October 19, 2024 Daily Devotion

This People Honors Me With Their Lips…

You disregard God’s commandment but cling to human tradition.

Mark 7:8

What does it truly mean to keep one’s sanctity undefiled? Jesus cites the prophet Isaiah to explain that their ritual cleansing practices are human innovations, explicitly forbidden by Moses in Deuteronomy 4:2: “In your observance of the commandments of the Lord, your God, which I enjoin upon you, you shall not add to what I command you nor subtract from it.”

Jesus gathers the local Galilean crowd to teach them what it truly means to keep one’s sanctity undefiled. As Jesus explains, defilement is not about what we take in from the outside world but what comes from within. “From within people, from their hearts, come evil thoughts, unchastity, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit, licentiousness, envy, blasphemy, arrogance, and folly. All these evils come from within, and they defile (vv.21-23).