Clean Hands - Unclean Hearts

 

Now when the Pharisees gathered to him, with some of the scribes who had come from Jerusalem, they saw that some of his disciples ate with hands that were defiled, that is, unwashed. (For the Pharisees and all the Jews do not eat unless they wash their hands properly, holding to the tradition of the elders, and when they come from the marketplace, they do not eat unless they wash. And there are many other traditions that they observe, such as the washing of cups and pots and copper vessels and dining couches.) And the Pharisees and the scribes asked him, “Why do your disciples not walk according to the tradition of the elders, but eat with defiled hands?” And he said to them, “Well did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written, “‘This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me; in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’ You leave the commandment of God and hold to the tradition of men.” (Mark 7:1-8 ESV).

 

One issue Jesus had with the religious leaders of his day was the way they used strict religious rules to try to manage people's behavior. The Pharisees claimed that the disciples, with their unclean hands, were offending God. Jesus replied with a quote from Isaiah to show the religious leaders that even though they had clean hands, they had unclean hearts. God is far more concerned with the condition of our hearts than with outward appearances.

 

Later in this chapter Jesus lists some of the shameful stuff that can live within us: "From within, out of men's hearts, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance and folly" (Mark 7:21-22). If our only method of dealing with the mess inside is to fall back on rules and regulations, we might manage to look clean on the outside but we'll remain unchanged inside. The only successful way to overcome the brokenness inside is to come to the Lord and ask for a change of heart.

 

The good news of Jesus is that this inner renovation of the heart is possible through him. Once we admit our inner failures and come clean before God, we discover that forgiveness is available. We are free to let go of human traditions and hang on to the commands of God.