A Disciple's Journeyনমুনা

Following Jesus Means Making War on Sin

In Mark 7, Jesus has a conflict with the Pharisees over hand-washing. Jesus’s disciples ate a meal without washing their hands first. This was a big no-no with the Pharisees because their traditions included ritual washings of the hands, the body, and even cups, pots, containers, and couches (Mark 7:3–4). But Jesus pointed out the irony—the Pharisees were zealous to be clean on the outside, but on the inside, in the heart, they remained filthy. The Pharisees thought they could be “clean” merely by running some water over their hands, but Jesus said, “what comes out of a person is what defiles him” (Mark 7:20). When our hearts are bad, they’re going to generate “evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, coveting, wickedness, deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride, foolishness” (Mark 7:21–22). These are what actually defile someone (Mark 7:23).

Jesus wasn’t saying that there’s anything wrong with washing your hands before you eat. He was showing His disciples not to miss the greater thing for a lesser thing. The greater thing, the most important thing, is that our hearts be made clean before God. Once this happens, the rest will fall into order. If we’re going to be disciples of Jesus, we have to begin to root out sinful desires from our hearts. We have to work on cleaning the inside. We have to learn to love and desire the right things.

That may involve some extreme measures at times. It may mean giving up good things in order to pursue the greatest thing. In Mark 9:43–48, Jesus takes this to an extreme—if your hand, your foot, or your eye causes you to sin, Jesus has a harsh solution. Cut them off. Pluck them out. Losing a part of your body would be horrible, but maintaining the wholeness of your body at the cost of your soul is not worth it! Better to be ruthless against ourselves now, to make total war against sin now, than to experience God’s judgment later.

Many people who call themselves Christians today want to follow a Jesus who loves but never judges, who encourages but never chastises, who affirms but never condemns. They want to remake Jesus into a nice, non-judgmental teacher who wanted everyone to be happy and get along. But that’s not the real Jesus. The disciple’s journey requires making war on sin in our lives, and that involves not just changing our behavior but asking for a clean and renewed heart.