17 July, 2016

Introduction:

Jesus can make unclean hearts clean!

Mark 7:1-23

Friends, there is a famous saying in English about food that goes like this: You are, what you eat! You
are, what you eat. In other words, what you eat, will affect who you are or what goes into your mouth
will change who you are. So for example; if you eat a lot of chocolate - then it will make you fat, but if
you eat a lot of celery sticks it will make you healthy, & if you eat lots of vegemite then it will make you an
Australian, youll be a real Aussie because only Australians can handle the taste of vegemite. You see,
You are, what you eat. Eat healthy food & you will be healthy; eat KFC too often- you will be unhealthy.
Now 2000 years ago I think the Pharisees would have agreed with this modern saying. You see, 2000
years ago the teachers of Gods law were very strict about washing before they ate food. They taught
people: You must wash your hands, you must wash your plates & bowls; & you must wash your food
before you eat - or else you are breaking Gods law, & if you break Gods law you will be unclean in
Gods eyes & unacceptable to him. You see, for the PhariseesYou are, what you eat! Eat food that is
unclean or unwashed & you become unclean & unwashed in Gods eyes.
But do you think Jesus would agree with this modern saying? I dont think so. Look at verse 14 & 15
14 Then

Jesus called to the crowd said to them. All of you listen & try to understand. 15 Its not what goes into
your body that pollutes you - you are made unclean by what comes out of you.

Friends, the Pharisees & Jesus are completely different from each other. The Pharisees say, what goes into
a person, can make you unclean. So be very careful what you put into your mouth. Dont eat unwashed
food & dont eat with unwashed hands, dont eat with unwashed forks, or chopsticks - because if you
do these things you will be unclean in Gods eyes. So be very careful what you put in your mouth! But
Jesus says the complete opposite, doesnt he? Look at verse 15 again.
15 Its

not what goes into your body that pollutes you - you are made unclean by what comes out of you.

Friends, Jesus really does say the complete opposite, doesnt he? Jesus says nothing outside of you can
make you unclean by going into you. So, it doesnt really matter what you eat, & it doesnt really matter
how you eat it because by itself food cannot make you unclean or dirty in Gods eyes. So friends, one
of the things we learn this morning is that we can relax & enjoy food because God has made this food
for us to enjoy & to share with each other, so together we can be thankful to him. So friends, when you
eat, enjoy Gods goodness to you & praise him.
And really, I think that Chinese people have actually understood what Jesus is teaching here very well.
Now, how do I know this? Well, the Chinese have understood what Jesus is teaching about food
because they invented Yum-Cha. I mean, have you ever been to Yum-Cha? Its fantastic! There are all
different types of food - almost anything you can think of. Its all there, even my wifes old favourite chickens feet. And friends, it tastes greatYUM - CHA! And the best thing is that people bring you the
food so you dont even have to move out of your chair. You see, when you go to Yum-Cha with your
friends & family everything you need is there for you to enjoy so praise the Lord!
But can you imagine a Pharisee going to Yum-Cha? Ahh, has this been washed? Is this fish clean? Has
this bowl been sterilised? Is this chickens foot Hal-al? It would be an absolute disaster, wouldnt it? I mean,
a Pharisee would be so worried about becoming unclean, that he wouldnt eat anything & so he
wouldnt be free to enjoy something that God had created for us to enjoy food. And so a Pharisee just
wouldnt be able to freely & joyously give thanks to God - from his heart. But friends, can you imagine
Jesus going to Yum Cha? it would be totally different, wouldnt it? I mean, Jesus would be sitting with his
friends & family & looking around & saying Hmmm, now that looks interesting... YUMThankyou father.
Friends, Jesus says its not what goes into you that makes you unclean. Its what comes out that makes you
unclean in Gods eyes. But unfortunately, Jesus disciples still cant understand this. Look at v17.
When Jesus left the crowd & entered a house his disciples asked him about the parable. 18 Jesus said, Dont you
understand either? Cant you see that whatever goes into a person cannot make them unclean, 19 because it
doesnt go into your heart, but it enters the stomach & then goes out into the sewer. (By saying this, Jesus declared
that every kind of food is acceptable in Gods eyes.)
17

Now, the disciples are very slow to learn, arent they? And they are so slow that Jesus tries to make it as
simple as possible for them, & for us. Jesus says: listen, what you put into your mouth, goes down into the
stomach, then through the intestines, & then out the back. And really thats what happens to food, it just
passes through you & so the truth is it doesnt change you. And friends, here is the important thing. Jesus
says the food you eat doesnt change who you are because food doesnt go into your heart. You see,
as we read the gospel stories it seems that whenever Jesus speaks about being a part of Gods family,
Jesus keeps using the word heart. And so for Jesus the big human problem is not what goes into our
mouths - our big problem is what comes out of our mouths. And that is why Jesus is very careful to teach
us the very important truth that what comes out of our mouth, shows what is deep inside in our hearts. In
fact, Jesus says what we have a lot of in our hearts will eventually come out of our mouths. usually, in
small ways but sometimes in very big ways. Look at verse 20-23
And then Jesus added, It is what comes out of a person that pollutes you. 21 Because it is from within, out of your
heart that come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, 22 adultery, greed, wickedness, deceit, lustful desires,
envy, slander, pride, & foolishness. 23 All these evil things come from within you - & they are what make you
unclean.
20

Friends, these are dark words that Jesus uses & they are sad words too, because Jesus is describing
people here. Jesus is describing normal everyday people - just like you & me. And this list of evil things
come from deep inside our hearts, & it is these things that make us unclean in Gods eyes. Now, sure, we
dont do all of these all of the time, do we? But even if we do just one of them; & even if we do just 1 of
them, once - then we are unclean in Gods eyes. Friends, Jesus is saying, that the words that come out of
our mouths are evidence, they are proof of what lies deep inside our hearts - they are proof that we are
unclean in Gods eyes.
Now unfortunately today, our society teaches the exact opposite of what Jesus says here. I mean, today,
our society seems to believe that people are naturally good on the inside. Indeed, this is what our
children are taught in our schools & universities & on TV shows & movies. And really, today, our so-called
educated leaders & teachers sincerely believe that people only do bad things because they don't
know what is good. For example, if a man commits a serious crime well, the experts say this is because
the man had a hard life as a young boy. In other words, the mans difficult upbringing as a child was the
cause of his evil behaviour as an adult. And so he just didnt know what is good. Now friends, there is
some truth in this, of course, but this way of thinking totally removes any responsibility from us, & this way
of thinking totally ignores the most important cause of all our actions our free & independent choice.
Indeed our ability to choose our own actions is one of the things that make us a human being, & our
ability to choose is one of the things that separates us humans - from animals. You see, the truth is, that
no matter how many different causes there may be we still have the ability to choose what we will
think, what we will say & what we will do. And friends, because Jesus understands us humans so well, he
was very careful to talk about our hearts because Jesus knew that your heart is the place where you
choose.
Friends, in our society today, the human heart is seen as the place of emotions, romance & love. You
know, today we say thing like I love you with all my heart. But in the Bible, the heart is not the place of
emotions no!, in the Bible your heart is the place where you choose. Its where all our actions & desires
are born. In other words, your heart is the centre of your personality. Its who you really are. Jesus teaches
that your heart is the deepest part of you where you choose what you will think & do & say. And Jesus
says that from deep down in that place come all types of evil because we choose them. And friends,
the list is very long. There are evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, wickedness,
deceit, lustful desires, envy, slander, pride, & foolishness. Friends, Jesus says our hearts are the biggest
human problem we have. You see, peoples hearts are unclean because they are set against God &
they do not love Him
Conclusion - Jesus came to make us clean
And yet friends, there is wonderful news is because Jesus has the ability to make things that are unclean
clean again. I mean, we saw this in verse 19 where Jesus declares that all foods are now clean. In other
words, Jesus has the authority to make foods that were once unclean & unacceptable in the Old
Testament now both clean & good.

But more importantly for us , the good news is that Jesus can make hearts that are unclean & polluted
both clean & good. You see, the good news is that Jesus has the wisdom & the strength & the love to not
only save people from themselves but to change people deep on the inside. There in deepest part of us
- our hearts- so that our hearts are no longer the source of harmful & evil things like pride, sexual
immorality, greed & wickedness, but where our hearts become the source of good thins, like love, joy,
peace, patience, gentleness & self control! Friends, that is why Jesus came to this earth & that is why
Jesus died on the cross, & that is why Jesus was raised as eternal lord, forever to make unclean people
clean. To make us adopted children of God, children who live in the freedom that God makes possible
- to live a life where God so fills our hearts with His goodness that what comes out of our hearts,
increasingly becomes good. Friends, that is the good news that Jesus brings into our world.
Lets pray.