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

 

 Then the Pharisees and some of the scribes came together with Him, having come from Jerusalem.  Now when they saw some of the 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 boat 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 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 with Him, having come from Jerusalem.  Now when they saw some of the 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 comments here that the issue Jesus is presenting isn't simply the observation of Jewish customs or traditions (which Jesus most certainly does not prohibit -- see Matthew 5:17-19, 23:23).  The real issue Jesus brings up is the setting of human tradition which is contrary to the tradition of God.  The tradition of the elders is a body of interpretations of the Law.  For the Pharisees and the scribes this body of interpretations was as authoritative as the Law.  Frequently its enforcement superseded what was in the Law.  In accordance with this tradition, one could make offerings (called Corban) which were promised to God in a way that property or earnings could still be used for oneself.  However, they couldn't be used for anyone else, including one's parents.  My study bible calls these secondary traditions, which obscure the primary tradition of the Law -- that which is contained in God's commandments.  Jesus quotes from Isaiah 29:13, regarding the lack of spiritual hearing in a people that do not want to understand God's word even as they worship, but impose instead traditions of their own.  He takes His quotations of the Law from Exodus 20:12, Deuteronomy 5:16, Exodus 21:17.

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!"   Again Jesus echoes the prophecy of Isaiah regarding those who are incapable of discerning spiritual truth in the words of the Lord (see Isaiah 6:8-10).  These words often accompany His parables as well.

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 explains that food cannot defile a person because it is created by God and is therefore pure.  Evil things such as Jesus names are not from God.  Those are the things that defile human beings.

In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus teaches, "For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you" (Matthew 7:2).  So much of what Jesus teaches seems to come down to the question of judgment:  of what our judgment is, of how we hear and view and perceive others, and especially what kind of judgment we use to discern truth and the things that are of God.  What is discernment?  What is compassion?  What is it to practice mercy or to use good judgment?  Do we judge by appearances?  In today's reading, Jesus makes it very clear that if we are going to base our judgment on the truth of who we are and what our condition is, then we must use judgment that goes beyond appearance, and into the substance of what it is that makes up a human being.  He goes right to the heart of the matter when He tells the multitude, in much the same way that He explains the parables to the disciples (see this reading), that "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."   I wonder how many people in today's world are capable of taking these things to heart?  That is, of looking at themselves and understanding what evil is, rather than judging through appearances.  People are condemned for saying the wrong word in the wrong context, when their own understanding of what they say and their own intent is something quite different from the way it was heard by another.  When we begin to pick at what are essentially behavioral formalities and rules, and cease to judge or perceive with the heart, then we are on the track of bad judgment, of judging others in ways we ourselves hope never to be judged.  Most certainly, a blindness to one's own faults will follow.  The self-righteousness of the Pharisees (such as in today's reading, and on display in this one) seems to be mirrored today in a modern context by those who would condemn for use of a certain phrase, or whatever we might be able, in a stretch, to impute that phrase to mean.  It is a problem of the judgment by appearance, and not judgment through good judgment.  I heard a talk recently given by Professor Jordan Peterson on the importance of understanding and conceiving what evil is in the world.   Please note I'm not familiar enough with Peterson's work to endorse or to criticize; I refer simply to one segment I heard of a lecture he gave on the subject.  But I do find this advice to be significant in terms of Christ's naming of the evils that come out of a person, and which are the things about which we must know to be on guard, and especially about ourselves and our own behavior.  The fact that Jesus says that they come from within us is enough to direct us to examination and awareness of our own fallibility, and to place responsibility for such squarely upon ourselves.  Jesus does this on a number of occasions, and perhaps most clearly in the immediate words He uses following His statement on practicing judgment (in Matthew 7):  "And why do you look at the speck in your brother’s eye, but do not consider the plank in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, 'Let me remove the speck from your eye'; and look, a plank is in your own eye? Hypocrite! First remove the plank from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye" (Matthew 7:3-5).  All too often, the judgment of others without understanding, without the perceptions of the heart, without practicing one's own self-regard to find that plank in our own eye, and on the basis of some form of appearance alone, become excuses not only to disregard the sad and sorry state of one's own condition, but an excuse for one's own deafness and blindness.  By deafness and blindness, I mean the failure to hear and discern the things of God (as in Isaiah 6), and the substitution of "doctrines which are the commandments of men" (Isaiah 29:13).  There is a substitution, among far too many seemingly well-meaning people, for the root and heart of Christ's teachings on our own practice of good judgment or the lack of it, by the willingness to impute meanings to others which most obviously may not even be there, in order to condemn.  If we are to go by the endless examples in history of those times when this became common, we might truly say that this practice is indulged in merely to exonerate us from doing the work Christ has taught us to do, and that is the work of dealing with those own evils within ourselves, and the plank that is in our own eye, before we can practice good judgment in criticism of others.  The Christ of the Gospels is the One who calls us to self-awareness, to a keen, calm, and even-keeled acceptance of our own fallibility and our capacity for such.  Our faith does not call us to a childish naivete, but to an adult understanding of our own potential flaws, and coming to terms with them at the Cross of Christ, and in His gaze upon us.  Let us remember it is our own Messiah and Savior who was judged with false judgment, an Innocent sentenced to die the torturous ignoble death sentence of the worst criminals of the Roman Empire.  He stands as a warning to all of us, that "with what judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you."  A deep awareness of the flaws within and our own capacity for evil is the only way we know to avoid the judgment that Christ promises as a return for our own false judgment.  Ultimately, Christ's teachings are about making us into mature human beings, giving us the fullness of self-understanding as well as the teachings of God which are given to us to help us to grow into the fullness of what it really means to be "god-like"; that is, made in the image and likeness of God.  In an age where our own flaws and negatives are the last thing we want to see, we need to be especially careful of our humility before God, and our understanding of the blessedness of these teachings.  Now is the time to accept them as correction for where the world fails to teach us well.

They are blind leaders of the blind

Then the scribes and Pharisees who were from Jerusalem came to Jesus, saying, "Why do Your disciples transgress the tradition of the elders? For they do not wash their hands when they eat bread." He answered and said to them, "Why do you also transgress the commandment of God because of your tradition? For God commanded, saying, 'Honor your father and your mother'; and 'He who curses father or mother, let him be put to death.' But you say, 'Whoever says to his father or mother, "Whatever profit you might have received from me is a gift to God" -- then he need not honor his father or mother.' Thus you have made the commandment of God of no effect by your tradition. "Hypocrites! Well did Isaiah prophesy about you, saying:

'These people draw near to Me with their mouth,

And honor Me with their lips,

But their heart is far from Me

And in vain they worship Me,

Teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.' "

When He had called the multitude to Himself, He said to them, "Hear and understand: Not what goes into the mouth defiles a man; but what comes out of the mouth, this defiles a man." Then His disciples came and said to Him, "Do You know that the Pharisees were offended when they heard this saying?" But He answered and said, "Every plant which My heavenly Father has not planted will be uprooted. Let them alone. They are blind leaders of the blind. And if the blind leads the blind, both will fall into a ditch." Then Peter answered and said to Him, "Explain this parable to us." So Jesus said, "Are you also still without understanding? Do you not yet understand that whatever enters the mouth goes into the stomach and is eliminated? But those things which proceed out of the mouth come from the heart, and they defile a man. For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies. These are the things which defile a man, but to eat with unwashed hands does not defile a man."

- Matthew 15:1-20

In yesterday's reading, after feeding five thousand men (and yet more women and children), Jesus withdrew again and went up to a mountaintop to pray. Before He did, He told His disciples to set sail for the other side of the Sea of Galilee. While they were rowing hard against blowing winds and waves, about three o'clock in the morning, He appeared to them walking on the water. The already frightened disciples believe they have seen a ghost! But Jesus says to them, "Be of good cheer! It is I; do not be afraid." Peter said, "Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water."Jesus told Him, "Come." And when Peter had come down out of the boat, he walked on the water to go to Jesus. But when he saw that the wind was boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink he cried out, saying, "Lord, save me!" And immediately Jesus stretched out His hand and caught him, and said to him, "O you of little faith, why did you doubt?" And when they got into the boat, the wind ceased. Then those who were in the boat came and worshiped Him, saying, "Truly You are the Son of God." They arrived at Gennesaret, where all brought their sick to Him, trying even to simply touch the hem of His garment. All who did so were healed.

Then the scribes and Pharisees who were from Jerusalem came to Jesus, saying, "Why do Your disciples transgress the tradition of the elders? For they do not wash their hands when they eat bread." The religious leadership is speaking to Jesus about a specific tradition of ceremonial washing. My study bible points out that the tradition of the elders refers to interpretations of Mosaic Law by Jewish teachers. Here, the topic is ritual purity.

He answered and said to them, "Why do you also transgress the commandment of God because of your tradition? For God commanded, saying, 'Honor your father and your mother'; and 'He who curses father or mother, let him be put to death.' But you say, 'Whoever says to his father or mother, "Whatever profit you might have received from me is a gift to God" -- then he need not honor his father or mother.' Thus you have made the commandment of God of no effect by your tradition." After return from Babylonian exile, for various important reasons, temple worship and ritual practices associated with tradition became highly systematized and emphasized. But here Christ focuses back in on the spirit of the Law, the word of God to Moses. Here, He quotes from the first of the Ten Commandments. Referring to a temple tradition, He cites the ability of people to devote possessions to the temple as a kind of gift or promise upon their deaths. Thereby, they could continue to use such possessions during their lifetimes. But for some, this mechanism is something we might compare to a "tax dodge" in our own times, but rather more serious. Elderly parents were dependent upon children; there was no other system of social welfare. Written into Mosaic Law is a constant theme of community, through right relationship. Jesus gives an example of those who simply do not want to truly share in relationship, thereby evading a commandment of community given through Moses as the word of God. In this way, the "tradition of men" is usurping the highest priority that should be given to the word of God.

"Hypocrites! Well did Isaiah prophesy about you, saying: 'These people draw near to Me with their mouth, and honor Me with their lips, but their heart is far from Me and in vain they worship Me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.' " Here is a lesson for us all, for every day, for all of us in our churches and denominations. Where is the true understanding of God? Moreover, we develop traditions, interpretations, practices in the name of our religion. But are they always used to bring us to the right focus, on the word of God in our hearts? Let us remember, the subject began as one of ritual purity. Christ has emphasized the purity of the heart already, in the Beatitudes, when He taught: "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God." Here, this teaching is perfectly expressed. In these verses, we get a picture of the consistency of the word of God, from Old Testament prophecy to the teachings of Jesus. In teaching about the purity of heart, we also recall His scathing words regarding hypocrisy in religious practice. Once more, the emphasis is on the heart.

When He had called the multitude to Himself, He said to them, "Hear and understand: Not what goes into the mouth defiles a man; but what comes out of the mouth, this defiles a man." Then His disciples came and said to Him, "Do You know that the Pharisees were offended when they heard this saying?" But He answered and said, "Every plant which My heavenly Father has not planted will be uprooted. Let them alone. They are blind leaders of the blind. And if the blind leads the blind, both will fall into a ditch." Here is a good understanding for our present day, when all sorts of theories and practices are offered seemingly from one person to another in the name of Christ, or the name of God. We remember His parables, and how He taught that good and evil live side by side, especially in the parable of the Wheat and the Tares. Jesus now illuminates this teaching in practice, quite literally referring to planting. He seems to refer to the Judgment, and teaches us, "Let them alone. They are blind leaders of the blind. And if the blind leads the blind, both will fall into a ditch." Today, we must remember His words even more powerfully perhaps than ever.

Then Peter answered and said to Him, "Explain this parable to us." So Jesus said, "Are you also still without understanding? Do you not yet understand that whatever enters the mouth goes into the stomach and is eliminated? But those things which proceed out of the mouth come from the heart, and they defile a man. For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies. These are the things which defile a man, but to eat with unwashed hands does not defile a man." As in yesterday's reading, it is Peter who speaks out. What I love about Jesus' reply is His saltiness: "Are you also still without understanding?" For all the appropriate seriousness with which we take Scripture, we should never fail to see the kind of relationship He has with each of His disciples, the humor and chiding that are often involved in Jesus' human personality, and the love in all of it. But He's speaking of a very serious subject: What is purity? What does it mean to be pure in heart? Is it things we do which make us pure, or something different, deeper? This is the real question here, and the real issue at hand. What do we guard in our hearts? What do we hold dear? Again, Jesus is teaching us consistently with the Beatitudes. What do we love? "Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." Anything can be stored in the heart. It's up to us to decide what we treasure, what we hold dear: and those things make us who we are.

Today's reading is a little complex, although the subject is essential to us all. Notions of purity really depend upon perspective: is it in what we do, or does what we do reflect who we are within the heart? We start with the place in which relationship begins, in the heart. What do we love? What do we hold dear? Right relatedness is the subject behind today's reading: right relationship is violated by false religious practice, when we don't guard the heart for the things which make us "pure in heart." So, what is uncleanness in this sense? It is the blind leading the blind who fail to understand this basic principle about relationship -- which begins and centers on a relationship with God, God who is love, who is Logos, the source of all things we know as good, reasonable, helpful, meaningful. Or, do we guard the "crooked" things Jesus lists here, which all begin with a kind of a lie, a basic hypocrisy that begins in sheltering lies, conflicts, cruelties, false witness. Basically, they can boil down to a lack of passion for truth. Jesus has said of Himself, "I am the way and the truth." It is true in both an absolute and a personal sense; the two in this context of worship and meaning are inseparable. So what do you cherish? What do you love? Are you easily led by sophistry and blindness? A little cruelty here or there, a little bullying, a lie or two, a little false witness, malicious gossip? A desire for power or authority that supersedes right relationship? In Jesus' examples, the "commandments of men" seem to always imply a false gain, a little one-upmanship, some manipulation, a convenient way to seemingly get ahead, to put ourselves or our agendas forward, all for appearance's sake alone, while perhaps blaspheming the good - and avoiding the tough choices within ourselves. The possibilities are endless, but the answer is one. "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God." Are we willing to let go of the things that interfere with that, wherever they are found in us and in our lives? Who or what comes first? How do we practice true discernment?