Mark Chapter 7
The Road of Hearing
Traditions and Commandments (1 - 13)
Did you ever have anyone find fault with you no matter what you did unless you did exactly what they told you to do? It seems that is what happened to Jesus with the Pharisees and Scribes. Once Jesus did not do exactly what they wanted He was a marked man as far as they were concerned. I remember mentioning to you before how they found fault with Him for healing someone on the Sabbath. What took place on this day borders on the ridiculous. We had been out in the heat all day walking through the village listening to Jesus teach and watching Him minister to old and young alike. We stopped at the market to pick up some items for supper as all of us were tired and hungry. Peter picked up a piece of fruit and began to eat it. As fate would have it the Pharisees and Scribes who had just come from Jerusalem saw him do it and seized the moment to go after Jesus. They all came like a flock of chickens that only saw one grain of corn and that grain was Jesus. They were clucking, and strutting like roosters and saying to Jesus that some of His disciples were eating with dirty hands. As a matter of fact their exact words were, "Why do your disciples not walk according to the tradition of the elders, but eat with defiled hands?" Jesus as He often did answered them first with Scripture and said, "Well did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written, this people honor 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." I knew when Jesus took the Scripture which they were supposed to be the teachers and followers of and asked them why they turned Gods word into tradition for their own purpose that there was great trouble ahead. Here is what He said quoting the Scripture from Moses, "Honor you father and mother and whosoever abuses father or mother must surely die." He then took a deep breath and said to them you take a Scripture that is supposed to let you help your father and mother and turn it around by saying we would like to help you but I have dedicated what you need to God so I cannot help you. I, the son you raised and cared for cannot help you in your distress because I am dedicating all I have to God.
What Defiles a Person (14 - 23)
Jesus then in front of the Pharisees and Scribes called all the people to Him and said," Hear me all of you and understand. There is nothing outside of a person going into him that can defile him but it is what comes out of a person that defiles him." When the people had departed and we went into the house some of the disciples asked exactly what He meant. He said to them," are you still not understanding? What goes in a person's stomach is not what defiles but what comes out of his heart they are the things that defile. Things like evil thoughts, sexual immorality, murder, envy, jealousy, slander, pride and theft. He said quite a few others but I must admit that He hit me square in the face when He said, well never mind I would rather not say but I knew that He knew. That night as I prayed I asked God to help me to quit worrying about what others saw of me on the outside and instead to make me pure on the inside.
The Syrophoenician Woman's Faith (24 - 30)
Jesus always had a way of using two things to accomplish His goals in people's lives. Let me explain, I think I was beginning to feel pretty smug about myself. You see I was the only Gentile among this close ring of men that Jesus walked with. Oh yes, wasn't I important being privy to so many things. He had picked me and did not bother a whole lot with other Gentiles. Then it happened, we had entered a house in the region of Tyre and tried not to let anyone know we were there. But we heard a soft knock at the door and the disciples and I tried to ignore it as we were all very tired. Jesus who never tired of ministering to others went to the door Himself. There was Gentile woman standing there but as soon as she saw it was Jesus she fell at His feet and grabbed Him by the legs. She began sobbing uncontrollably and though it was hard to make out what she was saying this is what I heard. She told Jesus that her daughter was possessed by a demon, to which Jesus responded," Let the children be fed first, for it is not right to the take the children's bread and throw it to the dogs." We all nodded in agreement for Jesus had said He had come to the lost sheep of Israel not to the Gentiles. Shamefully even though I was a Gentile I joined right in with their agreement after all was I not special. We waited for her to get up and leave but she just clung that much tighter to Jesus and then she looked up at Him and in a soft voice said, "Yes Lord, yet even the dogs under the table eat the children's crumbs. Jesus with a look of compassion on His face and a voice full of love said, "For this statement you may go your way; the demon has left your daughter." Then He turned and looked at us in that way that He had. The way in which He never had to say a word only look at us and we knew again that He was teaching us the way of God's love and that we had a long way to go. Again His words came to my mind for it is with the heart that man is made righteous not ceremonial law. I later heard that when she got home she found her daughter lying peacefully on her bed.
Jesus Heals a Deaf Man (31 - 37)
We had returned from Tyre and were in the region of Decapolis near the Sea of Galilee. The day was sweltering hot and we were tired and grumpy when we saw a small crowd approaching. They were half walking and half dragging a man to Jesus. When they got up to us they began imploring Jesus to heal the man as he was deaf and could not speak properly. Jesus did something that I had not seen Him do before. He stuck His fingers in the man's ears and after spitting touched his tongue. He then looked up to Heaven and said, "Be opened". The man then began to speak plainly and could hear every word we said to Him. Jesus then told him to tell no one but it seems the more He told people not to tell the more they told. Needless to say all were astonished at this and proclaimed that He even makes the deaf to hear and the mute to speak. Later I wondered why He did not just say be healed to the man and why He looked up to heaven. I have my theories but never did get a chance to ask Him. I think He looked up to Heaven just to honor God the creator of ears, eyes, tongue and everything. I know that after I began to think on this I began to realize that even the air I breathe is borrowed from God. After watching Jesus do that I began to thank God for the small things as well as the big ones. As for sticking His fingers in the man's ears and spitting on his tongue perhaps it was just for all to see and know that God was interested in touching everyone's life if we would just let Him. Perhaps just to let us remember that our ears were made to hear His voice in nature and our tongue was made to praise Him. That night I prayed open my eyes Lord that I might see you and know you even more now that Jesus my friend introduced me to you.