Outside-in or inside-out? (Mark 7:1-23)
“Be careful little eyes what you see… be careful little ears what you hear…” is a song that many Christian parents teach their children. The point of the song is fairly obvious – what you put into yourself (what you see or hear) will impact you. If you are a Christian, you probably try to put this principle into practice. You probably try to avoid watching certain movies or listening to songs that degrade women and celebrate immorality. And although in Christ, all foods are clean, you may even avoid eating or drinking certain foods and drinks. The unbelieving world also agrees with this principle. That is why they rate violent, sexually explicit movies as only suitable for older ages or censor content that they consider to be harmful. Other religions agree with it, too. With or without Covid, certain religions force their women to wear face coverings so that beautiful eyes are less likely to be gazed upon. And the Pharisees, Jesus’ greatest enemies, agreed with this principle.
If you read Mark 7:1-23, it is clear that the Pharisees, the Jewish religious leaders, were obsessed with being outwardly moral. They washed their hands scrupulously before eating (Mark 7:1-5) in accordance with their traditions so that nothing ritually unclean would enter inside of them. They feared something evil from outside themselves would contaminate them. Because of this, they clashed with Jesus.
Jesus disregarded their little hand-washing traditions. Why? Because Jesus knows that the source of evil is not from outside of us but from within. As he told his disciples (and notice the repetition for emphasis): “What comes out of a person – that defiles him. For from within, out of people’s hearts, come evil thoughts, sexual immoralities, thefts, murders, adulteries, greed, evil actions, deceit, promiscuity, stinginess, blasphemy, pride, and foolishness. All these evil things come from within and defile a person” (Mark 7:20-23).
As our world spirals into lawlessness, it can be easy to revert to thinking like a Pharisee. To think like a moralist instead of a Christian. To start thinking that the primary problem is “out there” – outside of myself – when in reality, my heart is the source of evil. Thank God for his Son Jesus, who died in place of all who trust him, to cleanse our hearts from filth and start transforming us from the inside-out. Yes, as Christians, we ought to be careful with what we see and hear. But other religions try to do that, too. What makes Christianity unique is that it addresses the root problem – the human heart. Religion cannot change and cleanse our hearts – only Jesus can.
