Parables - Teaching 16
What Defiles a Man
"Once again Jesus called the crowd to Him and said, “All of you, listen to Me and understand: Nothing that enters a man from the outside can defile him; but the things that come out of a man, these are what defile him.”
After Jesus had left the crowd and gone into the house, His disciples inquired about the parable.
“Are you still so dull?” He asked. “Do you not understand? Nothing that enters a man from the outside can defile him, because it does not enter his heart, but it goes into the stomach and then is eliminated.” (Thus all foods are clean.)
He continued: “What comes out of a man, that is what defiles him. For from within the hearts of men come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, wickedness, deceit, debauchery, envy, slander, arrogance, and foolishness. All these evils come from within, and these are what defile a man.” Mark 7:14-23 BSB
The Heart of Man
Again we see Jesus being stalked by the religious leaders of His day -- the Pharisees. And once again they were questioning their manner of eating. I guess the Pharisees couldn't get enough of Jesus and follow Him and are even watching Him during their break times. Or maybe Jesus and His group and followers just constantly eat together or these Pharisees just have to comment on every little they do.
Ulterior Motives (of the Heart)
But whatever their reasons were, these always present Pharisees were asking Jesus why His disciples do not wash their hands before they eat. Those who are a little OCD among us would ask the same, but really these Pharisees were asking this question because they want to show Jesus in a bad light by showing that He does not follow their old established rules and rituals.
Of course Jesus knowing what's really in their hearts and their motives answered them with an illustration. Why does He do this? This we tackled in Lesson # 15, if you missed that, you could read it here.
Anyway Jesus essentially told them that it is not what you eat that defiles you, but rather what comes out, not in your mouth.
Again people were scratching their heads trying to understand this parable. But like in many other times, those who were left behind asked Jesus what He meant. And this passage tells us He told them what it was.
Out of Your Mouth
Although initially He chided them because they still could not understand. But right after He explained that nothing they eat goes into their heart, for those just goes to the stomach and out to the toilet.
But it is what comes out of their mouth or what they say that reveals what's really inside their heart.
The Heart Speaks
The words we say, especially in our unguarded moments, the ones we utter when we are buzzed or not able to completely control ourselves, for that's when we are more likely to say what's inside our hearts.
Jesus said out of our mouth comes out the issues of our heart -- evil thoughts, sexual immorality, greed, deceit, envy, slander, arrogance, foolishness and many others. All these evils come out from the heart and audibly out through our words and our actions. This was another attack on the Pharisees who always want to show how wrong Jesus was with His "new" ways of doing things and His "new" teachings. And how righteous they are for them keeping the "old" laws and traditions.
Food is Good
Jesus also showed that people should be able to eat food without worrying if it is kosher or not, meaning there really isn't any rituals or laws that we are obligated to fulfill to eat. Food is food and it is good (food is good, in moderation of course, and of course common sense rules do apply).
So if you've just been eating... Bon Appétit.
Parables Series
Image Credit: insightsfromtom.com
"Once again Jesus called the crowd to Him and said, “All of you, listen to Me and understand: Nothing that enters a man from the outside can defile him; but the things that come out of a man, these are what defile him.”
After Jesus had left the crowd and gone into the house, His disciples inquired about the parable.
“Are you still so dull?” He asked. “Do you not understand? Nothing that enters a man from the outside can defile him, because it does not enter his heart, but it goes into the stomach and then is eliminated.” (Thus all foods are clean.)
He continued: “What comes out of a man, that is what defiles him. For from within the hearts of men come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, wickedness, deceit, debauchery, envy, slander, arrogance, and foolishness. All these evils come from within, and these are what defile a man.” Mark 7:14-23 BSB
The Heart of Man
Again we see Jesus being stalked by the religious leaders of His day -- the Pharisees. And once again they were questioning their manner of eating. I guess the Pharisees couldn't get enough of Jesus and follow Him and are even watching Him during their break times. Or maybe Jesus and His group and followers just constantly eat together or these Pharisees just have to comment on every little they do.
Ulterior Motives (of the Heart)
But whatever their reasons were, these always present Pharisees were asking Jesus why His disciples do not wash their hands before they eat. Those who are a little OCD among us would ask the same, but really these Pharisees were asking this question because they want to show Jesus in a bad light by showing that He does not follow their old established rules and rituals.
Of course Jesus knowing what's really in their hearts and their motives answered them with an illustration. Why does He do this? This we tackled in Lesson # 15, if you missed that, you could read it here.
Anyway Jesus essentially told them that it is not what you eat that defiles you, but rather what comes out, not in your mouth.
Again people were scratching their heads trying to understand this parable. But like in many other times, those who were left behind asked Jesus what He meant. And this passage tells us He told them what it was.
Out of Your Mouth
Although initially He chided them because they still could not understand. But right after He explained that nothing they eat goes into their heart, for those just goes to the stomach and out to the toilet.
But it is what comes out of their mouth or what they say that reveals what's really inside their heart.
The Heart Speaks
The words we say, especially in our unguarded moments, the ones we utter when we are buzzed or not able to completely control ourselves, for that's when we are more likely to say what's inside our hearts.
Jesus said out of our mouth comes out the issues of our heart -- evil thoughts, sexual immorality, greed, deceit, envy, slander, arrogance, foolishness and many others. All these evils come out from the heart and audibly out through our words and our actions. This was another attack on the Pharisees who always want to show how wrong Jesus was with His "new" ways of doing things and His "new" teachings. And how righteous they are for them keeping the "old" laws and traditions.
Food is Good
Jesus also showed that people should be able to eat food without worrying if it is kosher or not, meaning there really isn't any rituals or laws that we are obligated to fulfill to eat. Food is food and it is good (food is good, in moderation of course, and of course common sense rules do apply).
So if you've just been eating... Bon Appétit.
Parables Series
Image Credit: insightsfromtom.com
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