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.

 

The Provision of God

 

The apostles returned to Jesus and told him all that they had done and taught. And he said to them, “Come away by yourselves to a desolate place and rest a while.” For many were coming and going, and they had no leisure even to eat. And they went away in the boat to a desolate place by themselves. Now many saw them going and recognize them, and they ran there on foot from all the towns and got there ahead of them. When he went ashore he saw a great crowd, and he had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd. And he began to teach them many things. And when it grew late, his disciples came to him and said, “This is a desolate place, and the hour is now late. Send them away to go into the surrounding countryside and villages and buy themselves something to eat.” But he answered them, “You give them something to eat.” And they said to him, “Shall we go and buy two hundred denarii worth of bread and give it to them to eat?” And he said to them, “How many loaves do you have? Go and see.” And when they had found out, they said, “Five, and two fish.” Then he commanded them all to sit down in groups on the green grass. So they sat down in groups, by hundreds and by fifties. And taking the five loaves and the two fish, he looked up to heaven and said a blessing and broke the loaves and gave them to the disciples to set before the people. And he divided the two fish among them all. And they all ate and were satisfied. And they took up twelve baskets full of broken pieces and of the fish. And those who ate the loaves were five thousand men. (Mark 6:30-44 ESV).

 

In the history of the people of Israel, the wilderness was a place of testing. During the years when the people wandered in the wilderness, God taught them to trust in him for the necessities of life. When they became desperate for food, they cried out to God, and he provided for them. The manna they received nourished their bodies and reminded them to trust in God. (cf. Exodus 16.) More than a thousand years later Jesus taught his disciples the same lesson.

 

In our reading for today, the expressions “quiet place,” “solitary place” and “remote place” can also be translated as “wilderness.” Jesus had just finished teaching a crowd of several thousand people out in the wilderness when a crisis arose. There was a food shortage, and the disciples didn’t know what to do. Jesus told them, “You give them something to eat.” Hearing this, they were dumbfounded. Jesus then took the little they had, gave thanks, and miraculously multiplied it so that everyone had more than enough to eat. In this way Jesus taught the disciples to trust in God for their needs. All of us experience “wilderness” times in our lives. We need to learn afresh that God has the power to provide all that we need.

The Carpenter

 

He [Jesus] went away from there and came to his hometown, and his disciples followed him. And on the Sabbath he began to teach in the synagogue, and many who heard him were astonished, saying, “Where did this man get these things? What is the wisdom given to him? How are such mighty works done by his hands? Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary and brother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon? And are not his sisters here with us?” And they took offense at him. And Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor, except in his hometown and among his relatives and in his own household.” And he could do no mighty work there, except that he laid his hands on a few sick people and healed them. And he marveled because of their unbelief. (Mark 6:1-6 ESV).

 

The gospel books (Matthew, Mark, Luke, John) focus on Jesus’ public ministry. For a period of three years he taught about the kingdom of God, healed the sick, fed the hungry, and even raised the dead. But before any of that, for about thirty years, Jesus lived in the family home. And for most of those years, he worked alongside his father Joseph in the family trade. We think of Joseph as a carpenter, someone who worked with wood. But he may have been a stoneworker. The original language is not clear. What is clear is that Joseph was a builder of some sort. So, he worked with his hands and with tools: perhaps making farm implements and furniture, or laying foundations. And Jesus did the same thing for probably about twenty years. The gospel books barely mention it. But they do give us that much.

 

Now, when Jesus began his teaching ministry, people for miles and miles around came to know him as a teacher and wonderworker. They were in awe of him. But to the people in his hometown, he was just a guy who worked with tools in his hands. They couldn’t get beyond that. We have the opposite problem. We know Jesus as the Son of God. And we can lose sight of his genuine humanity. But for most of his years, Jesus lived a life as ordinary as anyone’s, like yours or mine. That means that He absolutely understands all our challenges. Trusting Him is easier when you remember He was a “carpenter”!

 

Jesus Came to Comfort Us

 

While he was still speaking, there came from the ruler’s house some who said, “Your daughter is dead. Why trouble the Teacher any further?” But overhearing what they said, Jesus said to the ruler of the synagogue, “Do not fear, only believe.” And he allowed no one to follow him except Peter and James and John the brother of James. They came to the house of the ruler of the synagogue, and Jesus saw a commotion, people weeping and wailing loudly. And when he had entered, he said to them, “Why are you making a commotion and weeping? The child is not dead but sleeping.” And they laughed at him. But he put them all outside and took the child’s father and mother and those who were with him and went in where the child was. Taking her by the hand he said to her, “Talitha cumi,” which means, “Little girl, I say to you, arise.” And immediately the girl got up and began walking (for she was twelve years of age), and they were immediately overcome with amazement. And he strictly charged them that no one should know this, and told them to give her something to eat. (Mark 5:35-43 ESV).

 

Jesus came to comfort those who mourn (cf. Isaiah 61:2-3). But what a strange way to bring comfort to parents who had just lost a child—saying that she was not dead but asleep! Was Jesus adding to their sorrow by giving them false hope? The Savior did come to bring comfort—and not with glib phrases or cheap answers or by quoting Scripture verses at inappropriate times. He wanted people to know that even though their loved ones were gone, they were not dead.

 

And he backed up his words with action: he brought the girl back to life. This miracle was Jesus’ way of showing that he came to conquer death. He wants us all to know that death does not have the last word.

 

Maybe you dread the celebration of Christmas because someone you love is gone. You simply can’t get past that empty place. Perhaps you will be celebrating with tears in your eyes and pain in your heart. But, remember, the Lord Jesus has conquered death. And because of that, someday when he returns, the graves of all who have died will be opened and you will meet again. Because of his victory over death, you will be able to celebrate his birth despite your sorrow.

 

There Is Purpose in the Storm

 

On that day, when evening had come, he [Jesus] said to them, “Let us go across to the other side.” And leaving the crowd, they took him with them in the boat, just as he was. And other boats were with him. And a great windstorm arose, and the waves were breaking into the boat, so that the boat was already filling. But he was in the stern, asleep on the cushion. And they woke him and said to him, “Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?” And he awoke and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, “Peace! Be still!” And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm. He said to them, “Why are you so afraid? Have you still no faith?” And they were filled with great fear and said to one another, “Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?” (Mark 4:35-41 ESV).

 

Today we return to the passage at the end of chapter four to understand the purpose God has for us in the midst of the storm. Read this passage again closely. Jesus asks the disciples, “Why are you so afraid? Have you still no faith?” Those two questions feel incoherent. Imagine Jesus’ disciples on the open water, rowing feverishly to keep their boat afloat—no small task when everything is pitching like a rodeo bull; and, Jesus asks them why they are afraid! I’ve been in a few “life-storms” that seemed as bad as this one. I have felt paralyzed with the fear of the moment.

 

Let’s look closer. Mark indicates that this trip was Jesus’ idea in the first place. He’d suggested it; then he had curled up and gone to sleep. Why would Jesus lead his disciples into a crisis like that? Well, it was not happenstance. Jesus was purposeful with His direction into the impending storm. While the disciples were following Jesus in his teaching ministry, Jesus was a step ahead, preparing them for continuing his work later. They could not have imagined Jesus’ death and resurrection and ascension (cf. Mark 15-16; Acts 1), or the coming of his Holy Spirit, who would lead them to bring the gospel across the Roman Empire (cf. Acts 2-28). No, at this point they just wanted to survive the storm and see their families again.

 

Jesus’ followers had a lot to learn: the kinds of things they could discover only in storms. What seemed at first to be just a bad night was actually an opportunity to experience something about Christ that no one could have explained with mere words. Jesus led them into a storm so that they could truly see Him like never before. Trust Him!

Dead Batteries

 

And he [Jesus] said to them, “Is a lamp brought in to be put under a basket, or under a bed, and not on a stand? For nothing is hidden except to be made manifest; nor is anything secret except to come to light. If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear.” And he said to them, “Pay attention to what you hear: with the measure you use, it will be measured to you, and still more will be added to you. For to the one who has, more will be given, and from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away.” (Mark 4:21-25 ESV).

 

We keep flashlights in various places throughout the house. Thunderstporms in our part of Texas are common. With that also comes the potential temporary lapse of electricity. My favorite is a rechargeable, adjustable beam flashlight that I keep near the back door. I must confess that I am sometimes forgetful about keeping it charged. Not long ago we had some visitors who did not realize that one of our dogs was a “darter.” The gate was only open for a moment, but out she went and began to run down the street. I grabbed my flashlight and out I went to find her. The battery was very low on charge, and it was of little use. Fortunately, I had another light with fresh batteries.

 

I wonder if sometimes we are like that too. We want to be a light for the world, but our batteries are dead or missing, or we haven’t plugged in our lamp. In this parable Jesus points out that we don’t bring a lamp into a room to cover it up. The lamp is there to brighten the room and to show us things that we need to pay attention to.

 

Charles Spurgeon, a great preacher in his day, once said, “The Bible is not the light of the world; it is the light of the church. But the world does not read the Bible; the world reads Christians! You are the light of the world.”

 

Today, let your light shine. No more hiding. Be the lamp that illuminates Jesus to the world. Keep your batteries charged!

 

Fertile Ground and Good Seed

Again he began to teach beside the sea. And a very large crowd gathered about him, so that he got into a boat and sat in it on the sea, and the whole crowd was beside the sea on the land. And he was teaching them many things in parables, and in his teaching he said to them: “Listen! Behold, a sower went out to sow. And as he sowed, some seed fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured it. Other seed fell on rocky ground, where it did not have much soil, and immediately it sprang up, since it had no depth of soil. And when the sun rose, it was scorched, and since it had no root, it withered away. Other seed fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked it, and it yielded no grain. And other seeds fell into good soil and produced grain, growing up and increasing and yielding thirtyfold and sixtyfold and a hundredfold.” And he said, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.” (Mark 4:1-9 ESV).

 

Christians often become discouraged when they ponder the loss of Christian values in some parts of the world today. Christianity seems to be dwindling backward rather than speeding forward. At such times it is important to meditate on this parable about kingdom seed.

 

The seed that fell on the first three types of soil failed to produce a harvest. When the crowd heard Jesus describing three failures to produce lasting fruit, they likely figured the story was finished. But Jesus surprised his audience by contrasting the three failures with three gigantic successes.

 

At first glance it seems that the story contains a fourfold structure—the seed falls on the path, on rocky ground, among thorns, and finally on good soil. But a closer look reveals that the thirty, sixty, and hundredfold harvest balance the three losses. Human failure is contrasted with divine success. Kingdom seed keeps on sprouting and producing fruit.

 

Sometimes it seems that every story we hear centers on the hard hearts of people toward the gospel, or on shallow lives that wander from the truth, or on crowded, thorny hearts that squelch spiritual growth. But the surprise in the parable remains true today. The Lord’s kingdom seed has multiplication power. An unexpected harvest of abundance is what Jesus promises to each of us who hear the parable. Be the kind of soil that this seed falls on and produces a great harvest!