“IT’S WHAT’S INSIDE THAT COUNTS”

Mark 7:1-23

2/17/2008 Pastor Harpold

The period between the Old Testament and the New Testament is a time change. It was a most eventful period in the history of Israel. During the time of captivity and in this period between the Testaments, there developed new groups not mentioned in the Old Testament - the Pharisees, the Sadducees, the scribes, and the Herodians.

The Scribes had a good beginning. Evidently Ezra was a scribe and the founder of that group. They were the professional expounders of the Law. But they had become "hair-splitters" - more concerned with the letter of the Law than with the spirit of the Law.

That is one of the great problems today. The interpretation of the laws in this country include, "hair-splitting" and the philosophical interpretation never intended in the law. As a result, our legal system and political system are in a great mess. That is what had happened to religion in Jesus’ day.

Pharisees also had a good beginning. They defended the Jewish way of life against foreign influences. They were strict legalists and were nationalists in politics.

The Sadducees were the wealthy and socially minded. They had no spiritual depth. They wanted to get rid of tradition. They rejected the supernatural and were opposed to the Pharisees who accepted the supernatural and accepted the Old Testament.

The Herodians were a party in the days of Jesus who arose as political opportunists. They were strictly a party to try to keep the Herods on the throne.

This background will help us understand the Incident before us.

PHARISEES DENOUNCED You will notice that Jesus has made such an impression that these men are drawn out of Jerusalem, and they have come to the place where He is ministering in Galilee.

Look at this - it is quite interesting. There is a crisis arising about the Person of Jesus. Back in Mark 6:30 we read that the apostles had gathered themselves around Jesus and had told Him all the things that they had done after He had sent them out. Now the scribes and the Pharisees have come out and gathered about Him. There is bound to be confrontation between Jesus and His followers and the Pharisees and their followers. On the one hand are those who love Him. The other group is comprised of His enemies who seek to destroy Him.

It has always been this way – there are two groups; those who trust Him and those who reject Him. To be personal, which group are you in? It makes all the difference in the world. The concern is not whether you are a member of a church or have been through a ceremony; rather it is what is your relationship to Jesus? That is the all-important question.

This obviously was a special delegation. They had been sent to spy on Jesus - the intellectuals sent to trap Jesus. Yet even then the testimony of Jesus’ enemies was, "…. No man ever spoke like this man" (John 7:46). It wasn't difficult to find some fault because the Lord Jesus entirely ignored their traditions. And what was their tradition? They were not simply criticizing the disciples because of a breach of etiquette, but for the fact that the Lord was not having them keep the traditions, which were their interpretation of the Old Testament. This referred to a ceremonial cleansing and hadn't anything to do with sanitary measures.

In the Book of Leviticus, there is a great deal of instruction about cleansing. It was important because God was teaching the lesson that a sinner had to be cleansed to enjoy fellowship with a holy God. But the Pharisees had built a great tradition that was supposed to be an interpretation of the Law, even contending Moses had given the traditions with the Law. In time, these traditions became the interpretation of the Law, and eventually departed widely from what had been the intent of the Law.

In our passage, some of this tradition is detailed. They would ceremonially wash the cups and pots and vessels and tables. This was all an entirely outward performance. You can see one could get so involved in the ritual as to forget the whole purpose - so a person might get right with God. We find the same today. So many people argue points of religion when it is the Person of Jesus Christ that should be our concern.

The accusation against His disciples was, of course, really an accusation against Him personally. Now notice how our Lord deals with them! I wouldn't say it is gentle. A hypocrite is one who is just acting a part. They were going through a religious ritual without experiencing any reality at all. The lips and the heart might as well have belonged to two separate persons. They had no more heart experience than a wooden dummy on the knee of a ventriloquist.

Many people are just going through a ritual today. The heart must be involved if it is genuine. "That if you confess with your mouth, Jesus is Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with the heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved" (Rom. 10:9-10). People get involved today in creeds and church confessions and public worship, and even "separation." All of this can become a matter of tradition and not a direct and personal dealing with the Lord Jesus Christ.

Worship is empty when the rules of men are substituted for the Word of God. This is the very heart of the matter. They were substituting man’s traditions for the Word of God. A tradition may be good and may be established for a good reason. But it becomes evil when it is a substitute for the Word of God. And that is what has happened to these people.

I think this is the reason so many churches have departed from the Word of God. They first substituted a creed. Then they substituted the word of men and the thinking of men and their own little ritual and their own little denomination. Before long, the Word of God went out the window. This has happened again and again.

Now Jesus gives an example. Moses’ law said people were to honor their parents, but tradition permitted them to escape responsibility. If a man did not want to help his father and mother when they were old, he would dedicate his possessions to the priest in the temple and it was called Corban, which means "a gift." At his death, his estate went to the temple and he was relieved of his responsibility to his parents.

There are certain personal responsibilities that people must fulfill. As we go on down the passage before us we see He goes into detail. He is differentiating that which is external and that which is internal and is pointing out what is real. He shows that religion is not something you can rub on as a salve. It is not something that you eat or refrain from eating. When He went into the house his disciples came to Him and asked Him about the parable. Let's really look at what comes out of man. It’s what’s inside that counts.

When you read the morning paper, you will find that this is what came out of man during the last twenty-four hours:

Evil thoughts - Adulteries and fornications - unlawful sex relations - Murders (anger is also murder) - Thefts (loafing on the job is also stealing) - Covetousness (grasping and greediness for material things and positions) - Wickedness (all the acts that are intended to hurt people) - Deceit (the pretense that people put up) - Lasciviousness (sensuality) - Evil eye (envy) - Blasphemy (slander against God or man) - Pride (God hates this above all else) - Foolishness (acts done without any respect of God or man).

These all come out of the heart of man and that is why the Lord Jesus says, "You must be born again."

Sources of evil in the heart… Jesus was differentiating what went in as food, from what came from the heart.

SYROPHOENICIAN'S DEMONON POSSESSED DAUGHTER Notice that Jesus stepped out of His own land and met this woman who was a Greek and a citizen of Tyre. She came to Jesus in faith. At first, our Lord's treatment seems brutal. But there is a point to this. He had been dealing with his own people who were rejecting Him. Now attention was focused on one who was not part of His people or it’s tradition. The story comes down to this. This woman is an outstanding example of faith outside of the tradition. It was from the heart. And Jesus answered her petition. One wonders whether He came to that area for the specific purpose of answering her faith.

DEAF AND DUMB OF DECAPOLIS The next story would also be in strict contrast to the traditions of religion. Again, it was a matter of faith among those who were not of the “people of God.” Tyre and Sidon were pagan and semi-pagan areas. We are not told directly that the folks involved in this incident were not Jews, but we can conclude so because of where it took place. And Jesus was attempting to take some time away from the press of the crowds in Galilee.

But His reputation preceded Him even here. And His reputation generated great faith wherever He went. The people knew it only took a touch of the Master to make the difference. It was as with the woman with the bleeding disorder. Only to touch His garment made all the difference in the world.

All the things He did were done as aids to faith.

At this time pressure upon Jesus was humanly unbearable. In spite of the pressure put upon Jesus, the burdens of the multitudes, the tensions of the times, the long busy days, and the weariness of the body, the crowd could say, “He has done everything well." We just add our word of agreement to this and say a hearty amen.

He still does all things well today!