Today as I read in Mark 7, I see yet another post come together that I’d love to share—the Word is so very rich!!! And as many times as I’ve read it, in these days I have free from work, so many things are being revealed to me!
In the first part of this chapter, the Pharisees and some of the scribes noticed that Jesus’ disciples were eating bread with “defiled hands” as it was the custom for all Jews to wash their hands in a ritual way before eating, a tradition of their elders. So they asked Jesus why they ate this way and Jesus rebuked them strongly, quoting the prophet Isaiah in verses 6-7 saying, “This people honors Me with their lips, but their heart is far from Me. And in vain they worship Me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.” He then rebuked them, asking them to consider that when the mouth eats food and the food is then excreted by the body, the body purifies the food, and they are not defiled. Rather evil comes out from within the human heart, all manners of evil! He says, in verse 20, “What comes out of a man, that defiles a man. For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murder, thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lewdness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness. All these evil things come from within and defile a man.”
So, in what way do we truly wash our hands? In what way can truly washing our hands clean us from the inside, and cleanse our hearts of evil? Let’s look at some washing in the New Testament. In the gospel of John, before they ate the Last Supper the night before Jesus’ crucifixion, Jesus famously washed the disciples’ feet. When it was Peter’s turn, he insisted “You shall never wash my feet!” But Jesus spoke to him, saying, “If I do not wash you, you have no part in Me.” Well then Peter got excited and told Him to wash also his hands and head! But Jesus said something interesting to him: “He who is bathed needs only to wash his feet, but is completely clean; and you are clean, but not all of you (speaking of Judas Iscariot who would betray Him).”
A little later in John 15:3-4, Jesus says to his disciples, “You have already been cleansed by the word that I have spoken to you. Abide in Me, and I in you.” Then in the letter to the Ephesians, the apostle Paul says to husbands in Eph 5:25-27, “Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her, that He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the Word, that He might present her to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without blemish.” Then in the book of Revelations, John says in chapter 22, verse 14, “Blessed are those who do His commandments and wash their robes, that they may have the right to the tree of life…” So, we see that washing is by the washing of the Word and obeying the commands He teaches us.
So, back to our verse in Mark 7: What do the gospels tell us? How do we truly wash our hands and cleanse our hearts? How do we use our hands in obedience to His Words? 1 Thessalonians 4:11-12 says, “We urge you brethren… that you lead a quiet life, to mind your own business, and to work with your own hands, as we commanded you, that you may walk properly towards those who are outside, and that you may lack nothing.” So, we live a life of diligent, hard work, carrying each our burden and help each other bear burdens along the way. We live a “quiet life” just as Peter shows us in 1 Peter 3:3-4, “Do not let your adornment be merely outward (like washing your hands before eating!)—arranging the hair, wearing gold, or putting on fine apparel—rather let it be the hidden person of the heart, with the incorruptible beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is very precious in the sight of God.”
This gentle and quiet spirit abided a special woman for her great act of mercy on the Savior. In the book of Luke 7:36-38, Jesus was eating at the house of a Pharisee, when a “woman in the city who was a sinner… brought a flask of fragrant oil, and stood at His feet behind Him weeping; and she began to wash His feet with her tears, and wiped them with the hair of her head; and she kissed His feet and anointed them with the fragrant oil.” He rebuked Simon the Pharisee who had criticized him for letting a sinner touch Him by showing him that they had neither washed His feet, nor gave Him a kiss, nor anointed His head with oil since He entered their house, but this woman showed “she loved much,” so He told her, “Your sins are forgiven…Your faith has saved you. Go in peace.” We see by this precious woman’s humble, quiet and gentle spirit, the love and repentance, the adoration and worship in which we can use our hands to cleanse our hearts by breaking fragrant oil on the feet of our Savior, offering the tears of a contrite heart for the measure of His pain suffered for our sake.
While this is our posture before the Lord and His cross, we can also use our hands in His service. Just yesterday, we learned of how the disciples passed out bread to the multitudes. So too can we use our hands to pass out bread to the lost in sharing the Word of God with those who need a shepherd. One more way we can use our hands is to be ready for His return in His second coming. In Matthew 25:1-16, we learned of the wise virgins who kept an extra flask of oil for their lamps awaiting the bridegroom’s return, just in case He came in the night. They were ready, using their hands to trim their wicks, just as we are to trim our wicks, seeking out the presence of the Holy Spirit and seeking to bear His fruits and abide in His will as we wait for our King.
One last thing we can do to truly wash our hands before we eat the manna of His Word and His broken body is to raise them to heaven in praise and worship! Let us do this often and posture our hearts with the contrition and adoration of one who used our hands to break costly fragrant oil on His feet. Let us not look to outward cleanliness and adornment but strive instead to trim our wicks with the gentle, quiet spirit of His Holy Spirit. Let us trim our wicks in obedience to His commands awaiting His return faithfully. Let us hear Him say to us, “Your faith has saved you. Go in peace.” Let us lift holy, cleansed hands to hea
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