マルコによる福音書7:14-23　Mark 7:14-23,

In the Jewish country where Jesus did his works as Saviour, there were many rules about what was clean and what was unclean. People assumed that the clean things were good and the unclean things were bad. Some of these rules were written in the Old Testament, while others were not written but conveyed by traditions. One of these traditions was that people should always wash their hands before eating. One day, however, some of Jesus’ disciples were eating without washing their hands. This was discovered by the Pharisees, who were very keen on observing the rules. So the Pharisees said to Jesus, “Why do your disciples not walk according to the tradition of the elders, but eat with defiled hands?”

The Pharisees said this because there was an evil thought in their hearts to destroy Jesus and his disciples. Jesus saw through their evil thought and retorted, “You leave the commandment of God and hold to the tradition of men.” The Pharisees were saying the right things with their mouths and pretending to honour God. But in reality their hearts were far away from God. Jesus saw through this. The heart of God’s law is the Ten Commandments of Moses. The Ten Commandments can be further summarised as two teachings: to love God and to love one’s neighbour. The Pharisees had forgotten these two important teachings.

In the Old Testament, there were certain clean creatures that human beings were allowed to eat and unclean creatures that they were not allowed to eat. For example, sheep and cattle were clean creatures that could be eaten. However, wild boar and pig were unclean creatures that must not be eaten. But if you think about it, it seems strange to divide creatures into clean and unclean creatures. Is it possible that eating the flesh of a boar or pig could make the eater unclean and bad? There is no such thing! So Jesus said, “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.” Food that comes in from outside a person’s body through the mouth does not make one’s heart unclean and bad. However, if there are unclean and bad thoughts in a person’s heart, those thoughts come out in words and deeds, making the hearts of others unclean and bad.

And sadly, every person has unclean and evil thoughts in one’s heart. So Jesus 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.” To put it simply, because we have unclean and evil thoughts in our hearts, we covet other people’s things, hate other people, cheat other people, are mean to other people, envy other people and speak ill of other people. We cannot cleanse our hearts of unclean and evil thoughts, even if we want to. It is the word of Jesus that cleanses our hearts. And it is the Holy Spirit that Jesus sends. Jesus died on the cross to atone for the sins of us human beings with unclean and evil thoughts. Those who believe in Jesus are forgiven of their sins and saved. After dying on the cross, Jesus rose again and ascended into heaven. He then pours out the Holy Spirit from heaven to cleanse our hearts. Let us always hear and reflect on Jesus’ words and live our lives praying for him to cleanse us with the Holy Spirit.