He Touched Grime and Dirt Then Ate Without Washing His Hands

The Oral Cancer Foundation.

Ever seen a food scavenger? He digs through trash looking for discarded food. When he finds one, it's like a big jackpot. He eats it with delight using unwashed hands he had used to dig through grime and dirt and heaps of garbage. He also brings some to his family. Disgusting, isn't it?

No wonder the religious leaders were disgusted at Jesus. He touched the tongues and ears of people with bare hands---and we don't know if those folks had brushed their teeth, gargled a mouthwash or cleaned their ears. They probably didn't. And even if they did, it'd be repulsive to touch them hands-on just the same. Unless he wore gloves, which he didn't. He touched the sick and the lepers, too. I can imagine he even touched open woulds to heal them.

Then he ate without washing his hands.

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Yup, at one time the Pharisees noticed how he ate without first washing his hands. This was big deal to them because of their religion---and to most of us today because of hygiene. I often bring a small bottle of 70 percent solution isopropyl alcohol in my belt bag and often use it after shaking hands with people. Bacterial or viral contamination is a reality.

Imagine shaking hands with lots of people, grabbing hand supports or handles in public buses and jeeps which multitudes of people have also grabbed onto, handling money---and then eating your meal without washing your hands. What more if you touched people's tongues, mouths, ears and wounds?

But Jesus knew how his manner of healing offended both religion and hygiene. He should at least wash his hands after. Why didn't he? And he's in the habit of doing things on purpose. I'm sure, he had a reason why he displayed the nasty habit. And I'm quite sure, too, it was not to promote dirty living or poor sanitation.

At one time, he spit on the ground and made mud of it. Then he splattered it on the eyes of the blind. I'm sure the blind man had heard him spit saliva on the ground, and I believe he had a good idea what it was that Jesus put on his eyes when he felt the wet, sticky mud. But he just let him. Was all this necessary for the healing? Couldn't Jesus simply pray over the blindness or declare healing?

Worse, at another time, he just plain spit on the eyes of the blind.

He took the blind man by the hand and led him outside the village. When he had spit on the man's eyes and put his hands on him, Jesus asked, "Do you see anything?" [Mk. 8.23]

Well, at least this time he did it outside the village where no one could see him. Sometimes, I try to imagine myself doing this. Would it work? Would the blind see? Is it a healing formula? What would people think of me and my ministry? Why would Jesus heal this way? Why is it recorded in the bible for all generations of believers to read? There is a purpose in all this. This is not just accidental.

I'm sure Jesus knew well the implications of his actions on his person and ministry. On his dignity. On his claims for God. Didn't he realize how his messiness would affect his name and ministry---and his church eventually? I'm sure he did. But he did it anyway. In fact, I can imagine how he thought it would do his name and ministry lots of good! It would be best for God's glory that he spit and made a mess of people's sickness and touched grime and dirt and then ate with unwashed hands in plain sight of the Pharisees.

If so, then why wouldn't churches today do this?

As I stalked behind Jesus and watched his unorthodox ways, I remembered Ezekiel and how God told him to cook his food on burning human poop. Now, why would God tell him that? And how God told Peter to kill and eat unclean animals in a huge blanket being lowered from heaven. Well, just now, as I'm writing this article, I remember how Jesus made his 12 disciples drink from the same cup during the last supper. According to Matthew, this was what Jesus said:

Then He took the cup, gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you..."

It didn't say Jesus gave a cup to each of them. There was one cup and they all were to drink from it. Can you imagine that? I tried to do this once but I had to stop it because I pitied the last guy to drink from the cup. Imagine 11 guys drinking from the same cup and leaving their saliva there. And then you're the last to sip. I don't care if they all brushed their teeth and gargled Listerine. But what if they didn't?

I was pondering on this when this thought came:

When God says it, then it's the most decent thing to do, even if the world thinks it isn't. Remember, Jesus said he couldn't do anything except what he heard from the Father or what he saw the Father himself was doing. Jesus knew God's Word or Scriptures (the Old Testament) well and yet he also relied on what he saw and heard direct from the Father. We should operate likewise. We should hear straight from God and "see" him, aside from relying on his Word in the bible.

See this promise:

Whoever has my commands and keeps them is the one who loves me. The one who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love him and show myself to him. [Jn 14.21]

Jesus promises to "show himself" to the one who is deep in God's Word. He will let us "see" him. We must hear and see God. And once we do, we will see the strange acts of God as Moses and the prophets and patriarchs saw them. Jesus himself saw them and obediently did accordingly---touching people's tongues and ears, spitting and making mud and touching the sick. And then eating with unwashed hands. Or breaking the Sabbath law or some treasured religious tradition.

It's not a formula. You shouldn't go out there and spit at the blind and touch the tongues of the mute or demolish religious rituals or traditions. Make sure first that you heard from God or saw God showing you what to do. And make sure you are deep in the Word---meditating it day and night and living it out daily.

When finally you hear God and see him, then make sure you obey, no matter if it looks weird, stupid or indecent to people. No matter if it offends people's religions---even born-again religion.