Cleansed
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.” Mark 7:14-23
Our Lord continues teaching the people about clean versus unclean. First is the biology lesson. Interestingly, Jesus is essentially correct physiologically that food never truly enters the body. Our digestive tract is a long tube whose openings are on either end. (I almost gave Godzilla this bLOG because he would just love to use the word “anus” in a bLOG; it’s a good thing I didn’t.) Yes, nutrients and water pass through the gastrointestinal lining, but the bulk makes it all the way through. (Mark interjects to his Gentile audience that all foods are now considered clean, so order the Lobster!)
Now to the metaphysical lesson. What makes a person unclean is the condition of the self (the core of who you are). Jesus then delivers a list of stuff (again, imagine what Godzilla would do with this) that excretes from a sinful self: evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, coveting, wickedness, deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride, foolishness. Can you or I relate to any of these filthy things? By the way, slander is equivalent to gossip!
This is why we need a Savior!
O God,
You do not deal with us according to our sins, nor repay us according to our iniquities. For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is your steadfast love toward those who fear you; as far as the east is from the west, so far you remove our transgressions from us.
Thank you Jesus for your cross!
I pray in the name of the Lamb that was slain. Amen!
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