There is nothing that enters a man from the outside which can defile him; but the things which come out of him, those are the things that defile a man

 Then the Pharisees and some of the scribes came together to Him, having come from Jerusalem.  Now when they saw some of His disciples eat bread with defiled, that is, with unwashed hands, they found fault.  For the Pharisees and all the Jews do not eat unless they wash their hands in a special way, holding the tradition of the elders.  When they come from the marketplace, they do not eat unless they wash.  And there are many other things which they have received and hold, like the washing of cups, pitchers, copper vessels, and couches.  Then the Pharisees and scribes asked Him, "Why do Your disciples not walk according to the  tradition of the elders, but eat bread with unwashed hands?"  He answered and said to 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.
And in vain they worship Me,
Teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.'

"For laying aside the commandment of God, you hold the tradition of men -- the washing of pitchers and cups, and many other such things you do."

He said to them, "All to well you reject the commandment of God, that you may keep your tradition.  For Moses said, 'Honor your father and your mother,' and, 'He who curses father or mother, let him be put to death.'  But you say, 'If a man says to his father or mother, "Whatever profit you might have received from me is Corban" -- (that is, a gift to God), then you no longer let him do anything for his father or his mother, making the word of God of no effect through your tradition which you have handed down.  And many such things you do."

When He had called all the multitude to Himself, He said to them, "Hear Me, everyone, and understand:  There is nothing that enters a man from the outside which can defile him; but the things which come out of him, those are the things that defile a man.  If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear!"  When He had entered a house away from the crowd, His disciples asked Him concerning the parable.  So He said to them, "Are you thus without understanding also?  Do you not perceive that whatever enters a man from outside cannot defile him, because it does not enter his heart but his stomach, and is eliminated, thus purifying all foods?"  And He said, "What comes out of a man, that defiles a man.  For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lewdness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness.  All these evil things come from within and defile a man."

- Mark 7:1-23

Yesterday, we read that after feeding the multitude of 5,000 men (and more women and children) in the wilderness, and having sent His disciples back across the  Sea of Galilee, when evening came, the boat was in the middle of the sea; and Jesus was alone on the land.  Then He saw them straining at rowing, for the wind was against them.  Now about the fourth watch of the night He came to them, walking on the sea, and would have passed them by.  And when they saw Him walking on the sea, they supposed it was a ghost, and cried out; for they all saw Him and were troubled.  But immediately He talked with them and said to them, "Be of good cheer!  It is I; do not be afraid."  Then He went up into the boat to them, and the wind ceased.  And they were greatly amazed in themselves beyond measure, and marveled.  For they had not understood about the loaves, because their heart was hardened.  When they had crossed over, they came to the land of Gennesaret and anchored there.  And when they came out of the boat, immediately the people recognized Him, ran through that whole surrounding region, and began to carry about on beds those who were sick to wherever they heard He was.  Wherever He entered, into villages, cities, or the country, they laid the sick in the marketplaces, and begged Him that they might just touch the hem of His garment.  And as many as touched Him were made well.

  Then the Pharisees and some of the scribes came together to Him, having come from Jerusalem.  Now when they saw some of His disciples eat bread with defiled, that is, with unwashed hands, they found fault.  For the Pharisees and all the Jews do not eat unless they wash their hands in a special way, holding the tradition of the elders.  When they come from the marketplace, they do not eat unless they wash.  And there are many other things which they have received and hold, like the washing of cups, pitchers, copper vessels, and couches.  Then the Pharisees and scribes asked Him, "Why do Your disciples not walk according to the  tradition of the elders, but eat bread with unwashed hands?"  My study bible has extensive notes on today's reading.  Of this passage, it tells us:  "The issue here is not Jewish customs or traditions.  Jesus does not prohibit them (Matt. 23:23).  At issue is the raising of human tradition over the tradition or commandments of God.  The tradition of the elders is a body of interpretations of the Law handed down orally, which for the Pharisees and the scribes is as authoritative as the written Law of Moses.  According to this tradition, purification -- cleansing oneself from defiling contact with Gentiles or sinners -- occurs by the outward act of ceremonial washing."

He answered and said to 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.  And in vain they worship Me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.'  For laying aside the commandment of God, you hold the tradition of men -- the washing of pitchers and cups, and many other such things you do."   Here is a kind of nugget of faith:  Where is our faith?  Is it in the heart, where we can perceive the things of God?  Or is it in the "traditions of men" that may obscure those given things, the word that opens our eyes to life beyond this world, and to the grace and love of God?  At issue here is the conflict, when one obscures the other.

He said to them, "All to well you reject the commandment of God, that you may keep your tradition.  For Moses said, 'Honor your father and your mother,' and, 'He who curses father or mother, let him be put to death.'  But you say, 'If a man says to his father or mother, "Whatever profit you might have received from me is Corban" -- (that is, a gift to God), then you no longer let him do anything for his father or his mother, making the word of God of no effect through your tradition which you have handed down.  And many such things you do."  This is an example provided by Jesus of one thing (traditions) obscuring the other (the Law given or revealed to Moses).  We understand the essential goodness of respect for valuable relationships, the sense behind the commandment.  In our modern world, we may not all understand the complete dependency elderly parents have on adult children in such a society.  My study bible continues here on the tradition of the elders:  "Offerings to God may be made by promises.  Thereby one could dedicate property or earnings to God (Corban) to prevent their use by one's parents, but continue to use them oneself.  These secondary traditions obscure the primary commandments of God and obedience to them.  Traditions not from God must never supersede traditions from God or Holy Tradition (2 Thess. 2:15; 3:6).  Unlike Holy Tradition, human traditions can prevent people from coming to God (Rom. 2:24, Col. 2:8)."

When He had called all the multitude to Himself, He said to them, "Hear Me, everyone, and understand:  There is nothing that enters a man from the outside which can defile him; but the things which come out of him, those are the things that defile a man.  If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear!"   Here, Jesus speaks to the crowds who gather to hear Him speak.  Jesus has a different word for every audience.  We've first listened to a dialogue with the Pharisees who criticize His disciples.  Here, similarly to the audience for parables, He speaks to the crowds around Himself.  The crowd is invited to think about His sayings He presents to them, in the same way it is invited to think about the parables.  My study bible notes:  "Jesus teaches that nothing is of itself spiritually unclean.  God makes all things good.  Sins committed of our own free will, what comes from within us, defile and make the heart impure."

When He had entered a house away from the crowd, His disciples asked Him concerning the parable.  So He said to them, "Are you thus without understanding also?  Do you not perceive that whatever enters a man from outside cannot defile him, because it does not enter his heart but his stomach, and is eliminated, thus purifying all foods?"  And He said, "What comes out of a man, that defiles a man.  For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lewdness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness.  All these evil things come from within and defile a man."  My study bible says here, "All these evil things are not what God created.  We will them; we produce them; they are our sins coming from within us.  They are a perversion of what God has made."    As with the parables, Jesus explains privately to the disciples, who also need further illumination of His teachings of mysteries.

In all ways, Jesus seems to emphasize personal accountability, and it's an accountability before God, before the things of God.  The religious leadership is especially criticized because they are the ones who are supposed to lead the people to God.  But they have traditions (which also happen to enrich their group or class) that obscure the things of God, as my study bible puts it.  Whereas God's law given to Moses sought to emphasize the importance of relationships, here Jesus points out that particularly in the case of elderly parents, there are traditions that enrich the religious institution but leave parents with nothing.  They enforce selfishness rather than the intentions of the Law.  The same is true of His teaching on the things that truly defile a person.  We can say, in a very modern context, "I've been on this diet or that," or "I watch what I eat" and satisfy ourselves that we're good people, responsible and doing the right things somehow.  But the things of the heart, if obscured by this adherence to the outward things, may remain untouched.  Accountability would have us look deeper, to the things that Jesus names:  "For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lewdness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness."  These are all things we can choose to be accountable for.  Which ones of them do we nurture without thinking?  We may refrain from certain foods, even fasting religiously in an impressive way, but if we let our satisfaction with such an outward show obscure the inner work of fasting from the things named by Jesus, and instead feed inwardly on those things, are we following His commandments?  Where is our true accountability?  I think it's important to remember that it's human weakness to let the outward obscure the real inward job here that Jesus emphasizes for us.  At the root of all things, Jesus consistently emphasizes the heart and the condition of the heart.  It's with the heart that we perceive the things of God, and it's with the heart that our spiritual eyes and ears function clearly and sharply.  Too much emphasis on what's outside -- and especially how we appear before others (especially whoever we consider to be in our "group") can lead us down the wrong path, and away from the things God would emphasize, the things that make for true relationship and discernment.  Even worse, those who are to lead others to God may in fact lead them astray with this false emphasis that neglects the more important matters.  It really doesn't matter whether or not we are talking about the society Jesus lived in 2,000 years ago, or today's world, this teaching is always new.  It always invites us to examine what we are doing and how we are living, what we put an emphasis on, and whether or not we really look to the heart, the place that God dwells in us, and we are making a home that is clean and open for that Word.  Let's not let the outward emphasis, filled as we are with images today with which we must keep up, obscure the place where God calls us to honor the least of these, the ones whose eyes don't necessarily count as much as the ones who assure us of our social status, our wealth, our position.  Accountability before God teaches us about the laws of truth and love and righteousness.  In any circumstance, we may be invited in to such a struggle, or obscured from that place where the struggle is engaged.