The CROSSroads: Personal Lessons from Mark's Gospel by Rev. Mitch Schultz

Updated
2001-05-26; 14:34:19utc

Lesson Twenty Six: EFFECTIVE HEARTWASHING (Mark 7:1-23)

"They worship me in vain" (vs.7)

When my wife Elaine spent her two months in the hospital following her surgery she lived approximately five of those weeks in isolation due to an infection she had contracted. The rules for visiting were strict and had to be adhered to by family, friends, nurses and doctors. It became a common ritual during those weeks to stop at the entrance of the door, tear off and put on a paper apron, and wash my hands vigorously with disinfectant soap. Only when the ritual met the satisfaction of the nurse in charge could I enter. The ceremony had to be repeated again with similar care upon our departure.

Imagine if we invested similar diligence in keeping our hearts pure. The religious leaders of Israel had convinced the people that purity of heart could only be achieved through outward ceremony. The ritual of washing hands "pots, pitchers and kettles" for some became an obsession. Jesus observed that this tradition of ceremonial washing completely ignored the need for spiritual cleansing. "These people honor me with their lips but their hearts are far from me. They worship me in vain." (vs.6-7). There existed here a clash between the teaching of men, satisfied merely with outward ceremony, and the command of God who demands absolute purity of the heart first then outward purity. Ceremonial washing or any other outward discipline for that matter never came close to reaching the issues of the heart. The best it did was made sure a person had clean hands. While many there were satisfied with clean hands, Jesus was concerned with their filthy hearts first and foremost. "For from within, out of men's hearts come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, and folly. All these evils come from inside and make a man unclean." (vs.22-23)

While most of us are not guilty of obsessive hand washing, there is a hope among many that outward activities can serve as cleaning agents for the heart. While God does require clean hands from us (see Psalm 24:2) it must begin with the heart. When the washing agent of the blood of Jesus makes our hearts clean, only then are the hands and all outward activities declared clean. Here is where you can begin today. "Let us draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water." (Heb. 10:22)

God takes notice of clean hands, not full hands. -Latin Proverb

Why did God abolish the law? Its standards reflected his righteousness, but the law as a system was replaced because it was powerless. It could not bring us what we desperately need—righteousness. -Erwin W. Lutzer