It's Coming from Inside!!

A Sinister Voice

It’s a classic trick in scary movies. A teenage girl is alone in a house on a dark and stormy night. The phone rings. The sinister voice of the creepy caller sends shivers down your spine.

To get the full effect, we’re talking about a time when there were no cellphones or caller ID. Back in a previous millennium when all you had was a landline.

Tracing the Call

Back at the house, the babysitter (it’s ALWAYS a babysitter!) keeps getting threatening calls. Why she keeps answering, we have no idea. Eventually she calls the police. The cops trace the call. Everyone knows what they tell her…

The call is coming from inside the house!

Danger from Deep Inside

Did you know that a couple of thousand years before horror movies used this device, Jesus actually taught this same idea? No, not terrifying phone calls to teenage babysitters, but that the real danger comes from deep inside. Not inside the house, but inside our hearts.

Before we go any further, I need to give credit to Andy Stanley for a big chunk of this idea. I highly recommend his series called “It Came from Within.” He also wrote a book by the same name. Very good stuff about the very bad stuff we all carry deep inside.

In his bio of Jesus, Mark tells his readers about the time Jesus reveals the true source of our trouble (Mk 7:14-23). You see, He knows it doesn’t come from somewhere out there. Our Savior understands it comes from within.

The Hebrew Home Office

It helps to have a little context to what Christ says here. Just before this, He has a nasty confrontation with the religious police from the Hebrew home office in Jerusalem (Mk 7:1-13).

The Pharisees and scribes blow a gasket when they realize Jesus and His closest followers are completely ignoring Jewish rules of cleanliness. Understand, this has NOTHING to do with sanitation and EVERYTHING to do with ceremony. Not to mention these are man-made rules and not from God.

In essence, these religious experts are convinced externals are the problem. They think the icky stuff on the outside pollutes us on the inside. Jesus doesn’t just flip the script on these phonies, He uses it as an opportunity to make a teaching point.

Putting the Pieces Together

The Lord assembles people around Him. “And He called to the crowd to come and hear. ‘All of you listen,’ He said, ‘and try to understand’” (v14). Gather ‘round, folks. We need to chat about the location of your problems.

The phrase in the NLT “try to understand” is actually the Greek verb συνιημι/sunimemi. It’s a compound word that describes bringing or joining together. Jesus wants them to put all the pieces of a puzzle together and figure this out.

It’s Not the Garbage Coming in But the Garbage Going out

In the next verse, Jesus lets us in on the big idea behind our big issues. “It’s not what goes into your body that defiles you; you are defiled by what comes from your heart” (v15). Forget about the garbage in. Concentrate on the garbage out.

For the first time, we see the key word in the passage: “defile” (Gr. κοινοω/koino’o). This is another one of those Greek words that means something very different depending on how the writer is using it.

Polluting the Pure

In the Greco-Roman world, the term can describe sharing something with somebody else. It comes from the same root word as κοινωνια/koinonia which means fellowship and participating in something together. Interestingly, of the fifteen times the term appears in the New Testament, it does NOT mean that.

Every time we see it in the NT, it’s used to paint a disgusting picture of stripping something of its special nature. Taking something holy and desecrating it. Imagine polluting and profaning anything pure.

The Threat from Inside

Turns out we see “defile” (Gr. κοινοω/koino’o) ten of those fifteen times in just the first two Gospels. And all of those occurrences are in Matthew and Mark’s different versions of this very same story! So wrapping our brains around the idea behind it is a kind of a big deal.

So let’s take another look at Jesus’ words to the crowd. He wants them (and us!) to understand that our biggest threat to sin doesn’t come from the outside, it’s coming from deep inside our own heart!

From Outside to Inside

Curiously, the scene shifts from outside to inside the house. He physically illustrates His point. I’m telling you, as a teacher, Jesus NEVER misses a trick! “Then Jesus went into a house to get away from the crowd, and His disciples asked Him what He meant by the parable He had just used” (v17).

Okay, many of you probably noticed we skipped right past verse 16. That’s because many of the oldest and most reliable versions of Mark’s Gospel don’t contain it. Most scholars believe someone added it later. Are we good?

The Disciples Ask a Question

Meanwhile back inside the house, the Dirty Dozen gets the opportunity to submit follow up questions to the Lord. Matthew tells us it was Peter who questions Jesus (Mt 15:15). It’s not the first time they ask Him to connect the dots. They do it all over the pages of the Gospels.

Pete and the boys want to know what in the world He’s talking about. They just don’t get it. Rabbis have been telling them since they were little kids that good boys don’t play with filthy things, only eat the kosher meal, and NEVER hang out with those nasty Gentiles.

The Pieces Don’t Fit

Our Savior answers their question with a question. “Don’t you understand either?” (v18). He uses that very same word (Gr. συνιημι/sunimemi) we saw back in verse 14. Apparently this puzzle is just too hard for them to put together. The pieces just don’t fit.

God’s Son Gets Graphic

Let’s just say Jesus gets down and dirty as He explains it to the boys. “Can’t you see that the food you put into your body cannot defile you? Food doesn’t go into your heart, but only passes through the stomach and then goes into the sewer” (v18-19).

Christ goes out of way to make it clear that what we put into ourselves has nothing to do with polluting us on the inside. He uses the specific example of food. The Son of God gets pretty graphic in the process.

Just Passing Through

He gives the guys a quick tour of the human digestive system. It doesn’t matter whether what you put in your mouth. A ribeye steak can’t make you sin…not even when it’s well done! Our food is just passing through. From chew to poo in the loo.

“Sewer” (Gr. ‘αφεδρων/aphedron) actually describes a first century toilet. A quick (and I mean VERY quick!) search of “ancient toilets” is pretty stinking gross. I’ll just cut to the chase to say it’s nothing like the piece of porcelain plumbing in your house.

A Potty Mouth?

Jesus isn’t like your average middle school boy looking for an excuse to use a potty mouth. He wants us to realize what happens on the outside isn’t the problem. He wants us to understand that what’s in our hearts is way more gross than what’s in the toilet.

Bacon Is Back on the Menu

Then Mark adds his own study notes in parentheses. “(By saying this, He declared that every kind of food is acceptable in God’s eyes)” (v19). You don’t have to look to the bottom of the page of your Bible for an explanation. The author includes it smack-dab in the passage!

He’s talking about the ancient food rules God gave Moses (Lev 11:1-47). The disciples clearly understand that the radical Rabbi/Carpenter is repealing the kosher food rules. And just like that, bacon is back on the menu!

Pete’s Crazy Daydream

This sure sounds a lot like Pete’s crazy daydream on a rooftop in the seaside city Joppa (Acts 10:9-16). Luke describes how God spreads out a picnic lunch with all sorts of critters on a blanket and tells Pete to dig in. The apostle politely declines because there’s nothing kosher on the supernatural buffet.

The voice of Jesus stops His apostle right there. “Do not call something unclean (Gr. κοινοω/koino’o) if God has made it clean” (Acts 10:15). Just so Pete understands, this happens not just once. Not just twice. But THREE times!

Interestingly, the disciple Jesus nicknames Rocky has trouble getting this idea through his skull in the following years. Paul tells us about the time he had to get in Pete’s grill over his issues with kosher eating in Antioch that resulted in racism and bigotry (Gal 2:11-14).

Monsters Inside Me

Once more, the Messiah drives home the big idea that our problem isn’t on the outside. “It is what comes from the inside that defiles you” (v20). It’s like that rather disgusting TV series “Monsters Inside Me.” The show looks at the parasites, bacteria, viruses, and other nastiness that we carry around in our bodies.

Our Savior wants us to stop being so hung up on the externals. If you really knew the crap you carry on the inside, you’d REALLY be scared! Oh, we’ve all got a monster deep in our core. And Jesus isn’t talking about a tapeworm either!!

A Churning Urn of Burning Funk

So just what is this pile of slime seething inside me? Allow the Lord to read the repulsive roster. “For from within, out of a person’s heart, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, wickedness, deceit, lustful desires, envy, slander, pride, and foolishness” (v21-22).

That’s quite a heinous list, don’t you think? Maybe you’re not buying what Jesus is selling. There’s no way that churning urn of burning funk is bubbling inside you. If that’s you, you would be wrong.

Where Did THAT Come from?

Let me explain. Have you ever just blurted out words from that very special four-letter section of you vocabulary? Ever done something suddenly that seemed WAY out of character for you. You say to yourself something like “Where did THAT come from?!?”

Christ shines a bright light on the darkness of our hearts to let us know. And just like the babysitter in the horror flick, you’re shocked to find out it’s coming from inside of YOU!!!

A Second Look

Take a second look at that sinful cesspool again. Read it slowly. I mean, s-l-o-w-l-y. Evil thoughts. Sexual immorality. Theft. Murder. Adultery. Greed. Wickedness. Deceit. Lustful desires. Envy. Slander. Pride. Foolishness.

Before we can blame anyone or anything else, Jesus isn’t letting us off the hook. “All these vile things come from within; they are what defile you” (v23). Yup, He said all. Every. Single. One.

A Toxic Waste Dump

Through the prophet Jeremiah, God doubles down on the truth that we’re all rotten to the core. “The human heart is the most deceitful of all things, and desperately wicked. Who really knows how bad it is?” (Jer 17:9).

So what can we do when our hearts are a toxic waste dump of sinful slime? It’s not like the EPA can declare what’s inside us as a superfund cleanup site. Take a listen to King David’s cry for help. “Create in me a clean heart, O God. Renew a loyal spirit within me” (Ps 51:10).

A Brand New Heart

The good news is that God doesn’t just diagnose our problem. He also promises to do what we could never do for ourselves. He promises to give His kids a brand new heart. And He promises it over and over and over.

“I will give them hearts that recognize Me as the LORD. They will be my people, I will be their God, for they will return to Me wholeheartedly” (Jer 24:7).

“I will take away their stony, stubborn heart and give them a tender, responsive heart, so they will obey My decrees and regulations. Then they will truly be My people, and I will be their God” (Ezek 11:19-20).

“And I will give you a new heart, and I will put a new Spirit in you. I will take out your stony, stubborn heart and give you a tender, responsive heart. And I will put My Spirit in you so that you will follow My decrees and be careful to obey My regulations…You will be My people, and I will be your God” (Ezek 36:26-27, 28).

Finishing What He Starts

If you’ve placed your trust in Jesus, He’s already started the process of your supernatural heart transplant. Until He’s done, some of our old crap will occasionally ooze out. But God assures us that He won’t leave us hanging. He will finish what He starts in each one of Christ’s followers (Phil 1:6).

So the next time your own sin blindsides you and the people you love, don’t point fingers. Don’t make excuses. You’re NOT the victim. Even worse, it’s coming from inside YOU!!

©2018 

Jay Jennings