In this section, we look at the appearance and teaching of Jesus, who comes up against the prevailing idea that external rituals are decisive with a new message. Jesus, on the other hand, emphasizes that the heart must be renewed. His teaching is rejected because it does not agree with existing beliefs. To avoid the same mistake, we need an unchanging standard that is independent of prior information: the law of life, which states that everything is a channel that must first take before it can give and that everything works in a cycle.
The order of taking and giving cannot be changed in truth. In the lie, however, this seems possible. The impurity of man lies within and not in the body. Jesus makes it clear in Mark 7 that what comes from the heart makes a person unclean. This insight is also confirmed in Jeremiah 17:9: The heart is deceitful and hard to fathom.
The problem of man is therefore his inner state and not his outward behavior. Many people focus on outward purity and neglect the source of their problems. God often gets us into trouble to make us aware of our inner condition - an insight that is not understood by medicine or many believers.
In Mark 7:24-30, Jesus teaches his disciples that they should not exalt themselves over Gentiles. The question of clean and unclean animals is also dealt with. These are to be understood symbolically for human beings. We are all upside down, but many only see impurity outside themselves. Difficult life circumstances must therefore often serve as an eye-opener. The body merely reflects the impurity within. Ultimately, we need a new heart - a new spirit. This and more are central themes in the sixth part of the series “The Gospel of Mark”.