That Which Defiles Series

That Which Defiles

PPT 1 Message title (That which defiles, - that which corrupts the heart)

PPT 2-6 text

Mark 7:14 After He called the crowd to Him again, He began saying to them, "Listen to Me, all of you, and understand:

Mark 7:15 there is nothing outside the man which can defile him if it goes into him; but the things which proceed out of the man are what defile the man.

Mark 7:16 [["If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear."]]

Mark 7:17 When he had left the crowd and entered the house, His disciples questioned Him about the parable.

Mark 7:18 And He *said to them, "Are you so lacking in understanding also? Do you not understand that whatever goes into the man from outside cannot defile him,

Mark 7:19 because it does not go into his heart, but into his stomach, and is eliminated?" (Thus He declared all foods clean.)

Mark 7:20 And He was saying, "That which proceeds out of the man, that is what defiles the man.

Mark 7:21 "For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed the evil thoughts, fornications, thefts, murders, adulteries,

Mark 7:22 deeds of coveting and wickedness, as well as deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride and foolishness.

Mark 7:23 "All these evil things proceed from within and defile the man."

Jesus tells us what really defiles a person. We will examine defilement in 3 ways, what is defilement, what causes defilement, then finally we will discuss in a specific area, how some things that enter us, do in fact defile us.

First up, what does in mean in the bible when it says a person is defiled? Unclean is a word that is used interchangeably with defiled. That should help your understanding.

In the OT, defiled meant you were spiritually unclean or impure. It rendered you unfit for divine service, as in a priest could not serve while he was defiled, or as a regular person you would not be able to go to the temple, until you were cleansed.

To the Jews of Jesus day if you ate without washing your hands, or ate certain foods, touched a dead person touched a leper, and many other things you would be defiled and would need to go through a cleansing ritual, and abstain from attendance at the temple for a fixed amount of time before you could be right in God’s eyes again, and return to temple. What is so bad about touching a dead person? If you did for 7 Days you would not be able to go to the temple. That is serious. God never explained it, I think it has to do with symbolism, the OT is about types and shadows, so I think God is trying to teach about things that if we get involved with that can lead to spiritual death, but I’m not not sure.

In speaking specifically about eating certain things (here in Mark), and eating with unwashed hands (Mt 15) Jesus flips the narrative on what the ot law said, and says those things don’t make you defiled. How could Jesus do that? How could He change the law given by God? A. eating with unwashed hands was not a biblical law, but a tradition of the fathers, and B. He could change the law, because He was the God who made the laws. More on that later.

Now to the issue of do foods defile.

PPT 7 text

Mark 7:18 And He *said to them, "Are you so lacking in understanding also? Do you not understand that whatever goes into the man from outside cannot defile him,

Mark 7:19 because it does not go into his heart, but into his stomach, and is eliminated?" (Thus He declared all foods clean.)

First notice, that Jesus makes clear that defilement is a matter of the heart and not the stomach. Every now and then I run into someone who is obsessed that Christians are not supposed to eat pork. When I talk with them there is a part of me that wants to say, “leave my bacon alone!” But, it is important we deal with their faulty theology. Just bc you like bacon doesn’t give you the right to eat it, if God says we shouldn’t, then we shouldn’t. And, in the OT God had said we shouldn’t. How do we resolve this issue? So here is why you can eat pork.

Jesus declared all foods clean. All versions have that last clause except the KJV, but the NKJV has it. It is very important you catch what is going on here, Jesus is turning certain parts of the OT law on its head. Not the moral laws but the ceremonial laws. How could He do that? Because as the scripture says of Him, “I and the Father are one.” (John 10:30)