Mark 7

What contaminates a life?

1 The Pharisees and some legal experts from Jerusalem gathered around Jesus.

2 They saw some of his disciples eating food with unclean hands. (They were eating without first ritually purifying their hands through washing.

3 The Pharisees and all the Jews don't eat without first washing their hands carefully. This is a way of observing the rules handed down by the elders.

4 Upon returning from the marketplace, they don't eat without first immersing themselves. They observe many other rules that have been handed down, such as the washing of cups, jugs, pans, and sleeping mats.)

5 So the Pharisees and legal experts asked Jesus, "Why are your disciples not living according to the rules handed down by the elders but instead eat food with ritually unclean hands?"

6 He replied, " Isaiah really knew what he was talking about when he prophesied about you hypocrites. He wrote, This people honors me with their lips, but their hearts are far away from me.

7 Their worship of me is empty since they teach instructions that are human words.

8 You ignore God's commandment while holding on to rules created by humans and handed down to you."

9 Jesus continued, " Clearly, you are experts at rejecting God's commandment in order to establish these rules.

10 Moses said, Honor your father and your mother, and The person who speaks against father or mother will certainly be put to death.

11 But you say, ‘If you tell your father or mother, Everything I'm expected to contribute to you is corban (that is, a gift I'm giving to God),

12 then you are no longer required to care for your father or mother.'

13 In this way you do away with God's word in favor of the rules handed down to you, which you pass on to others. And you do a lot of other things just like that."

14 Then Jesus called the crowd again and said, " Listen to me, all of you, and understand.

15 Nothing outside of a person can enter and contaminate a person in God's sight; rather, the things that come out of a person contaminate the person."

17 After leaving the crowd, he entered a house where his disciples asked him about that riddle.

18 He said to them, " Don't you understand either? Don't you know that nothing from the outside that enters a person has the power to contaminate?

19 That's because it doesn't enter into the heart but into the stomach, and it goes out into the sewer." By saying this, Jesus declared that no food could contaminate a person in God's sight.

20 " It's what comes out of a person that contaminates someone in God's sight," he said.

21 " It's from the inside, from the human heart, that evil thoughts come: sexual sins, thefts, murders,

22 adultery, greed, evil actions, deceit, unrestrained immorality, envy, insults, arrogance, and foolishness.

23 All these evil things come from the inside and contaminate a person in God's sight."

An immigrant’s daughter is delivered

24 Jesus left that place and went into the region of Tyre. He didn't want anyone to know that he had entered a house, but he couldn't hide.

25 In fact, a woman whose young daughter was possessed by an unclean spirit heard about him right away. She came and fell at his feet.

26 The woman was Greek, Syrophoenician by birth. She begged Jesus to throw the demon out of her daughter.

27 He responded, " The children have to be fed first. It isn't right to take the children's bread and toss it to the dogs."

28 But she answered, "Lord, even the dogs under the table eat the children's crumbs."

29 " Good answer!" he said. " Go on home. The demon has already left your daughter."

30 When she returned to her house, she found the child lying on the bed and the demon gone.

A deaf man is healed

31 After leaving the region of Tyre, Jesus went through Sidon toward the Galilee Sea through the region of the Ten Cities.

32 Some people brought to him a man who was deaf and could hardly speak, and they begged him to place his hand on the man for healing.

33 Jesus took him away from the crowd by himself and put his fingers in the man's ears. Then he spit and touched the man's tongue.

34 Looking into heaven, Jesus sighed deeply and said, " Ephphatha," which means, "Open up."

35 At once, his ears opened, his twisted tongue was released, and he began to speak clearly.

36 Jesus gave the people strict orders not to tell anyone. But the more he tried to silence them, the more eagerly they shared the news.

37 People were overcome with wonder, saying, "He does everything well! He even makes the deaf to hear and gives speech to those who can't speak."

Mark 7 Commentary

Chapter 7

The traditions of the elders. (1-13) What defiles the man. (14-23) The woman of Canaan's daughter cured. (24-30) Christ restores a man to hearing and speech. (31-37)

Verses 1-13 One great design of Christ's coming was, to set aside the ceremonial law; and to make way for this, he rejects the ceremonies men added to the law of God's making. Those clean hands and that pure heart which Christ bestows on his disciples, and requires of them, are very different from the outward and superstitious forms of Pharisees of every age. Jesus reproves them for rejecting the commandment of God. It is clear that it is the duty of children, if their parents are poor, to relieve them as far as they are able; and if children deserve to die that curse their parents, much more those that starve them. But if a man conformed to the traditions of the Pharisees, they found a device to free him from the claim of this duty.

Verses 14-23 Our wicked thoughts and affections, words and actions, defile us, and these only. As a corrupt fountain sends forth corrupt streams, so does a corrupt heart send forth corrupt reasonings, corrupt appetites and passions, and all the wicked words and actions that come from them. A spiritual understanding of the law of God, and a sense of the evil of sin, will cause a man to seek for the grace of the Holy Spirit, to keep down the evil thoughts and affections that work within.

Verses 24-30 Christ never put any from him that fell at his feet, which a poor trembling soul may do. As she was a good woman, so a good mother. This sent her to Christ. His saying, Let the children first be filled, shows that there was mercy for the Gentiles, and not far off. She spoke, not as making light of the mercy, but magnifying the abundance of miraculous cures among the Jews, in comparison with which a single cure was but as a crumb. Thus, while proud Pharisees are left by the blessed Saviour, he manifests his compassion to poor humbled sinners, who look to him for children's bread. He still goes about to seek and save the lost.

Verses 31-37 Here is a cure of one that was deaf and dumb. Those who brought this poor man to Christ, besought him to observe the case, and put forth his power. Our Lord used more outward actions in the doing of this cure than usual. These were only signs of Christ's power to cure the man, to encourage his faith, and theirs that brought him. Though we find great variety in the cases and manner of relief of those who applied to Christ, yet all obtained the relief they sought. Thus it still is in the great concerns of our souls.

Footnotes

• [a]. Isa 29:13
• [b]. Exod 20:12; Deut 5:16
• [c]. Exod 21:17; Lev 20:9
• [d]. 7:16 is omitted in most critical editions of the Gk New Testament 'Whoever has ears to listen should pay attention!'