Joel M Bradshaw

14And he called the people to him again and said to them, “Hear me, all of you, and understand:15There is nothing outside a person that by going into him can defile him, but the things that come out of a person are what defile him.” 17And when he had entered the house and left the people, his disciples asked him about the parable. 18And he said to them, “Then are you also without understanding? Do you not see that whatever goes into a person from outside cannot defile him,19since it enters not his heart but his stomach, and is expelled?” (Thus he declared all foods clean.)20And he said, “What comes out of a person is what defiles him. 21For from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, 22coveting, wickedness, deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride, foolishness. 23All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person.”–Mark 7

The Pharisees had been throwing a fit that Jesus’ disciples weren’t holding to traditions regarding matters of the outside person. People could see you washing your hands or dishes regarding a meal. Others could notice if you ate forbidden food. You could therefore appear to be holy simply by what others see. But Jesus went right to the heart. There is a whole inner person within you that you don’t make public. You harbor thoughts and feelings. You maintain self-talk within you. A man or woman seeking to maintain sexual purity, for example, can make great changes regarding their outside practices and still be a person raging with sinful decisions within them.

1. Your inside affects your outside.
2. Your inside is more serious, because you can hide it.
3. Your inside leads to hypocrisy, because nobody can see your struggle.
4. Your inside must be your constant place of diligence and intentionality in your daily battle against your sin.
5. Your inside either honors God or it does not.
6. Your outside will become a reflection of your inside.
7. God sees and knows the hidden, inside you.

Sobering words of Jesus this morning. This is everyone’s biggest issue, including me.–JMB