THE GOSPEL OF MARK "Behold My Servant!"

Jesus goes to the heart of the matter            Mark chapter 7vv1-23.

Jesus was against formal religion in which there was no heart for God, only cold externalism.    For Him it had to be deeper than the skin, consequently He always drew criticism from the religious watchdogs, and this is how the chapter opens.   The opposition was from the combined forces of the Pharisees and the scribes from Jerusalem.   The issue was eating bread with unwashed hands.   The washing of hands was deemed necessary at mealtimes and, indeed, desirable to maintain ceremonial cleanliness.   They held influence over the Jewish public, and condemned any who did not follow this tradition of the elders.   It seemed the more popular He became in Galilee, the more opposition from Jerusalem.   The uncleanness referred to here is ceremonial ritual of purification, a practice that had become accepted by all, but which had no mandate from God.   The thinking behind this practice was of defilement in contact with uncircumcised Gentiles or their produce in the market place.   The charge of not walking according to the tradition is the idea of habitual conduct, and therefore Jesus was leading His disciples in contrary ways, rejecting the traditions of the elders.   Jesus replies to their criticism by focusing on the underlying issues;

• PART 1                   The true nature of religious authority           vv. 6-13.
• PART 2                  The true nature of defilement                        vv. 14-23.

Jesus uses the "heart" in these two sections to expose the error of thinking and practice;   In the first He says their heart is far from God (v6), in the second the problem is with the corruption of the heart (v21).   The heart in scripture is not merely the pump which distributes blood to the body, it is the hidden driving force of the inner man, which includes our minds and our desires, and our souls, that which makes us what we are, and causes us to do what we do.   The heart of a human being is all that they are, and is the driving force of our actions.    Peter calls it "the hidden man" 1 Peter 3v4.  According to Vine's dictionary the Greek word "kardia" for heart is used in the new testament as the seat, the centre, the springs of the following:

"Physical life  (Acts 14v17);   Grief (John14v1, Romans 9v2, 2 Corinthians 2v4);   Joy  (John 16v22, Ephesians 5v19);  Desires (Matthew 5v28. 2nd Peter 2v14); The Affections (Luke 24v32, Acts 21v3); The Perceptions (John 12v40, Ephesians 4v18) ; The Thoughts  (Matthew 9v4, Hebrews 4v12); The Understanding (Matthew 13v15, Romans 1v21); The Reasoning Powers (Mark 2v6, Luke 24v38);  The Imagination (Luke 1v51);  The Conscience (Acts 2v37, 1st John 3v20);  The Intentions (Hebrews 4v12, 1st Peter 4v1); Purpose  (Acts 11v23,  2nd Corinthians 9v7); The Will  (Romans 6v17, Colossians 3v15);  Faith (Mark 11v23, Romans 10v10, Hebrews 3v12)".

Thus when the Bible speaks of the heart it is referring to the totality of the being including the emotions, the reason and the will.   The religious leaders were majoring on externals, and, indeed, relative trivialities; Jesus focuses on deep inward issues that were being largely ignored.   Jesus then delivers the most devastating blow to religious trappings;   He says that God is not interested in the sham that is their professed devotion to Himself.

1. Paying "lip service" honour when there is no heart!      The up to date version would be singing the right hymns, saying the right prayers, preaching the right sermons, speaking the right spiritual language, but devoid of any reality.   My late father warned me against what he called "sanctimonious" behaviour....holy sounding trivia with little or no meaning.   Jesus quotes the prophet Isaiah chapter 29v13 "these people draw near to me with their lips but their heart is far from me......"
2. The fallacy of empty worship!       Words are cheap, especially when we approach God, because He knows us through and through.   The wise king Solomon, under inspiration of the Spirit counselled "Keep thy foot when thou goest to the house of God, and be more ready to hear than to offer the sacrifice of fools; for they consider not that they do evil.   Be not rash with thy mouth and let not thine heart be hasty to utter anything before God: for God is in heaven and thou upon earth: therefore let thy words be few..." Ecclesiastes 5vv1-2.   There ascends to God much worship and many words, and much of it is empty.
3. Teaching for doctrines the commandments of men!       The evidence of empty, vain worship, is when men's words are esteemed as having the same authority as God's words.   It is a perversion of worship, because God is higher than all men without a rival and it is to demean Him to place men on the same level.   Many religions, even sections of the so called Christian church, give equal authority to the teachings of men and have the audacity to claim they are speaking for God even when their teaching is contrary to God's.  This bible will not end until it has issued severe warning to all who will tamper with the word of God, whether to add to it or take from it, or pervert the true meaning of the sacred word.
4. God's word versus the traditions of men        There is no neutral ground here, the traditions of men, if contrary to the Divine word, are worthless...."laying aside the commandment of God ye hold the tradition of men...."    We can't have both, the teachings of great men are not on a par with the Divine teacher who needs not any man to teach Him.   "Who hath directed the Spirit of the Lord, or being His counsellor hath taught Him?   With whom took He counsel and who instructed Him, and taught Him the path of judgment, and taught Him knowledge, and shewed Him the way of understanding?"  Isaiah 40vv13-14.   In order to hold (strongly retain) the traditions of men you have laid aside (let slip, discarded) the commandment of God.   Not only have you put men on a par with God, you have exalted them above Him!   Worse still these traditions are trivialities like the ceremonial washing of cups and pots and many other such like non issues, because they have been defiled in contact with Gentiles, hardly the "heart of things". 
5. Actual rejection of God's word       "Full well ye reject the commandment of God that ye may keep your own tradition."     It's as if He says, let's not beat about the bush, this business of partly God's word and partly the traditions of men is just confusion, what is happening is, in plain words, you have rejected God (while claiming to speak for Him).   Note the clear progression......equating men's teaching with doctrine;   giving more prominence to tradition;   rejecting doctrine.   The next step down is to render the word of God powerless, by blinding the people with men's teaching'
6. Making the word of God of none effect        The word of God produces powerful results, but only when conditions are right.   We have already seen in the parable of the sower, the possibility of the hardened heart, the shallow heart, the divided heart, so that the word is choked and produces no fruit.   Here we have the systematic paralysis of the word by religious leaders who have stifled the word by their traditions.   In Isaiah chapter 29v13, the passage from which our Lord quotes, it says "...their fear toward me is taught by the precept of men."    The words of men cannot save us, cannot sanctify us, only the word of God.   When we are merely following men our worship is worthless.   He now gives a classic example and indicates this is just one of many such aberrations.   He refers to the practice of "Corban".   This was a system of giving to the temple treasury a portion of income in the form of a "consecrated gift", which acted like a charity or social security, such that if parents fell on hard times they may benefit, or they would be blessed of God by this sacrifice.   This absolved the people of any further responsibility to their parents, effectively handing over the care of the parents to the Lord....a very subtle way of appearing to honour God's word, while blatantly disobeying the fifth commandment "Honour thy father and thy mother that thy days might be long upon the earth..."      "Thy father, thy mother......";    they are yours, they spent long years rearing you, clothing you , feeding you, nurturing you.....hold them in honour.    A gift to the treasury is not the answer to this command.   You are commanded by God to honour your parents, that means financially, spiritually, and humanely, perhaps in a time of incapacity or illness.   Honour involves much more than providing for need (it involves all of that), it also involves esteem, regard for their role in your life, it means respect.    Paul, in his teachings made it clear what honour meant in 1 Timothy 5v4 "But if any widow have children or grandchildren, let them learn first to shew piety at home and to requite their parents."    It is probably this that is the source of the maxim "charity begins at home."   This is the mind of God for the good functioning of family life.   The religious teachers were encouraging the Corban and not insisting on the Divine meaning of "honour".   This word of God, as with all words of God, were given for the benefit of society, and not just capricious rules.   The substitution of His words for the distortions of men spells disaster for us all, since the God who made us knows best how we should function.   Here is the summary of the Lord on this ungodly practice;   "...ye suffer him no more to do ought for his parents, making the word of God of none effect through your tradition which ye have delivered, and many such like things ye do." Mark 7vv12-13.   Perhaps the religious teachers had an ulterior motive for thus distorting the commandment, for the more funds in the temple treasury, the more they would personally gain.   Is this what Jesus meant when He charged the Scribes with "devouring widow's houses"? in Mark chapter 12v40.   Beware the religious charlatans who will make merchandise of you!!

In matters of the heart, what drives a human being, the very springs of what the person is and what the person does, the authority of God is paramount, and the authority of man subservient.