Mark 7:1-30
7 Then the Pharisees and some of the scribes came together to Him, having come from Jerusalem. 2 Now when they saw some of His disciples eat bread with defiled, that is, with unwashed hands, they found fault. 3 For the Pharisees and all the Jews do not eat unless they wash their hands in a special way, holding the tradition of the elders. 4 When they come from the marketplace, they do not eat unless they wash. And there are many other things which they have received and hold, like the washing of cups, pitchers, copper vessels, and couches.
5 Then the Pharisees and scribes asked Him, “Why do Your disciples not walk according to the tradition of the elders, but eat bread with unwashed hands?”
6 He answered and said to them, “Well did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written:
‘This people honors Me with their lips,
But their heart is far from Me.
7 And in vain they worship Me,
Teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’
8 For laying aside the commandment of God, you hold the tradition of men—the washing of pitchers and cups, and many other such things you do.”
9 He said to them, “All too well you reject the commandment of God, that you may keep your tradition. 10 For Moses said, ‘Honor your father and your mother’; and, ‘He who curses father or mother, let him be put to death.’ 11 But you say, ‘If a man says to his father or mother, “Whatever profit you might have received from me is Corban”—’ (that is, a gift to God), 12 then you no longer let him do anything for his father or his mother, 13 making the word of God of no effect through your tradition which you have handed down. And many such things you do.”
14 When He had called all the multitude to Himself, He said to them, “Hear Me, everyone, and understand: 15 There is nothing that enters a man from outside which can defile him; but the things which come out of him, those are the things that defile a man. 16 If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear!”
17 When He had entered a house away from the crowd, His disciples asked Him concerning the parable. 18 So He said to them, “Are you thus without understanding also? Do you not perceive that whatever enters a man from outside cannot defile him, 19 because it does not enter his heart but his stomach, and is eliminated, thus purifying all foods?” 20 And He said, “What comes out of a man, that defiles a man. 21 For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, 22 thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lewdness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness. 23 All these evil things come from within and defile a man.”
24 From there He arose and went to the region of Tyre and Sidon. And He entered a house and wanted no one to know it, but He could not be hidden. 25 For a woman whose young daughter had an unclean spirit heard about Him, and she came and fell at His feet. 26 The woman was a Greek, a Syro-Phoenician by birth, and she kept asking Him to cast the demon out of her daughter. 27 But Jesus said to her, “Let the children be filled first, for it is not good to take the children’s bread and throw it to the little dogs.”
28 And she answered and said to Him, “Yes, Lord, yet even the little dogs under the table eat from the children’s crumbs.”
29 Then He said to her, “For this saying go your way; the demon has gone out of your daughter.”
30 And when she had come to her house, she found the demon gone out, and her daughter lying on the bed.
Appearances are everything…to some people. That certainly was the case with the Pharisees who were all about keeping up appearances and making sure other people saw them acting pious and holy. And because they were like that, they thought they had the right to chastise Jesus’ disciples for not following their – the Pharisees’ – rules.
But appearances are merely the veneer, the thin coating which covers up what’s underneath. Like the thin veneer of a countertop or a cheap piece of furniture, what’s underneath isn’t natural wood; it isn’t worth much. With the veneer, what you see is not what you get.
Jesus rebuked the Pharisees with the very Scriptures they thought they knew. He tore off their misleading veneer of self-righteousness and false piety by rubbing their noses in the Word of God. He chastised them for keeping their own traditions instead of being obedient to God’s Word. He chided them for their evil words and actions.
But the Syro-Phoenician woman had no veneer; she wasn’t a fake Christian; she wasn’t superficial or pseudo-pious. She clung to Jesus and was willing to receive anything, even a crumb, from Him because she had faith in Him. And she received more than crumbs, for Jesus healed her dear daughter of demon-possession.
We need to repent of being Pharisaic about our faith from time to time. Our sinful nature wants to hold up our own goodness and works as the reason God loves us. But God doesn’t save or forgive based on anything we do or are. He saves and forgives because it is His nature. He demonstrated His love for all mankind by sending His Son to pay for the sins of the world, and He grants salvation to all who believe in His work for them. And He continues to deliver His forgiveness and strength through the Holy BAGS – Baptism, Absolution, Gospel, and Supper. Those things have no veneer. Like Jesus, they’re solid, genuine, and sure.
Let us pray: Lord Jesus, thank You for Your genuine love, mercy, and forgiveness. Amen.
