Cleanliness Is Next To Godliness Series

Today, we know there are invisible germs, so it’s important to wash your hands before you eat because you don’t want to get germs on your food and into your mouth. Jesus’ disciples’ hands weren’t dirty; they just didn’t observe the “tradition” of washing their hands in a ceremonial fashion, so the religious leaders were appalled. Notice:

1. The conviction of the Jews: Cleanliness IS godliness!

God taught the Jews that cleanliness was a means to holiness and godliness. But the Jews took it to the extreme until these regulations became the end of godliness instead of one of the way to holiness. They didn’t throw the baby out with the bath water; they climbed in the bath and kicked the baby out! They mistook physical cleanliness with holiness. To them cleanliness was not next to godliness–it was godliness! That’s why we see:

2. The correction of Jesus:

Jesus was extremely disturbed that the Jews substituted all these rules and traditions for God’s Word. In Mark 7: 6 He described these hyper-religious clean-freaks this way, “These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. They worship me in vain; their teachings are but rules taught by men.” That’s the definition of a tradition: “a rule taught by man.” Some traditions are good because they don’t violate scripture. But when we elevate a manmade rule above God’s word, then we are guilty of what Jesus said in verse 13. He said, “Thus you nullify the Word of God by your tradition that you have handed down. And you do many things like that.” Then in verse 14, He gets to the heart of the matter. He said, “Listen to me, everyone, and understand this. Nothing outside a man can make him ‘unclean’ by going into him. Rather, it is what comes out of a man that makes him unclean.” This was revolutionary! Jesus taught the real problem with have is a dirty heart, not dirty hands. In verse 21 He explained it more clearly: “For from within, out of men’s hearts, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance and folly. All these evils come from inside and make a man “unclean.” That’s the problem with most religion–it focuses on cleaning up the exterior of a person without really touching their heart.

3. The creed of false religion: Appearance and performance is better than knowing God

The Jewish leaders thought they were cleaner than Jesus and His disciples because they washed their hands a certain way before they touched food. It made them feel good about themselves and better than others. Religious ritual allows you feel good about yourself and better than others. That’s what false religion does–it appeals to the flesh. It gives one a sense of outer respectability and seldom addresses matters of the heart. Every religion has its rituals.

I’ve been in the Middle East when the Muslim call to prayer is issued and the men stop their activity and face Mecca and recite their memorized prayer–it makes them feel good about themselves–they call the rest of us infidels. But does it change their lives to live in peace and to love others? I’ve been on a 747 over the mid-Atlantic when Orthodox Jewish men wearing all black crowded into the back of the airplane to be nearer Jerusalem. They tied on their phylacteries and bobbed up and down reading the Torah. But does it make them love all their neighbors? I’ve been in churches where people make signs with their hands and repeat certain words and eat a wafer and they’re set for another week–but does it clean their hearts?