Mark 7 (substance disclosed)

One of the things I have learned about the CMS experiment is that I should write the outlines in pencil. Sometimes I get very myopic the longer I work on a particular chapter outline. So that when I step back to think about remembering the outline and how it all fits together, I wonder if this particular set of descriptors will endure.

Well, if you haven't guessed from my intro, this was one of those chapters. After I looked over my CMS in prep for doing this post, I took another couple days to re-think it. And re-think it I did. I like the outline better, but I like the chapter title worse. It's ok. I'll get there.

The Chapter Title for Mark 7 is (for now): Substance Disclosed (starts with an 's', second word starts with 'd'; which is how the outline worked out, too)

The Chapter Outline for Mark 7 is:

• Substitute dead traditions
  
• Sin defiles from within
  
• Syrophoenician "dog's" faith
  
• Speech and deafness healed
  

The key verse for Mark 7 is:

Mark 7:6 (ESV)
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;

Brief Commentary

Substitute dead traditions
The Pharisees belie their own problem; they call these practices 'traditions of the elders'

What is the place of 'traditions' in this sense? Are these the same as 'bylaws', or 'church constitutions'. Or does it extend to unwritten practices in the church?
It probably could have a very broad application to any practice, personal or institutional, that usurps authority and primacy of the Scriptures.

In these passages we see the trap of religion. Religion is (in my own words) based upon what people can do to advance their own spirituality (at least in their own minds). Religion is made up of rules and requirements that drive the process of spiritual standing with God; e.g. if I do something religious, then I am more spiritual. It is the heart of legalism.

These Pharisees (the most devout-acting individuals of the day; very 'spiritual' in appearance) think they have trapped Jesus because of certain unbecoming behavior displayed by His disciples. They didn't wash their hands before they ate. I would consider this particular tradition to be very helpful and important (hygienically speaking). There is nothing wrong with washing your hands before you eat. Jesus did not even argue the validity of the rule itself.

What He does is discloses the substance of their objection; they are 'teaching as doctrines the commandments of men' (7). They have placed their own rules ahead of even the Scriptures. They are hypocrites and idolaters.

Jesus then uses an example from their own traditions to exhibit His point. One of the traditions of the Pharisees was to declare something (money, possession) 'Corban'. This means that it is forever dedicated to the service of the Lord and cannot be given to any other person. Although, the catch is that the money or item can continue to be used by the owner himself. This was apparently abused in relationship to caring for one's parents. Individuals would declare something 'Corban' so they could continue using it themselves and not have to use it in support of aging parents. So by following their tradition, they are breaking a commandment.

I can't find a commentary to back me up :), but it looks like Jesus says (in His gracious way) 'there's more where that came from; you want to go on?' We tease the disciples for being slow to learn, but the Pharisees were worse. They continued to challenge Jesus even after He totally crushes them time after time. This time, He disclosed the substance behind the traditions they had substituted for God and His Word.


Sin defiles from within
Jesus continues to preach the truth and disclose the substance of the issue. The Pharisees had it backwards; they thought that religious behavior (avoiding certain things, keeping the rules and traditions, restricting their diets, etc) kept them free from sin. But Jesus turns them on their head. "It's not the stuff that we see 'go in' that defiles you, it is what comes out of your heart'. It is possible to display acceptable behavior but have a defiled and idolatrous heart.

In His explanation to His disciples, He goes even farther with the example of food. "What you eat goes to your stomach and then out. It's not about the food. It's more about your deepest desires. Food in itself is not a sin. Sin comes from your heart and has many faces..." Then Jesus starts a list.

But this is not a list given to us so we can simply avoid these things and then be ok. He prevents this interpretation with His very first example; evil thoughts. 'Ever have an evil thought?' Sin. There's more, but the point is made.

Jesus is making a priority statement here. He is more concerned about the hearts and eternal condition of people than He is about how well they follow rules. There are rules, and He will work on that with them. But the Pharisees thought that 'the way in' was through the rules. Jesus discloses the substance of the sin that defiles from within.


Syrophoenician "dog's" faith
Ok, so I honestly felt a little bad about this outline title at first. I felt weird calling this woman a 'dog'. But Jesus does in this context, so I think I'm safe :) (plus, it fits the outline so well with the 's' and the 'd').

A Gentile woman comes to Jesus because her daughter has a demon. She begs Him to heal her, but His first response is 'what I have come to do is not meant for the dogs'. Huh? But there were several cultural issues here that must be remembered. This woman was a Gentile; Jesus was a Jew. This woman was a....woman, and Jesus was a Man. As a Rabbi, Jesus was restricted from having contact with Gentiles and women. But there she was.

By 'dog', Jesus apparently meant to put His mission into perspective. The Gospel was first for the Jews. But He left a door open by saying that the children should be fed 'first'. So, she didn't leave dejected after Jesus gave His first response. She pressed in with faith. With a full loaf of faith, she asks for a crumb. And Jesus was moved by it. He honors her faith in Him and love for her daughter and grants the request.

Until this moment, I haven' thought of this interaction as prayer. But that's what this woman was doing; praying to Jesus. And she was praying in faith. And Jesus responded in grace. What a precious and powerful thing prayer is. I need to remember that.


Speech and deafness healed
In the last section of chapter 7, we find Jesus showing mercy on a man who was deaf and had a speech impediment. In this case, Jesus took the man aside, put His fingers in his ears, spit, and touched his tongue. Then Mark records that Jesus 'sighed' before He said 'be opened'. And it was done. Then, even though Jesus told them not to, the people zealously proclaimed the work of Jesus in the region.

Although there are several curious things about this interaction, I was most drawn to the 'sigh' of Jesus. But when I dug into it I found 3 different explanations in 3 different commentaries :)

1. It was probably His strong emotion as He battled the satanic powers that enslaved the man
2. It expressed His grief over the suffering that sin brought on mankind
3. It expressed His incredible empathy and compassion toward the needs of this man.
   

The problem is that the text doesn't say. And I'm not smart enough to make a guess. So I leave it at what it says; Jesus looked up to heaven and sighed before healing the man. This is not the key to the 'formula' for healing deaf people. Understanding Jesus' 'sigh' and then recreating it will not somehow empower our prayer. Jesus was fully God and fully Man. He dealt with temptations, problems, stress, anger, frustration, fatigue just like we do. Yet somehow He did it all without sin. Because we do not know why He sighed, the fact that He did reminds me that He was fully dealing with His humanness. And I'm so glad He did.

Hebrews 2:17 (ESV)
Therefore he had to be made like his brothers in every respect, so that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people.

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Hebrews 10

Greetings and grace to you!

Hebrews 10 is much more than the foyer to the Hall of Faith in chapter 11.  In chapter 10 we find compelling descriptions of the differences between the old covenant and the new one.

The outline theme of Hebrews 10 (based on the 'a' of SON IS MEDIATOR) is:

• A shadow of the good things to come (1-18)
  
• Assurance of faith (19-39)
  

 The memory verses are:

• A shadow of the good things to come
  Hebrews 10:1
  " For since the law has but a shadow of the good things to come instead of the true form of these realities, it can never, by the same sacrifices that are continually offered every year, make perfect those who draw near."
  
  
• Assurance of faith
  Hebrews 10:22
  "let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water."
  
  

Brief Commentary
The writer sets up this first main section of Hebrews 10 with the phrase 'A shadow of the good things to come' (conveniently, that's the thematic outline, too).  He then goes on to discuss several things relating to the law that are the 'shadow' and contrasts them with the good things that are to come; the substance (Col 2:17). 

The first, and most lengthy contrast is found in vv1-10.  The sacrifices made under the law are offered continually every year, they use the blood of bulls and goats, and serve as a reminder of sins every year.  The writer points out that if these sacrifices could indeed perfect the worshiper, why must they need to be offered continually?  If these sacrifices worked, the worshipers should be cleansed of a conscience of sin.  But it is clear that they are not.  In fact, that goes against the very nature and purpose of the Law.  But when Christ came, He 'does away with the first in order do establish the second' (9).  Christ's sacrifice was once for all, used His own precious blood, and is able to provide for the sanctification of those who follow Him. 

The second contrast is found in vv11-14.  The priest of the law was required to stand daily at his service to perform his duties; offering the same sacrifices over and over.  As stated above, these sacrifices cannot purify the worshiper nor take away their sins.  But Christ, our High Priest, offered Himself as a sacrifice once for all and 'sat down at the right hand of God'.  This one single offering is able to take away the sins of the worshiper.  But the significant difference in the ministry of the priests of the law and Christ the High Priest is that Jesus sat down.  Standing is a symbol of continued work; their work was never done!  But because Christ's sacrifice was once for all, His work had been fully completed and He sat down.  This is not because He was tired (similar to God 'resting' on the 7th day) but because the debt for sin had been paid and the way of redemption had been opened to all who believe, receive, and follow Him.

The writer's last contrast in this section has to do with a quick review of the New Covenant. The writer quotes Jeremiah 31 while reminding the readers that this new covenant will be written on the hearts and minds of the people (as opposed to the tablets and scrolls of the Old Covenant).  The efficacy of the New Covenant is that God will 'remember their sins and lawless deeds no more' (17, as opposed to being reminded year after year) and that His forgiveness takes away the need for any further offering for sin (18, as opposed to sacrifices being offered year after year). 

The second thematic section of Hebrews 10 begins at verse 19 and is titled 'Assurance of Faith'.  The key verse in this section (and the memory verse) is verse 22.  But before we get to the drawing near and the true and clean hearts and the washed bodies, the writer reminds us what had to come first.  We can only enter the presence of God by the blood of Jesus (19) through the curtain (His flesh)(20) and because of His position (High Priest)(21).  Notice the description of the heart here; we draw near with a true heart that is sprinkled clean.  Under the New Covenant we no longer have an evil heart!

Ezekiel 36:26-27 (ESV)
And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules.

Having been redeemed by the blood of Christ, He then gives us a new heart and a new spirit.  He has taken away the old heart that was deceitful and sinful (Jer 17:9) and given us a good heart in which His Spirit dwells (Eph 3:16-17).  This does not mean, of course, that we stop sinning.  Even with a good and clean heart we still must live from our good hearts by walking in the Spirit and subduing the flesh  (Gal 5:16-17).  We still must battle constantly against our enemies; the flesh, the world, and the devil (Eph 2:1-3).  But we now can do this by the power of Holy Spirit living in and working through our redeemed hearts. 

This power is multiplied when followers of Christ join together as the body of Christ.  Here we find two occurences of the phrase 'one another' (found throughout the NT).  Believers are to stir one another toward love and good works and encourage one another as Christ's return approaches.  The battle against the flesh, the world, and the devil is a life-long fight.  God does not want us to fight it without Him, and He does not want us to fight it with out each other.

The meaning of vv26-27 seems to have been lost in translation.  The obvious difficulty one might find here is that even afer being redeemed and given a new heart, the believer still sins.  So, we either have to dissect what 'sinning deliberately' means (which some people would say is ALL sin) or look to the greater context of Hebrews. Several commentators I have read will give this feel; 'If we hear the truth but reject it and do not repent, there is no other sacrifice for sins available; this is it.  And at the end of rejection of the Gospel is the judgment of God'.  This thought pattern seems to continue into the next example.  The writer reminds the readers that under the law, anyone who rejects the law could be put to death by the testimony of two or three witnesses.  Therefore, how much greater a punishment should be expected for someone who rejects the Gospel by spurning Christ, profaning the blood of the covenant and outraging the Spirit (three witnesses again)?  This seems to indicate rejection of the truth and lack of true faith as opposed to an embracing of the Gospel followed by apostasy.  The writer then wraps up the argument with a reminder that God is soveriegn and will judge people justly.

In one more attempt to encourage the readers, the writer reminds them of their previous sufferings for the Gospel and the hope they held through those times; hope for an eternal possession.  I would summarize this as the writer saying 'hang in there!  He is coming soon.  Live by faith and persevere.  It will be worth it!'


How does this affect my worship?
The daily/monthly/yearly offerings that were done away with by the once-for-all sacrifice of Christ were sin offerings, not offerings of praise.  My praise will continue every moment I take breath.  Later in Hebrews we read that we are to 'continually offer a sacrifice of praise; the fruit of our lips giving thanks to His name' (13:15).  As is the theme in the Psalms, we are to praise Him continually for who He is and what He has done.  Of that material we can never run out.

How does this affect my discipleship?
There is no accounting for time in the discipleship process.  It seems like much of the significant and lasting life-change comes at the cost of time.  But if we hold firm to our confession of faith and our obedience of service, disciple-making brings change.  And it's worth it.  To see, and be a part of, the changed life of a Christ-follower is a truly joyful experience.  Hang in there!  The road is long, but it's worth it.

live by faith,
Ethan