Mark 7 WORSHIP FROM THE HEART

The Pharisees washed their hands before every meal, dedicated their estates to God, and committed themselves to (outward forms of) worship. (7:3-4,11) So, why were they so heinously bad in the eyes of Jesus? Because Jesus could see their hearts, and He knew that the inward man was not as consecrated as the outward man looked.

In truth, their hearts were far from God. (7:6) How did Jesus know that? Of course, He knew their hearts. But He also could see their fruit. He could see that they did what made them look good, but neglected what would be hard. They did not love people (such as Jesus, their parents, etc.). They focused on outward acts, like proper food and handwashing, but not on justice, righteousness and truth. In short, He could see that they were hypocrites, actors on the stage of life, playing the role of respectable holy men, but completely missing the real thing.

There are religious hypocrites today, just as the Pharisees. Christians who bow to pray in the restaurant, and then are grumpy and picky and don't tip well. Who do they REALLY pray to when they bow their heads to say grace? Apparently, they really only love themselves, not God, because God teaches us to love and be generous and hospitable to strangers!

There are Christians who, while driving to church or some Christian function, get cut off and fly into road rage, or who yell at the authority (ump, ref, coach or players) at a sporting event. There are Christians who eat a proper diet, but who protect their property rights, yell at kids to get away from their yard, and isolate themselves from others.

"And you do many things like that," said Jesus. (7:13) Indeed, so do we. So do we.

"LORD, teach me the weightier matters of the law; teach me grace, teach me to love, teach me to carry out justice in my life, teach me to show mercy. In short, teach me to be like Jesus, not like the Pharisees. Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it. Prone to leave the God I love. Here's my heart, O take and seal it, seal it for Thy courts above. Through Jesus, Amen."
-ker