4 Hearts Of Stone And Handwashing Series

Mark 7:1-8 Easy-to-Read Version (ERV)

7 Some Pharisees and some teachers of the law came from Jerusalem and gathered around Jesus. 2 They saw that some of his followers ate food with hands that were not clean, meaning that they did not wash their hands in a special way. 3 The Pharisees and all the other Jews never eat before washing their hands in this special way. They do this to follow the traditions they have from their great leaders who lived long ago. 4 And when these Jews buy something in the market, they never eat it until they wash it in a special way. They also follow other rules from their people who lived before them. They follow rules like the washing of cups, pitchers, and pots.[a]

5 The Pharisees and teachers of the law said to Jesus, “Your followers don’t follow the traditions we have from our great leaders who lived long ago. They eat their food with hands that are not clean. Why do they do this?”

6 Jesus answered, “You are all hypocrites. Isaiah was right when he wrote these words from God about you:

‘These people honor me with their words,

but I am not really important to them.

7 Their worship of me is worthless.

The things they teach are only human rules.’

8 You have stopped following God’s commands, preferring instead the man-made rules you got from others.”

Luke 11:37-41 Easy-to-Read Version (ERV)

37 After Jesus had finished speaking, a Pharisee asked Jesus to eat with him. So he went and took a place at the table. 38 But the Pharisee was surprised when he saw that Jesus did not wash his hands[a] first before the meal. 39 The Lord said to him, “The washing you Pharisees do is like cleaning only the outside of a cup or a dish. But what is inside you? You want only to cheat and hurt people. 40 You are foolish! The same one who made what is outside also made what is inside. 41 So pay attention to what is inside. Give to the people who need help. Then you will be fully clean.

As we continue our series on the Stones of Lent, I want each of you to consider our focus for today. Hearts of Stone. This is how the Pharisees acted in their religiosity. They followed every tiny part of the Law, creating new ones in the process.

Over the last few days, we have been reminded that we need to wash our hands often. We need to maintain social distance. We need to be careful and stay home if we are sick.

And there are many videos online that are happy to teach us the right way to wash our hands.

I even found a wonderful list of songs online for kids where the song itself reminds them how to wash their hands. I shared a few of them today with our kids. (Link to possible choices after sermon)

But washing our hands is neither the beginning nor the ending of the process.

There are three things that we are being told at the moment.

Wash our hands, often.

Practice Social Distancing.

Stay home if you are sick.

I would like to address them in the context of what Jesus had to say, because I think that these things are important.

First of all, on washing hands.

Jesus wasn’t opposed to washing your hands before you eat. He was opposed to worrying more about what was on the outside than what was on the inside. He said that what comes out of a person shows what is inside.

We can wash our hands constantly, and we can avoid getting sick as a result. But Jesus would ask us if we were already sick inside before we washed our hands.

There are many things that will cause our hearts to be unhealthy. But we often speak here about the two commandments that Jesus called us to follow. Love the Lord our God with all of our hearts, soul, and might, and Love our neighbor as ourself.

In this passage Jesus nails the Pharisees and tells them they need to give to the poor, something that is a common theme in his discussions. You see, the Pharisees were so busy following the law that they were missing the most important thing. They were failing to love.

They followed God out of a sense of obligation.

And while they might give money to the church if people were watching, it was all about show. They did not care for the poor or those in need.

Their hearts had turned to stone.

The second thing that they are talking about is social distancing.

Since I started my sermon in the middle of the week, we have seen a great deal about social distancing. We have seen events canceled. We have seen schools closed. We have seen our society turned upside down.