You have probably heard the saying, “Cleanliness is next to godliness.” Some people think it’s a quotation from the Bible! You know that God gave specific commands for hygiene in the Old Testament Law. He wanted His people to enjoy good health, and cleanliness was part of it. These commands are not just rules but divine wisdom that reinforces the importance of cleanliness.
However, like any good practice or habit, cleanliness can be taken to the extreme. Some people’s concern about cleanliness becomes extreme, leading to compulsive ritualized behavior. Obsessive fear of germs or dirt and the compulsion to wash their hands repeatedly are common manifestations of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). It’s important to remember that balance in cleanliness is vital to our overall well-being.
Earlier this year, I was on a several-hour international flight. Across the aisle from me was a man wearing an N95 surgical mask. Of course, he had to remove the mask when a meal was served. When the meal was finished, instead of putting the mask back on, he reached into his carry-on and got a new mask, which was sealed in plastic.
Before he opened the pack, he took an antibacterial wipe and washed his thumb and forefinger on both hands. Then, he carefully opened the bag with them and placed the mask on his face. The used mask was tucked carefully in the now empty package and stowed in his carry-on luggage.
I am not criticizing him. I don’t know his circumstances or the health issues he may have. I’m just telling you what I observed. It was apparent that he was VERY concerned about germs.
Recently, I read an article from the New York Times titled “Too Clean for Our Children’s Own Good?” The article’s thesis was that our excessive cleanliness might harm our children’s immune systems in our overzealous attempts to shield them from disease and sickness. The article cited various studies supporting this possibility and noted that fear often fuels this fixation on cleanliness.
Our previous study taught us that the Pharisees were fastidious about washing. Fastidious, that’s a big word. It means being extremely or excessively careful about something. So, they found fault with Jesus’ disciples, who, according to their standards, were eating without adequately washing their hands. However, Jesus rebuked them because they were more concerned about being clean on the outside than inside. He emphasized the importance of inner purity, which should enlighten our spiritual journey.
Our text today is Mark 7:14 to 23. In these verses, Jesus clarifies to everyone that we must be more concerned about the inside than the outside dirt. So, I’ve titled my teaching “The Dirt is on the Inside.” Listen now as I read Mark 7:14 to 23.
In these verses, Jesus reveals the source of defilement. Understand, defile, and cleanse are keywords in this text.
The First Revelation is,
Flawed Understanding
I hope you noticed the emphasis on understanding as I read. Twice, Jesus invites His disciples to understand, and once, he rebukes the Twelve for their lack of understanding. Their perspective of cleanliness was defective and flawed.
Our text opens with Jesus inviting the crowd to gather around Him. He said, “Hear Me, all of you, and understand.” He issued a pointed appeal to the people to see through the deception of their religious leaders. They had bought into their rabbis’ false teachings, which affected their understanding of truth.
The Pharisees taught that defilement came from the outside. If you touch a dead body or another unclean person, or if you don’t wash your hands properly, you are impure. If you are not clean, then God will not accept you or your worship. However, Jesus contradicted their manmade regulations.
He said, “There is nothing that enters a man from outside that can defile him; but the things which come out of him, those are the things that defile a man.” What do you think of that? Nothing from the outside can defile a person—hmm. We’ll come back to that.
Being defiled is a serious matter. God commands us as His people to be holy. Psalm 24 tells us that only holy, sanctified people can have fellowship with the Lord. Synonyms of the word, defile, are profane or common. This is the same word (koinoo-o) Peter used when he had his vision in Acts 10. You remember the sheet let down from heaven with all kinds of animals in it. A voice said, “Rise, Peter, kill and eat.” Peter said, “I won’t do it because I have never eaten anything common, koinoo.
Peter understood that eating something designated as unclean would defile him. But the Lord told him, “What God has cleansed you must not call common.” Peter is most likely the source of Mark’s Gospel, and yet, even after the death and resurrection of Jesus, he was still struggling to come to grips with Jesus’ teaching. I have some sympathy for Peter and the other disciples of Jesus. They had been trained in Judaism, in which the distinction between clean and unclean is ingrained, and could not understand a statement nullifying this.
Jesus ended His teaching by saying, “If anyone is predisposed to hearing, let him listen and understand.” In other words, “Let my teaching change your understanding and behavior.”
From our vantage point, it’s easy for us to criticize the disciples. However, let’s be careful. You and I may have a flawed understanding of defilement, too. Do we put too much emphasis on outward ceremony or rules and regulations? Do we appear righteous outwardly and neglect inner holiness? If we do, Jesus invites us to reconsider and understand the source of defilement.
Another Revelation is,
Faulty Application
So, Jesus and the disciples left the crowd and entered a house, most likely Peter’s. The disciples asked Him about the parable’s meaning, and Jesus rebuked them; the grammar makes that clear. “Are you also void of understanding? Despite all my teaching, are you like the Pharisees without spiritual insight? Are you unable to comprehend that whatever enters a man from the outside cannot defile Him?”
The Pharisees and religious leaders of the day taught the people that defilement came from the outside. Given that flawed understanding, it’s only logical that their applications were flawed. Wrong beliefs lead to bad practices, which is just as accurate today as in our text.
In case the disciples didn’t understand, Jesus explained it in a way they couldn’t miss. Food cannot make a man unclean because it enters only his stomach, not his heart. The digestive system “purges” (kataridzo) all foods; what remains is expelled as waste. Returning to Peter’s vision in Acts 10, the Lord said, “Whatever I have cleansed (kataridzo), don’t call it common or unclean.” Some manuscripts add, “As a result (of this teaching), He made all foods clean.”
Immediately, I imagine someone hearing this saying, “Great; then I can eat or drink anything I want or use mind-altering drugs or whatever.” Is that really what Jesus was teaching? Your understanding is as faulty as the disciples’ if you believe that. You can reach that conclusion only if you take this teaching out of its context.
Jesus is speaking about foods the Jews considered to be clean or unclean. The Scriptures are clear that those who practice things like gluttony, drunkenness, and drug abuse will not enter the kingdom of God. So, this is not a blanket approval of everything we can put into our bodies.
The apostle Paul, writing to Timothy, expanded on Jesus’ teaching. “Now the Spirit expressly says that in latter times some will depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons…commanding to abstain from foods which God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and know the truth. For every creature of God is good, and nothing is to be refused if it is received with thanksgiving; for it is sanctified by the word of God and prayer.” That’s First Timothy 4:1-4.
Let me add this: While we, as New Covenant believers, are not bound by Old Covenant dietary laws, that doesn’t mean they have no value. They do not impact our standing with God but may affect our health.
Thus far, we’ve learned that flawed understanding leads to faulty application. If we believe uncleanness comes from the outside, we will set up guidelines, like the Pharisees, to guard against that uncleanness. In doing that, we may miss the whole point of Jesus’ teaching.
The Final Revelation is,
Factual Explanation
In contrast to the opinions and teachings of the religious leaders, Jesus made a simple statement. “What comes out of a man defiles a man.” He then proceeds to support His argument by saying, “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.” In other words, the dirt is on the inside!
The fact is, whether good or bad, EVERY ACTION BEGINS WITH A THOUGHT! Thoughts include reasonings, purpose, and more. All the evil actions Jesus mentioned begin in our mind, what the Scriptures call our heart. We are not sinners because we sin; we sin because we are sinners. Without Christ, we are powerless not to sin. It is the core of who we are.
Our minds were corrupt before salvation. “Then the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually” (Genesis 6:5). “The fool has said in his heart, “There is no God.” They are corrupt; they have done abominable works, and There is none who does good,” Psalm 14:1.
“As it is written: “There is none righteous, no, not one; There is none who understands;
There is none who seeks after God. They have all turned aside; They have together become unprofitable; There is none who does good, no, not one” Romans 3:10-12. This is just a tiny sampling of Scriptures that highlight our depravity.
Jesus spent significant time early in His ministry, emphasizing this point in The Sermon on the Mount. He said that lustful thoughts were the source of adultery and fornication. Uncontrolled anger and bitterness will lead to murder. Divorce results from a lustful eye and unchecked thoughts of covetousness, leading to the theft of someone else’s spouse.
We must understand that our hearts are the source of our defilement. The monastic movement that began after Constantine nationalized the Church eventually failed because this fact of inner depravity wasn’t adequately understood or addressed. The monks attempted to separate themselves from the world and its evil practices but discovered the evil was in their hearts. Under these circumstances, all kinds of evil were practiced and covered up, particularly during the Middle Ages.
More recently, we have the Hillsong mega-church scandals. An article in the March 29, 2022, issue of the New York Times stated, “The streaming service Discovery+ released a three-part documentary, “Hillsong: A Megachurch Exposed.” The documentary depicts the megachurch as a toxic institution obsessed with image, control, and growth at all costs. It features interviews with critics, former employees and members, and a woman who has said she had a monthslong affair with the celebrity lead pastor of Hillsong’s East Coast branches at the time.”
Sadly, this pattern of behavior isn’t limited to any group or denomination. It has occurred within the Anabaptist circles in which I move. The emails I receive weekly from the non-profit Ministry Watch prove that the emphasis on outward appearances is a cover for all kinds of evil practices. It doesn’t matter how pious or holy someone may seem on the outside; if the power of Christ does not transform the heart, they are capable of the vilest sins.
We know that was true of the Pharisees and is still true today. Jesus wanted His followers to understand the deception of this flawed understanding of holiness then and now.
He also wanted them to know how this flawed understanding resulted in faulty application. The Pharisees majored in minors. They tithed on the smallest seeds yet omitted judgment, mercy, and faith. They were conscientious about clean hands but negligent in cleansing their hearts. These dangers are still with us today.
I remind us that EVERY ACTION BEGINS WITH A THOUGHT! This is where the battle is won or lost – in the mind. If the heart and mind are defiled by sin, the results will be evident. Conversely, if the heart and mind are cleansed by the blood of Christ and controlled by the Holy Spirit, those results will be apparent, too. Who are you on the inside?
I close with the words of Jesus in Matthew 7:15-20. “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. You will know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes from thornbushes or figs from thistles? Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but a corrupt tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a corrupt tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Therefore, by their fruits, you will know them.”