Today we are going to jump right into a dialogue question to get us to a shared starting spot.
What is the value of externally looking like you have a deepening relationship with Jesus? What is the value of internally (the unseen) feeling like you have a deepening relationship with Jesus?
The book of Mark is one of the four Gospels in the New Testament and is a narrative of the life, teachings, miracles, and ultimate crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
We’ve met John the Baptist, preaching & baptizing in the wilderness, who introduces us to Jesus, baptizing Him as He starts His public ministry. Right away, Jesus is seen with power and authority to heal, cast out demons, and control the wind and waves. He is seen with authority in h\His teaching about the Kingdom of God and with care for the community by feeding the multitude and healing sickness and disease.He comes up against religious authorities who He challenges to re-evaluate their understanding of God. In turn, they question Him, undermine Him, hoping to trap Him.
He speaks with urgency–Mark is known for its fast-paced narrative, using the word "immediately" to describe the events that are taking place. This urgency reflects the urgency of the message of Jesus, which is that the kingdom of God is near and that people need to repent and believe in Him.
By the time we reach the passages in Mark 7:1-37 & Mark 8:1-13, Jesus has been teaching and performing miracles for some time, and His popularity and notoriety have grown. In Mark 7, He continues to teach and challenge the religious leaders, emphasizing the importance of inner purity and the dangers of false teachings and hypocrisy.
Before we get there let’s talk, connect, and build a shared understanding. Finish the sentence: I am not mad, I'm just ________.
Of course the missing word is “disappointed.” When was the last time you were on the receiving end of disappointment? When were you on the disappointed side? Which side do you find yourself on the most? Why do you think that is?
I don’t know about you, but I would rather have someone be mad at me than disappointed. This is oversimplifying, but it feels like this: I am mad about what you did. I am disappointed in who you are.
Why does it feel so bad to have someone disappointed in you?
Today, we are going to dive into the book of Mark, chapters 7 and 8, and explore the many times Jesus seems to let out a heavy sigh in disappointment.
We all know things that tend to be disappointing: pre-packaged sandwiches, Secret Santa gifts, picnics, low-fat foods, office parties, grocery store coffee, sequels, dieting, checking your Twitter feed… Well, today as we continue our processing through Mark, which is all about knowing Jesus, Jesus expresses disappointment. Start to feel this build:
AHHHHHHH
Then he called the crowd again and said to them, “Listen to me, everyone, and understand. Nothing outside a person can defile them by going into them. Rather, it is what comes out of a person that defiles them.” (Mark 7:14-15)
AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH
He looked up to heaven and with a deep sigh said to him, “Ephphatha!” (which means “Be opened!”). At this, the man’s ears were opened, his tongue was loosened and he began to speak plainly. (Mark 7:34-35)
AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH
He sighed deeply and said, “Why does this generation ask for a sign? Truly I tell you, no sign will be given to it.” Then he left them, got back into the boat and crossed to the other side. (Mark 8:12-13)
It seems like every page we turn in these passages, Jesus is shaking his head and letting out a sigh because of the people's inability to understand His message. He sighs over their criticism of His actions and their focus on external rituals instead of inner purity. He sighs over their demand for signs and their lack of faith.
Process this personally for a moment. When someone you love and care for just doesn’t get “it”--whatever the “it” is–how do you tend to respond? There are an infinite number of “its” out there. You might be disappointed because of poor decisions or self-destructive habits or reckless spending or unhealthy relationships or flippant major decisions or quitting too soon or not quitting when it would be healthy or not working enough or working too much or not seeing the truth or not seeing value. The list could go on and on and on…
How do you tend to respond when someone that you love and care for doesn’t get “it”?
Okay. It is time for one more fun one:
How do you think Jesus responds when you (we) don’t get “it”?
In Mark 7, we jump right into a situation where the Pharisees are trying to trap Jesus, questioning Him and His disciples. Jesus and the disciples had just returned from the marketplace, and the Jewish ritual was to go through a ceremonial cleansing because they had been in contact with Gentiles and possibly sick people, making them unclean.
Through oral tradition passed down from generation to generation, over 200 rules had been added to Mosaic law, and these were sometimes followed more closely than Old Testament scripture. The Pharisees were here to ask why they weren’t following those rules:
“Why don’t your disciples live according to the tradition of the elders instead of eating their food with defiled hands?” (Mark 7:5)
And Jesus may have sighed:
He replied, “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 merely human rules.’ You have let go of the commands of God and are holding on to human traditions.” You have a fine way of setting aside the commands of God in order to observe your own traditions.” (Mark 7: 6-9)
Then Jesus gives us an example of how they have betrayed the actual laws of Moses for their own traditions. Moses told them to ‘honor their father and mother.’ Instead they distorted God’s rules with their own tradition. They would keep items of value–-something that could be used to support their parents–and call it Corban, meaning a gift devoted to God. And Jewish tradition would then allow them to keep this item dedicated to God–without having to give it to the priest, or even give up using it themselves. But it DID free them from giving it to someone else, even a needy parent.
And we’re pretty sure Jesus sighed again…or maybe never stopped sighing.
Again Jesus called the crowd to him and said, “Listen to me, everyone, and understand this. Nothing outside a person can defile them by going into them. Rather, it is what comes out of a person that defiles them.” (Mark 7:14-15)
He left the crowd, and the disciples still didn’t understand this parable. They probably were SHOCKED that Jesus would go against the traditions that had been passed down forever, and even some traditions that were Mosaic Law.
“Are you so dull?” he asked. “Don’t you see that nothing that enters a person from the outside can defile them? For it doesn’t go into their heart but into their stomach, and then out of the body.” (In saying this, Jesus declared all foods clean.) He went on: “What comes out of a person is what defiles them. For it is from within, out of a person’s heart, that evil thoughts come—sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance and folly. All these evils come from inside and defile a person.” (Mark 7:18-23)
Frustrated and disappointed in the religious leaders who were teaching their traditions that had nothing to do with Mosaic Law and definitely were more about the outer actions than the heart, and frustrated that the disciples still don’t get it, He gives them a list of outer sins–actions–that started long before in our heart, in our human nature–that guides our THOUGHTS, leading to the outer ACTIONS.
When we get to Mark 7:23, Jesus leaves the Galilee region for the third time. He goes to the Gentile area on the other side of the Sea of Galilee, leaving with a giant SIGHHHHHHHH. He tries to hide away in someone’s house in Tyre. But His reputation precedes Him, and a woman, whose daughter was possessed by an impure spirit, comes and begs Him to get this demon out of her daughter.
And Jesus, maybe feeling a little feisty, responds:
“First let the children eat all they want,” for it is not right to take the children’s bread and toss it to the dogs, the pets.” (Mark 7:27)
And somehow the woman understood what Jesus was saying. The children–referring to the people of Israel–need to be given an opportunity to understand and receive healing from Jesus before the Gentile people, which is who the little dogs or puppies (or pets) in this story are referring to.
Sometimes the Jewish people would refer to the Gentiles as dogs (wild dogs in the street) or “shameless and audacious” as an insult. But Jesus here refers to the Gentiles as little dogs, little pets–not in the derogatory way the Jewish people would refer to them.
But this Gentile woman–who was shameless and audacious (not in a bad way)--she argued with Jesus. She pushed back:
“Even the little dogs under the table eat the children’s crumbs.” (Mark 7:27)
And she won. She was a Gentile–and not only a Gentile but a Gentile woman–and she argued with the Lord and won.
Then he told her, “For such a reply, you may go; the demon has left your daughter.” She went home and found her child lying on the bed, and the demon was gone. (Mark 7:29-30)
Then Jesus continued in the Gentile region and went to heal a deaf and mute man. Symbolically this is an interesting moment. Jesus keeps sighing and exhibiting frustration that the disciples don’t get it, that the religious leaders don’t understand. Then here He comes, and He puts his fingers in this deaf man’s ears, then spits and touches the man’s tongue. He looks up to heaven and with a deep sigh says to him, “Ephphatha!” (meaning ‘be open’), and his ears were opened and he was able to talk.
Earlier in Mark 4:9 and Mark 4:23, Jesus says, “Whoever has ears to hear had better listen!” And again in Matthew, Jesus quotes the Old Testament prophet Isaiah:
“In them is fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah: ‘You will be ever hearing but never understanding; you will be ever seeing but never perceiving. For this people’s heart has become calloused; they hardly hear with their ears, and they have closed their eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts and turn, and I would heal them.’” (Matthew 13:14-15)
Mark ends this group of stories about the disciples and the religious leaders not hearing, and not seeing, not understanding with a moment when Jesus heals a person’s hearing and heals their speaking.
Now we come to Mark chapter 8. Jesus came to teach and a crowd of 4,000 people gathered without food. He had compassion on them–they’d been there for 3 days with nothing to eat–and the disciples asked Jesus, where will we get the food to feed them? (Hey disciples–didn’t we just do this?!)
Jesus gathered 7 loaves of bread and fish, gave thanks, and broke the bread to feed all the people, with 7 baskets full of bread remaining. Mega miracle done. Mic drop.
But still in verse 11, the Pharisees came and began to question Jesus. And as if all that Jesus had done wasn’t enough, to test Him, they asked Him for a sign from heaven. And with his biggest and final sigh of this section, He says,
“Why does this generation ask for a sign? Truly I tell you, no sign will be given to it.” 13 Then he left them, got back into the boat and crossed to the other side. (Mark 8:12-13)
Next week we will jump into a section where we hear Jesus warn the disciples to beware of the yeast of the Pharisees–or really, beware of the hypocrisy of the Pharisees. Jesus, in a HONOR and SHAME culture, calls out the internal heart.
In an honor/shame–oriented culture, the honor of the family or the tribe or the village/city/nation you represent is key. And the avoidance of shame is crucial in the process of advancing and preserving honor. In an honor and shame culture, there is safety in secrecy. Look pious. Look pure. Look impressive. Hide failings. Hide issues.
But Jesus says, it is not about the external. It is not about what goes in. It’s not about being an insider or being respected. Jesus sighs, it is the internal. It’s not about religious obedience–it is about having a pure heart. It’s not about being of the “right” people–it is about personal faith. It’s not about being clean or unclean but about trusting Jesus. It’s not about seeing in order to believe, but about needs being met, about simple faith.
What does it take to satisfy Jesus? (opposite of disappointment)
What outer actions or behaviors can hide unhealthy internal heart issues?
How does the grace of Jesus fit into all of this?
In Mark’s process of knowing Jesus, it is not about looking good enough or about external actions or about having it all figured out. It is not about looking impressive or about being an insider. It is not about doing good things and not doing bad things. The ultimate goal for us as followers of Christ is to have a heart oriented towards the heart of Christ. This means seeking to have a heart that is pure, free from evil thoughts and actions, and filled with love, compassion, and truth.
Knowing Jesus–knowing what is pleasing to Him–it is not the external. It is the internal. This may be the worst news ever–if not for the grace found in Jesus. This grace is going to be an ongoing focus as we move toward the end of the book of Mark:
Don’t only strive for good external actions, but also focus on the state of your heart. Seek to have a heart that is aligned with the heart of Christ, and ask God to help you overcome evil thoughts or actions that may be hindering you from having a pure heart.
It is the state of our hearts that truly defines us and our relationship with God. So let us strive to have hearts that are pure, loving, and devoted to God, and let our external actions follow suit.
What steps can a person take to walk towards the heart of Christ?
How does a person know when their heart is becoming more Christlike?
What is the impact of having the heart of Christ?
Take it Deeper Questions
Read Mark 7.
What are some strange family traditions?
What is the purpose of traditions?
What happens in your family if someone doesn’t participate in traditions?
What helps you get out of being angry with someone?
What helps your internal dialogue be more in line with who you want to be?
How does a relationship with Jesus help change your internal self?
What looks good to the world on the outside, but may have different motivations inside?
How does our human nature influence our thoughts?
How do our thoughts influence our actions?
Bible Reading Plan
Matthew 11
Matthew 15
Matthew 16
Mark 7
Luke 10
John 7