The Heart of the King

INTRO:

Pray for team in Thailand (Andrew, Zack, Nolan, Brent).

Thanks to Rob for preaching last week.

Jesus Proclaiming He is God.

Jesus showing the Disciples & us that He sees us in our distress & cares for us.

Chapter 7

Continued interactions with crowds & Pharisees.

Training & teaching the Disciples.

Ever been confused about something?

Most golfers keep their driver in a bag with the rest of their clubs. So, when Bill Offer, the outside services supervisor at Boulder Pointe Golf Club, was told that an errant driver was out of place, that’s what he expected to see. Instead, Offer was treated to the rare sight of an actual human driver, behind the wheel of an Amazon delivery truck that got stuck in a tunnel meant for golf carts.

Offer said, “Somehow he got inside the golf course and obviously he was not familiar with it. He said his GPS led him there. It’s too funny. It really is." A tow truck was required to remove the delivery vehicle from the smaller tunnel in which it was so tightly wedged. Offer quipped, “He was between a rock and a hard place.”

Eventually, an Amazon supervisor arrived with another vehicle to transport the driver and his packages elsewhere. The driver was said to be embarrassed, but otherwise fine.

TENSION:

If we're not careful, we can drift into error and not realize it until we've done major damage.

That is where we find the Pharisees in our passage today…

TRUTH/BODY:

Mark 7:1–23 ESV

Now when the Pharisees gathered to him, with some of the scribes who had come from Jerusalem, they saw that some of his disciples ate with hands that were defiled, that is, unwashed. (For the Pharisees and all the Jews do not eat unless they wash their hands properly, holding to the tradition of the elders, and when they come from the marketplace, they do not eat unless they wash. And there are many other traditions that they observe, such as the washing of cups and pots and copper vessels and dining couches.) And the Pharisees and the scribes asked him, “Why do your disciples not walk according to the tradition of the elders, but eat with defiled hands?” And he 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; in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’ You leave the commandment of God and hold to the tradition of men.” And he said to them, “You have a fine way of rejecting the commandment of God in order to establish your tradition! For Moses said, ‘Honor your father and your mother’; and, ‘Whoever reviles father or mother must surely die.’ But you say, ‘If a man tells his father or his mother, “Whatever you would have gained from me is Corban” ’ (that is, given to God)— then you no longer permit him to do anything for his father or mother, thus making void the word of God by your tradition that you have handed down. And many such things you do.” And he called the people to him again and said to them, “Hear me, all of you, and understand: 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.” And when he had entered the house and left the people, his disciples asked him about the parable. 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, since it enters not his heart but his stomach, and is expelled?” (Thus he declared all foods clean.) And he said, “What comes out of a person is what defiles him. For from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, coveting, wickedness, deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride, foolishness. All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person.”

3 Scenes in this story — Correspond with Exegetical Outline — Follow along in notes…

Scene 1 - Jesus & the Pharisees — Customs of cleansing.

Scene 2 - Jesus & the Crowd — What defiles a person (makes them unclean).

Scene 3 - Jesus & the Disciples — Clarification & explanation.

Scene 1 - Jesus & the Pharisees (Vs. 1-13)

Pharisees & Scribes “Gathered to him” (v. 1)

Not just to hear what he had to say…

They were there to catch Jesus & His disciples in a snare — Mark 3:6 “The Pharisees went out and immediately held counsel with the Herodians against him, how to destroy him.”

ALSO, likely the same folks form Ch. 2 — Tried to accuse the Disciples - not fasting - “working” on sabbath by picking grain to eat…

If not some of the same people — from the same group from Jerusalem…

Notice something they can use —> Mark 7:2 “they saw that some of his disciples ate with hands that were defiled, that is, unwashed.”

Then Mark explains the “cleansing rituals”(v. 3-4) - Gentile audience would not know them…

This was not to prevent germs. The disciples weren’t being accused because they were “Un-hygenic”

RLs were concerned with Spiritual cleanliness.

Remember — Anyone who was sick = unclean; leper, woman with a discharge for 12 years — Anyone who touched a dead body (or was even near one i.e. graveyard).

This Concept of becoming “unclean” and then being made “clean” — comes from the OT law — Leviticus

Only prescribes that the Priest(s) must be washed and cleansed before entering the temple

Fencing the Torah

Teaching about “How to follow” the law — believed to be passed down from Rabbis since the giving of the Law.

Pharisees believed this was just as authoritative as the LAW itself.

“The LAW describes WHAT is required, the Mishnah (teaching) describes HOW to observe the LAW.”

25% of this teaching was devoted to “questions of purity”.

They took the prescriptions of the Priest(s) being washed and made clean — Applied to all Jews — must wash and be made clean.

Vs. 4 - “When they come from the marketplace” - it was possible they would have interacted with Gentiles & so they would have to “be made clean”.

Pharisees ask, Mark 7:5 “Why do your disciples not walk according to the tradition of the elders, but eat with defiled hands?”

Tradition of Elders = this teaching (Mishnah) of HOW to follow & keep the LAW.

Jesus lights into the Pharisees because of their accusation…

Mark 7:6–8 “And he 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; in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’ You leave the commandment of God and hold to the tradition of men.””

But Jesus isn’t done! Mark 7:9 “And he said to them, “You have a fine way of rejecting the commandment of God in order to establish your tradition!”

Gives this example of CORBAN.

Corban = Sort of like deferred giving — Made a vow to God that your money and possessions would be given to Him. (Sounds good so far.)

You could not give to anyone else, BUT it did not prevent current control and benefit from those possessions .

One Description: “A man goes through the formality of vowing something to God, not that he may give it to God, but in order to prevent some other person from having it.”

Not always — but this was used by some to keep from caring for their parents with the money they had.

Which would lead to breaking a Moral commandment of God - “Honor your Father & Mother.”

Mark 7:13 “thus making void the word of God by your tradition that you have handed down. And many such things you do.””

SCENE 2 - Jesus & the Crowd (Vs. 14-15)

Jesus turns His attention away from the Pharisees & Scribes —

Mark 7:14–15 “And he called the people to him again and said to them, “Hear me, all of you, and understand: 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.””

This flies directly in the face of what the Pharisees & Scribes teach — Ritual washings to be make them clean so that nothing unclean enters the body…

What is inside = What defiles a person — What is inside? — The Heart…

Jeremiah 17:9 “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?”

This is not a NEW concept — just an ignored one.

Today — The same belief pervades our understanding — People are naturally GOOD — or at least NEUTRAL.

Then they either move towards good or bad — Maybe a fun idea for a movie — terrible theology.

Romans 5:12 “Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned—”

We aren’t waiting to move towards good or evil, Psalm 51:5 “Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me.”

“But the things that come out of a person are what defile him.”

The FRUIT proves the ROOT. —

But that is all Jesus gives the crowd…

SCENE 3 - Jesus & The Disciples (Vs. 17-23)

They still don’t get it yet…

Have to ask Jesus to clarify this parable.

Mark 7:18–19 “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, since it enters not his heart but his stomach, and is expelled?” (Thus he declared all foods clean.)”

Evidence that Mark’s Gospel comes from Peter & his teaching — In Acts it is Peter who receives the vision that all animals are now “clean” — This is NOT something the Disciples would have understood in the moment…

But it is very clear in the revelation of the New Testament.

Mark 7:20–23 (ESV)

And he said, “What comes out of a person is what defiles him. For from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, coveting, wickedness, deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride, foolishness. All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person.”

Jesus’ teaching to the disciples —> His compassion — further explains the Kingdom of God.

Jesus is teaching them the important principles.

6 Actions (Sexual Immorality, theft, murder, adultery, coveting, wickedness).

6 Attitudes (Deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride, foolishness).

“Second Table of the law” — Love your neighbor

6th Commandment - Thou shalt not kill

Murder | Slander | (Malice?)

7th Commandment - Thou shalt not commit adultery

Sexual immorality | Adultery | Sensuality

8th Commandment - Thou shalt not not steal

Theft | Envy

9th Commandment - thou shalt not bear false witness

Deceit

10th Commandment - thou shalt not covet

Evil Thoughts

1st Commandment - thou shalt have no other gods before me

Pride | Foolishness

What do we/the disciples learn? “Sin is a disposition of the heart, not merely overt actions.” - Keller

“Modern belief is that people are naturally good, and if they do evil, it is because they have been oppressed by society or warped by their parents, and so on. But Jesus clearly says, we sin because we are sinners, NOT we are sinners because we have been mistreated.” - Keller

APPLICATION: To apply this passage to our lives — I want to ask a few questions of US.

What has authority in your life?

“In distinction from the Sadducees for whom the written law of the Torah alone was authoritative, Pharisees accepted the evolving oral law as equally authoritative.” - Josephus

The Pharisees believed in the coming Messiah (Jesus), but added to the LAW — the “Tradition of the Elders” as equally AUTHORITATIVE.

Many “Christians” today do the same — They believe in Jesus, maybe even that the Word of God is Authoritative.

But something else has authority in their lives — Equal or sometimes greater authority…

Tradition — Roman Catholic (Reformation) -

Mainline Denominations —

Many congregations —> “Our parking spot becomes more important than new people coming to church, hearing the gospel & becoming disciples of Jesus”

Family, Job, Political Affiliation, Regional Loyalties, etc.

Do any of these things have equal or greater authority than the commands & Word of God in your life?

Do we have FUNCTIONAL “purity laws” in our own lives?

The Pharisees did not Follow these TRADITIONS of the Elders, because they were seeking EVIL.

They believed that these things helped make them closer to God.

Tim Keller: “In general, it is very possible to equate religious activities (going to church, serving on committees, witnessing to unbelievers, attending Christian events) with a walk with God. A person can feel “close to God” because of Christian busy-ness, when they are neglecting to be good parents, neighbors, friends, citizens, and or even good worshippers.”

What we learn from Jesus teaching His Disciples - “Motivations matter”

It’s not enough to “Acknowledge him with our lips, if our hearts are far from him.”

We are still guilty today of the same

6 Actions (Sexual Immorality, theft, murder, adultery, coveting, wickedness).

6 Attitudes (Deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride, foolishness)

Sin Avoidance is NOT what God requires — We must be transformed — our heart of stone must be turned to a heart of flesh — By Jesus Christ.

Illustration: Luke & the stairs —>

The Expulsive Power of a New Affection — You can’t just try to change your desires —

You must fall out of love with those things & fall in love with Jesus instead (the commands of God: Love Him with all your heart, soul, mind, & strength AND love your neighbor as yourself!).

“Heal & restore our Union” - This is what Jesus prays for us in John 17 — The High Priestly Prayer…

RESPONSE:

In just a moment we are going to sing a Song of Response — A familiar Hymn — Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus…

Turn your eyes upon Jesus

Look full in His wonderful face

And the things of earth will grow strangely dim

In the light of His glory and grace

The life of following Jesus is not about behavior modification, sin avoidance, or cleansing rituals.

It is believing that the only way we can truly be made clean is for our hearts to be transformed by faith alone in Jesus Christ & His sacrifice on our behalf on the cross.

Quote form D. A. Carson - Scandalous: The Cross & Resurrection of Jesus:

“Everything that we know and appreciate and praise God for in all of Christian experience both in this life and in the life to come springs from this bloody cross.

Do we have the Spirit? Secured by Christ on the cross.

Do we enjoy the fellowship of saints? Secured by Christ on the cross.

Does he give us comfort in life and death? Secured by Christ on the cross.

Does he watch over us faithfully, providentially, graciously, and covenentally? Secured by Christ on the cross.

Do we anticipate resurrection bodies on the last day? Secured by Christ on the cross.

Is there a new heaven and a new earth, the home of righteousness? Secured by Christ on the cross.

Do we enjoy new identities, so that we are no longer to see ourselves as nothing but failures, moral pariahs, disappointments to our parents — but as deeply loved, blood bought, human beings, redeemed by Christ, declared just by God himself, owing to the fact that God himself presented his Son Jesus as the propitiation for our sins? ALL THIS IS SECURED BY CHRIST ON THE CROSS AND GRANTED TO THOSE WHO HAVE FAITH IN HIM.

COMMUNION:

One of the ways that we remember what Jesus has done so that we may draw near to Him — receive communion together as a church family.

Please prepare your elements.

If you don’t know Jesus — Take Christ…

If you do know Christ — examine yourself — “do not take in an unworthy manner”

PRAY