Today’s reading is a good text on the eve of All Saints Day. Jesus is pointing to the truth of the doctrine of Original Sin, which to put it in blunt language, teaches that humans are rotten at the core. But, Jesus is also pointing to God’s cure for this condition, ““Yes, Adam’s one sin brings condemnation for everyone, but Christ’s one act of righteousness brings a right relationship with God and new life for everyone.” (Romans 5:18)
To grasp this truth in today’s reading we need to remember an essential part of being a Christian is spiritual discernment. Anyone who desires to become a fully devoted follower of Jesus will come to appreciate that while spiritual discernment is a skill that can be learned, it is also an art. Part of the art is learning to understand scripture and then test human traditions against it.
Jesus is revealing how the religious leaders had blurred the distinction between tradition and scripture. They were teaching people cultural traditions as though they carried the same weight as scripture. Next, Jesus is showing us how to read the Old Testament. It is from the Law of Moses that the Jews developed their dietary laws about which foods could be eaten and which could not. This is serious because Jewish martyrs had died at the hands of their oppressors because they refused to eat pork. Jesus is saying that all food is permissible to eat. Is he dismissing the Old Testament as now being irrelevant? No. Jesus is demonstrating that the purpose of the Old Testament was to be sign posts of the coming Kingdom of God. The Old Testament is not irrelevant; it is now fulfilled in Jesus. How?
The Jews had laws relating to purity, such a ceremonial washing of hands and a strict menu of what food could be eaten. Jesus is showing that these laws do not deal with the core issue of purity. The purity of a person is not based on what is on the outside (as Marilee’s demonstration with the children in our worship service yesterday so beautifully pointed out); purity does not come from what is taken into the body. Purity is found in what comes out of the heart. Jesus shows that the problem with purity is the human heart has been corrupted by sin. Although Jesus points to the problem of sin here, he does not tell us the cure for this brokenness.
Not yet. But, this is only Friday (metaphorically), and Sunday is coming.
Easter Sunday is coming.
What word or phrase in these verses
attracts your attention?
Reflect on that word or phrase.
What insights come to you?
How does this passage touch your life today?
1-Nov-11 Mark 7:24-8:10
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