Preached by Pastor Jeff Hamling

Sunday, June 20, 2021 The Stain

Introduction:

A few years back, Annmarie and I really got into the television show “Sherlock Holmes” starring Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman. The show was consistent with Arthur Conan Doyle’s original stories. The most exciting parts for me is when Sherlock would enter a crime scene and immediately know what happened.

In the first episode, the police ask Sherlock to look at a scene where a woman supposedly committed suicide. However, Sherlock, with his acute observation skills, looks at all the clues. He says, “She didn’t commit suicide—she was murdered; it’s obvious, isn’t it?”

Watson says, “It isn’t obvious to me.” Sherlock says, “Amazing! What must it be like in your funny little brains? It must be so boring!”

He then explains that there are small splashes of mud on the back of her right ankle indicating that she must have been rolling a suitcase behind her. But because the case is missing, someone must have taken it. And therefore, she didn’t commit suicide—she was murdered.

Similarly, our passage from Mark 7, is a crime scene. At first glance, we might conclude that the culprits are the Pharisee who commit the crime of being legalistic hypocrites. But, as we look more closely at the evidence, we’ll realize that there is another more sinister culprit; one whose fingerprints are all over this scene. There’s even a smoking gun. This passage is a classic “Who-Done-It?” mystery story.

By carefully observing the evidence and looking at the clues, we’ll understand how the same culprit commits similar crimes in our own lives and what we can do about it.

Three questions: 1) What are the clues in this mystery? 2) Who commits the crime? 3) How does Jesus solve it?

What Are the Clues?

There are three.

First Clue: The Need to Criticize and Blame

In v.1-2: The Pharisees and some of the teachers of the law who had come from Jerusalem gathered around Jesus and saw some of his disciples eating food (literally in the Greek: “bread”) with hands that were defiled, that is unwashed. And then, in v.5, they ask: Why [do] your disciples…[eat] their [bread] with defiled hands?

The Pharisees are a group of lay-leaders within Judaism. They’re goal was societal reform in Israel. They believed the sooner Israel cleaned up their act, the sooner God would deliver them from their oppressors.

Here’s what stands out: They’re appalled that the disciples are eating bread with defiled hands.

This is important because this entire section—Mark 6-8—is known as “The Bread Section.” The word bread is mentioned 17 times!

Earlier, in chapter 6, Jesus miraculously multiplies a few loaves of bread in order to feed over 5000 people. The Pharisees no doubt heard about this. Some scholars believe that they saw the disciples and the crowd eating bread, and this is the eating bread they are referring to. Whether they saw it or now, they undoubtedly heard about it.

But instead of seeing Jesus’ miracle with the bread through eyes of wonder and curiosity, they only see something to criticize.

Like a parent who looks at his son’s math test when he got a perfect score except for missing one problem. Instead of saying, “Great job!” The parent asks, “What did you do wrong on the problem you missed? Why did you get it wrong?”

It’s worth asking yourself if you show the same propensity. Are you inclined to view the people in your life with wonder and curiosity? Or are you quick to criticize, condemn and vilify? Where do you think that tendency comes from? That’s what this story is about.

Second Clue: The Need to Clea