Jesus and His disciples were surrounded by Pharisees and some teachers of the law. These religious leaders noticed something they found troubling: some of Jesus’ followers ate their food with hands that were not ceremonially clean, a practice deeply ingrained in their traditions to maintain purity. The Pharisees and teachers asked Jesus why His disciples didn’t follow the tradition of the elders, eating without first performing the ritual washing of their hands.
Jesus, recognizing a teachable moment, addressed their concerns, but not in the way they expected. He called them out for holding onto human traditions while neglecting God’s commandments, highlighting a deeper issue of the heart over outward appearances and actions.
In His response, Jesus quoted the prophet Isaiah to illustrate their hypocrisy: “This people honoureth me with their lips, but their heart is far from me.” He explained that it’s not what enters a person from the outside that defiles them, but what comes from within.
And so, He brought them, and us, to Mark 7:19, where He declared, “Because it entereth not into his heart, but into the belly, and goeth out into the draught, purging all meats?”
With these words, Jesus was teaching that the foods we eat pass through our body and are eliminated, having no lasting impact on our spirituality.
Jesus was drawing a line between the physical and the spiritual, between the gut and the heart.
The gut, as He explained, is about our physical well-being. It’s where our food goes, providing energy to our bodies but also producing waste. It’s a necessary part of our biological existence, but it doesn’t define our spiritual state.
On the other hand, the heart, is the seat of our spiritual health. It’s from the heart that our spiritual nature flows, the origin of our thoughts, actions, and desires. As He continued, Jesus made it clear: “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 defile the man.” Mark 7:20-23
Through this teaching, Jesus was illustrating a deep truth: our spiritual health and purity are not determined by external rituals or dietary practices but by the state of our hearts. The gut may be responsible for our physical health, converting food into energy and disposing of waste, but it’s the heart that shapes our character and relationship with God.
The differences between the gut and the heart are vast:
- The gut is essential for our physical health, processing the food we eat into the energy we need to live and function. It’s about the physical sustenance that keeps our bodies alive.
- The heart, in contrast, is the source of our spiritual health. It’s where our true self resides, including our thoughts, feelings, and desires. Our heart shapes our actions, influencing how we live our lives and interact with others.
- The gut produces a byproduct, a necessary but ultimately waste product that is expelled from the body. This process is critical for physical health but has no bearing on a person’s moral or spiritual state.
- The heart, however, produces something much more lasting and impactful. The thoughts, emotions, and desires that come from our heart can inspire acts of love, kindness, and generosity. Yet, the same heart can also harbor negative thoughts and intentions that lead to sin and spiritual decay. Unlike the gut’s waste, what comes from the heart spills over into every area of our life, affecting not just ourselves but those around us.
Jesus was not teaching that we should neglect our physical well-being, he was highlighting our spiritual health is of utmost importance. The gut and the heart serve different roles, one sustaining our body and the other our soul.
Jesus’ message in Mark 7:19 and the surrounding verses is a call to self-examination and prioritization of our spiritual condition.
He challenges us to look beyond the physical and consider the state of our hearts, for it’s from the heart that our true selves are revealed. As we navigate our lives, let us remember the importance of nurturing not just a healthy body but a pure heart, from which flows the wellspring of life that truly pleases God.
