We'll now go to Mark chapter 7. Mark chapter 7, we start off in verse 14, and we go through to 23. Mark 7, 14 through 23. Once again, this is the Word of God. And when Jesus had called all the people unto him, he said unto them, hearken unto me, every one of you, and understand, there is nothing from without a man that entering into him can defile him, but the things which come out of him, those are they that defile the man. If any man have ears to hear, let him hear And when he was entered into the house from the people, his disciples asked him concerning the parable. And he says unto them, are you so without understanding also, do you not perceive that whatsoever thing from without entereth into the man, it cannot defile him, because it entereth not into his heart, but into the belly, and goeth out into the draught, purging all meats. And he said, that which cometh out of the man, that defileth the man, for from within Out of the heart of men proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lasciviousness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness. All these evil things come from within. and to defile the man, so ends the reading of God's holy, inspired, infallible word. Amen. Amen. Let us pray. Gracious God and Heavenly Father, we ask that you would open our hearts and that you would open our minds, that we might understand treasures that are found here in your word. Bless us then. Bless us. Almighty God, in Jesus' name, amen. Amen. There are a number of other passages that I would have had us to read, if I had a number of others that I could have chosen. But I want to just say this, a little bit of a verse, Galatians chapter 5, I ask that you have this in your mind. as we go through the passage that we're about to go through, because I would argue that Mark chapter 7 is a passage, at least the first half of it, is about the freedom that we have in Christ. Paul tells the Galatians in Galatians chapter 5 verse 1, he says, Stand fast therefore in the liberty or the freedom wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled with the yoke of bondage. We need to talk today about the freedom that we have in Jesus Christ. Now, the previous portion, if I had preached here last week, I would have sought to argue that you as believers in the Lord Jesus Christ are free, free from the commandments and doctrines of men. And this is a good freedom to be in the Lord Jesus. ever anxious to show that he does not break the Sabbath, that he never breaks the law of God, is also more than happy to break the laws of men when those laws are binding. People assume that they are binding when they actually are not. In the previous portion, the previous section, Basically, they say, why do you and your disciples not wash your hands like we do? We received these traditions that have come down from the elders, and you are breaking these traditions. And you can understand that if this were to happen in our day and age, many people would say, why are you making a big fuss? It's just washing hands. You know, just wash your hands a little bit. It's no big deal. Just wash your hands, don't make a scene. But Jesus is more than happy to make a scene over something which seems small to some people, but is actually very, very large. We are free from what God, or you are not free from what God has commanded, we are free from what man has commanded. Well now, we move into our section starting at verse 14. I want you to see that we are free even from some things that God has commanded. We are free from some things that God has commanded, namely the ceremonial law. There's also another background that I would have had us to read, Leviticus chapter 11. In Leviticus chapter 11, not, I will confess, the most edifying reading if we're reading through the whole Bible, but it is the Word of God. Leviticus chapter 11, what do we find? The rules for what the Hebrew people may eat and what they may not eat. And so it tells us the sort of animals from the air that we may eat, and some of the animals on the earth, and also those which are sea creatures. And the long and short of it, we'll just get right to the point, because we can't spend all day, no pork, no shrimp and lobster, no crab, and what's very disappointing, I trust, to many, no rock badger, Why did God say that the Hebrew people of the Old Covenant may eat this and this and this and this, and not that and that and that and that? The purpose that God had in doing that was to distinguish the Hebrew people from the others. There were a number of markers that marked out the Hebrew people against the others. Of course, there was circumcision of the men. The Gentiles did not circumcise. Some may have. There's some evidence some people would present, but the vast majority of them did not. Also, the Gentiles were all about the eating of pork and lobster and crab and all of these things. We must ask ourselves, are we bound by these laws anymore? The purpose was to distinguish the people of God of the Old Testament versus the nations. So now coming to verses 14 and 15, then 17 and 19. And then 20 through 23, let me just say we have first seven, 14 through 15, positive and negative. Jesus is going to say something that seems like a proverb, but then it's later going to be called a parable. So let us get this these things into our minds. This is what the Lord Jesus says, 14 and 15. He states his case positively and negatively. He says, hearken unto me, every one of you, and understand there is nothing from without a man that entering into him can defile him. but the things which come out of him, those are they that defile the man." Now, if you are a first century Jew who understands the Old Testament, and you hear this rabbi get up, and you hear him say, listen, it doesn't matter what goes into you, that doesn't defile you, it's what comes out of you that defiles you, and you go, what is he talking about? Well they should be accustomed to the Lord Jesus by this time saying some extraordinary things and some baffling things. And the portions of the chapters of Mark that come before he leaves them baffled a number of times. It's true of all of the Gospels. So he says this positively and negatively. It's not what goes into you, it's what comes out of you. and they are baffled, they are wondering. And so, after Jesus and the disciples are together, they are together, and the disciples can ask, verse 17, when he was entering into the house from the people, his disciples asked him concerning the parable, and he saith unto them, harsh, scolding words we trust. Are ye so without understanding also? Do ye not perceive that whatsoever thing from without entereth into the man, it cannot defile him, because it entereth not into his heart, but into the belly, and goeth out into the draught, that is, just basically into the toilet, purging all meats. Jesus Christ is saying, you don't understand either. But we understand that they didn't have the Holy Spirit in the same way that we do. They didn't have the clarity that we do. But Jesus is saying something that is astonishing. What goes into you, it does not defile you. Why? Because it goes through your stomach, comes out the other end, and never touches your heart. It never goes there. Well, this is certainly surprising to them. Can you imagine? This is turning things that God has said on their head. This is not like the previous section, where he's turning man's word on its head. He's turning God's word on its head. He's saying, that really doesn't matter. understand that there is this part which it says in this version that I have here purging all meats. You might have a translation that says thus purifying all food. But what's going on here? Well, the Bible in Greek, it really doesn't have quotation marks, and it doesn't have letters in red. A number of our Bibles don't even have either one of those things either. So we're left with this question. Is Jesus talking, and he says, into the belly, and goeth out into the draught, and that's the end of Jesus speaking, and now it's, Thus, he purged all food. In other words, is this Mark who's now giving us a commentary, because hindsight is 20-20, and he's saying, this is the part where Jesus purified all food. Or is it the case that Jesus continued to speak, and he's basically saying, thus, purifying all food. Is Jesus the one who says it, or is Mark the one who says it? Well, either way, it is the Holy Spirit who is telling you that Jesus has cleansed, he has purified all food. And so therefore, this is no longer applicable. The ceremonial law is passed away. We read the Old Covenant. Numbers. Chapter 19, there's a whole lot of ceremonial law in there. And what I'm saying is what I believe Jesus and Mark are very much saying. The Holy Spirit is saying that you are free from the ceremonial law. We confess the Westminster Confession of Faith. We have a chapter on liberty, and it tells us rightly on the basis of this that we are not bound by man-made laws, and we're not bound by the ceremonial law anymore. The ceremonial law was a burden, it was cumbersome, it was difficult. It distinguished the people of God of the Old Covenant versus those who were not the people of God. But as James and I sought to say to people a number of times this morning, Jesus didn't come just for the Jews. Jesus came for the nations. Jesus came for the nations. So the reason for the ceremonial law is no longer there. Well then, what does defile someone? And Jesus tells us, tells us, starting at verse 20, that which cometh out of the man, that defileth a man. For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, thefts, et cetera, and you have the sin list there. Certainly we would not say that from eating pork and crab and shrimp, that is where your covetousness your designs of adultery or blasphemy, you don't become prideful from eating those things. And woe unto the one who abstains from eating those things, and that becomes a source of pride. It is your heart that is the problem. It is the heart of man. because out of the heart flow all of these sins which are on this list. Let us focus especially on verse 21, but here is the thesis of what I want to drive home to in the brief amount of time that we have here, that Jesus Christ is your high priest, and Jesus Christ removes the ceremonial food laws. Jesus tells you what your real problem is and Jesus gives the remedy for the true problem. First, Jesus Christ is your high priest. The old covenant had many priests and it also had the high priest. It begins with Aaron and it's handed down. You understand that there were a number of tribes for the people of Israel. There was one which was the priestly tribe and a part of that priestly tribe was in a part of that was found the high priest handed down. I understand that all the priests, in all of their work, some of them playing instruments in the temple, some of them creating songs, some of them cutting animals, some of them dealing with mold in houses and food laws and all of these things. All of them were men under orders. They did not have the ability to make changes. to the law. Jesus Christ is your high priest, and he comes with the authority to change the law, having fulfilled it. And he is able to say, this no longer applies. This no longer applies. He has the authority. And Jesus abrogates the ceremonial law. He takes it away. Praise God that we have been freed from that burden. It's extraordinary when you think about what comes next. If you're reading, you might have one of those Bibles that gives you a preview. Uninspired, non-inspired notes at the top. The Lord Jesus is going to talk to the woman. She's gonna say, hey, you know, can you help me out with something? And he says, well, he's talking to a gentile woman. Can't do that. I'm not to talk to the dogs. I'm to speak to the children of Israel. And she extraordinarily answers within the picture that he has made. She says, yeah, but the dogs get to eat the crumbs. He says, yeah, absolutely. What is this? the issue of food laws and a demonstration that we are free from the ceremonial law, and then immediately after that, the talk of Gentiles receiving grace. It seems just like the book of Acts, Acts chapter 10 and Acts chapter 11. Acts chapter 10, what happens? Peter's out there, he has a vision, a sheet with According to the Old Covenant, unclean animals rises and falls, rises and falls. And Jesus says, get up, Peter, go, kill, eat. Peter says, no, no, I wouldn't do that. I've never eaten anything unclean. Jesus says, what I've called clean, don't call unclean. And then right after that, We have the issue of Cornelius and he says, hey, I just heard you're supposed to tell me something. And so Peter preaches the gospel and the Holy Spirit falls upon Cornelius and his household. What happens after that? They report Peter to his Presbytery, and I mean that. You report him to his Presbytery and say, you know what he did? He gave Jesus, our Messiah, to the Gentiles, so he has to account for it at his Presbytery. And they say, what did you do? And he says, if I may paraphrase, I received this vision, I went, I preached the gospel, the Holy Spirit comes to them, and basically they are overcome, and they say, well, I guess that God has given our Messiah to the Gentiles. Originally, what are you doing giving our Messiah to the Gentiles? Now, they understand God has made a big change. It's not just for God so loved Israel that he gave his only begotten son. It is for God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son. That is why the Lord Jesus, your high priest, changes things at this point. Because the gospel is not only going to go to the Jews, it's going to go to all of the Gentiles. We are given pictures of it in the book of Revelation. The day is coming when it won't be just a sea of Jewish people, but it will be a sea of people from every nation, tribe, people, and language who will be the redeemed, the blood-bought pilgrims who will rejoice and sing and praise the Lord. And God is gathering people from all of the nations even now. Well, Jesus is telling us then, He tells us what the real problem is. Your problem is not that you eat lobster or shrimp. That is all made clean. If you receive it with thankfulness, if you acknowledge it as coming from Him, then you do right. But there is something more to the point. All of these sins, Do not these sins, these sin lists, hit each and every one of us out of the heart? Come evil thoughts and adulteries, fornications, murders, thefts, covetous wickedness, all of these things, blasphemy, pride. I think even as Reformed believers, we are inclined to think that we are simply victims of circumstance. I would be doing fine if I didn't have all of these external temptations that are constantly bombarding me. I think you probably could think that in a town like this. You are surrounded by a bombardment of external stimuli that you might think, well, if I didn't have those things, I wouldn't sin like I do. And if that's what you think, then Jesus speaks right to your heart and he says, it's not what's out of you, it's from what's within you. Those external things may simply provide the stimulus for your heart to pump after and to beat after those things. You cannot blame those external things, though they are real. You cannot blame the devil, ultimately. It is you. It is your heart. It is my heart. And we have no excuses. And that's why we must go to the Lord. and not confess that there are all these things outside of us that cause us to sin, but it is those things that are inside of us. It is a heart which is perpetually idolatrous, perpetually adulterous, perpetually lying. The Bible tells us in Jeremiah 17, it tells us that the heart is deceitful. Who can know it? That's ironic, is it not? It's saying that even the one who owns the heart can be deceived by his or her own heart. But it asks that rhetorical question, who can know it? It's the Lord Jesus who knows it. And yet he is not ashamed to call us brethren. While he points to the problem, he also supplies the solution. Jesus Christ dies not just to cancel our debt of sin, not just to pardon our guilt, but Jesus Christ comes into this world to purify our hearts. to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. That is the mission of the Lord Jesus. Understand that Jesus came, as our catechism rightly summarizes the biblical message, to give us justification and adoption and sanctification. This is why Jesus suffered on the cross and died and rose again You see, when you think of justification, what is this? This pardoning of our sin and canceling of our guilt? If God simply pardons you, that's not sufficient enough. It's not sufficient. Why? Because there is the internal heart. It needs to be cleansed. But if God just simply cleanses your heart without dealing with the debt of your sin, then you are still incomplete. What God does is he, by your faith, which he gives as a gift, he declares you righteous in the courtroom of God. But he also, by the cleansing power of the Lord Jesus, washes our hearts and breaks the power of sin in us but also he adopts us and makes us his own for we had satan as our father we had Adam as our first father and his first sin is imputed to us, but the Lord Jesus imputes His righteousness, gives us His holiness, and makes us to be sons and daughters. This is extraordinary. What has God done through Jesus Christ? He has ministered to the whole man. He has ministered to the whole woman. This is what he has done. And Jesus has freed us from the ceremonial law. I'm gonna point you to Ephesians chapter two, starting at 14, as we seek to wind things down, Lord willing, finished in just a moment but look at this you understand that the the ceremonial law on all of the foods and all of these things these these things were a wall that divided jew and gentile and so there were those who were outside of the kingdom of god namely the gentiles and they're brought in, Ephesians 2, 14, tells us that for he, that is Jesus, is our peace, who hath made both one, that is both Jew and Gentile, hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us, having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments, contained in ordinances for to make in himself of two one new man. so making peace and that he might reconcile both unto God in one body by the cross, having slain the enmity thereby came and preached peace to you who are far off to them that were nigh or those who were near. He did this. The father does this by the spirit. What is God doing? He is making of the Jews and of the Gentiles one man. Christ is the head and with all of us as the body. And so therefore there are not two peoples of God. There's one people of God composed of Jew and of Gentile. So therefore, may we look to those who call upon the Lord Jesus Christ and say, That is my brother. That is my sister. Not only has he dropped down, knocked down the wall, but he has even penetrated into the walls of both of our hearts. And he has washed us and cleansed us and purified us. And he is making of us to be one man. Therefore, let nothing hinder you from entering into communion with God the Father and with the Lord Jesus your High Priest. Do not let the commandments of men, previous section, Keep you from communion with God. And do not let Old Testament passing away commandments prevent you from entering into communion with your God. And especially, do not let guilt, the impurity of your heart hinder this, for the Lord Jesus has made the way he has provided so that there would be no barriers, no man-made barriers, no Old Testament barriers, and no heart barriers either. This is the grace of God. Let us go to him boldly. and understand that we will be received in the courtroom, the throne room of our Father and of Jesus, our brother. Let us go. Let us pray. Father in heaven, we thank you that in Christ we have no hindrances. For you have pardoned us, forgiven us, and cleansed us, and made us to approach you, not as freed slaves, as extraordinarily wonderful as that is, but we are freed slaves who have become sons and daughters. So bless us as we approach you, and we thank you that we ever have a hearing. Cast off all of our sin, all of these things which are contrary to you, and cause us to behold the grace of God in the face of Jesus Christ. May his light shine upon each and everyone who is in this room. In his name we pray, amen.