The problem of the heart

This year, I’ve been struck afresh at just how revolutionary Jesus is. Along with some friends, I’ve been walking through the Gospel of Mark and, again and again, I find Jesus’ words piercing my heart. Take, for example, the passage I’ve been looking at this week; Mark 7.

 

 Jesus gets challenged by the Pharisees (1^st C Jews aiming for ritualistic perfection) because His disciples don’t follow the man-made traditions. You see, like 20^th C philosophers, the Pharisees thought that the source of evil is located externally. By keeping squeaky clean, avoiding the “sinners”, they kept themselves morally pure. Or so they thought.

 

 Jesus responds with a massive claim about Himself (basically, that He gets to lay down the divine law cf. v19) and a shocking counterchallenge (that they nullify the law, v13). Jesus thus judges the man-made religion of 1^st C ethnic Israel, and as well as declaring the Mosaic Law obsolete He shows them that their real problem lies internally.

 

 According to Jesus, the heart of the problem is the problem of the heart. “It is what comes from inside that defiles you. For from within, out of a person’s heart, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, wickedness, deceit, lustful desires, envy, slander, pride and foolishness. All these vile things come from within; they are what defile you.” Jesus identifies our hearts as the source of defilement.

 

 Evil, therefore, does not simply lie in unjust social structures or drug-infested neighborhoods. It lies within us. Within our hearts. Within your heart.

 

 We’re all defiled, we all deserve the judgment of God and no philosophy, not even the coolest existentialist theory, can change this. And no man-made religion – even the most pious evangelical version of it, can save us from deserved punishment. We desperately need a Redeemer.

 

The woman in 7:24-30 models for us how we should respond – she knows she is in need of grace and takes Jesus at His word. Are you like her? Aware of your need for grace? If so, trust in Christ, the Redeemer of all people. You’ll find grace in abundance.

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