Now when the Pharisees and some of the scribes who had come from Jerusalem gathered around him, they noticed that some of his disciples were eating with defiled hands, that is, without washing them. (For the Pharisees, and all the Jews, do not eat unless they wash their hands, thus observing the tradition of the elders, and they do not eat anything from the market unless they wash, and there are also many other traditions that they observe: the washing of cups and pots and bronze kettles and beds.)So the Pharisees and the scribes asked him, “Why do your disciples not walk according to the tradition of the elders but eat with defiled hands?” He said to them, “Isaiah prophesied rightly about you hypocrites, as it is written,
‘This people honors me with their lips,
but their hearts are far from me;
in vain do they worship me,
teaching human precepts as doctrines.’
“You abandon the commandment of God and hold to human tradition…”
Then he called the crowd again and said to them, “Listen to me, all of you, and understand: there is nothing outside a person that by going in can defile, but the things that come out are what defile…”
For it is from within, from the human heart, that evil intentions come: sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, avarice, wickedness, deceit, debauchery, envy, slander, pride, folly. All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person.” (New Revised Standard Version)
There are many people who believe that evil resides out there, but not in here.
“Out there” is usually in places where people don’t live like me, think like me, and act like me. Rarely does anyone, when asked where evil is, points to their own heart.
The religious establishment of Christ’s day saw evil as something which existed “out there” where the sinners are; but not “in here” where I am.
Jesus had something to say on that subject. The exchange between the religious leaders and Christ began with a query toward Jesus about Jewish traditions and interpretations of the Mosaic law.
The leaders observed that Christ’s disciples were not holding to traditional purity practices. They were not washing their hands in a certain way prior to eating. This was less of a criticism on the followers of Jesus, and much more an indictment on Jesus as their rabbi.
It was believed that there are customs which properly trained disciples ought to know and follow. And Christ’s followers were not, it was assumed, trained well.
The religious establishment understood the words and ways of Jesus as an affront to the teaching of the elders, and of proper scriptural and legal interpretation.
Jesus, however, made a distinction between traditions of the elders and God’s commands. The former are human precepts, whereas the latter are to be obeyed. In no way did Christ demean Mosaic law, or any commandments of God.
Instead, Jesus rejected how particular interpretations – along with practices which arose from those interpretations – end up obscuring the spirit and intent of the law. In other words, purity does not come from hand washing, because neither purity nor impurity originates from the hands.
Christ reached back into the prophecy of Isaiah to show that there is a contrast between what the mouth utters and what is within the heart. The incongruence between the words spoken and the heart’s true state puts the issue of where impurity and evil really come from: The heart, not the mouth.
Evil intentions originate within. Evil actions are animated by the heart. Evil attitudes are born in the heart. The human heart is the place which needs attention because, for ancient people, this is where a person’s rational will is located. It is where moral pollution dwells, deep within.
Let’s keep in mind that, in the verbal kerfuffle between Christ and the religious leaders, there is no evidence that Jesus disregarded Jewish dietary laws. He instead took the religious establishment to task on elevating outward human traditions, while simultaneously ignoring the inward human heart.
Food and hand-washing are not the chief concern, when it comes to purity and impurity. At issue is the source of defilement, that is, where the pollution is sourced. Jesus insisted that it’s more about who you are, and what is in your heart, than it is about the food you eat or avoid.
In truth, the problem of defilement is important. And keeping the Mosaic law is significant. Yet, Jesus was looking at these issues from a different angle. He affirmed the law’s purpose in restraining evil and avoiding impurity, along with the religious leaders. However, Christ disagreed with them on how the law is practically observed and obeyed.
Jesus did not come up with something new or strange in talking about evil emanating from the heart. Judaism is a religion of the heart, just as much as Christianity or any other religion.
The heart is devious above all else;
it is perverse—
who can understand it?
I the Lord test the mind
and search the heart,
to give to all according to their ways,
according to the fruit of their doings. (Jeremiah 17:9-10, NRSV)
So, what’s up with the conflict between Jesus and the religious leaders? Over time, many located evil outside, out there, with evildoers and law-breakers, with those disobedient to the law. Christ came along and reaffirmed where the problem originates, scripturally.
One isn’t defiled by improper handling of ritual; one is defiled because being unaware of, or not acknowledging, the dark shadows which reside within every human heart.
Therefore, the discussion of evil and impurity is useless, if we only talk about influences from outside. Deal, instead, with the influences from within.
The heart is not all bad; there’s a lot of good there. But there are spaces within the heart which are camouflaged in darkness. Those places need attention, before we launch into evil which exists elsewhere.
Everyone must come to the point of understanding that they are capable of both great good and great evil. A Pharisee is not all good. And a lawbreaker is not all bad. Until we can see the commonality between ourselves and those we separate ourselves from, we will continually miss the heart of true religion.
Whether a Jew, Christian, Muslim, or any other religious tradition, we must deal with our own collective house, and our own personal heart. Hate speech toward another group has no warrant from Jesus. Injustice has no place in Christianity or anywhere else.
Furthermore, not a one of us can rationalize any unjust words and/or inactions. If that happens, a terrible blindness has occurred in which someone or some group of people refuse to see their own culpability in evil, and project it outward onto another person or group.
If we keep the light of the gospel in our own hearts, then it is much less likely that we will demean or attack others, either verbally, physically, or both.
Using a self-constructed and janky flashlight to shine on another’s heart does nothing but keep the attention off of our own heart. That sort of dubious searching of splinters helps no one, especially ourselves, who already have nasty logs in our own eyes.
Evil is deeper than mere selfishness, bigger than a personal error in judgment, and greater than some individual bad decisions. That’s because there is also a collective heart in every organization, institution, corporation, and faith community. Injustice and unrighteousness resides in those hearts, as well. This makes all of us – personally and communally – both victims of evil, as well as perpetrators of wickedness.
This is why grace and mercy are the real answers to the evil in this world’s systems, and in the human heart. Jesus is trying to pave the way toward a solution of the problem of evil.
Let’s give him an honest look and hearing.
Most merciful God, we confess that we have sinned against you in thought, word, and deed, by what we have done, and by what we have left undone. We have not loved you with our whole heart; we have not loved our neighbors as ourselves. We are truly sorry and we humbly repent. For the sake of your Son Jesus Christ, have mercy on us and forgive us; that we may delight in your will, and walk in your ways, to the glory of your Name. Amen.
