This people honors Me with their lips, but their heart is far from Me

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 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 too 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 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 five thousand men in the wilderness (and more women and children), and departing for the mountain top alone to pray, and after Jesus had sent His disciples back across the Sea of Galilee, when evening came, the boat of the disciples was in the middle of the sea; and He 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 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 too 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."   My study bible has a lengthy note on this passage:  "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.  Further, 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 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!"   A note here tells us, "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 tells us that "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."

There are several things we can notice about today's reading.  First of all, Jesus' ministry is now so "on the map," so to speak, that Pharisees and scribes have come from Jerusalem to see Him.  This is quite an important thing, as it says that the religious establishment haven't just taken notice of Him; they've actually come to Him.  But being, in some sense, regulators, the first thing they do is find fault.  Jesus' disciples do not practice ceremonial washing.  Instead of responding as we might expect, Jesus brooks no criticism of His disciples in this instance.  (When His disciples are criticized, it comes from Jesus' own mouth, and in private.)   Instead, Jesus goes on the offensive, charging the leadership with hypocrisy in their practices.  We've observed on other occasions Jesus' loyalty and protectiveness of His own disciples.  But here, Jesus takes the occasion to raise some very important points of teaching.  It's almost like a trial, in the formal sense of a courtroom:  the Pharisees and scribes have opened a particular door, introduced a subject, and so Jesus can now give His own testimony.  But the teaching isn't just for the benefit of the scribes and Pharisees; it isn't just a criticism of their habitual practices and the hypocrisy for which Jesus quotes the lines from Isaiah.  When the multitude has come again to hear Him preach, He continues the lesson, in very strong terms:  "Hear Me, everyone, and understand. There is nothing that enters a man from 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!"  These words are, as He says, for everyone.  It's a powerful, emphatic teaching, something we must get into our heads.  Especially now, at this time of Lent with its various traditions and practices of fasting, we must come to understand what these practices are for:  they're not laws unto themselves.  They are designed to place our attention on God, to give up the time we spend on all kinds of elaborate preparations for a time, to forget about the usual things we put so much emphasis on and run after, and just give it a rest for awhile -- for a purpose, to free ourselves and our thoughts to draw closer to God.  Otherwise, we run the danger of doing what Jesus and my study bible point out:  putting an emphasis on a kind of legalistic perspective that draws people away from God and godliness, rather than toward God.  In private, Jesus' teaching continues to His own disciples.  And here we find the nudging question:  "Are you thus without understanding also?"  Jesus doesn't shrink from questioning them this way, in private and away from the rest of the world; He's an honest and loving, and loyal, Teacher.  He tells them straightforwardly, explaining it all for them, and for us via the Gospel:  "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."  The emphasis is on where our hearts are, what fills us, what we dwell on -- as has so often been the case through this Gospel.  But here, in today's teaching, it all comes home.  It is explicit and deliberate, and spelled out for us very clearly.  The things that really defile, the real sins, are those things we create within ourselves.  It's this place of the heart that really needs our attention --  and that, again, is the purpose of practices such as fasting.  We get a "time out" to focus on the inside, to find where we are in relationship to God.  Jesus' words tell us truly about ourselves, and ask us just as powerfully right here and right now about our own self-awareness.  All the rules and all the teachings and all the traditions are meant to get us to this place with God, face to face, so to speak, and in the heart:  What are we nurturing?  What are we creating?  So, we're in the middle of Lent, right now, and let us think.  Let us make a commitment about what really matters and what is of true substance, what is it that makes us who we are in God's sight?  What lifts us up, and what pulls us down?  What defiles and pollutes, and what cleanses?  Let us remember that these things Jesus names are also about how we are with others.  But the harm we do, He emphasizes, is really to ourselves.  Finally, the quotation from Isaiah, "This people honors Me with their lips," is ironic in even a literal perspective regarding food choices!  It's the heart and our relationship to God that affects all else, all other relationships -- this is what Jesus emphasizes.