THE HEART OF THE KINGDOM

Mark 7:1-23

The Controversy:

Mark 7:1-23

• The Pharisees oppose Jesus through the disciples on the issue of ritual purity. 

• Jesus counters the Pharisees by attacking the source of their authority — “the tradition of the elders.”

• Jesus teaches that people are defiled by the actions and attitudes that come out of the human heart.

The Takeaways:

Matthew 7:1-5, Matthew 12:33-37, Psalm 139:23-24, Ezekiel 36:26-29

1. “Living” by human tradition rather than the will of God runs the risk of two spiritual dangers: legalism & hypocrisy.
2. My external attitudes and actions are the direct result of my internal heart.
3. The solution to the defiled human heart is the radical transformative power of the kingdom of God.