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THE GOSPEL OF MARK – THE PROBLEM OF THE HEART

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THE PROBLEM OF THE HEART 

17 After he had left the crowd and entered the house, his disciples asked him about this parable. 18 “Are you so dull?” he asked. “Don’t you see that nothing that enters a person from the outside can defile them? 19 For it doesn’t go into their heart but into their stomach, and then out of the body.” (In saying this, Jesus declared all foods clean.)

20 He went on: “What comes out of a person is what defiles them. 21 For it is from within, out of a person’s heart, that evil thoughts come—sexual immorality, theft, murder, 22 adultery, greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance and folly. 23 All these evils come from inside and defile a person.” Mark 7:17-23

The question the disciples asked Jesus shows how deeply they were influenced by the thinking of their day. Fortunately, they had the sense to ask Jesus for an explanation that put the issue of dietary practices into its correct perspective. Perhaps this was also a revelation for Roman readers because their pagan religion was expressed in many ungodly practices which defiled them.

Jesus went straight to the “heart” of man’s problem – the problem of the heart. There is nothing we have to do to introduce pollution into us because it is already there, in the heart, awaiting the opportunity to expose itself to the outside world through words, actions and attitudes. All it needs is a little prompting through circumstances or through someone else’s words or actions.

The Pharisees, who were so meticulous about their observance of dietary taboos, were a case in point. Their over-scrupulous consciences about external cleanliness made them oblivious to the real issues that showed up the condition of their hearts: arrogance, pride, contempt for those who were not like them, hatred, murderous thoughts etc. They were too busy polishing the outside of the cup to acknowledge the condition of their hearts. Rather than take note of the issues Jesus was exposing in them, they chose to silence Him and hold on to their guilt.

What should our response be to the situations that cause pollution of our hearts to be exposed? The Bible is full of examples of wrong responses that only exacerbated the problem instead of dealing with it. How often, in the Old Testament, God’s faithful prophets exposed sin, only to pay the ultimate price for their obedience to God.

One man was different – David. Nathan’s exposure of his guilt brought David’s humility to the surface. “I have sinned,” he said. What a different place even the church might be in if God’s people recognised God’s grace in exposing our polluted hearts. The humiliation of exposure produces the peace of forgiveness and freedom from guilt. Instead, we hold on to our guilt, and punish others with our cruel words and deeds rather than eat humble pie by admitting, “I have sinned.”

Inside Out

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INSIDE OUT

Again Jesus called the crowd to Him 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.’ After He had left the crowd and entered the house, His disciples asked Him about this parable. ‘Are you so dull?’ He asked. ’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.’ (In saying this, Jesus declared all foods clean). He went on: ‘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.’ (Mark 7: 14-23).

What was the issue? The Pharisees had accused Jesus’ disciples of eating with ceremonially unclean hands because they had not done their ritual washing before a meal. It was much more than washing their hands before lunch. It was about failing to observe the tradition of the elders. They attacked their lifestyle – they were not following what was proper according to the religious traditions added on to the Law of Moses.

Jesus had responded by showing them how they had twisted the Law of Moses by declaring what should rightfully have been used to support elderly parents as corban, that is, dedicated to God so that it could not be used for anything else.

Without explanation, Jesus taught the listening crowd that it is not food that defiles a person but what comes from within the person himself. Once again His disciples didn’t get it. He had to spell it out to them so that they would understand that evil thoughts and actions defile a person rather than food eaten with unwashed hands, or even food that was so-called unclean according to the Torah. How can food which passes through the digestive system, contribute to the sinfulness of the heart? Of course, certain foods are bad for a person’s health, but food cannot affect the state of one’s heart.

If what comes from within defiles a person; thoughts, words and actions, then it stands to reason that those thoughts, words and actions are a mirror of the person’s heart. Every time someone opens his mouth or does something, he is giving others a glimpse of what is inside him. This had implications for interpersonal relationships.

How many hurtful words are spoken from the mouth of a person who is full of hate and bitterness? Instead of the hearer recognising that the attack from the speaker is merely a revelation of what is in his or her heart rather than a criticism of the hearer and instead of reacting with hurt and carrying an offence against the other person, the one who was judged or criticised should realise that the real issue comes from the heart of the attacker.

The conflict will end and there will be no offense taken if the criticism is dismissed right there. How important it is to realise this and to step back and brush off the offense. Instead of anger and retaliation, the offender’s words can be ignored as irrelevant because the real issue in his heart rather than the person he is attacking. How liberating to walk away from such a person knowing that the criticism can’t stick because it’s not your “stuff” – it’s his or her “stuff”.

This is also a warning to all of us that we give ourselves away by what we say or do. Angry words reveal unresolved hurts. A controlling person gives away his insecurity. Even addictions say something. People who struggle with addictions use substances or behaviour patterns to manage unresolved pain or guilt in their lives. When we understand this, it does not take a psychologist or psychiatrist who put people into diagnostic “boxes” which they call “disorders” to realise what the real problem. Jesus called our “disorders” sin. There is only one effective answer for sin – the blood of Jesus which forgives sin and cleanses us of all our unrighteousness.

When Jesus come in to cleanse us and give us a new heart, everything changes.

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come. The old had gone, the new is here! (2 Cor. 5: 17).

Don’t be fooled by those who think they are cleaning up their hearts by eating the right food. Jesus said, ‘Listen to me.’ He has the answer for the problem of defiled hearts. His death paid our debt of sin so that we can be forgiven and made new. He changes us from the inside. What comes out then will God-stuff, not our stuff!

Scripture taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

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