December 31 Daily Discovery
December 31 Daily Discovery
Read Mark Chapter 7
Keeping Yourself Clean
14 And when he had called all the people unto him, he said unto them, Hearken unto me every one of you, and understand:
15 There is nothing from without a man, that entering into him can defile him: but the things which come out of him, those are they that defile the man.
16 If any man have ears to hear, let him hear.
17 And when he was entered into the house from the people, his disciples asked him concerning the parable.
18 And he saith unto them, Are ye so without understanding also? Do ye not perceive, that whatsoever thing from without entereth into the man, it cannot defile him;
19 Because it entereth not into his heart, but into the belly, and goeth out into the draught, purging all meats?
20 And he said, That which cometh out of the man, that defileth the man.
21 For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders,
22 Thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lasciviousness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness:
23 All these evil things come from within, and defile the man.
Mark 7:14-23
Transgression by Tradition
The religious rulers of Israel (Scribes, Pharisees, Sadducees, Elders) had developed additional TRADITIONS that they followed and taught the people to follow that may have been good, but they were not commanded by God.
Jesus rebuked the elders because they would also develop traditions that enabled them to justify NOT following clear teachings of God's Word as well.
The issue that arose was a result of their observing Jesus's disciples eating without washing their hands. Did Jesus want them to eat with filthy hands?
Of course not.
Personal Hygiene
Jesus was not criticizing acts of personal hygiene. The washings that the elders were complaining about were strictly ceremonial and symbolic but they taught that in so doing, spiritual impurity would be cleansed.
If your hands are filthy, wash them before you eat, obviously.
However, there is absolutely NO spiritual value in a cleansing RITUAL of washing before you eat.
Spiritual Hygiene
Jesus taught the truth about defilement and cleansing.
Even if we eat with dirty hands, we will not become defiled by it. Whatever we put in our mouths and eat is going to come out the other end!
It is NOT what goes into our stomachs that defiles us, it is what goes into our hearts.
Things that come from without are not the problem, it is the things that come from within.
We are concerned about how we look on the outside,
and God is concerned about how we are on the inside!
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Do you see any: Commands to Obey, Warnings to Heed, Promises to Claim, Examples to Follow, Vices to Avoid, Praises to Emulate, Prayers to Use, Principles by which to Live, Questions to Ask or Actions to Take?
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