ourselves to the mercy of God and ask to be forgiven. Then, and only then, are we in a position to receive his grace and be cleansed within. Jesus died, he shed his blood on the cross, so we could experience that cleansing.
Yes, there are certain things we do when we worship and when we come to church. Yes, there are ways we behave as Christians and we seek to follow certain guidelines in life. But in essence we live by grace, not law.
And we must never elevate mere human traditions above what God wants for us.
