A HARMONY OF THE GOSPELS

II. Christ’s Teaching On Externalists And Externalism

(Matthew 15:10-20; Mark 7:14-23)

I. Introduction

A. The Pharisees “were concerned about external contamination,” viewing “themselves” as “clean within” and thus “wholly acceptable to God” (J. Dwight Pentecost, The Words and Works of Jesus Christ, 1991, p. 243).

B. This view exhibited dreadful spiritual blindness, what Jesus exposed and critiqued in Matthew 15:10-20 and Mark 7:14-23. We view Christ’s teaching on such externalists and their externalism for our insight, application and edification (as follows):

II. Christ’s Teaching On Externalists and Externalism, Matthew 15:10-20; Mark 7:14-23.

A. After the Pharisees asked Jesus why His disciples disobeyed their tradition of eating without washing their hands, and Jesus had responded by showing how the Pharisees transgressed God’s Biblical commands by their traditions (Matthew 15:1-9; Mark 7:1-13), Jesus addressed the issue of eating with unwashed hands.

1. First, Christ critiqued the Pharisees themselves for their externalism, Matthew 15:10-14:

a. He called the multitude together and taught them that not that which goes into the mouth defiles a man, but that which comes out of his mouth, for that defiled a man, Matthew 15:10-11; Mark 7:14-16.

b. Christ’s disciples then came to Him, asking, “Do you know that the Pharisees were offended when they heard this saying?” (Matthew 15:12 ESV) The disciples realized that Jesus’ teaching on what defiled a man was directed at the Pharisees as a critique against their emphasis on externalism with their extrabiblical rules on hand washing with meals (Bible Know. Com., N. T., p. 55).

c. Jesus answered His disciples first with a critique of the externalist Pharisees themselves, Matt. 15:13-14:

i. He stated that every plant that His heavenly Father had not planted would be pulled up by its roots, meaning that since the Pharisees had not been planted by God, they were headed for the uprooting of divine judgment, Matthew 15:13; Ibid.

ii. In addition, Christ’s disciples were to leave the externalist Pharisees alone, for they were blind guides who “had chosen their path and nothing would deter them,” Matthew 15:14a; Ibid.

iii. As blind guides, the externalist Pharisees led other spiritually blind people into their externalist religious viewpoint, and Jesus added that if the blind lead the blind, they both will eventually fall into a pit of spiritual defeat and consequent dishonor, Matthew 15:14b.

2. Second, Christ critiqued the Pharisees’ viewpoint of externalism, Matthew 15:15-20:

a. Jesus’ disciple Peter asked Him to explain the parable of how it was that not that which entered a man’s mouth when he ate food defiled him, but that which came out of his mouth, Matthew 15:15.

b. Christ’s answer revealed that Peter spoke for the rest of the disciples, for Jesus asked if His disciples as a whole (“you” translates humeis, the plural form of the singular su, “you”) were “still” (akmen) so dull, Matthew 15:16 NIV (U. B. S. Grk. N. T., 1966, p. 58; Arndt & Gingrich, A Grk-Eng. Lex. of the N. T., 1967, p. 30; The Analyt. Grk. Lex. (Zon.), 1972, p. 413, 378-379). The disciples were apparently influenced enough by the externalist view of the Pharisees’ hand-washing-with-meals, extrabiblical tradition that Jesus’ disciples themselves were already partly blinded into failing to discern what Jesus meant by His parable that critiqued the tradition of hand washing with meals!

c. Jesus then explained the parable, teaching that whatever enters one’s mouth goes into his stomach and exits his body when the body has taken the food’s nutrition from it, Matthew 15:17.

d. However, those things that come out of a man’s mouth are things of a spiritual nature, coming from the inner man, the heart, and those things defile a man. Such things include the sins of evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony and slander, Matthew 15:18-19.

e. These sins defiled a man, but to eat with unwashed hands did not spiritually defile a man, Matthew 15:20.

Lesson: Jesus taught that the Pharisees who prioritized their extrabiblical rules on hand washing with meals were spiritually blinded externalists who falsely considered themselves internally righteous so that their concern was only with external, legalistic rules of ceremonial hand washing. These blind men led other spiritually blind people so that both would eventually fall into the ditch of spiritual defeat and divine judgment. However, God’s servants were to be concerned with the need to deal with the inner man’s uncleanness of sin to be clean in God’s eyes.

Application: May we concern ourselves with our need for internal righteousness instead of external traditions.