The Heart of the Matter

Well, again, welcome to you, especially if you are new. But to everyone, welcome, welcome again. My name is Ben. I'm one of the lower town elders here. I don't preach often, but I'm getting serious about chasing Brian's record. So, you know, gotta get my numbers. But, you know, I like to preach every now and again. We like to have other people, other elders preach to give Brian a break. He's been preaching a lot. It's a service to me, service to him, service to you all. We're going to be continuing our series in Mark today. I believe we're on week 20. Don't quote me on that. Last week at the end of chapter six, Brian was kind of focused on this verse. He came to them, Jesus came to his disciples, walking on the sea. The main takeaway being that Jesus is present in our storms. And up to this point, we've seen a lot of Jesus divinity in Mark's account of Jesus time here on Earth. And then this week we're going to be seeing a lot more teaching and kind of confronting between Jesus and the religious leaders. So you heard that we had a lot of text this morning. We're not going to reread it necessarily. We have two scenes in this passage, Mark 7, 1, 23. These scenes are likely separate but clearly related, and Mark chose to put them together. Thankfully, the interpretation is given by Jesus. So hopefully that is all pretty clear and we're going to kind of fly through that part of it and then we're, of course, we're going to try to apply it to our lives. Now, that being said, the secret third elephant in the room is that, you know, if you're anything like me, and I know I am hearing that passage, you might have been thinking of pretty contemporary current events, maybe our political climate. And I just want to give us a word of warning to really take care not to read it into this dialogue, if you want to call it that, between Jesus and the Pharisees, any kind of like progressive versus conservative argument. It's really not that, which is to say, you know, progressive being pro change and conservative being pro tradition. That word tradition is going to be kind of a theme this morning. But what I want us to work to understand this morning is that Jesus is going further back. And that is the issue that these Pharisees have built up traditions that create barriers to the original commands from God. And so Jesus is going ancient, not just making a new thing, because new is good. So now, that being said, doing the work of then discerning what this Passage is saying, I do believe in applying it here and now, but only after doing that work. Okay, so that being said, we're in this first scene here, tradition. So just these first few verses, starting in three through five, this phrase is used twice. The tradition of the elders. So Jesus is focused here on these traditions. And these traditions, even as the passage told us, are these oral teachings, these things that, you know, Bryan has kind of dived into before the Talmud and the Mishnah, these traditions, oral traditions that the Pharisees built up over generations that, you know, they started with the commandments from God about cleanliness, ritual purity, all this kind of stuff, even how society should run. And they said, you know what? We don't even want to come close to breaking God's law, so let's make these extra laws. And then over generations, they get extra, extra laws like a terrible onion. And I'm not going to show a picture of Shrek, but that is what Jesus is challenging here this morning. These oral teachings were core to the Pharisees identity and power. Because really, to retain these as oral traditions, I mean, you gotta have pretty bright men in this sect of, you know, Jewish society to retain all that. And they would, you know, pass it down through the generations orally. That's gonna come up later. The fact that these would be these intelligent leaders kind of doing this. And what they are doing, Jesus flat out calls lip service. He quotes Isaiah, and in that quotation, Isaiah is saying, this people honors me with their lips, but their heart is from me. So just right away, Jesus lights them up, calls them hypocrites, pointing to their oral traditions as lip service, then moving right along. You know, I think the word challenge is not strong enough to do justice to what Jesus is saying here. So verses 8 through 10, you hold to the tradition of men, you have a fine way of rejecting the commandment of God in order to establish your tradition. And then he's going to kind of carry this thread through. But you can hear even just in these verses, this escalating tone, that kind of sarcasm. And then following the thread here, so he says, for Moses said, honor your father and your mother. He talks about that gift, what one might set aside being Corban, being dedicated to God. And then again, addressing these Pharisees, Jesus says, you no longer permit someone doing that to do anything for his father or mother, thus making void the word of God by your traditions. So you have, you know, a hypothetical person, maybe they have some excess of wealth. And they say, great, you know what I'm going to honor God. So set aside this portion of it and that is now dedicated to God. I think in that time it would have looked like dedicating it to the temple, either right away or maybe, you know, in some annuity, something like that. I'm sure they didn't quite have that concept. But then imagine, you know, this person, their parents have a medical emergency or, you know, now in our terms, like maybe they need a car or something like that. What Jesus is saying is that this guy could not pull from those funds dedicated to God in order to support his parents. And Jesus is saying, don't you see what you've done? You've totally circumvented what it is that God wants for his people to honor your father and mother. And so Jesus, with this phrase, making void the word of God, he's really challenging, again, not quite sufficient to capture what's happening, challenging these Pharisees, that one can pursue an empty holiness and be far from God's commands. Now, we've seen this before in Jesus ministry and in stories we've covered in Mark, stories of healing and questions about that on the Sabbath. So one such scene was in Mark 2. And this was where they were walking through a grain field. Well, I'll just read it. And as his disciples walked along, they began to pick some heads of grain. The Pharisees said to him, look, why are they doing what is unlawful on the Sabbath? Then he, Jesus, said to them, the Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. And so the main verse in this scene is that last one, the Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. And to make a long story short, we don't follow the Sabbath this day of rest from God, his command to his people. We don't follow that for salvation. It's not to earn a right place with God, but it is a gift from God to be enjoyed. And that is the point that Jesus is making there. And the Pharisees in his time got it kind of twisted that way. In chapter seven, again, it would be asking the question, would God not want a person to care for his parents instead of, you know, just remaining doggedly fixed on dedicating his, you know, excess, but maybe a small bit of wealth compared to the owner of cattle on a thousand hills, as the phrase is. So then another scene in Mark 3, just right after another time, Jesus went into the synagogue and a man with a shriveled hand was there. Some of them were looking for a reason to accuse Jesus. So they watched him closely to see if he would heal him on the Sabbath, Jesus said to the man with a shriveled hand, stand up in front of everyone. Then Jesus asked him, which is lawful on the Sabbath? To do good or to do evil? To save life or to kill? But they remain silent and spoiler alert. Jesus heals this man because of course he can. But the main point of this passage isn't even that miracle, but this question again, which is lawful to do on the Sabbath, to do good or to do evil, to save life or to kill? And he challenges these religious leaders to consider what is it that God approves of goodness and life or evil and death? So again he's challenging their, their closed fisted treatment of the Sabbath, of these commandments of God. Okay, so now let's go back to our passage looking back at verse six in chapter seven where, where Jesus quotes Isaiah. And again, this is not a progressive versus conservative debate. I put the reference on the slide there if you want to jot that down in your notes. Isaiah 29:13 Again, I'll read this. 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. So now I'm going to jump to our favorite commentator, JR Edwards to give us some fresh thoughts on these verses. The oral tradition, at least in theory, intended to express the intent of the law and extend it to matters of everyday life. In practice, however, the tradition of the elders tended to shift the center of gravity from the intent of the Torah to an increasing array of peripheral matters that either obscured or perverted that intent. The quotation from Isaiah 29:13 rightly defines hypocrite as one who voices lofty and even noble sentiments that are divorced from the intentions of the heart. I think that's just so well put. These peripheral matters, these preferences that the Pharisees are coming up with, you know, and maybe even starting from a good intended position, but definitely over generations getting to this point where rules are just impossible to coordinate in your mind. It's so far from what God intended for us. But all that being said, I think the thing that we must ask ourselves first, why do I pursue God's commands? Am I missing something about God's designs, intent and love? And really, do I care about important things now? I think we can spend a lot of time introspecting. I think as a church, if we're people that either think too much or do too much, we're probably ones who think too much. So I think we can spend too much Time introspecting. Where then we just for fear of having our heart in the wrong place, we never do anything. I don't think that's quite right either. But really, I'd simply say that we want to seek the main things of God, perhaps just with a sense of humility and being open to correction, to change to things like that. But Jesus has more for us this morning. So we're going to go into the second scene from the heart. Not going to talk about my heart anymore, I promise. So again, these were likely grouped by Mark because of the theme. So let's read it that way. It's not necessarily that these happen like one after another, you know, temporally or anything like that. But picking up in verse 14, Jesus is making this simple point at least, or brief, brief point, that the things that come out of a person are what defile him. The Jews at the time, well through today, have lots of rules about what you can and can't eat, what's clean and unclean. And Jesus here is saying that that is not the concern for God. The things that come out of you are what defile you. But he does elaborate. So then moving along into verse 19, his point being that whatever comes from the outside is simply expelled. And it doesn't enter your heart, but your stomach. It's not what comes from outside that can defile you. What's funny here is that even the disciples catch some hands. He says that are you also without understanding. I think in other translations it says, are you so dull that you can't understand? So he uses a simple metaphor, poop. And that is what translates for them. Maybe a little nerdy aside, is that there this parenthetical. At the end of verse 19. Thus he declared, all food is clean. I think kind of reinforced that Peter is likely the source for Mark, for this whole account of Jesus ministry. Because it was Peter that God said, you know, rise, Peter, kill and eat. Had this vision of foods on this carpet that were all unclean. But God tells him to eat those foods in this vision. And it becomes part of this opening of the mystery. That means God's salvation is not just for Jews, but also for Gentiles. But anyway, then in verse 21, Jesus opens up with this list to explain himself about what is that can come out. And really with this, there's no way out for you and me. I mean, he just starts off with evil thoughts. I think all of us have had evil thoughts. Even if you could maybe argue you've evaded these other things. Evil thoughts, sexual Immorality, theft, murder, adultery, coveting, wickedness, deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride, foolishness. All of these evil things come from within and they defile a person. And it's worth noting in this list that it's very active. You do have kind of invisible, invisible things. You know, envy and pride, those might be hard to detect in someone, but they're all certainly active. Things are really choosing both attitudes and actions. This is very consistent with other teachings from Jesus. You know, if you know the Sermon on the mount in Matthew 5, 7, Jesus is really elevating the commandments that, you know, his people would know at that time, for example, to not commit adultery. Well, he says in that sermon, if you look at a woman lustfully in your heart, you've committed adultery. Committed adultery in your heart and in elsewhere, maybe in kind of a more neutral way. Jesus has the phrase out of the overflow of the heart, the mouth speaks. He says, you can recognize a tree by its fruit, kind of pointing at the root, then all the way to the fruit. But to put it plainly, maybe just in a couple thoughts, it is our heart that is the issue, and our heart leaks out into our behavior. And for Jesus, it is both the heart and the conduct that are the problem. So then what solution does Jesus offer us to this problem? It's not correcting your behavior because that's working from the outside in. It's not addressing our conduct first. But we're going to jump ahead now to kind of get Jesus answer to this. We're going to jump ahead to towards the end of his ministry, and we're jumping to a different account. So this is in Matthew and Matthew, chapter 23, verse 23. This is one of several woes that he, I don't know, proclaims, kind of pronounces at the Pharisees. It's not exactly a curse, but you'll hear it's not friendly either. And he says, woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites. You give a tenth of your spices, but you've neglected the more important matters of the law, justice, mercy and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter without neglecting the former. You blind guides, you strain out a gnat, but swallow a camel. Blind Pharisee, first clean the inside of the cup and dish, and then the outside also will be clean. I think it's important to note that Jesus is calling for both these things, or, you know, sort of the spices and then justice, mercy and faithfulness, where he says, you should have practiced the latter, justice, mercy and faithfulness, without neglecting the former tithing, spices. But what he is pointing to is that what feels like the least important thing you could do of, you know, giving, it's listed out in this passage, mint, dill, cumin, whatever, to the temple, which is an honorable thing. Enough, if you have excess, that is much less important, probably on opposite ends of your priority list compared to justice, mercy and faithfulness. I think Jesus is saying, do it all, but get the priority right. Start with justice, mercy and faithfulness. And then here at the end, first clean the inside of the cup and dish, and then the outside also will be clean again. It's kind of those pointing to both things. The inside and outside are important, but you have to start with the inside. So I would say seek to do good again, but first examine your heart. So now let's consider what are the spices or gnats for you? These trivial things that supersede the most important things. What is extra for us? I just have these categories. Worship, fun, positions. You know, you can think of like a Sunday service. Maybe you have strong preferences for what that looks like. Maybe you have strong preferences about how your small group operates. Maybe you have preferences or rules about fun, food, money, media. Maybe you kind of have a position where anything is good, so just enjoy yourself. Life is short. Maybe you have a position that pleasure is bad and we should really be at least suspect of the things that we have fun with or can have fun with. Maybe you agonize over making perfect statements about current events or even stuff in the Bible rather than doing good, you know, in the actions we take here and now, there is good in those things. And in thinking about these things, there is good. For example, it's good to think about hospitality and what visitors might experience on a Sunday, for example, or how accessible your small group style is. It is good to enjoy gifts from God because life is short and he makes that clear. And it is clear that he gives us things just to enjoy. And it's also good to think about positions we take, seek wisdom from one another, people outside to learn, and then to pursue righteousness with that wisdom. And yet, at the same time, there is a danger in all this. Sometimes we can mask what we are familiar and comfortable with on a Sunday and disguise that as sacred, as if it's totally unchangeable when it comes to fun. Maybe we're just envious of the pleasure that other people can have. And so we just twist it and say, well, stop doing that because I can't enjoy it, or maybe just with fun, you seek an escape in life rather than really digging into your anxieties, bringing that to God. And then with positions, I think just simply, it's too easy to have empty platitudes, meaningless statements that really change nothing about what you're doing day to day. Okay, all that being said, let's just tie this back now, and we're going to go back to Edwards here with his commentary. And he says this. It is precisely the heart that the tradition of the elders fails to address. And because of this, it fails to represent either the commandment or the will of God. Uncleanness can no longer be considered a property of objects, for example, food, but rather a description of inner attitudes, a condition of the heart. The goodness of a deed depends not solely on its doing, but primarily on its intent. I'll leave that up for a second. Okay, so now let's consider the following. Do you value knowledge above all other virtues? Do you want to be right more than act righteously? Do you create hurdles for your help? By which I mean, do you really need someone to clean themselves up before you're willing to give them a hand? I know I am stubborn, selfish, and vain. So there are a lot of roadblocks that I create, even just for myself, before I obey God. I can kind of feel a tension in my heart sometimes where I know that it would be good to just serve someone in a particular way and get over myself. But then I can think of all these nuances about how complicated the situation is, and I make it too difficult for myself, and then I just don't do anything. Sometimes knowledge does help, and so I don't want to totally do away with that. You know, we are an intellectual crowd, and there is a place for that. Sometimes knowledge can help us build empathy, but we just have to be careful with that. Of course. Right. I would say, I think I'm willing to draw this line, that knowing is not more important than doing so. Now, to close, we're gonna read kind of a lot of verses. So if you're tired of hearing my sick voice, sorry, not sorry. We're gonna read from Ezekiel 36. And this just came to mind, thinking about the heart. You're gonna hear a phrase in this passage, just briefly, heart of stone. It's being changed to a heart of flesh. This is going to have a lot of sternness and kind of frankness about our condition without Christ. But my intent is not to shame you and bog you down with your own sense of shame, but really to lift your eyes higher and outside of yourself, even as we do examine our hearts, and to imagine what God might do with a people to whom he gives new hearts. So Ezekiel 36, starting in verse 24 for I will take you out of the nations. I will gather you from all the countries and bring you back into your own land. I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean. I will cleanse you from all your impurities and from all your idols. I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you. And I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws. Then you will live in the land I gave your ancestors. You will be my people, and I will be your God. I will save you from all your uncleanness. Then you will remember your evil ways and wicked deeds. And you will loathe yourselves for your sins and detestable practices. I want you to know that I am not doing this for your sake, declares the Sovereign Lord. Be ashamed and disgraced for your conduct. People of Israel. This is what the Sovereign Lord says. On the day I cleanse you from all your sins, I will resettle your towns and the ruins will be rebuilt. They will say, this land that was laid waste has become like the Garden of Eden. The cities that were lying in ruins, desolate and destroyed are now fortified and inhabited. Then the nations around you that remain will know that I, the Lord, have rebuilt what was destroyed and have replanted what was desolate. I, the Lord, have spoken, and I will do it. So the ruined cities will be filled with flocks of people. Then they will know that I am the Lord. Now, I forgot to explain. This is to the people of God, the ancient Israelites, while they were in exile. We can't one for one, apply it to ourselves today, you know, that's kind of another topic for another time. And the point here being looking at what God is doing in us to create a new heart, that without him we are hopeless. We are in a destitute, shameful position. And he does give us that new heart through Christ. That is true, God responds when we ask for a new heart. But the main point being that his great work to transform us does not end with us. And what we see here in these last few verses, the one priority is that this bears witness to a watching world, that God does build something up. He raises something up and uses us to do that. Same kind of work in our communities through us to be salt and light as Jesus teaches in the Sermon on the Mount. And that's all for his glory, for his renown. So in gospel application, I just have these two thoughts for us. Firstly, a challenge to repent of a wicked heart and go to Jesus for a new one. You do receive the gift of salvation once, but I think we need to go to Jesus daily, if not hourly, for a new heart, in a sense, to repent of our sins as we just continue to sin. And the second thing is do good and try not to enforce your own preferences. God's glory is the goal, not your own comfort. We're going to enter into a time of communion, and here at Hope, we practice open communion. So you don't have to be a member of our church or any church, but we just ask that you've bent the knee to King Jesus and you are free to participate. We have the crackers to represent Jesus, body broken for us, and the juice to represent his blood shed for us, to bring us that new heart. We're going to have two songs, so I encourage you to take time to reflect in worship. And then when you are ready to stand and sing in worship, I'll invite the worship team back up while I pray. God, we come to you with unclean hearts. I hope we all can see how we fall short. But of course, this is where you do meet us and embrace us. I thank you for that love. Would you awaken our hearts of stone that we know your good commands and glorify you with our whole lives. Help us to discern the things that are most and least important to the end of your glory. Amen.