What comes out of a man, that defiles 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 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 when evening came, the disciples' boat was in the middle of the sea; and Jesus was alone on the land, where He had stayed to pray on the mountain.  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?"    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 carefully tells us that the real issue here isn't at all the observation of Jewish customs or traditions -- which Jesus does not prohibit (see Matthew 5:17-19; 23:23).  At issue, rather, is putting human tradition contrary to the tradition of God.  My study bible says that the tradition of the elders is a body of interpretations of the Law, "which for the Pharisees and scribes was as authoritative as the Law and often superseded it."  Corban were a type of offering that could be promised to God in a way that property or earnings could still be used by oneself, but not for anybody else, including parents.  That would be, thereby, a secondary tradition which, in effect, obscures the primary aim of the Law, contained in God's commandments.  Jesus quotes from Isaiah 29:13.

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."  My study bible simply puts it:  "Food cannot defile a person because it is created by God and is therefore pure.  Evil things are not from God, and these are what defile a person."

There's a kind of thread here going through the gospel that we have to take notice of.  It's related to the last note quoted from my study bible:  that what is created by God is pure, and what's evil isn't from God and so is impure, defiling a person.  It's tied to the notion that the things created by God are meant to contain God's glory, reflect God's truth and beauty and power.  It's related to the concept that people simply wanted to touch Jesus and were healed by His power, even from touching the hem of His clothing.  It's linked to the idea of anointing with oil in order to heal, as natural things can be imbued with the grace of God, just as human beings can.  In that context, what we have to see is that the point of view of the gospel is that what is evil is not natural.  We may think of all kinds of petty, selfish, "evil" behavior as natural to human beings, but that's not the point of view of Scripture.  In Scripture, this "unnatural" evil is our fallen state, not our true "natural" state.  Our true natural state is that which Jesus comes to give us, to heal us toward, to restore us to.  Our natural state is in communion with God, just as it is natural that all the things created by God should be endowed with God's glory, meant for grace.  When we seek to do things that block the action of grace in ourselves, it's not really something natural, but unnatural.  I wonder how we can get further into this way of thinking.  Perhaps we can take a look at the trouble stirred up by things we know are evil:  lying, malice, manipulation, slander, scapegoating.  We could use Jesus' examples of the things that come out of the heart that really defile a person:  evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lewdness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness.   All of this is to point out that what's "unnatural" in this sense is a lot of trouble, causes so much difficulty and pain, isn't really natural to us at all.  These things are in some way learned and used by those who feel they get something by cheating at life, one way and another, and cheating others.  We need God's help for working through such problems, for being really and truly healed.  But let's take a careful look at who we are and what we're made for, and what healing really and truly looks like, at least in the perspective of Christ.