St. Mark 7:1-13
Divine Service
Pentecost 12 (Proper 16) 

Dr. Dobson once said that cleaning a house with young children in it is like shoveling the sidewalk while it’s snowing.  I remember so well that this is true.  When children start crawling they are all over the house, opening up drawers and throwing stuff on the floor.  Then right when you get one mess cleaned up, you find the cushions were taken off the sofa and need to be put back on.  You can get the house straightened up during naptime, and five minutes later after the child is awake, it’s trashed again.  The thing that is especially amazing is that two young and healthy adults can’t keep up without getting exhausted.  These are the kinds of things that can drive a “clean” person absolutely crazy. 

The Pharisees were the equivalent of what I would call the spiritual clean freaks of Jesus’ society.  What Jesus does to the Pharisees in today’s text, is the equivalent of taking a thousand pieces of spaghetti, crunching them up, and throwing them into their spiritual house.  He completely messes up their theological system of cleanliness.  For all of you Felix Ungers of religion, you better bolt the doors and close the windows, for Jesus is going to enter your house with dirty feet, and trample on your clean carpet.  Jesus is about to drive you crazy. For:

Jesus Crushes and Cures Your Quest For Cleanliness

This quest for cleanliness from the Pharisees originated with God.  The Ceremonial Law of the Old Testament had much to say about clean and unclean animals.  These laws were full of regulations on what kind of animals you could touch, and also what kind of things you needed to do if you became unclean.  Among these rites there were also sometimes official washings that were regularly required.  You had to wash if you touched an unclean animal, if you walked into a house with mildew, if you had a skin disease, and even if you came in contact with a dead person.  There were plenty of “washings” to go around. 

Yet this wasn’t enough for the Pharisees – they wanted even more washings to make sure they were clean.  Mark informs us that The Pharisees and all the Jews do not eat unless they give their hands a ceremonial washing, holding to the tradition of the elders.  When they came from the marketplace they did not eat unless they wash.  And they observed many other traditions, such as the washing – literally “baptisms” – of cups, pitchers, and kettles.  According to some of the older Greek manuscripts, this text adds one more item that is included in the King James and the new English Standard translations: dining couches.  The Pharisees connected these “washings” to every aspect of their eating.  This was “the tradition of the elders.” In other words, it was something that their spiritual leaders told them they should do if they really want to make sure they stay ceremonially clean.  About three or four centuries before the birth of Christ the Pharisees came up with 613 rules that regulated Israel’s life down to the smallest details – ways to become or keep clean.  In the eye of the beholder, then, with all of these rules and regulations it was a very “clean” religion.  The Pharisees were set apart from every other religion in the way they visibly and physically had these washings when the others didn’t. 

Many years later, in Luther’s day, this cleansing came about from beating the body and denying it any carnal pleasure.  Monks would walk around in uncomfortable outfits.  They’d beat their bodies.  They would tirelessly pray and walk around shoeless and separate themselves from society in the hopes of cleansing their bodies of any sinful thoughts and actions.  People would look at them and think, “Wow, these are really holy people!” These ideas are still very prevalent yet today.  It’s called “asceticism.” The Buddhist monks do the same thing by trying to empty their minds and becoming one with the universe.  The Catholics until recently did it by not eating meat on Fridays.  Some Baptists and Mennonites try it by wearing longer skirts and never showing their knees.  They do it by refraining from any alcohol or not buying Disney movies.  They’re trying to set themselves apart from the sinful world by doing physical things or refraining from physical things to make them seemingly more clean.

Whether you think so or not, you, too, are on a similar quest for cleanliness.  You may try to set yourself apart as holy by not watching television.  Maybe you try to cleanse yourself from the world of sin by staying away from bars.  Perhaps you try to keep clean by staying away from a neighbor or acquaintance who leads what you would consider a “dirty” life.  And you think to yourself, “I don’t get drunk like they do, I’ve kept myself pretty clean.” Your version of cleanliness may be that you don’t curse like your neighbor does.  It might be that you don’t go to the liberal church he goes to.  Or your cleanliness might come from the simple fact that you come to church.  All of us have these little outward rituals – these “washings” – that we believe make us different from others – set us apart as what we would consider “clean,” unlike the filthy world around us.  This could even be called Biblical, for Paul said in 2 Corinthians (6:17-18), “Therefore come out from them and be separate, says the Lord.  Touch no unclean thing, and I will receive you.”

For some reason, Jesus didn’t buy into the “clean” system of the Pharisees.  Like a bunch of slobs, when Jesus and his disciples sat down to eat, they didn’t wash their hands, their pots, or anything.  They just started eating! So the Pharisees and teachers of the law asked Jesus, "Why don't your disciples live according to the tradition of the elders instead of eating their food with 'unclean' hands?" In anger and disgust, they turned to Jesus and demanded an answer.  “WHY don’t you live according to the tradition of the elders!?”

Jesus answered them why.  "Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you hypocrites; as it is written: "‘These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me.  They worship me in vain; their teachings are but rules taught by men.’ You have let go of the commands of God and are holding on to the traditions of men." For Jesus, it came down to one main point – “where does God’s Word say that I have to wash my hands before I worship?” What was worse, was that these “traditions” of the elders were causing them to let go of the commands of God. 

Jesus then gives them an example: He mentions that the Pharisees would ignore the needs of their parents in order to give the money to the church: “if a man says to his father or mother: Whatever help you might otherwise have received from me is Corban' (that is, a gift devoted to God), then you no longer let him do anything for his father or mother”. Why? Because that’s what their elders told them to do.  Any cow or donkey would have known that their parents needed it more than the church, but they decided to leave their own parents to starve to death so the temple could get some new gold handles on it’s door.  Jesus reminds them: “Moses said, 'Honor your father and your mother” – in essence: “whatever happened to the Fourth Commandment?

Traditions are fine and good, but we need to be careful in distinguishing between what is tradition and what is commanded by God.  Jesus is telling you to really take a close look at what you regard as “clean worship” and make sure it is at least not setting aside a commandment of God before you either condemn something or condone it.  For instance, the Mormons use WATER in their Lord’s Supper and some Baptists only use grape juice.  They claim that this is a “more holy” way of worshiping.  But where does God’s Word say that drinking – in moderation – is a sin?  Didn’t Paul recommend Timothy “Stop drinking only water, and use a little wine”? (1 Timothy 5:23)  God’s Word also says that gluttony is a sin, so does that mean that everyone who eats food is sinning - because they aren’t running from temptation?  Other religious groups claim to be celebrating a “believer’s baptism” by only baptizing adults by immersion!  We say, “show me the passage!”  They say, “well, the word baptism means to dunk, and only adults were baptized in the Bible.”  We say - what about this very passage in the KJV, that states they would “baptize” or “wash” dining couches!  Would they take their couches down to the river and dunk them under to “baptize” them?  Bible context proves the word for baptize is NOT limited to dunking.  Bible passages prove that Jesus said to baptize all nations and that five whole households were baptized.  Are you to tell me God doesn’t want infants baptized? Their traditions are very clearly setting aside the very will of God – to use wine in the Lord’s Supper and baptize infants as He commanded. 

Let’s turn the table on ourselves.  Just because someone raises their hands when they pray or shouts out “Amen,” is that evil?  Just because our tradition doesn’t go that way, does that make it wrong?  Show me in God’s Word where it says we have to follow a liturgy or have a confession or have three readings or stand up and sit down in a worship service.  Where does it say this is “unclean”?  We need to be careful that we don’t label something as “sin” that really isn’t.  What Jesus was trying to do with His statement was to turn the tables on the Pharisees.  Instead of having them ask Him, “why AREN’T you washing”, he turned the tables on them and asked, “WHY ARE you washing?” It’s nothing but hypocrisy!

So you thought you could make yourself clean by refraining from alcohol?  You thought you could be pretty acceptable to God by not watching dirty television shows?  You really thought that if you got good grades you would really be acceptable in God’s sight?  You really thought that by coming to church or giving money you would somehow be “cleaner” than the rest of the world?  You actually thought that you could blame your sin on the world and the devil?  Even if you did manage to refrain from these outwardly evil things – you’d still have a filthy heart.  You can’t brush it like you can your teeth.  There is no soap that you can buy at the store – no heart medicine that will make it clean.  Even if you tore it out and replaced it with a pig’s heart or a mechanical one, it would still be filthy.  The fact of the matter is no matter how much you try to cleanse yourself through your outward rituals – whatever they may be – it won’t work.  YOU are sinful down to your heart - and there’s NOTHING you can do about it. 

That’s where Jesus left it.  Like a handful of two-year old kids He walked into the Pharisees seemingly clean system and left it in complete shambles.  With a master in God’s Word He said there was no cure in their man-made cleansings – it was all vain – pointless! That is what led Luther to such complete despair!  No matter how many times he confessed or whipped himself or slept on uncomfortable cots – he couldn’t cleanse himself. 

But there is a cure! Oh yes, my friends, there is a cure, when we ask ourselves, “What was Jesus’ ultimate lesson?” Jesus said, “unclean things don’t come from the outside, they come from within.” Obviously, then, we would have to conclude that we SHOULDN’T look within ourselves for cleanliness.  Don’t think that anything you do IN YOU can make you clean.  Even if you stop drinking or stop cussing, or even stop lusting or hating, don’t think that you’ll somehow be clean.  No matter how much you reform your life or how many “clean” things you eat or drink - they won’t clean your heart.  So what’s the conclusion we have to come to then? In spite of everything I’ve been taught or everything that I want to believe, I have to look OUTSIDE of myself for my cleansing!

This is where Luther FINALLY found His comfort, when he read Romans 3:21-24.  Now a righteousness from God, apart from law, has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify.  This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe.  There is no difference, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.  When Luther read this, He finally realized how he could get this cleansing that he was searching for.  Instead of trying to purify himself through his ritual beatings and works, the wounds of Christ could come from heaven and swallow him up.  God could take His own righteousness - in the life and death of Christ - and give it to Luther through faith.  After all of his working and striving, he finally realized that it was already given to Him in Christ - two thousand years ago! My friends, if you really want a clean heart - if you really want to be holy before God - He wants you also to climb up on that cross, and imagine God as having crucified you.  He wants you to envision the perfection of Christ as having come down from the cross and being placed on you, in you, and through you.  He wants you to look at yourself as if you were actually as perfect as Jesus Christ - because that’s how God regards you when you believe in Christ.

You want to know what’s really ironic in this whole thing? After denouncing all of these washings of man, Jesus instituted a baptism that would do this very thing the Pharisees were attempting.  Jesus told the disciples to go and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.  (Matthew 20:28) Peter said that this baptism would give the forgiveness of sins and the gift of faith through the working of the Holy Spirit.  (Acts 2:38).  Paul said in Galatians 3 that, You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus, for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ.  All of the cleansing that we desire is given to us in a single washing of water and the Word - as prescribed by Jesus Christ Himself.  If you’ve been baptized, sprinkled or dunked, young or old, you can always take comfort that through that water and Word God promises you that the blood and righteousness of Jesus Christ was applied to you, and your hearts were cleansed.  Instead of leaving us hopeless, with no washing, Jesus gave us a free cleansing and provided us with a holiness we could find in no rituals of our own.  This cleansing is only found in the blood of Christ - outside of us - and applied to us through water and the Word of baptism - free of charge.

After raising five children, Mary and I have been driven to the point of despair in keeping our house perfectly clean.  And I know that my spiritual house will also never be perfectly clean.  No matter how much you discipline your eyes, your body, or your mouth, you can’t clean a heart – it’s impossible!  With this revelation of your heart, Jesus crushes your quest for cleanliness in yourself, and then He provides the cure by saying, “I am what you have been looking for!  Instead of killing yourself through your rituals to be clean, look to Me!  My perfect life and innocent death has provided a righteousness and holiness for the entire world.  Believe in Me, be baptized, and the purity you have been looking for will be given to your body and soul – even your heart – in the blink of an eye.”

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.   Amen.

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