CONTRASTS He. THE COMMANDMENTS OF GOD: He makes them because He is God and has all authority in heaven and on earth; He gives them because knows what is best in the eternal view of things; He gives them because He knows what is best for us; He gives them because He knows the result of commandments carried out in fear of God; He gives them because His Word is effective in guiding us in every phase of life; He gives them because when they are carried out in God’s way, all are blessed; He gives them because they do what is needed in the best possible way. “These people.” THE TRADITIONS OF MEN: they are imposed because frail mortal men want to feel important; they are imposed because men want control of their own lives; they are imposed because they look good to others; they are imposed because of convenience; they are imposed to maintain conduct by which others can control actions. He. THINGS FROM WITHOUT: air, food, and water all come from without. Sounds of music or discordant noise come from without. Smells of cooking food, burning wood, and a thousand other smells come from without. All that I see comes from without and enters the filter of my mind. I cannot avoid many things that enter my mind and body, but I can filter them all and determine, for the most part, what is good or bad for me. Yet, by these entrance channels, I am defiled by what comes in from the outside. The processing of information takes place within the mind of a man. We cannot avoid temptations, but we can avoid yielding to temptations. We cannot avoid the attraction that evil might have, but we can avoid doing evil. We cannot avoid looking at something we like and do not have, but we can avoid coveting that thing. These people. THINGS THAT COME FROM WITHIN: the words that we hear, the sights that we see, the thoughts that we have, when they come out without the restrictions of the Spirit, defile a man. The thoughts expressed and actions taken come from within and can defile a man. The pride of the heart, the foolishness of careless words, and the wrong look of the eye come from within and defile a man. The desire to have and then to take the wickedness of the deed defiles a man because it seems acceptable. He. THE CHILDREN FIRST: He knows His own; He came to them, and they received Him not. He was one of the Jews, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, and His interests were in their well-being. He wanted to feed them, nourish them, to meet their need. He had food for the nation's soul and every individual's heart. He had what they needed; He offered it to them; all the blessings He had for them could’ve been theirs, but they chose to reject Him. The children could’ve been fed for these 2000 years but would not receive Him. The people. DOGS UNDER THE TABLE: The need was there, and the Gentile woman admitted it. The inability to meet that need was not covered or ignored in any way. The total need for the help of the Savior was recognized. He. THE MAN IN NEED: The Lord knew the curiosity of the multitude was superficial. He took the man aside privately. He identified the man’s need. He took a personal interest in each aspect of the man’s need when He put His fingers in the man’s ears and spit and touched his tongue. There was no question that the Lord’s interest was genuine. The impaired man could feel His fingers in his ears and the touch on his tongue. The Lord identified Himself with that man and fully met his needs. The people. THE MULTITUDE: their interest was superficial. Their need was not admitted to. Curiosity was the drawing attraction. Their astonishment was because His blessings were outside the bounds of their experience. They saw the results but never felt the need.
Exaltation of traditions, v.1-13 Hostility against the Lord Jesus Christ by religious leaders was far-reaching. A delegation of Pharisees and law teachers came from Jerusalem to join with local religious leaders in Capernaum, looking for some way to condemn the Lord Jesus. They had found no opportunity or reason to condemn Him because He did “always those things that pleased the Father.” Those so-called spiritual advisers were not there to find help but fault. They weren’t looking for grace but for grounds to condemn the Perfect Servant of God. The ground of complaint they chose to pursue was based on their interpretation of the law, but not the law itself. People found it more convenient for their own purposes to follow their own traditions rather than what the law meant.
It's not hard to find if you are looking for it – fault. With a person’s friends and where he goes; with a style of hair or with the type of clothes; with another’s politics or the kind of his religion; with the wife he married or the behavior of children; with the way he spends his money or how he saves, with the kind of dog he has, and how the dog behaves. They looked so hard at Jesus but found no fault or sin. They scrutinized His followers and blamed their faults on Him.
One person dresses up out of respect for the Lord, the other to make impressions on men. Another person dresses down in resentment so that when people look at them, they will think they are holy within and thumb their noses at those who follow tradition. For whatever reason a person acts thus, it is not an act of consecration. Men can only see what is without, so whether one dresses up or down, it is not in this way that our testimony is made or that the inward man is shown. In time, the character formed by what we take in will be revealed outwardly. Attitudes will be seen in expressions and deeds that show what we are all about.
It is not uncommon for people who oppose the word of God to seek some passage of scripture that appears to support an opinion they have. A verse taken out of context can sometimes be made to fit an argument or an agenda people have to suit their nefarious plans. The best way to deal with that attack against the actual meaning of the scripture is to open the Bible itself to the verse they quote and have them read it. Then, have them go to the beginning of the passage and read it to the end. Then, ask them to explain what it means in the context. People with any sense will see what the word of God really means when they read it the way it is written. God’s word is its greatest defense.
During the dark period between the two testaments, Jewish rabbis had come up with all kinds of forms and traditions to maintain their authority and leadership to their own advantage. The form of handwashing they promoted was to use the fist of one hand to rub vigorously against the palm of the other hand and vice versa. They had made that into such a form that it had taken on religious connotations. The charge they made against the disciples was to make the Lord Jesus Christ responsible for their actions because He was their leader. There is nothing to indicate the disciples had dirty hands but that they didn’t wash them in a prescribed way. Because the Jewish leaders washed their hands, their pots, pans, etc., in a certain way the rabbis had taught them, they wanted others to do the same. To wash or not wash wasn’t their point. Judaism had become a way to control people by the outward appearance of actions. What things look like is what is important to those who live only by tradition.
Not from the heart if you demand it – tradition. With pressure to conform to someone’s own opinion, with an eye to pleasing others, you ignore your own decision. With elders watching on, you fear men more than fear God; with the short view of tomorrow, you compromise God’s Word. With traditions of men important, you begin to follow men with lips that say one thing and deeds that don’t match them. With someone’s man-made tradition, you may make it yours, and you soon fall into following men instead of following the Lord.
They wanted to condemn Jesus because He did not conform to the “tradition of the elders” that they taught. Traditions are not necessarily wrong. But when traditions take the place of the word of God, then they are. Empty religion leaves people empty and susceptible to hypocrisy. That is what happens when people “Honor Me with their lips, but their heart is far from Me.” Such religion and the traditions that go with it are “in vain.” A visible reputation before men can be worthless in the sight of God when it sets aside the word of God in favor of the traditions of men. One can be outwardly pious and inwardly far away from God.
The answer of the Lord Jesus Christ was so appropriate! He quoted a passage of the scripture that Isaiah wrote concerning the counterfeit religionists of his day. Like actors in a play who wore a mask over their faces, those traditionalists were wearing a mask of religion. They were pretending to be followers of God but in reality, they were far away from Him. Their supposed deference to God was a covering for their own ambition and covetousness. They had rituals instead of reality. They were going through forms rather than coming to God in faith. Forms without faith are spurious religion that has nothing to do with the purpose of the law of God.
When practices are not according to the scriptures found in the Bible, they are misleading, dangerous, and deceptive. Such practices are beyond abhorrence. They can divert people into hell instead of heaven. Satan misused the word of God in that way in the Garden of Eden and led the first Adam into sin. He tried again with the second Adam, our Lord Jesus Christ, and found nothing in Him to respond to such deception.
The Lord Jesus then condemned those Pharisees and scribes for seeking to disannul and abolish the commandments of God as they are written in the scriptures. They were supposed to teach the law and enforce it, but instead, they were using their authority over the people and their interpretation of the law to their advantage. They had violated the law, dissolved its holy bonds, and made it of no effect.
Sons in a family were responsible for caring for their needy parents when they were old. That was a legal responsibility. They were also able to support the work of the temple by giving gifts to maintain it and the work of the priests. When they declared a certain amount of money was “Corban” (a gift), it was acceptable but not necessarily given at that time. It could be given whenever the giver chose to give it. Those scribes annulled the financial responsibility people had to aged parents by saying they had committed that money to the Lord as a gift. It was designated for that, but it didn’t have to be given then. They could use the money themselves for their own personal use and pay the “Corban” later when it was more convenient to them. So, in fact, such a person was neglecting the present needs of needy parents, withholding funds from the service of God and using them for his own interests. That was the example the Lord Jesus used to expose the religious tradition that was being practiced.
Similar ritualism is still happening in even the “Christian religions.” Instead of serving and worshipping God from the heart; people draw near with words and forms, but their hearts are far from Him. A practice may appear outwardly moving and spiritual by creating feelings of emotion and awe claimed to be worship, but such things are soon gone. The outward appearance does not move the true heart of people to humility, repentance, and faith. Being moved from outward to inward is not how true worship happens. It comes from within the heart and soul of a person to lead to the outward worship of God in spirit and truth. Emotions and excitement are not evidence of spirituality.
The heart of man, v.14-23 Cleansing of defilement from without does not deal with moral defilement from within. Religion deals with externals. Man, himself, is the source of defilement. Surroundings of evil can quickly stir up the evil that is within us. Moral evil from within leads to evil thinking, actions, evil-looking, and evil-speaking. The heart of man can be exposed openly when one is willing to be where evil is allowed and evident.
The Lord Jesus Christ called everyone there to draw near to Him. The common people, priests, Pharisees, scribes, and disciples gathered to listen to what He had to say. The Lord intended that they heard and paid heed to His words. Then in one great sweeping statement, He declared a moral truth that was not complicated in any way. “It is not what we take in that defiles us, but what comes out.”
Not from without but from within – defilement. Allowing thoughts to flow unchecked from within an active mind, with sights that appeal to an evil heart that seeks and soon finds that fleshly lusts never sleep and war against the soul. With covetous desires to want and have that for which you did not toil. With listening to others talk and beginning to speak like them, with pride rising up success’s ladder, you look down on other men with foolish talk, suggestive words, and a lifestyle that suits others. That defilement won’t go away until you are cleansed like sinners.
The outward ceremonies and forms are really quite unimportant. They really don’t do anything for you except deceive you if you trust in them. What is important is what is inside you. Thoughts, affections, words, and actions start from within us, and then defilement is exposed when they are out in the open. Those wicked, impure things are what defile. It is up to us to cleanse ourselves from all the filthiness of the flesh and spirit by washing water by the word of God.
After the Lord had made that sweeping general statement, His disciples wanted a further explanation. We can hear things from the word of God and not make sense of them or understand them until we take time to meditate on them, reflect on their meaning, and consider how to apply those truths to ourselves. Jesus told His disciples, in plain terms, by the illustration of eating food and eliminating waste, what He meant. Similarly, we take things in through our senses, but what we take in and allow to be kept in our minds will defile us when we act on those evil things.
Tyre and Sidon, v.24-30 Two incidents in the ministry of the Lord in Gentile territory show us that God accepts all people of all nations who put their faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. The Lord Jesus had His disciples with Him wherever He went because He was training them to carry on the work of the Gospel and the kingdom of God after He was gone. Time alone with the Lord is necessary for those invited to take His yoke upon them and learn from Him. The yoke will seem hard and the burden heavy if we haven’t spent much time with the Lord privately.
The journey to Tyre and Sidon and the seclusion in a house there with His disciples was for a purpose. Some things are best learned privately with the teacher rather than in a public meeting. They were taken away from the crowds in Galilee who wanted to make Jesus their king and also away from the hostility of the Jewish leaders. They would also be where the Teacher could show His disciples how to adapt to different nationalities, cultures, religions, and individuals. He wasn’t being rude or unnecessarily harsh to the woman who came to Him, wanting Him to heal her daughter, who was possessed by a demon. He went all the way to that area to meet her needs.
Not from self but from God Himself – faith. With open ears, she heard from afar of One who could meet her need. With anxious steps, she made her way and, in faith, fell at His feet. With a voice so plaintive, she spoke clearly about the problem with her daughter. With words that tested her firm resolve, the Lord Jesus explained an order. With words of humility and faith, she replied by taking a low position. With a heart of love and tenderness, the daughter was healed by the Great Physician. With a heart that responds to faith in Him, Jesus saves each one who comes. And everyone who comes to Him rejoices in all He has done.
Faith in God is not limited to those with a formal religion like Judaism or any other religion. The quick-witted Greek woman of Tyre wasn’t acquainted with all the nuances of the Jewish religion. She was somehow made aware that the Lord Jesus Christ could heal her daughter by a sovereign act of God. God had already made the way open for her to find the Lord by bringing Him to her and then her to Him.
The disciples would have learned from this incident that “God moves in a mysterious way, His wonders to perform.” In the not-too-distant future, Peter would have the opportunity to practice a similar action on behalf of the Gentile centurion, Cornelius, and his household. The Syrophoenician woman was very nimble in her thinking and in her words and yet was open and confident in her faith in the Lord. Even more so, she was urgent in her request and would not be easily put off. “You shall seek the Lord, and you shall find Him when you search for Him with all your heart.”
For our learning, we must remember that God is no respecter of persons. He wants “all men everywhere to repent” to change their minds about themselves and the Lord Jesus Christ. “In every nation, he that fears Him and works righteousness is accepted with Him.” His grace is available and sufficient for every need and weakness when the self-sufficient attitude and ways of any person are abandoned, and that person is humbled before God. God's marvelous, matchless grace is available to all people when they come in faith to the Lord Jesus Christ.
A father grieving over his son came to the Lord Jesus, and He responded to the father’s heart-felt anxiety over his son’s condition. A father whose daughter was on her deathbed (she died while the father was seeking Jesus) received her back alive and well. A woman whose only son had died got him back again by the word of authority and power of Jesus. God’s grace is available and sufficient. Faith in Christ and His grace to meet our needs, come together, and blessings results. The sorrow of a Greek mother and the confidence she had in the Lord Jesus moved the Lord to act in grace and grant her heartfelt desire.
She took the place of a house dog and was real about it, but it didn’t affect her confidence in the Lord. She knew He could do for her what was needed, and she admitted that there was no obligation on His part to do what she wanted. Divine love and grace respond to need and faith. Trouble, affliction, and despair have a way of bringing some of the greatest blessings we could ever get from our Gracious God. “Gracious God, we worship Thee. Reverently, we bow the knee. Jesus Christ, our only plea. Father, we adore Thee.”
In the burdens of life, we will often find our strengths to increase. That principle works in the physical aspects of our body. We are physically strengthened by increasing the weights we get used to carrying. That same principle works in the development of our intellect. The more we tax our minds, the more capacity and capability we have for reasonable thinking. The same is true in our spiritual intelligence. Following the Lord Jesus Christ is one thing. Bearing the yoke and learning from Him is something else. Our spiritual capacities increase as we experience the responsibilities and privileges of representing the kingdom of God.
If the Syrophoenician woman’s daughter had not been sick, she would never have come to Jesus. Most people will not call upon the name of the Lord if they feel no need. Young children are the exception because they are naturally drawn to a gracious, loving person. They like to be near such a person and spend time with that person, learning to know him/her and being assured of being loved. Favorite school teachers, grandparents, and loving friends are a great attraction to young children who are not yet polluted by the open sins of the world. That special time of life when they are first capable of independent thinking without the attraction of forbidden things is quite short. They know instinctively they have a sinful nature, and so do sinners, but the rebellious tendency to deliberately do what is wrong has not yet become the openly evil fruit of sin in their lives. Jesus said, “Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven.”
In spite of what some people say about this event in the country of Tyre and Sidon; the Lord was not harsh and rude in His interaction with the woman whose daughter was demon-possessed. He was a Teacher imparting His wisdom to His students. He was a Jew, crossing over the boundaries of tradition to meet the human needs of an alien. He was a gracious Healer who taught truth and used His healing power over physical sickness to support the greater need for spiritual healing of the soul. The healing of the soul is far more important because of the everlasting effect. Physical healing is temporal. Spiritual healing is eternal.
That woman was a testimony to the compassion of the Lord that extends worldwide. In every part of the world, there are those who seek the Lord and are “found of Him.” People from all parts of the earth will rise to meet the Lord in the air at the “rapture of the church.” Every nation will have people like the Greek woman, who will respond to the Gospel preached during the tribulation. Those who “endure to the end,” physically; will see Him when He returns in glory with those saved during this “church age.” Those of true faith in Christ will be persecuted, many will be put to death, and difficulties and calamities will be many. When the Lord comes, “will He find faith on the earth?” A persistent, cheerful faith triumphs in the long run. There will be delays and disappointments in life, but blessings will come. “Joy cometh in the morning.”
Symbolic Acts, v.31-37 Decapolis (“ten cities”) was predominantly Gentile in population, but that did not keep people from glorifying “the God of Israel.” This particular healing of the deaf-mute was like a representation of the condition of Israel as a nation. They wouldn’t hear the word of the Lord and did not express their faith in the Lord Jesus Christ as their Messiah, Immanuel. “They received Him not.” Yet, despite their attitude as a nation, the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ was extended to “whosoever will may come.”
This time, when the Lord went to Decapolis, instead of being urged to leave, there were multitudes that gathered to Him. The demon-possessed man whom the Lord healed on a previous occasion went home to tell his family and friends what had happened to him and the great things the Lord Jesus had done for him. It seemed to have had an impact on the whole area. He had been very effective in his witness, and the results were obvious—a multitude gathered to hear what the Lord had to say and to be healed. The power of a personal testimony may not be evident until it has had time to be proven. Then, it takes effect on the minds of people who know you, and it can bear good fruit.
The fields are white, the world is big, and the laborers in the harvest are few. Often, there is a lack of response to God's call because most people have only a short view. It is up to those who pray to ask God to send laborers into the field - and we have a responsibility to teach people that to God's call, they yield. There are people out there who are broken-hearted, although you would never know. The difficulties at home with family life are rarely shown on public shows. But the Spirit knows the truth of the matter and prompts you to meet the need. It may be to minister to them through the Word or for them to do some deed.
We may find people around us quite indifferent to the Gospel, but that can change over a period of time for different reasons. Some people are temporarily changed by calamity that falls on them or even the nation. But soon, people revert back to a comfortable, complacent condition. When reality is seen in the changed life of a person we know, and that person remains committed to the Lord who saved them, we are inclined to pay attention to them and wonder what actually happened to make such a change. Those who go off like a shot at their conversion may fizzle and die. It is the consistent day-to-day testimony of faith, peace, and joy that lasts; which has a great and lasting impact on observers.
Grace from our lips makes it easier for people to attend to the message of God's great grace. Faith under pressure lets people actually see what it is like when they live by faith. Love without dissimulation is love indeed, and by our love, others will see God is love. Those things that come from within are the ones that count, that make others want what we have. To look one way and act another doesn't really leave a false impression. That only serves to turn people away by promoting what is a deception. What I take in and what I give out should be that others be blessed. If it seems real to those who observe, they may want what I possess.
It is important to bear witness to what Christ has done for us and the relief pardon and forgiveness bring. To live that out before family and friends year after year brings a desire to an observer as they seek that for themselves. The burden of sin, the harassment of fear, and the longing for peace and forgiveness will hopefully bring people to you to find out how you are able to live with such settled peace and hope.
The healing action of the Lord for this deaf and dumb man wasn’t a dramatic event because of all the people. This was a private, quiet act of mercy. We learn from this event that God uses many ways to deal with people. Differences in places and situations may require different methods to use. We must remember that so we don’t expect the same results in every effort. The outcome of anything depends on the sovereign will of God. Some people are saved in public meetings, and some when they are alone. Others learn and act on what a Sunday School teacher tells them, and others on what they learned from parents and preachers. Whatever way circumstances and divine guidance lead is right. Winning souls require wisdom.
Around us are many helpless people who have not heard or don't understand the compassion of the Lord, which can be seen and experienced through the efforts of their fellowman. It may be all that is needed is for some interest to be shown in their situation. Bringing that person to the Lord Jesus may result in their salvation. It is almost considered to be inevitable that there will be those who criticize. What we preach and teach differs from the forms they so greatly prize. Don't despair when those testing times come, don't despair; our God will be the same forever. Stay loyal to Him and the truth of His Word, and continue on in the power of His name.
How thankful we are when God chooses to use our feeble, private efforts to bring people to the Savior. Other people may never know what you have done or what your part in a matter may be. But God does, and that is all that matters. It is our Lord who does “all things well.” It is He who brings blessing to needy people and quiet confidence to the vessel He chooses to use in any particular situation. “TO GOD BE THE GLORY, GREAT THINGS HE HAS DONE!”
MARK 8 The Lord Jesus Christ had been in the communities and villages for much of the time in Galilee, but for the most part, those people rejected His grace and desire to meet their spiritual needs. They only wanted healing so they could go back to living normally with normal pursuits. To follow the Lord and the teaching of the Gospel wasn’t what people wanted then and now. That attitude persists in this present day when people only call on God in emergency situations. Natural humans who are not born again by the Spirit of God only want God to stand by waiting for their beck and call. To many who ignore God most of the time, He is like a relief pitcher in a losing ball game who is expected to bring a win out of what seems to be a loss. Others think of Him as a silent servant standing in the shadows, waiting to be called to get some more hot gravy for their potatoes.
Jesus then went to “the desert place,” where people chose to come to Him. Then He went alone to “a mountain” where He was with His Father, and “walking on the sea,” He came to His struggling disciples. In chapter eight, He went with His own disciples to the “outside place.” In places like that, our spiritual needs are met, and opposition is silenced. Clear vision is given to see things clearly when we can overcome obstacles to walking by faith with spiritual eyesight. There will be reproach, rejection, loss, and perhaps suffering when we follow where He leads us.
The Subjects in this chapter