Mark Vol. 2 - Week 3 (7:1-13)
Mark 7:1-13
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The God Who Exposes Our Hearts
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Mark 7:1-13 〰️ The God Who Exposes Our Hearts 〰️
When we think of Jesus' earthly ministry, two aspects stand out: his miracles and teachings. This week's passage, Mark 7:1-13, fully displays what Jesus wanted people to grasp. The LORD sees the hearts of people, not merely their actions. In all of His interactions with the Pharisees and the Jewish leaders, Jesus aims to reveal the disconnection between their exaggerated expansion of the Law and the LORD's heart and purpose behind it. For generations up to this point, the religious leaders had slowly but surely drilled down the details of the Law so that every possible interpretation could be covered. They took the Law, which was meant for the protection of God's people, and expanded it to the point that it enslaved those under it. In Mark 7, we read of the Pharisees accusing Jesus and His disciples of not following the "tradition of the elders" in cleaning themselves ceremonially before eating (v2-4).
While multiple laws in Scripture give instructions for cleanliness, there isn't one that specifies cleanliness before eating. Jesus responds to the Pharisees, calling them hypocrites (v6) and accusing them, in return, of holding to their own human traditions over the heart of the Law of the LORD (v8). We talked a little bit about it in Mark Vol. 1, but it's important for us to remember that a lot of the laws by this point were man-made rather than given by the LORD. So when Jesus tells the Pharisees that they've abandoned "the command of God" and "hold on to human tradition," he is reminding them that this tradition is not from the LORD (v8). Jesus exposes one of the biggest gaps in the religious leaders' understanding. Jesus pointedly cited the words from the Prophet Isaiah as well, "This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me. They worship me in vain, teaching as doctrines human commands." (v6-7). "You," Jesus continues, "have a fine way of invalidating God's command in order to set up your tradition!" (v9). Here, we get to the meat of the Pharisees' most present sin: turning the Law of the LORD into a self-serving, pride-fueling system. We see this in multiple places in the Gospels where the religious leaders use the Law for their own self-elevation (Matthew 6:16-18; Mark 12:38-40, 41-44).
Jesus continues with another jab at the Pharisees, giving another example to those listening. In v10, Jesus begins with the fifth of the ten commandments from Exodus 20: "Honor your father and your mother so that you may have a long life in the land that the LORD your God is giving you" (v12). Every self-respecting Jew listening would hear this and know just how significant the Ten Commandments are. In reminding them of the Law, Jesus also exposes their corrupt hearts.
But what is this Corban that Jesus was talking about? The rabbinic tradition comes from the law in Leviticus, which says: "Nothing that a man permanently sets apart to the Lord from all he owns, whether a person, an animal, or his inherited landholding, can be sold or redeemed; everything set apart is especially holy to the Lord." (27:28). Again, as the religious leaders specified and specified, they entirely missed what the laws actually meant. The purpose of the Levitical law was to remind the people that everything they had was the LORD's, but "the rabbis shamefully allowed corban to excuse sons from meeting the material needs of their aging parents."[1]
When the original law was given, God's purpose was that his people saw their money, talents, and time as belonging to the LORD because it originally came from Him. However, the religious leaders of Jesus' time missed the heart of the original command. Because they wanted clear, black-and-white lines on how to "obey" God (wanting the easy way), they interpreted this law as, "do not do anything with your finances outside of giving it to the LORD," that is, giving it to the synagogue. Their twisting of the Law led Jews to believe that even if your father and mother are in need, the LORD desires that He gets what He is due, even at their expense.
So Jesus is accusing the Pharisees of 1) completely misunderstanding the Levitical law, 2) forming their own twisted version, and 3) entirely misrepresenting who God is and His character. The LORD has a deep love and compassion for those who are weak, suffering, and in need, and the religious leaders warped this command from Leviticus into a law that stifles that love and compassion. This is a recurring theme in the Gospels, as we see over and over the Pharisees holding the letter of their law above the initial desire of God behind it. That's why Jesus said to the Pharisees, "You nullify the word of God by your tradition that you have handed down. And you do many other similar things." (v13). The Pharisees held on to the Law so tightly and, whether intentionally or inadvertently, began regarding the letter of the Law as greaterthan the intent. In his letters, Paul says that the Law was made to reveal our sins and our need for Christ (Romans 7:7), not be the source of our salvation or life (Galatians 3:21).
So, as we jump into discussion, we'll talk a little bit about what it looks like to hold obedience to God and His commands in tension with living in a way that honors Christ. It's important to know that those things sometimes feel like they conflict. You might have heard the example of the ethical dilemma of the impoverished man with a wife and kids who are mortally ill. Is it immoral or unethical for him to steal medicine to save their lives? I'm not going to try and give the answer because there are lots of nuances to things like that, but the point is that following the letter of the law (in this case, Exodus 20:15) can feel conflicting with what it means to follow Christ in compassion, empathy, and love. We won't go down a crazy rabbit trail, but this week's questions will hopefully poke, prod, and expose some Pharisaicle gaps in our own hearts where we want to lean on the law to prove or sustain our salvation. The Pharisees clung to the Law to save them from sin, but it became a sin in their hearts because they neglected the love and cared for their neighbor.
Discussion Questions
What stood out to you from the passage?
Does anything in this passage remind you of another part of Scripture?
Do you have any questions?
What does this passage tell us about Jesus?
Why did the Pharisees accuse Jesus and His disciples in v1-5?
What did Jesus accuse the Pharisees of in return?
Read Romans 7:7 and Galatians 3:21. How does this contrast the Pharisees' view and practice of the law?
In what ways are you similar to the Pharisees, seeking salvation and righteousness through obedience rather than faith in Christ's work?
Read Ephesians 2:8. How does this verse encourage you and contrast your current way of living and thinking?
1. Ross H. McLaren, Mark in CSB Study Bible: Notes, ed. Edwin A. Blum and Trevin Wax (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2017), 1571.