Mark 7: From the Inside Out

Credits: https://pulllist.comixology.com/articles/40/Manga-Salad-4-The-Manga-Bible-and-Manga-Messiah, https://davidscommonplacebook.wordpress.com/tag/gospel/

Opening prayer: Thank You Lord for another time of Project Logos that we get to feed and enjoy Your word and to see Jesus in it, to be transformed by the renewing of our minds to see that You are a good God. You love us, You love us. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Scripture: Mark 7:1–23

Context: The context of Mark 7 is Mark 6, we see Jesus rejected and in Mark 5, we see people who accept the message. Why are there people who accept and people who reject? Mark 4 tells us it’s about the heart condition, symbolised by the soils, and Mark 7 re-iterates that point.

Analysis: The Pharisees and the scribes, found fault with Jesus’ disciples because they didn’t wash their hands. Jesus’ disciples, unlike the Pharisees and John’s disciples, did not conform to the traditional practice of washing hands that would show the rest that they were very religious and that they were obeying the law very well. Jesus’ disciples didn’t do those external activities.

The Pharisees and scribes, who constantly showed the people that they were very religious, accused the disciples in front of Jesus, who trashed their argument, saying that they honour God with their lips but their heart is far from Him, that in vain they worship God. They were doing the outside show.

You can give without loving, but you can’t love without giving. Essentially, you can serve the Lord, but the Lord wants the heart first, and then the outer work, which the Lord will teach and show us how to present of exemplary standard. Our worship is redundant if it’s not from the heart.

This isn’t talking about spiritual dryness when the Lord takes us through trials to firm up our faith and to strengthen us spiritually, but about putting on a show for others to see us as self-righteous.

The Pharisees’ accusation of Jesus’ disciples not washing their hands was not explicitly stated in the Scriptures, that is, it was an add-on oral tradition passed on down the generations, intended as safety barriers from breaking the written Law but was more rigid than the written Law, hence preventing them from obeying the essence of the Law.

If you are doing ministry for any reason other than worshipping God and bringing glory to His name, then you’re in a dangerous place; step down. get your heart right by rediscovering God’s love for you. The disciples realised that Jesus was the Son of God only when they realised that Jesus loved them. With a fresh heart heart with the right intentions, serve that all that you’ve got. You don’t want to worship God in vain.

Jesus rebuked His accusers for teaching as doctrines the commandments of men (Mark 7:7). He used the law of honouring parents, one which God the Father honours, to illustrate how man-made tradition supersede God’s will, when a word in impulse is declared as Corban, that is, given to God (Mark 7:11), one cannot revoke his decision and is not allowed to honour his parents. Mandatory obligation to man-made tradition leads to breaking of God’s commandment, for essentially the religious people elevated man’s tradition over God’s commandment.

God’s commandment for us is simply, love God and love people (Mark 12:30–31). In and of ourselves, we cannot obey that law, for we are wicked beings. Only Jesus can obey it through us, bringing about the positive effects of that commandment. At times, we may let the rigidity of the Church, especially in Singapore, stop us from loving people, and this is not the way to go. God’s law supersedes religious activity.

Jesus was telling the religious, and perhaps sends warning to us, that it was a heart issue, that we need to be saturated in His love before we can engage ministry effectively. Even if we are not fully passionate, openly receive the message of God’s love by the people around us, not rejecting it.

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.” [Mark 7:14–15] He told the general public other than just the religious folk that the output, like crude words or words lacking of grace, are results of a wicked, cruel input. Pollution occurs on the inside, not the outside.

Our hearts are evil. That’s why we need Jesus. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness (1 John 1:9). Effectively, we admitting that we cannot but Christ can and relying on Him alone allows Him to change our hearts gradually, throughout our lifetime, causing our flesh, our propensity to do sin, to gradually lose control over us. God doesn’t look for behaviour modification but for heart transformation.

What enters a man is but food. The food doesn’t defile. The human flesh does. And out of it comes evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, coveting, wickedness, deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride, foolishness (Mark 7:22).

We need a heart transformation. We are sinful. We are defiled. But that’s why we admit that we need a Saviour capable of cleansing us and keeping us clean. Today, if you are a believer, you are the righteousness of God in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:21) officially cleaned from all unrighteousness. And you cannot lose this unrighteousness, even if you sin, because His blood is greater than your action. Our mistakes are part of the growing process, through which God will use to transform our hearts bit by bit.

We cannot change ourselves. The religious thought they can modify the outer appearance to correct their inner being, but Jesus just condemned their self-righteousness. It will never be good. Only God can change our hearts. So all we need to do is to rest in Him.

food for thought

1. God doesn’t look for behaviour modification but for heart transformation.

2. How then do we reconcile faith and works?

Closing prayer: Thank You Lord for this passage that tells us about a heart transformation rather than behaviour modification and we just wanna rest in You. Transform us, because we need You every day. We need You, Father, we need You. We need Your grace, we need Your favour to transform and strength us. In and of ourselves, we cannot, but with You all things are possible and You change us from the inside out. In Jesus’ name, Amen and Amen.

Credits: http://stuffpoint.com/puppies/image/42977/cute-puppies-wallpaper/

Opening prayer: Lord, Thank You for this time when we can just study Your word and enjoy what You haven store for us and receive Your love for us afresh. We bless this time in Project Logos, in Jesus’ name, Amen.

Scripture: Mark 7:24–30

Context: Earlier on, Jesus rebuked Pharisees who wanted to trap Jesus but instead got rebuked for putting up a religious front without a humble heart. Now, let’s look at one who perhaps unconsciously made a mistake when seeking Jesus.

Analysis: Here we see a Syro–Phoenician (Canaanite, ref Matthew 15:22) woman, a non–Jew, and as such was shunned by the Jews. Since Matthew 15 gives us more information, we will cross refer to that.

And behold, a Canaanite woman from that region came out and was crying, “Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David; my daughter is severely oppressed by a demon.” But he did not answer her a word. [Matthew 15:22–23a] Why didn’t Jesus answer the woman? Wasn’t He compassionate and kind and would bless the weak around Him? Now, the woman was Canaanite/Syro–Phoenician, and she addressed Jesus as “Son of David”, a title reserved only for the Jews to use. In other words, this woman pretended to be a Jew to enter Jesus’ good books. And Jesus did not want pretentiousness. He wanted the woman to come as she was. Once again we see that Jesus didn’t want to respond to a woman who pretended to be someone she is not (Gentile posing as a Jew).

He answered, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” But she came and knelt before him, saying, “Lord, help me.” And he answered, “It is not right to take the children's bread and throw it to the dogs.” [Matthew 15:25–26]

When she said “Lord”, she has effectively dropped her pretence. Now she comes to Jesus as herself and not as a Jew. Jesus responded that “it is not right to take the children's bread, referring to the Jews and throw it to the dogs (Original Greek: puppies)” [Matthew 15:27] He gave the woman a loophole to receive her blessing. Technically, Jesus is correct, but by placing the context in children and puppies playing, He gave the puppy the right to receive the children's bread. Effectively, He gave her the right to receive her miracle from the Jews.

And she answered and said to Him, “Yes, Lord, yet even the little dogs under the table eat from the children’s crumbs.” Then He said to her, “For this saying go your way; the demon has gone out of your daughter.” And when she had come to her house, she found the demon gone out, and her daughter lying on the bed. [Mark 7:28–30]

This time around, not only did the woman receive her miracle for her demonised daughter (Mark 7:30), but Jesus even commended her of having great faith, ref Matthew 15:28. She is one of the only two people in the Gospel books who is praised for having great faith. And here, we see that she is commended of great faith specifically for believing that she can receive from Jesus. It’s not about her, it’s about Jesus, and thus she can go to Jesus, despite not being qualified by her own standards (being a Gentile), and still receive her miracle.

The theme of “Inside–Out” resonates in Mark 7. The disciples didn’t look at the miracles and believe that Jesus was Son of God, but they had a heart transformation that Jesus loved them that allowed them to see Jesus as Son of God. Jesus didn’t give the miracle when the woman was in pretence but when she came just as she was.

Jesus did not want to bless the woman in pretence for a simple logic. If we are loved when we are good only, we will never know if we are truly loved. But if the person sees us in our good, bad and ugly and still loves us anyway, we know beyond a shadow of a doubt that we are loved. We can come to the Lord even though we have let Him down before. No matter how dirty, sinful, inadequate we feel, God sees us as Jesus (1 John 4:17) and we can come to Him as we are. Where we lack, Jesus supplies (2 Corinthians 12:9).

food for thought

1. It’s not about us, it’s about Jesus, and thus we can go to Jesus as we are, despite our shortcomings and failures, and still receive her miracle.

2. Come to the Lord as you are.

3. Let Him love you, especially when you feel undeserving.

Closing prayer: Thank You Lord that You love us so much that You gave it all for us and we can come to You as we are. We don’t have to fake it. You don’t want us to fake it, Lord, You want us to come to you whether we are feeling great of feeling blah. And You love us so much. You love us so much, You love us so much. Thank You, Father. Thank You, Father. May our lives be lives that are truly worship and truly glorifying You, not just an outside appearance but it brims from the inside out. When we feel dry, Lord, give us the faith to continue clinging on to You, at the very least. May You transform us and grow us from glory to glory and from strength to strength. We can just enjoy Your presence when we’re good, when we’re bad and when we’re horrible. Father, You are good and You love us. In Jesus’ name, Amen and Amen!

Credits: https://www.hear-better.com/magento/

Opening prayer: Thank You God for Your precious Word. The Word that refreshes our mind and feeds us with bits of Your goodness. We bless this time, in Jesus’ name. Amen!

Scripture: Mark 7:31–37

Context: We have seen in earlier passages where the Pharisees and Scribes were rebuked for a manipulative heart and how the woman came to Jesus, ignored when putting on a show and being responded to when she came as her own. Jesus wants our heart.

Analysis: As Jesus made His way through ten cities (Decapolis, the place where the ex-Gadarean demoniac preached), He met a few people who brought their deaf-mute friend to Jesus for healing. Sighing, Jesus cried out, “Ephphatha; be opened”, opening the man’s ears and mouth.

Details are as such: The man’s friends brought him to Jesus. Jesus took the man aside from the crowd privately, put his fingers into his ears, and after spitting touched the deaf-mute’s tongue (Mark 7:33). Upon healing, the man spoke plainly. Why did Jesus use this form of healing? Surely He could have commanded in a loud voice “Be opened!” right? All these details reveal the preciousness of our Lord Jesus.

This guys is a deaf-mute. He was absolutely deaf and when he spoke he couldn’t string words correctly. Sign language wasn’t invented, so essentially he would have been cut-off from society. He almost certainly needed a healing out of loneliness.

Firstly, the deaf-mute’s friends brought Him to Jesus. Either he had the heart to get healed or he felt hopeless and his friends brought him to Jesus. Either way, Jesus was willing to heal the deaf-mute, revealing His compassion on the weak and needy. It also shows us that his friends loved him enough to bring him to Jesus.

All of us at one point of time or another have been emotionally or spiritually deaf-mute. We are oblivious to the possibility of overcoming our struggle. We are lonely. And even if we can talk spiritually, the things we teach aren’t coherent as we cannot hear ourselves properly. It’s our friends who bring us to Jesus and receive fresh hope to carry on, to receive a miracle of healing from loneliness or even spiritual deafness.

Either way, Jesus is willing, either on the account of the deaf-mute or the account of his friends. It shows that we can intercede for our friends who are still spiritually deaf-mute and Jesus will heal them on account of our heart.

Taking him aside from the crowd privately, Jesus put his fingers into his ears, and after spitting touched his tongue. Jesus took him aside from his friends and His spectators. He wanted alone time with the man to meet his needs specifically. Today, Jesus wants to encounter us specifically. Not how the church describes it but in a personal, intimate way. And He wants to have alone time with each of us. There is no misery like a lonely heart, and the cure is to be alone with Jesus.

Jesus sighed. He groaned in His spirit. When the matter is emotional, Jesus is also emotionally affected.

When the deaf-mute was healed of deafness, he spoke plainly. He knew what he was saying for the first time ever. When we are healed of emotional and spiritual deafness, we will know what we are saying. The advice we give. The knowledge we share. We hear for the first time and are blessed by these words.

And Jesus charged them to tell no one. But the more he charged them, the more zealously they proclaimed it. Jesus didn’t want to get attention. It was a private healing, by nature, and He wanted it to be private. There are times when it’s best we keep our encounters with God private instead of loudly talking others about it. That way, it’s sentimental, precious and absolutely unforgettable. Jesus wants to share precious, private moments with each of us, and these moments are very unique. Spend time with uour Lord; He wants to spend time with you.

food for thought

1. The cure for a lonely heart is to be alone with Jesus.

2. Choose a time to spend time with your Lord Jesus. And let it be a precious, private encounter.

Closing prayer: Oh how You love us Lord. We want to spend time with You. Time alone in Your presence, to let You do as You will in us, through us, for us. May we be blessed with a purpose, none of self but all of Christ, to reflect Your glory, not ours but Yours, in everything that we do. In Jesus’ name, Amen.