He Wants Your Heart

He Wants Your Heart
September 1st, 2024

Mark 7:1-13

Now when the Pharisees gathered to him, with some of the scribes who had come from Jerusalem, they saw that some of his disciples ate with hands that were defiled, that is, unwashed. (For the Pharisees and all the Jews do not eat unless they wash their hands properly, holding to the tradition of the elders, and when they come from the marketplace, they do not eat unless they wash. And there are many other traditions that they observe, such as the washing of cups and pots and copper vessels and dining couches.) And the Pharisees and the scribes asked him, “Why do your disciples not walk according to the tradition of the elders, but eat with defiled hands?” And he said to them, “Well did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written, “ ‘This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me; in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’ You leave the commandment of God and hold to the tradition of men.” And he said to them, “You have a fine way of rejecting the commandment of God in order to establish your tradition! For Moses said, ‘Honor your father and your mother’; and, ‘Whoever reviles father or mother must surely die.’ But you say, ‘If a man tells his father or his mother, “Whatever you would have gained from me is Corban” ’ (that is, given to God)— then you no longer permit him to do anything for his father or mother, thus making void the word of God by your tradition that you have handed down. And many such things you do.”

 Main Idea: God isn’t interested in your self-righteous acts of outward religiosity;He is interested in your heart.

I. The Pharisees only saw what they wanted to see.

This is called “confirmation bias”.  Confirmation bias can be quite powerful, convincing people that they were right about something all along. Let me give you a couple examples: one athlete has a terrible first week at practice, while another has the best week he has ever had.  The coaches will often favor the first athlete, and presuppose the second will make mistakes and begin looking for them… How about the advent of fake news?  Fake news preys on this very thing – telling people what they want to see and what they are looking for…

Mark 7:1-2
Now when the Pharisees gathered to him, with some of the scribes who had come from Jerusalem, they saw that some of his disciples ate with hands that were defiled, that is, unwashed.

A. So far, Jesus had healed the sick, healed the lame, caused the blind to see and the deaf to hear. He had walked on water, fed thousands of people with a few fish and loaves, He has cast out demons and taught with authority – yet the Pharisees notice His disciples not washing their hands.
B. They saw what they were looking for and missed the chance of a lifetime.
C. This is actually a danger for all of us. Of course, it can be an issue with things like politics – where we end up with echo chambers and only go to sources who agree with us.  When that happens, we risk missing out on what’s important.  
D. But more importantly, it can affect the way we understand different doctrinal issues.  One popular mistake some people make deals with the prosperity doctrine – if you take some verses out of context, you can see whatever you want!
E. God is truth, so we have nothing to fear in terms of remaining intellectually honest.

II. The Pharisees concerned themselves with outward appearance and their own version of right and wrong.

Mark 7:3-8
(For the Pharisees and all the Jews do not eat unless they wash their hands properly, holding to the tradition of the elders, and when they come from the marketplace, they do not eat unless they wash. And there are many other traditions that they observe, such as the washing of cups and pots and copper vessels and dining couches.) And the Pharisees and the scribes asked him, “Why do your disciples not walk according to the tradition of the elders, but eat with defiled hands?” And he said to them, “Well did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written, “ ‘This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me; in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men. You leave the commandment of God and hold to the tradition of men.”

A. The Pharisees confuse legalism for spiritual maturity. This is the same mistake many make in the Church today.
B. Legalism tends to notice the faults of others around them, while the mature recognizes his own faults.

-Luke 18:10-14 - “Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee, standing by himself, prayed thus: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I get.’ But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner!’ I tell you, this man went down to his house justified, rather than the other. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”

C. Legalism focuses on the outward acts of religiosity, while maturity concerns himself with the inner man.

-Matthew 23:25-28 - “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you clean the outside of the cup and the plate, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence. You blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and the plate, that the outside also may be clean. “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs, which outwardly appear beautiful, but within are full of dead people’s bones and all uncleanness. So you also outwardly appear righteous to others, but within you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.

D. Are we at risk of making the same mistakes as the Pharisees here?  I believe we are.
E. If we are more concerned with our outfits on Sunday than our hearts the rest of the week, we are like the Pharisees.
F. If we are more concerned with the Pastor’s haircut than the message he is preaching, we are like the Pharisees.
G. We must pursue maturity and holiness in our own lives. 

Main Idea: God isn’t interested in your self-righteous acts of outward religiosity; He is interested in your heart.

III. In their zeal to be religious, the Pharisees elevated their own laws over the Law of God.

Mark 7:9-13
And he said to them, “You have a fine way of rejecting the commandment of God in order to establish your tradition! For Moses said, ‘Honor your father and your mother’; and, ‘Whoever reviles father or mother must surely die.’ But you say, ‘If a man tells his father or his mother, “Whatever you would have gained from me is Corban” ’ (that is, given to God)— then you no longer permit him to do anything for his father or mother, thus making void the word of God by your tradition that you have handed down. And many such things you do.”

A. The Pharisees knew the OT well, but they ended up favoring the Talmud over the OT…
B. The laws of the Pharisees had gotten in the way of obedience to God’s law.
C. We can make the same mistakes if we are not careful. What’s important to God must be important to us.
D. I’m not suggesting that we allow sin to run wild in our society, but I am suggesting that we don’t need to add to the laws of God.  He doesn’t need our help in that way.

Main Idea: God isn’t interested in your self-righteous acts of outward religiosity; He is interested in your heart.

IV. It’s about your heart.

“Obedience is doing what you were told to do, when you were told to do it, with the right HEART attitude.”

Mark 7:14-23
And he called the people to him again and said to them, “Hear me, all of you, and understand: There 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.” And when he had entered the house and left the people, his disciples asked him about the parable. And 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, since it enters not his heart but his stomach, and is expelled?” (Thus he declared all foods clean.) And he said, “What comes out of a person is what defiles him. For from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, coveting, wickedness, deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride, foolishness. All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person.”

A. Jesus takes the matter of the heart a step further, He declares all food clean…
B. The right diet won’t make you more mature. I’ve seen far too many Christians take on the yoke of the Law…
C. Again, it comes down to what is in the heart of man. Jesus gives us tons of clarity in Mark 12:

-Mark 12:28-31 - And one of the scribes came up and heard them disputing with one another, and seeing that he answered them well, asked him, “Which commandment is the most important of all?” Jesus answered, “The most important is, ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.”

D. So, what is in your heart? Have you unintentionally become like a Pharisee?
 

Conclusion: Be a church that grows in her knowledge – but as we grow in knowledge, we must be careful to veer off and become legalistic. If more knowledge isn’t coming with more of the fruits of the Spirit (love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control) then you are likely on the wrong track.

 Challenge:

• Read – Galatians 5:16-26 – Reflect on what you read – Respond in prayer – Rest in the truth.