In Mark 7, Jesus says that it is not what goes into a man that defiles him but what comes out. The problem is that we have an Old Testament cleanliness code that appears to say otherwise. Is Jesus just overturning the cleanliness code?
It seems more reasonable to look more closely at what Jesus actually says. He actually says that it's not was goes into a man that is able to defile a man, but what comes out of the heart. The point that Jesus is making, I think, is not particularly about what does or does not make someone unclean but more directly why certain things do or do not make a man unclean. The reason why people are susceptible to uncleanness is because there is something inside them that is wrong. The heart of man produces all kinds of uncleanness. That's the fundamental problem. And that's why making stricter washing rules (e.g. the Pharisees) really misses the point.
If being unclean is like being on fire, the Pharisees want to build a big fence around the yard to keep the fire from getting in. But Jesus says the problem is that the Pharisees are already on fire. You can build the fence as high as you like, but you're just taking the fire with you wherever you go, incinerating everything you touch. You don't need a bigger fence, you need a swimming pool.
Monday, January 26, 2009
Gettting Rid of the Fire
Posted by Toby at 11:40 AM
Labels: Bible - Mark
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3 comments:
A major theme in Mark is about authority. Who has authority? The disciples first follow Jesus because "he speaks as one with authority." He calms the waves showing his authority over the chaotic.
Mark 7 isn't primarily about legalism or uncleanness per se. It's about who has authority over the Law.
Jesus clearly rebukes the Pharisees for adding to the law. The Law has reached its insufficiency and the Pharisees are see this, and they are creatively applying holiness code to the whole of their lives seeking to remain clean. They should see its insufficiency and patiently call on God to send a prophet to speak clearly explaining how be to holy in the midst of being in the land covered in defilement. Notice: Jesus rebukes them for adding to the law, then turns and does precisely what he told them not to do! He declares all foods clean! In Mark, Jesus is the one who has the authority to add to or supercede the Law of Moses.
.....I forgot to mention, so the Pharisees become their own prophet. They apply the law to their unique circumstances, and in doing so, end up breaking the weighter matters of the Law. If they followed the prophet who has authority, Jesus, they would retain the weighter matters and please God. He is the prophet, they should have patiently waited for, sent to wisely apply the law in their times. Out of impatience, they seized authority and broke the law.
That's an interesting and stimuluating comment Anon.
Pr. Sumpter,
I think this post is right on. The cleanliness code was not meant as something to be kept because righteousness lay in it, but as a sign of the defilement of sin, and the washing required in Baptism.
And also, as I argue here, the cleanliness code was given as a command to highlight the command to associate with sinners, to become unclean; and thus to prefigure the Incarnation and Cross, in which God became unclean for us.
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