The Ministry, Message, and Messiah in the Book of Mark Week 17:
"The Outside is a Direct Reflection of the Inside"
(Mark 7:14-23)
Crossroads Community Church
Rev. Ricky A. Rohrig Sr., Founding Pastor
How many of you have been sick? All of us right! Think about how it happens, it is something on the inside that is going on to alert us. Our body is so complex and advanced that we have warning systems. It is in those times that it alerts our mind that hey something is not right here. The inside of our body alerts our external by various forms. That’s how our physical body works; but you know what? That is how our spiritual body operates as well. Would do I mean? Think about what happens when we come to a spiritual crossroads in life? When we visibly face a situation on the “outside” we have the Holy Spirit on the inside of us that gives us warning signs when something is wrong. That’s why Paul tells the Romans in Romans 12:9
9 Let love be without dissimulation. Abhor that which is evil; cleave to that which is good. Dissimulation means sincere without hypocrisy. Abhor means to dislike, to literally detesting that which is evil, sin. Cleave to which is good. Cling to it, hold onto it with all your might, power, and strength. That’s our spiritual warning system! God wants us to refrain from the evil one, who plants seeds of doubt, makes you ponder and tries to justify why doing right is okay, and pushes you in a direction to sin. Through the Holy Spirit we have the awesome ability not only to recognize sin, but to refrain from it, run from it and to Him!
As we continue in our series: The Ministry, Message, and Messiah in the Book of Mark” I am going to teach and minister from this thought today, “The Outside is a Direct Reflection of the Inside!” Turn to your neighbor and say neighbor, The Outside is a Direct Reflection of the Inside, now turn to your other neighbor and say neighbor, The Outside is a Direct Reflection of the Inside. Now let’s say it all together, The Outside is a Direct Reflection of the Inside!
Please open your Bibles, smart phones, or tablets to Mark 7:14-23. Let us stand in reverence for the reading of God’s Holy word.
Mark 7:14-23
14 And when he had called all the people unto him, he said unto them, Hearken unto me every one of you, and understand:
15 There is nothing from without a man, that entering into him can defile him: but the things which come out of him, those are they that defile the man.
16 If any man have ears to hear, let him hear.
17 And when he was entered into the house from the people, his disciples asked him concerning the parable.
18 And he saith unto them, Are ye so without understanding also? Do ye not perceive, that whatsoever thing from without entereth into the man, it cannot defile him;
19 Because it entereth not into his heart, but into the belly, and goeth out into the draught, purging all meats?
20 And he said, That which cometh out of the man, that defileth the man.
21 For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders,
22 Thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lasciviousness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness:
23 All these evil things come from within, and defile the man.
Two weeks ago in our series Jesus was rebuking the scribes and Pharisees for the tradition of men and being ritualistic and religious. They were so concerned about themselves that they took their focus off of God. Does that sound like anyone you know?
1. The Call by Jesus – Mark 7:14-16
Jesus is calling the people’s attention to him because he has something to say. Most likely he is addressing three groups in these passages:
• The Pharisees and scribes
• The people or the crowd
• Eventually the disciples
Jesus is illustrating that the things that defile you, so let’s dig a little deeper on that particular word, because this sets the tone and foundation for things to come:
(7:15) The word “defile” is again koinoo (??????) as in verse 2. The word koinos (??????), the noun form, refers to that which is common to everybody. In later Greek it came to mean what it means here, the profane as contrasted to the hallowed or sacred. “Profane” is used in the sense of secular, non-religious. When our Lord spoke of that which enters a man, He was speaking here of food. That does not make a man ceremonially unclean, even though he eat it with ceremonially unwashed hands. When He spoke of that which comes out of a man which defiles him, He was referring to the extra-biblical teachings of the Pharisees which defiled them in the sense that these teachers were, by their teachings which were in direct opposition to God’s Word, constituted false teachers, thus, not hallowed or set apart for God.
15. Nothing from without a man—that is, nothing physical—can defile him morally or spiritually. In the case under discussion (v. 2), eating with unwashed hands cannot product spiritual uncleanness. Such defilement is internal in origin. A man is defiled by thoughts that originate in the heart and come out in the forms of words or actions. Herein Jesus explained the spiritual significance of the laws of the clean and unclean (Lev 11). One of the reasons why they were given was to teach this very truth of spiritual defilement, but these Jewish leaders never got beyond the mere externals.
16 If any man have ears to hear, let him hear.
• In the parallel scripture in Matthew we find Jesus uttering these words for the first of 15 times telling people to listen up, what I am about to say is important, essential, and will encourage and hopefully enlighten you!
2. The Concern of the disciples
Notice how Jesus’ focus switches from the crowd to his disciples. Most likely they would have been Capernaum and residing at Peter’s house.
• It is amazing to me that they lived life with Jesus on mission and they didn’t get it
• Jesus had to not only explain but differentiate and contrast two things here
o Food that enters into your body that does not defile you and
o Sins that planted in your head and penetrate your heart which if acted upon can defile you
• It’s not the things going in you Jesus is saying you should be concerned about, it is the things that are coming out
o Your internal thoughts turn into your external words and deeds
• The food that goes in has a system of purging or cleaning itself, what goes in must come out
That it is important to guard your mind. Paul; talks about the weapons of spiritual warfare, the armour of God a comparison to a Roman soldier’s battle gear
• The helmet of salvation – a helmet protects a person in battle, just likein spiritual warfare our head needs to be protected by the things that the enemy wants to plant in your mind that aren’t from God, for God, or by God
• Second, we need to put in our mind the word of God so we can differentiate what is of God and what is not
• Third, it is by reading the word of God that are understanding of Him begins to make sense and we realize and rationalize that we need Jesus as our Lord and Savior and therefore become saved and hence have the helmet of salvation
The breastplate of righoutensess that Paul talks about would protect Roman soldiers main internal organs including his heart
• That is why it is important for believers to protect their heart because the enemy wants to plant the seed in your mind and if it is not grounded in the word of God, he will disguise sin as truth and you will start to believe it in your head, receive it in your heart, and act upon it in your body
3. Our Concern – Mark 7:21-23
There are 13 evil signs that defile a man
21 For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders,
22 Thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lasciviousness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness:
23 All these evil things come from within, and defile the man.
Notice all these come from within!
4. Defilement leads to destruction and death – Galatians 5:19-21
The list becomes even more inclusive in Galatians 5:19-21
Galatians 5:19-21
19 Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness,
20 Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies,
21 Envying’s, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.
Explain…
Practical application
2 Corinthians 7:1
1 Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.
So what do we need to do if we are sinning or in a state of continual sin:
• Refrain from sin
• Repent from it
• Return to God
Moment of decision
You may look good to others on the outside. You may have others fooled by saying everything is alright, but on the inside you know you are not right with God. You can fool others and try to fool yourself. If you’re honest with yourself you do a pretty good job at it. Looking one way to others on the outside, but on the inside living a lie or a different life. You can fool man and maybe even yourself at times, but you cannot fool God. He knows all, sees all, and desires all from you!
So as we come to our moment of decision I ask you these questions:
• Is there unanswered sin in your life you need to deal with?
• Is there unaccounted sin in your life that you need to be accountable for?
Life isn’t about us, it’s about God; loving Him, living for Him, and leading others to Him!
Maybe today is the day that you go all in for Jesus, no more going through the motions, no more half stepping it, no more when its convenient for me, but today is the day you fully surrender all that you are, all that you have, and all that you want and need and want to become in Him, today is the day.
Why? Because it all starts and ends with Jesus!
