David Bahn – Reflections

Mark 7:14-23

And he called the people to him again and said to them, “Hear me, all of you, and understand: ¹⁵ There is nothing outside a person that by going into him can defile him, but the things that come out of a person are what defile him.”

Nancy just couldn’t hold it back any longer. She lost her temper and let loose with a stream of vulgarities and expletives that would make a sailor blush. An hour later she had some regret, but felt generally better; relieved of all that pent-up frustration. Joe finally gave in and took a drink, then another, then another. A day later, after recovering from his hangover, he was ready to face the world again. He was sorry that he had drunk to excess, but at least he hadn’t hurt anyone.

Our thinking is that such behavior is not only inevitable, but to some extent helpful. Like a release valve on a hot water heater, when the pressure gets too high, we open up and spew the steam of anger, or relieve the cravings of our hungry heart. And, we reason, after that pressure is relieved we can go back about life.

Jesus says that those evil things such as envy, slander, pride, and the like – when expressed – actually defile us. It’s not just a matter of getting the bad stuff out by means of expression; when we give in to the cravings and let go of our inhibitions in such a manner, we defile ourselves.

A note from the Encyclopedia of the Bible via Bible Gateway:

Among the OT Jews were five kinds of defilement: (1) Physical (Song of Solomon 5:3); (2) Sexual, either moral or ceremonial, involving either illicit intercourse (Lev 18:20) or intercourse at forbidden times (Lev 15:24; 1 Sam 21:5). (3) Ethical (Isa 59:3; Ezek 37:23). (4) Ceremonial, which meant to render oneself ceremonially unclean so as to be disqualified for religious service or worship (Lev 11:24; 15:19;22:6). (5) Religious often hard to distinguish from the ceremonial, but concerned more with the heart attitude toward Jehovah (Num 35:33; Jer 3:1; Mal 1:7, 12). The gospels show that by the time of Christ the rabbis had extended the rules regarding defilement into a complex and very burdensome system (Mark 7:2; John 18:28). In the teaching of Christ and the apostles, defilement is uniformly ethical or spiritual (Matt 15:18; Mark 7:19; Heb 12:15).

All this has to do with being in good standing before God, which is little thought of today – except when we realize we need God’s help and appeal to a higher power. How seldom, however, do we think in these terms! But Jesus is not calling for us perpetually to feel bad about ourselves. He knows that evil lurks within us and offers us a better way of dealing with that evil than that of outward refinement. His grace, mercy, and love renew our hearts. His Holy Spirit creates clean hearts in believers.

If we are to understand the reality of which Jesus speaks, we will also understand why he had to die. For even though we have experienced the working of the Holy Spirit and the touch of his redeeming love, we still spew. We defile ourselves. Such outbursts ought never be justified. They need to be acknowledged for what they are, confessed and abandoned.

God’s grace always provides for our forgiveness. That’s why Jesus died. But Jesus also rose from the dead. We who have been united with his death by faith are called to a new way of life. When these ugly emotions and yearnings find their way into our lives, we must simply repent of them, receive Christ’s grace, and leave the dirty rags of our clean up at the foot of the cross. These simple words describe a daily practice that looks to Jesus as redeemer and invites his continued work in our hearts.

Mark 7:14-23

And he called the people to him again and said to them, “Hear me, all of you, and understand: ¹⁵ There is nothing outside a person that by going into him can defile him, but the things that come out of a person are what defile him.” ¹⁷ And when he had entered the house and left the people, his disciples asked him about the parable. ¹⁸ And he said to them, “Then are you also without understanding? Do you not see that whatever goes into a person from outside cannot defile him, ¹⁹ since it enters not his heart but his stomach, and is expelled?” (Thus he declared all foods clean.) ²⁰ And he said, “What comes out of a person is what defiles him.²¹ For from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery,²² coveting, wickedness, deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride, foolishness. ²³ All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person.”