Mark 7:4

Washing Dishes

The washing of cups, and pots. Mark 7:4 (AV).

I wonder how many of you like washing dishes? When you were tiny I expect you were proud indeed if mother or the maid allowed you to help to dry. You were most careful not to let the plates or cups fall, and you polished them with the towel till not a drop of moisture was left either on the inside or on the outside.

Perhaps now that you are a little older you are not so keen. You think when mother asks you to leave your game for half an hour to wash a huge pile of greasy plates that you would rather do anything else than wash dishes. But there are worse things than washing dishes if you set about it in the right way, and take a pride in doing it thoroughly.

Now, who would suppose that washing dishes would be mentioned in the Bible? Ah! but it is. Turn up the seventh chapter of Mark, the fourth verse. Near the end of the verse you will find these words, “the washing of cups, and pots.”

Christ spoke these words to the Pharisees. You know who the Pharisees were. They were a class among the Jews who were specially particular about observing the laws, and who thought that by being so particular and perfect they were pleasing God. They thought so much of keeping the laws that they went on adding new laws just for the pleasure of keeping them.

Some of their laws sound ridiculous to us. For instance, they did not think it enough to sit down to meals with clean hands. Although their hands had already been washed they had to be ceremonially washed in a special way before a meal could be partaken of. Even that did not satisfy some of these Pharisees, for the strictest among them washed their hands between each course and at the end of the meal as well. How would some of us like that? We find it hard enough to wash them once don't we? And we are rather cross when we are sent to do it over again, and mother makes remarks about our nails being in mourning.

Then the Jews had rules about the proper way to wash dishes. Indeed, there were so many rules about dish-washing that they filled thirty Chapter s of the Book of Laws.

We are rather amused at such ideas. But they were more than amusing, they were sad. And that is how Christ thought of them; for He saw that the Pharisees were so busy obeying those outside laws of cleanliness that they never thought of keeping their hearts clean. As Christ put it, they washed the outside of the cup and platter but they left the inside dirty. Now, what would you think of washing only the outside of your cups and plates? It would be an odd sort of washing. The inside is the important part, as we all know. It is the inside that contains the food or the drink. It is the inside that gets soiled, the inside that most needs to be kept clean.

When Christ rebuked the Pharisees for washing the outside and neglecting the inside He meant that they kept the outward laws of cleanliness but that their hearts were anything but clean. Their hearts, He said, were soiled with greed and hatred and pride and hypocrisy, instead of being beautiful with love and mercy and compassion and gentleness. These men might keep the laws as they liked, but so long as their hearts were black with such passions, they would never be clean in God's sight.

For God looks first into our hearts, and if He finds them full of wicked feelings He goes away both sad and sorrowful, even though our hands may be spotless and our clothes white as snow. You see, with God it is the heart that counts most, though of course He wishes us to be outwardly clean too.

The other day I read a story of a Chinaman who began to attend a mission class in China. He was anything but clean in his dress and ways.

One Sunday the missionary gave out a text for the class to learn, and it was, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” Next week the Chinaman turned up with the text almost rubbed out of his New Testament, so often had his fingers moved backwards and forwards over the words. One word had puzzled him. That was the word cleanse. The missionary soon explained how Christ washes away the sin from our heart and makes it clean.

On the following Sunday, when the hour for the class arrived, a fine-looking man came in and took a seat. The missionary thought he was a new arrival, and noticed that he was in Western dress, that he had no pigtail, that his hair was neatly brushed, his long finger-nails clean, and his face shining like a new coin. What was her surprise to discover that it was her old friend the dirty Chinaman! He smiled up into her face and said, “Jesus Christ make me clean inside and outside.” He had got the clean heart and then he had felt ashamed of his uncleanly ways, and he had made himself clean outwardly as well.

Boys and girls, let us be sure that we have the cup clean inside as well as outside.

God gives us soap and water and common sense, and He expects us to use them and do the outside washing ourselves. But there is only One who can give us the inward cleanness of the clean heart, and that is Christ. Let us go to Him and say, “Create in me a clean heart, O Lord! "