Today we are going to look at a rather lengthy section of scripture in our ongoing study of Mark. It’s a bit longer than I normally try to present, but I think it’s all connected, and to break it up into two sermons would cause difficulties in trying to understand it. So for the sake of context, I want to consider the whole passage. But don’t worry, I will try to move quickly through it, so that it doesn’t take twice as long as I normally would take.

Chapter six ended with Jesus having walked on the water to the disciples who were crossing the Sea of Galilee, and then when they came to shore, the people found out He was there and the whole country was coming out to be healed. The Pharisees and scribes from Jerusalem had obviously heard about all that He was doing, and all the crowds that were following Him, and perhaps moved by jealousy came up from Jerusalem to publicly find fault with Him and try to discredit Him before the people.

We read Mark’s account of this then in vs 1, “The Pharisees and some of the scribes gathered around Him when they had come from Jerusalem, and had seen that some of His disciples were eating their bread with impure hands, that is, unwashed. (For the Pharisees and all the Jews do not eat unless they carefully wash their hands, [thus] observing the traditions of the elders; and [when they come] from the market place, they do not eat unless they cleanse themselves; and there are many other things which they have received in order to observe, such as the washing of cups and pitchers and copper pots.) The Pharisees and the scribes asked Him, “Why do Your disciples not walk according to the tradition of the elders, but eat their bread with impure hands?”

This was another official delegation of religious leaders from Jerusalem who had traveled to Galilee to discredit the ministry of Jesus. We read about a previous delegation in Mark 3:22, where they had said that He was casting out demons by the power of Beelzebul. They basically had said that His power came from the devil. So they were obviously in opposition to Jesus and His ministry and were trying to find anything they could to criticize and use against Him.

Perhaps we need to qualify who these religious leaders were. The scribes were basically religious lawyers. The Pharisees were a sect that believed they were, or tried to appear, to be strict keepers of the law. They believed they were superior in their religion by the fact that they adhered to the strictest interpretation of the law. And so with the scribes and the Pharisees working together, they hoped to be able to catch Jesus breaking the law.

But what they find to criticize was not some law that Jesus was breaking, but a religious tradition of the rabbis that had, in their minds, equal standing as the word of God. In fact, some rabbis are on record as saying that the Mishna, which was the interpretative commentary of the law written by rabbis, was superior to the word of God and breaking a tradition or ceremonial injunction of the Mishna deserved greater punishment than simply breaking the law of God.

So the terrible infraction that the scribes and Pharisees take issue with is that Jesus’s disciples did not ceremoniously wash their hands before eating. These religious leaders meant elaborate ceremonial washings, not just washing for the sake of cleanliness. The scribes and Pharisees strictly observed a rigid and extensive ritual for washing before meals. It wasn’t enough to properly clean your hands if they were very dirty. You would have to first wash your hands to make them clean, and then perform the ritual to make them spiritually clean. They even had an accompanying prayer to be said during the ritual washing.

What they had done was to take the Biblical mandate that the priests had to wash their hands and feet prior to entering the Tabernacle found in Exodus 30 and 40 and used it as the foundation for the wide-spread practice of ritualistic hand washings. God’s law didn’t prescribe anything about washing your hands before eating.

By the way, I know I shouldn’t talk about this, but I can’t help it. I read an article yesterday on Fox News about the White House mandating masks for unvaccinated people. And the article went on to say this was ironic considering that many in the medical and scientific field was now questioning and putting in serious doubt the efficacy of the pandemic protocols such as wearing masks and hand washing. I want to read you a quote from that article;  “A recent study published by the prestigious Cochrane Library, which is funded by the National Institutes of Health, dug into the findings of 78 randomized controlled trials to determine whether “physical interventions” — including face masks and hand-washing — lessened the spread of respiratory viruses. The conclusion about masks undercuts the scientific basis for masking, according to the study’s lead author. “There is just no evidence that they make any difference. Full stop,” Tom Jefferson, the study’s lead author, said in an interview. When asked specifically about fitted N95 masks in health care settings, Jefferson said: “It makes no difference – none of it.” So the study found that in 78 trials neither masks nor hand washing made any difference in controlling the spread of respiratory illnesses.

Now that has little to do with our study of Mark, I realize that, and I’m sure I have needlessly offended some people here today. And I am likely to get myself kicked off of YouTube for quoting this scientific study in opposition to the government’s official position. But you would think that God, in prescribing all the laws concerning the Jews activities and behavior and even personal cleanliness would have taken into consideration the implications of communicable diseases. And yet in the New Testament it says that that Christians should not forsake the assembly of themselves together and in the church they should greet each other with a holy kiss. But during the pandemic we were told we could not even shake hands. And in the name of “science”, they effectively shut down the church. And I would suggest that the church has not really recovered from that.

But back to Mark’s gospel. The Pharisees and the scribes honored the oral traditions more than they honored God’s law. They honored what their rabbis had taught more than what the Bible taught. The Mishna was man’s interpretation of the law of God. The lawyers and the rabbis had figured out how to technically keep the law of God but actually work around certain things that they didn’t want to be encumbered by.

Rabbi Eleazer is recorded as saying, ‘He who expounds the Scriptures in opposition to the tradition has no share in the world to come’… The Mishna says, ‘It is a greater offense to teach anything contrary to the voice of the Rabbis than to contradict Scripture itself.’” And the Jewish Rabbi Jose said, He who eats with unwashed hand sins as much as he that lies with an harlot.”

So they had developed these traditions, basically man’s reinterpretation of God’s law, that they honored above and beyond the scope of the law of Moses, and they prided themselves on keeping them, and they believed they were superiorly righteous as a result.

Today in our Christian culture many rituals or traditions have come about which seem to be spiritual, but are founded on man’s interpretations rather than on God’s word. The Roman Catholic Church is especially guilty of this. And in correlation to the Pharisees position on traidtions, they believe that any declaration of the Pope has equal standing as the word of God. And in fact it would seem that the Pope’s declarations take precedence over what the Bible says, or does not say.

I don’t want to make this sermon a diatribe against the Catholic Church in particular this morning, but I would ask, where in God’s word is the doctrine of the perpetual virginity and assumption of Mary? Where in God’s word is the doctrine of taking the eucharist being the source of salvation? Where in God’s word is the practice of praying to Mary and to dead saints? Where in God’s word is the practice of baby baptism in order to become a child of God? I could go on and and on elucidating false traditions of the Catholic Church. But I won’t waste our time. However I will say that such practices undermine the gospel if not being completely antagonistic to the gospel. And the result is it is with great difficulty that anyone can be saved through the teaching of the Catholic Church because the truth of the gospel is so overlayed with traditions that you can’t find the truth.

Well, Jesus answers the criticism of the Pharisees, but not by answering their question, but with a criticism of His own. Vs. 6, And He said to them, “Rightly did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written: ‘THIS PEOPLE HONORS ME WITH THEIR LIPS, BUT THEIR HEART IS FAR AWAY FROM ME. ‘BUT IN VAIN DO THEY WORSHIP ME, TEACHING AS DOCTRINES THE PRECEPTS OF MEN.’ “Neglecting the commandment of God, you hold to the tradition of men.”

First notice that Jesus calls out these religious leaders as hypocrites. A hypocrite in the original language means an actor on a stage, performing for the applause of men. That’s what these relgiious leaders were doing. They were putting on a self righteous act before men, but their hearts were far from God. Jesus quotes from Isaiah but He is obviously applying it to them.

This is the same indictment that I think Jesus would make against the church today. Not just the Catholic Church, but almost all the mainline denominations today have become apostate. They have exchanged the gospel of the Bible for another gospel of men. They have overlooked the parts of the gospel that speak of man being a sinner, condemned to death, to spend eternity in hell. They have exchanged the truth of the gospel for a lie.

Romans 1:25 says, “For they exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen. For this reason God gave them over to degrading passions; for their women exchanged the natural function for that which is unnatural, and in the same way also the men abandoned the natural function of the woman and burned in their desire toward one another, men with men committing indecent acts and receiving in their own persons the due penalty of their error. And just as they did not see fit to acknowledge God any longer, God gave them over to a depraved mind, to do those things which are not proper, being filled with all unrighteousness, wickedness, greed, evil; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, malice; [they are] gossips, slanderers, haters of God, insolent, arrogant, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, without understanding, untrustworthy, unloving, unmerciful; and although they know the ordinance of God, that those who practice such things are worthy of death, they not only do the same, but also give hearty approval to those who practice them.”

LIsten, the law of God was given to define sin. Sinners are by definition law breakers. And Romans 3:23 says “All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. So when the contemporary church says that sin is not really sin, that your sinful lifestyle does not need to be repented of, does not need to be forgiven, then you have taken the cross of Christ and made it worthless. You have taken the supreme sacrifice of Jesus Christ and made it irrelevant. When they say that you can continue in sin because grace has abounded, then they have trampled under foot the blood of Jesus Christ who died to take cleanse us from sin. And we have pastors and priests and clergy in churches today not only condoning sin but living in sin themselves and yet pretending that they love God.

They are hypocrites of the worst type. Mark has only this one reference to the word hypocrite. But Matthew records Jesus using it many times in the Sermon on the Mount as well as the Seven Woes. And it is always used in speaking of the religious leaders. Jesus is justified in His anger towards these wolves in sheep’s clothing. Because they are damning the sheep by their false teaching.

Jesus said, THIS PEOPLE HONORS ME WITH THEIR LIPS, BUT THEIR HEART IS FAR AWAY FROM ME. ‘BUT IN VAIN DO THEY WORSHIP ME, TEACHING AS DOCTRINES THE PRECEPTS OF MEN.’ The modern church today says that praise and worship is all that is required of us and then we can live as we want. That we have no other obligation other than to meet once a week and clap our hands along to some song that says “we exalt you Lord.” They suppose that God is up in heaven wringing His hands and saying, “I just wish someone would tell me they love me.” That’s not the God of the Bible. That’s a god of their own invention.

Notice Jesus said, “Neglecting the commandment of God, you hold to the tradition of men.” Then He gives an example of how they do that. This is not the only way, but one way in which they did it. He says in vs 13, you have invalidated the word of God by your tradition which you have handed down; and you do many things such as that.”

But to the example He gives, we read in vs 9, “He was also saying to them, “You are experts at setting aside the commandment of God in order to keep your tradition. “For Moses said, ‘HONOR YOUR FATHER AND YOUR MOTHER’; and, ‘HE WHO SPEAKS EVIL OF FATHER OR MOTHER, IS TO BE PUT TO DEATH’; but you say, ‘If a man says to [his] father or [his] mother, whatever I have that would help you is Corban (that is to say, given [to God]),’ you no longer permit him to do anything for [his] father or [his] mother; [thus] invalidating the word of God by your tradition which you have handed down; and you do many things such as that.”

The 5th commandment clearly laid out the responsibility of children to honor their parents. When children are young and in their parent’s household, they are responsible to obey their parents. But even when they are no longer live under their roof, they are still responsible to honor their parents. This was the social security system that God designed, that adult children would take care of their aged parents.

But Jesus said that the legal experts, the scribes, had figured out a way to circumvent that law. Basically, whatever the parents wanted from their grown son or daughter, they were able to declare it as Corban, that is given to God, and therefore he did not have to give it to his parents. This way, a son could completely disobey the command to honor your father or mother and do it while appearing to be pious. Jesus called this making the word of God of no effect through your tradition. And notice again, Jesus said you do many such things as that. In other words, they found many ways to get around the commandments of God in order to do what they wanted to do and yet still appear religious.

So having rebuked the Pharisees, Jesus turns back to the crowd and teaches them more clearly the truth. He said in vs 14 After He called the crowd to Him again, He [began] saying to them, “Listen to Me, all of you, and understand: there is nothing outside the man which can defile him if it goes into him; but the things which proceed out of the man are what defile the man. [“If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear.”]

That statement, “If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear” is a reference to those who are listening to be spiritually discerning. There is a superficial interpretation of what He says, but there is also a spiritual application. And Jesus is saying it’s important to see the spiritual application.

But even the disciples aren’t sure what that spiritual application was intended to convey. And so we see in vs 17 “When he had left the crowd [and] entered the house, His disciples questioned Him about the parable. And He said to them, “Are you so lacking in understanding also? Do you not understand that whatever goes into the man from outside cannot defile him, because it does not go into his heart, but into his stomach, and is eliminated?” ([Thus He] declared all foods clean.) And He was saying, That which proceeds out of the man, that is what defiles the man. For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed the evil thoughts, fornications, thefts, murders, adulteries, deeds of coveting [and] wickedness, [as well as] deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride [and] foolishness. All these evil things proceed from within and defile the man.”

Jesus said there is nothing that enters a man from the outside which can defile him: but that is not to say that there are not defiling things that we can take into ourselves (such as pornography) which are corrupting, defiling. That’s not what He was talking about. But in this specific context, Jesus is speaking about ceremonial cleanliness in regards to food and ceremonial cleansing. Mark adds in vs 19 that He declared all foods clean by saying that.

But Jesus adds, the things which come out of a man, those are things that defile a man: The fundamental principle is simple. Eating with unclean hands or any other such thing that we put into us is not defiling. Rather, what comes out of us defiles and reveals that we have unclean (defiled) hearts.

In Jeremiah17:9-10 God says “The heart is more deceitful than all else and is desperately sick; Who can understand it? I, the LORD, search the heart, I test the mind, Even to give to each man according to his ways, According to the results of his deeds.”

I’ve heard so many people over the years try to excuse their sin. And in so doing it seems I invariably hear them say at some point, “I’m actually a good person. I really am.” I think a lot of us are guilty of thinking that we are really a good person. We compare ourselves to others -generally the worst of society – and we say, see, we are better than that person. We’re really not so bad. But the Bible tells us that we are all inherently sinful. Desperately wicked. Our hearts are depraved. And our hearts desperately need to be changed.

Jesus said, “For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed the evil thoughts, fornications, thefts, murders, adulteries, deeds of coveting [and] wickedness, [as well as] deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride [and] foolishness. All these evil things proceed from within and defile the man.”

Jesus is speaking the gospel of salvation. The gospel of salvation says that man is a sinner. He is inherently wicked. His heart is sinful. Not every sin in his heart is acted out. But God looks upon the heart. And God has judged sin. The Bible says that the soul that sins, he shall die.

That’s the first part of the gospel. But the second part is that God has sent Jesus to die in our place. That He would be made to carry the penalty of our sins upon Himself so that we who confess our sins, and repent of our sins, and believe in Him as the propitiation for our sins, might be saved. We might be converted. We might be changed.

2 Cor. 5:21 says, God made Jesus, who knew no sin, to become sin for us, that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him. If you trust in Jesus today as your Savior and Lord, He will forgive your sins, and impute to your account the righteousness of God.

That is what the Bible calls conversion, salvation, being saved, being born again. It means getting a new heart, that is cleansed from sin, so that we might become the sons and daughters of God. Ezekiel 36:25-27 says “Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your filthiness and from all your idols. Moreover, I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; and I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will be careful to observe My ordinances.”

You can receive forgiveness of your sins, receive the righteousness of God, receive the Holy Spirit of God and a new heart, new desires, if you will just repent and believe in Jesus as Lord. I urge you to call upon the Lord today that you might be saved.