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by Greg Williamson (c) 2002, 2008, revised & expanded 2010

COPYRIGHT RELATED INFO

UNLESS OTHERWISE NOTED, ALL SCRIPTURE QUOTATIONS

ARE FROM THE New Living Translation.

II. Key Terms

(Greek akathartos) This term is used "for physical, cultic, and moral impurity, which are closely intertwined." [REF] In the Gospels, it is always used in reference to an unclean spirit -- i.e., a demon. Jesus said "there is nothing outside the man which going into him can defile him; but the things which proceed out of the man are what defile the man" (MARK 7:15, NASB). The word defile (Greek koinoō) means, "To make common, unclean, pollute or defile; to pronounce or call common or unclean." [REF] The OT includes a number of rules and regulations (see LEVITICUS 11–15) designed to ensure cleanliness and protect against defilement. The foundation upon which these stipulations stand and the reality to which they point is the holiness of God. [REF] [REF] Anything that detracts from God's own nature is considered unclean and erects a wall of separation between human beings and God.

Through Moses God gave his people, the nation of Israel, a long list of dietary and sanitary regulations. Because the Israelites were imperfect human beings, God also established the means whereby the people could be forgiven and restored if and when they violated those laws. Israel's neighbors also had systems of ritual purity, but only in Israel did the concept of purity extend beyond a special priestly class to every member of society. [REF] Moving from a state of uncleanness to a state of purity involved: 1) a waiting period, 2) a cleansing agent, and 3) a sacrifice. [REF]

This system was designed to teach a number of vitally important truths:

• Imperfect, unholy human beings are by their very nature separated from a perfect, holy God.

• Human beings must be rightly related to God in order to approach him.

• Human beings are by by their very nature unable to do what is required to get to God.

• God graciously provides a way whereby imperfect, unclean people can be made clean and thus fit for entering into a right relationship with him.

• The cleansing God offers is available only to those willing to humbly submit to God's will.

The NT Gospels reaffirm all these truths and reveal that Jesus Christ is God's final and complete way of making people fit for himself. Jesus' first public miracle was to turn water set aside for ceremonial washing into wine meant for celebration. This act signals a transition from the OT rules and regulations to a new and better way of being made right with God. [REF] This way becomes obvious as we see Jesus calling people to: 1) acknowledge the sins which make them unclean and thus unable to accept the pure love of a pure God, 2) turn from those sins, and 3) embrace the forgiveness and new life God offers through personal faith in Jesus Christ. As the remainder of the NT reveals, it then becomes a matter of continually reclaiming our new identity in Christ and always aiming for the moral standards to which God calls us. Those standards are very high indeed, and yet God gives us more than enough power, strength and determination to attain them -- if only we will choose to do things his way and not according to the plethora of ways proffered by the world.

Serving and obeying God begins with gratefully acknowledging and accepting the cleansing he offers. In an imperfect, unclean world, our new life in Christ is but a taste of what awaits us when all of creation is finally and fully restored to its original pristine perfection. Then all that is unclean will have been made clean, "thanks to the cleansing brought about for the entire creation by the sacrifice of Christ (REVELATION 21:26, 27; 22:14, 15)." [REF]

Although this word (Greek kardia) rightly refers to the blood-pumping organ which keeps us alive, it primarily serves as a metaphor for both the material and immaterial nature of human beings. Regarding the latter, it denotes "the centre and seat of spiritual life, the soul or mind, as it is the fountain and seat of the thoughts, passions, desires, appetites, affections, purposes, endeavors," and hence involves understanding, intelligence, will, and character. [REF] In other words, all "those dynamic forces that make us unique individuals." [REF] Its OT equivalent embraces all three areas of our personality: emotion, thought, and will -- making it "the richest biblical term for the totality of man's inner or immaterial nature." [REF]  

In the OT we learn that it was because of the pervasive evil of the human heart that God felt such remorse (literally "he was hurt to his heart") that he brought the Flood. We then witness the hardening of Pharaoh's heart, which involved three stages: first, God predicted the hardening; second, Pharaoh hardened his heart; third, God hardened Pharaoh's heart. Here we see a balance between human freedom and God's control. [REF]

Later we see the prophet Isaiah predicting the hardening of the people's hearts because of their negative response to God's word. In return, the entire nation will be judged so that they can be purified and enjoy a better future. As Jeremiah foretold, this would involve a new covenant in which God would write his laws on the people's heart (JEREMIAH 31:33). In an unprecedented oath reflective of God's love and faithfulness, God promised: 'I will ... faithfully plant them in this land with all My heart and with all My soul" (JEREMIAH 32:41). [REF]

By nature our hearts are hard and resistant to God. Hence the Bible's teaching that "the right attitude of heart begins with its being broken or crushed (PSALMS 51:17)." [REF] And Jesus taught that the greatest commandment involved loving God with our entire heart, mind, soul and strength. Some interpret this to mean: "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart -- that is with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength." [REF]

(Greek Pharisaios). The Pharisees were one of three major religious sects within Judaism at the time of Christ (the other two being the Sadducees and the Essenes). The Pharisees first appeared in the second century B.C. [REF]

The Pharisees were born out of a resistance to foreign rule and a call to purity in everyday living. They, along with the teachers of the Law and the scribes, sought to apply ancient laws to contemporary life. What their critics objected to, however, was the Pharisees' practice of "putting fences around the Law" (via oral tradition) which in the end made Pharisaic opinion the virtual equivalent of the Law and hence automatically immune from criticism. [REF]

By the time Jesus came on the scene, the Pharisees were known and respected by the masses as men wholly devoted to the Law. Why then did Jesus direct his most scathing criticism toward them? Because they had twisted true religion until it had become a matter of externals. The difference between true religion based on a real and personal relationship with God and false religion based on externals is like the difference between seeing Jesus as the light of the world and trying to be made right with God by lighting candles. It's as if the Pharisees not only lit candles, they had long lists of precise rules for where, when and how to light candles. They had, as it were, a candle rule for every conceivable situation, whether day or night, rain or shine, inside or outdoors, etc. And of course, since they made the rules, theirs was the final word. Rather than illumine their hearts, however, the light from all those candles actually served to blind their minds. Thus they were incapable of recognizing Jesus as God's true light.

In the end, the spiritual pride and self-delusion of the Pharisees led both them and the majority of Israel to reject Jesus. Most of the people who did recognize and accept Jesus came from the lower ranks of society, the ones not coincidentally beyond the influence -- and concern -- of the Pharisees.

TO MARK 7 >>

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