This is a devotional with my thoughts added to verses from the Bible. I highly encourage you to dig into the word with your own thoughts. The Daily Devotion series is one way to do this. However, I know that sometimes we want to read other people’s ideas about Bible passages, so I am starting the Everyday series. I hope and pray that these posts will draw you nearer to Jesus.
DAY 4–Remember to pray before you begin.
Mark 7:6-13 The Law versus Tradition
He answered 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. But they worship me in vain, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’ “For you set aside the commandment of God, and hold tightly to the tradition of men—the washing of pitchers and cups, and you do many other such things.” He said to them, “Full well do you reject the commandment of God, that you may keep your tradition. For Moses said, ‘Honor your father and your mother;’ and, ‘He who speaks evil of father or mother, let him be put to death.’ But you say, ‘If a man tells his father or his mother, “Whatever profit you might have received from me is Corban, that is to say, given to God”;’ then you no longer allow him to do anything for his father or his mother, making void the word of God by your tradition, which you have handed down. You do many things like this.”
It is astounding that the Pharisees had become so disrespectful of God that they believed they had the power to decide which of God’s laws and truths they would follow and which they would negate. The Bible tells us that Jesus stopped a terrible storm with a few words. As our Creator, God could flick us out of existence with a thought. Based on God’s power alone, it is just as shocking that even today, many Christians have the temerity to think that they can tell God what to do. They think that it is acceptable to encourage others to disregard parts of God’s word. Each of us needs to examine our own hearts to see if we are respecting God and His word, and if we are negating Jesus’ commands and choosing to only follow the parts of His teachings that we feel comfortable with.
The Pharisees had allowed their traditions and human interpretations to undermine the truth of the scriptures, but modern Christians should not judge them too harshly since the history of the church is full of the same behavior. Knowing the tendency of God’s people to interpret scripture based upon their own understanding and the corrupted interpretations passed down to us by previous generations, we must always be careful to allow the Bible to interpret itself rather than church tradition and personal philosophy. This passage in John 7 is an example of how we can use the Bible to understand what other Biblical passages mean. Earlier in chapter three, when told that His family was there, Jesus had said, “Who are my mother and my brothers?” Then looking at the people sitting around him, he said, “Here are my mother and my brothers! Whoever does the will of God is my brother and sister and mother.” (Mark 3:33-35). Taken alone, this verse might make someone believe that Jesus did not value the command to love and respect parents. However, in chapter seven, Jesus affirmed that the relationship between parents and child was still sacred. Jesus wanted us to honor father and mother. In chapter three, He was not showing disrespect to His mother when He refused to meet with her. He was respecting her enough to keep her from making a huge mistake. Out of His love for her, Jesus was warning His mother that she was in danger of disobeying God. From Jesus’ example and teaching we can better understand what it means to honor father and mother. These two verses together show us the limits of obedience to parents. We should honor and respect them, but we can also rebuke them if they are opposing God.
The other key message of this passage is the section that says, “but their heart is far from me.” Throughout the Bible in both the Old and New Testament, God consistently desires our hearts above all else. When God condemns His people, He always goes back to the heart. He speaks of His people’s betrayal of Him as adultery. He cries in pain at His people’s unfaithfulness. God desires our love, and it breaks His heart when we reject Him. Have you ever considered what Jesus’ main goal was during those three and a half years that He spent with the disciples? It was not to teach them to understand prophecy although He taught them that subject. It was not to make them capable of discussing scripture intelligently with the most educated of rabbis although He taught them how to do that also. Jesus’ main goal in spending three and a half years with those twelve men was to teach them to love Him above everything and everyone else, including themselves. He succeeded with eleven of them. Judas’ deadly sin was that he never stopped loving himself more than Jesus. He never loved God with his whole heart. There was a chance for him to look beyond his own interests and desires to love his Savior, but he rejected that love—first in small ways and later with the ultimate betrayal. Peter, on the other hand, loved Jesus. He betrayed his master also, but out of human weakness, not out of a rejection of Jesus’ love. When Jesus forgave him, Peter’s love for Jesus grew so deep that he desired to always honor his Master, and no punishment could stop him from speaking of Jesus. Peter was not fit to lead others until he loved Jesus so much that he would follow Jesus anywhere. It is possible that Peter and the other disciples were chosen for their capacity to love more than for any other ability. If so, this means that Judas also had the capacity to love God wholeheartedly at the beginning, but he closed it off until he was a dried-up husk incapable of loving. We also have the same choice. We can open ourselves up to receiving God’s love in every part of our being, or we can choose love of self over love of God. Pray that you never hear the words from God, “His heart is far from me. Her heart is far from me.”
DAY 5–Remember to pray before you begin.
Mark 7:14-16 Unclean
He called all the multitude to himself, and said to them, “Hear me, all of you, and understand. There is nothing from outside of the man, that going into him can defile him; but the things which proceed out of the man are those that defile the man. If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear!”
Jesus tells us here that we cannot judge people as defiled or bad because of what they eat or drink. Heaven judges people by what comes out of their mouths rather than what goes in. The Jews’ judgement of Gentiles was that they were unclean. A good Jew would not eat with Gentiles or even enter their houses. Partly, this was because of the Gentiles’ habit of having unclean foods at the dinner table and by extension in the house. Thus, the Jews were using dietary rules to justify not associating with Gentiles.
By extending the label of unclean from food to people, the Jews were misrepresenting God. God is holy. We are sinful, yet this holy God loves us in spite of our unclean hearts. God desired the unclean Gentiles and Jews to come to Him for cleansing. He still desires each of us to come close to Him and let Him shower His love upon us. Anything that we do that forms a barrier between God and others is unclean. We must be witnesses to God’s love for humanity, not guardians of purity repelling unbelievers away from God by our words and actions.
It may be significant that this parable comes right after Jesus’ criticism of the Pharisees for the way they had changed God’s commands to guidelines while establishing human rules as superior commands. Too often our judgment is guided by our human culture and values rather than heaven’s laws. In the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5, Jesus describes merciful people who are humble, seeking for righteousness, and aware of their need for a Savior. All too often, we believe we must be confident, strong, and independent. Jesus wants our hearts, not our strength. He wants us to choose the ways of the kingdom of heaven over our upbringing and worldly values.
We must not overgeneralize what Jesus is saying here. This passage is not advocating that people can take in whatever they desire as long as they speak righteously. There are things that enter us from the outside that can cause us to become unclean. If we fill our hearts and minds with the world’s corruption, it will change us on the inside. Our entertainment, our social interactions, our work environment, and yes, even our diet can affect the way we think and act. Jesus’ emphasis was not on unclean foods. His major point was that the content of our hearts would be revealed in our outward actions.
In fact, Jesus was addressing one of the biggest issues facing all people who want to live righteously—hypocrisy. Jesus was telling people to search what was inside their own hearts. If their hearts were corrupt, they were unclean. In addition, if unbelievers’ hearts were good, then they should never be condemned as defiled. The Spirit is working with all humanity to draw them to God, and we cannot know what is in another’s heart. We cannot judge other people as unclean if God is in the process of cleansing their hearts. On the other hand, we cannot judge other people as clean simply because they appear to be behaving righteously on the outside. They may be full of corruption on the inside. What are we to do if we cannot know others’ hearts? Stop judging! That is where hypocrisy begins and ends. The only heart that we need to examine critically is our own. Are we receiving Jesus’ love into our lives and letting Him cleanse us, or are we spewing out the garbage that is inside of us? Our daily prayer should be, “Cleanse my heart so that I will give others Your love. Take away my selfishness and fear. Make me clean and pure as You are.”
DAY 6–Remember to pray before you begin.
Mark 7:17-23 Unclean Explained
When he had entered into a house away from the multitude, his disciples asked him about the parable. He said to them, “Are you also without understanding? Don’t you perceive that whatever goes into the man from outside can’t defile him, because it doesn’t go into his heart, but into his stomach, then into the latrine, thus purifying all foods ?” He said, “That which proceeds out of the man, that defiles the man. For from within, out of the hearts of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, sexual sins, murders, thefts, covetings, wickedness, deceit, lustful desires, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, and foolishness. All these evil things come from within, and defile the man.”
Here is a list of sinful behavior that our present-day world does not necessarily view as offensive: “sexual immorality, stealing, murder, adultery, greed, wickedness, cheating, shameless lust, envy, slander, arrogance, and foolishness.” For all of us, the first step to being clean is acknowledging that sin is evil. Our culture and upbringing tell us that it is unhealthy to remain celibate while having multiple sexual partners is prized. Most of us would never overtly steal, and yet we entertain ourselves with stories of noble thieves who outsmart their corrupt opponents, as if two wrongs cancel each other out. Social media has revealed our love of lust, slander, and arrogance. Before we can repent, we have to recognize that these behaviors are simply wrong.
However, Jesus tells us that there is a deeper problem behind those sins. Paul calls this “the old man.” Jeremiah says that our hearts are deceitful and desperately sick or wicked, depending on the Bible translation that you use (Jeremiah 17:9). Our outward sins are symptoms of having an unclean heart and mind. It is not enough to try to control our evil behavior. We need new hearts and minds. Jesus has promised to give us this transformation (Ezekiel 36:25-27). All we have to do is turn from the world and its ways and choose Jesus. In other words, we have to stop blocking out the Spirit when He speaks to us, and instead humbly come to God as a sinner asking for His will to be done in our lives.
In short, we must have a heart clean-up in order to stop repeating these sins over and over. We do not stop performing the sins first, and that cessation of evil actions cleans up the heart. The cause is within. We must be cleansed from the inside rather than attempting to simply control the outside behaviors. We need our hearts to be transformed by the Holy Spirit.
The end result will be that we stop the outward behavior, but this is a process that may take a lifetime. It can be discouraging to fall back into habits and ways of thinking that result in sinful actions, but Jesus has patience. When we become defiled again, we need him to cleanse us again. This is the time to bow humbly before God, and confess our sin, turning from it, and looking towards the love of our Savior. Our habitual prayer should be, “Give me a clean heart that is not tempted to act out the sinful behavior of my past. Open my mind to sense the wrongness of sin and to comprehend the depth of Your love for me. Teach me to think and react in the same manner that You would rather than in the ways I have learned from the world.”
DAY 7–Remember to pray before you begin.
Mark 7:24-30 Puppies and Demons
From there he arose, and went away into the borders of Tyre and Sidon. He entered into a house, and didn’t want anyone to know it, but he couldn’t escape notice. For a woman, whose little daughter had an unclean spirit, having heard of him, came and fell down at his feet. Now the woman was a Greek, a Syrophoenician by race. She begged him that he would cast the demon out of her daughter. But Jesus said to her, “Let the children be filled first, for it is not appropriate to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs.” But she answered him, “Yes, Lord. Yet even the dogs under the table eat the children’s crumbs.” He said to her, “For this saying, go your way. The demon has gone out of your daughter.” She went away to her house, and found the child having been laid on the bed, with the demon gone out.
Jesus and His disciples had left the Jewish zone. This was definitely Gentile territory although there were probably a lot of Jews living there also. The place was quite a journey from Capernaum, so a lot of information about this journey must have been left out. Too often, we subconsciously limit the activities of Jesus and the other people in the Bible to the few details that we are told. This is a mistake because in the process, it is easy to become arrogant and opinionated about our knowledge. Instead, we need to come to the scriptures with an attitude of humility, knowing that we only have bits and pieces of the whole story. John says that if he had written down all the details of Jesus’ words and actions, they would have filled the whole world (John 21:25). Why didn’t God direct John and the others to write all the details of Jesus’ interactions with them? Because the Bible includes only the details that the world needs in all time periods, not just in a prophet’s lifetime. The good news is that even if we only have bits and pieces, they are the right bits and pieces for us.
Jesus brought His disciples to this Gentile area to get away from the crowds that were growing too large and conspicuous. He was laying low and did not want anyone to know he was there. This quiet getaway seems to have been an attempt at having a retreat—a rest—from the group’s everyday toils. When Jesus and the disciples had tried to retreat to the wilderness near the Sea of Galilee, the crowds had followed them, so now they were trying to go to a new retreat where there were more Gentiles than Jews. Maybe, this was also a time to hide out from the Jewish authorities who were attempting to arrest Jesus.
The group had not been at their house very long before the Syrophoenician woman approached them. The fact that she was Greek and that she fell down at Jesus’ feet indicates that Jesus was probably outside the house since Jews would not have let a Gentile into the house itself. Maybe, they were all sitting outside talking and that is how the news of Jesus’ presence got out to the woman.
This poor mother had been dealing with her daughter’s problem for a long time. Whatever the problem was, the mother loved her daughter and was frantic with worry. Jesus’ reputation as a healer had spread even to the Gentile areas surrounding the Jewish territories, so when she heard that the miracle-worker from Galilee was in town, her desperate heart filled with hope. She rushed to the home where Jesus was staying.
Jesus’ ministry during His earthly time was focused on the Jews specifically. He had not gone out of His way to reach any non-Jews, yet here He seems to have made an exception. Why did He go into a Gentile area? Yes, He was trying to get away from the crowds, but was there a deeper lesson that He wanted His disciples to learn? Did He want them to see Him interacting with Gentiles and giving them healing also? He did not touch the girl that He healed. He simply said that she was healed, and she was. Incredibly, even as He tested the woman’s determination with puppy comments, He was in the process of healing her daughter.
The woman had no pride or arrogance. She prostrated herself at Jesus’ feet and begged for crumbs from the table. I wonder if Jesus felt sorrow that crumbs were all the Jews had ever offered to the Gentiles. His special people had hidden their light so that just the slightest glimmer reached the rest of the world when they were meant to be the bright light that spread God’s message to the whole earth. Jesus gave the asked-for crumbs to the woman, but did He long to give more? Abraham was given the promise that the whole world would be blessed through Him (Genesis 12:3). Jesus was the fulfillment of that promise. As Jesus looked out at the Gentiles passing by His borrowed house, did He long for them to receive the blessings only He could give? Was God frustrated with His people’s blind prejudice and insular ways that had hidden His light away from the rest of the world? Just as importantly, is God frustrated with His church today, which all too often repels sinners and sets up barriers between them and Jesus? We need to examine our own hearts and actions to see if we are pointing others to Jesus or if we are barriers standing in the way of those that Jesus longs to draw to Himself. Let us pray that we will not hide Jesus’ brilliance, but instead, we will be a conduit for His light to reach others. We need to plead for the love that will allow Jesus’ radiance to shine through us to those in need of a Savior. We must pray that we give the world more than just crumbs. Let us invite them to the feast that God has prepared for us all.