Mark 7:1-23 [NLT] Jesus Corrects – Confronts Religious . Mark 7:1–5 (NLT) One day some Pharisees and teachers of religious law arrived from Jerusalem to see Jesus. 2 They noticed that some of his disciples failed to follow the Jewish ritual of hand washing before eating. 3 (The Jews, especially the Pharisees, do not eat until they have poured water over their cupped hands, as required by their ancient traditions. 4 Similarly, they don’t eat anything from the market until they immerse their hands in water. This is but one of many traditions they have clung to—such as their ceremonial washing of cups, pitchers, and kettles.) 5 So the Pharisees and teachers of religious law asked him, “Why don’t your disciples follow our age-old tradition? They eat without first performing the hand-washing ceremony.” Mark 7:6–8 (NLT) 6 Jesus replied, “You hypocrites! Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you, for he wrote, ‘These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. 7 Their worship is a farce, for they teach man-made ideas as commands from God.’ 8 For you ignore God’s law and substitute your own tradition.” Mark 7:9-13 (NLT) 9 Then he said, “You skillfully sidestep God’s law in order to hold on to your own tradition. 10 For instance, Moses gave you this law from God: ‘Honor your father and mother,’ and ‘Anyone who speaks disrespectfully of father or mother must be put to death.’ 11 But you say it is all right for people to say to their parents, ‘Sorry, I can’t help you. For I have vowed to give to God what I would have given to you.’ 12 In this way, you let them disregard their needy parents. 13 And so you cancel the word of God in order to hand down your own tradition. And this is only one example among many others.” Galatians 6:1-2 (NLT) “Dear brothers and sisters, if another believer is overcome by some sin, you who are godly should gently and humbly help that person back onto the right path. And be careful not to fall into the same temptation yourself. Share each other’s burdens, and in this way obey the law of Christ.” Jesus Clarifies – of Our Sin Disease Diagnosed Mark 7:14–23 (NLT) 14 Then Jesus called to the crowd to come and hear. “All of you listen,” he said, “and try to understand. 15 It’s not what goes into your body that defiles you; you are defiled by what comes from your heart.” 17 Then Jesus went into a house to get away from the crowd, and his disciples asked him what he meant by the parable he had just used. 18 “Don’t you understand either?” he asked. “Can’t you see that the food you put into your body cannot defile you? 19 Food doesn’t go into your heart, but only passes through the stomach and then goes into the sewer.” (By saying this, he declared that every kind of food is acceptable in God’s eyes.) 20 And then he added, “It is what comes from inside that defiles you. 21 For from within, out of a person’s heart, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, 22 adultery, greed, wickedness, deceit, lustful desires, envy, slander, pride, and foolishness. 23 All these vile things come from within; they are what defile you.” “...not one of us can appreciate our own salvation truly, unless we realise the nature of the disease, the condition, out of which we are to be saved by the gospel. In other words, we must understand the truth about ourselves in sin. We can never really know the love of God until we realise this. The way to measure the height of God’s love is first of all to measure the depth of our own depravity as the result of the fall…” ~ Martin Lloyd Jones Jesus Cleanses — Our Sin Disease Healed With His . Hebrews 10:10–12,14 (NLT) 10 For God’s will was for us to be made holy by the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ, once for all time. 11 Under the old covenant, the priest stands and ministers before the altar day after day, offering the same sacrifices again and again, which can never take away sins. 12 But our High Priest offered himself to God as a single sacrifice for sins, good for all time…. 14 For by that one offering he forever made perfect those who are being made holy. Hebrews 10:19–22 (NLT) 19 And so, dear brothers and sisters, we can boldly enter heaven’s Most Holy Place because of the blood of Jesus. 20 By his death, Jesus opened a new and life-giving way through the curtain into the Most Holy Place. 21 And since we have a great High Priest who rules over God’s house, 22 let us go right into the presence of God with sincere hearts fully trusting him. For our guilty consciences have been sprinkled with Christ’s blood to make us clean, and our bodies have been washed with pure water. What Now ? Reflect on areas of your life where external rituals have replaced genuine affection & obedience in your life. Ask God to reveal & change heart-level struggles & sin. Live in the joy & freedom of a heart purified by Jesus’ cleansing. Continuing The Conversation 1. Have you ever experienced a church, family or friend who imposed or enforced Chrisitan rules or traditions (not sin) to take the place of genuine love and obedience to God? 2. How might we guard against hypocrisy and cultivate a relationship with God based on authentic love rather than surface performance? 3. How might understanding that Jesus purifies our hearts lead to greater joy and freedom in your daily life?