It’s Not What Goes in That Defiles You

Meditations of the Gospel of Mark

September 1, 2020

It’s Not What Goes in That Defiles You

All these vile things come from within; they are what defile you.

Mark 7:23

Read: Mark 7: 14-23

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; 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.

Another passage may be helpful to understanding the pervasive damage sin has caused to the human condition. Take a look at what Jesus had to say about anger and adultery in the Sermon on the Mount: Matthew 5:21-22, and 27-28.

My Takeaway: 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.

Sē’lah

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(Selah is a word that appears in the Book of Psalms that I often use as the Complimentary Closing in my correspondence. Its meaning, as I use the word, is to pause and think about these things.)

These meditations are written by Alex M. Knight as he seeks the life in Christ as his way of life.  The meditations are published on the BLOG, http://seekingthelifeinchrist.blogspot.com/ and they are also distributed on the Constant Contact email server. You may subscribe to this email service by sending an email to: amkrom812@gmail.com. The BLOG is also available on Amazon Kindle, by subscription.

Copyright © 2020 by Alex M. Knight

Publications by Alex M. Knight:

• Seeking the Life in Christ, Meditations on the New Testament and Psalms has been published and is now available at Amazon.com in paperback and Kindle.

• The second edition of  First Think – Then Pray is available on Amazon Kindle.

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.