them, walk ing on the lake. He was about
to pass by them, 49 but when they saw him
walk ing on the lake, they thought he was
a ghost. They cried out, 50 be cause they all
saw him and were ter ri fied.
Im me di ate ly he spoke to them and
said, “Take cour age! It is I. Don’t be
afraid.” 51 Then he climbed into the boat
with them, and the wind died down. They
were completely amazed, 52 for they had
not un der stood about the loaves; their
hearts were hardened.
53 When they had crossed over, they
land ed at Gen nes a ret and an chored
there. 54 As soon as they got out of the
boat, people recognized Jesus. 55 They ran
through out that whole re gion and carried
the sick on mats to wher ev er they
heard he was. 56 And wherever he went —
into villages, towns or countryside — they
placed the sick in the mar ket plac es. They
begged him to let them touch even the
edge of his cloak, and all who touched it
were healed.
THAT WHICH DEFILES
7
The
Phar i sees and some of the teachers
of the law who had come from
Je ru sa lem gath ered around Jesus
MAKIN’ IT REAL
MARK 7:5 – 14
2 and saw some of his dis ci ples eat ing
food with hands that were de filed, that
is, unwashed. 3 (The Phar i sees and all the
Jews do not eat un less they give their
hands a ceremonial washing, holding to
the tra di tion of the el ders. 4 When they
come from the mar ket place they do not
eat un less they wash. And they ob serve
many oth er tra di tions, such as the washing
of cups, pitch ers and ket tles. a )
5 So the Phar i sees and teach ers of the
law asked Jesus, “Why don’t your dis ciples
live ac cord ing to the tra di tion of the
el ders in stead of eat ing their food with
defiled hands?”
6 He re plied, “Isa iah was right when he
prophesied about you hypocrites; as it is
written:
“ ‘These people honor me with their
lips,
but their hearts are far from me.
7 They worship me in vain;
their teachings are merely human
rules.’ b
8 You have let go of the com mands of God
and are hold ing on to hu man tra di tions.”
a
4 Some early manuscripts pitchers, kettles and
dining couches
b
6,7 Isaiah 29:13
WEARING A SIGNATURE SNEAKER doesn’t make you an
Olympic athlete. Owning a rockin’ electric guitar doesn’t make you
a guitar hero. And while obeying your parents’ and teachers’ rules is
cool, it doesn’t make you right with God. Ouch!
Jesus’ message was radical: Changed lives don’t create changed hearts,
but changed hearts do create changed lives.
Connecting with God starts in your heart. When you have faith in
God and love for him on the inside, God transforms you on the
outside. Just like with a well that gushes impure water, you have
to purify the water source to get clean water. Your behavior will
change because of your heart for God. Trying to be a godly person
by behaving better will only lead to frustration because you’ll never
get it just right. Start by going to the source—your heart—
and getting it right with God. Then let him take care of
the outside.
1137 / Mark 7:8