Mark 7

Human Traditions and God’s Commandments

1 And the Pharisees and some of the scribes who had come from Jerusalem gathered to him.

2 And they saw that some of his disciples were eating their bread with unclean--that is, unwashed--hands.

3 (For the Pharisees and all the Jews do not eat unless they wash their hands {ritually}, [thus] holding fast to the traditions of the elders.

4 And [when they come] from the marketplace, they do not eat unless they wash. And there are many other [traditions] which they have received [and] hold fast to--[for example,] the washing of cups and pitchers and bronze kettles and dining couches.)

5 And the Pharisees and the scribes asked him, "Why do your disciples not live according to the tradition of the elders, but eat their bread with unclean hands?"

6 So he said to them, "Isaiah prophesied correctly about you hypocrites, as it is written, 'This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far, far away from me.

7 And they worship me in vain, teaching [as] doctrines the commandments of men.'

8 Abandoning the commandment of God, you hold fast to the tradition of men."

9 And he said to them, "You splendidly ignore the commandment of God so that you can keep your tradition.

10 For Moses said, 'Honor your father and your mother,' and, 'The one who speaks evil of father or mother {must certainly die}.'

11 But you say, 'If a man says to his father or to his mother, "Whatever {benefit you would have received} from me [is] corban" (that is, a gift [to God]),

12 you no longer permit him to do anything for his father or his mother,

13 [thus] making void the word of God by your tradition that you have handed down, and you do many similar [things] such as this."

Defilement from Within

14 And summoning the crowd again, he said to them, "Listen to me, all [of you], and understand:

15 There is nothing outside of a person that is able to defile him [by] going into him. But the things that go out of a person are the things that defile a person."

17 And when he entered into the house away from the crowd, his disciples asked him about the parable.

18 And he said to them, "So are you also without understanding? Do you not understand that everything [that is] outside that goes into a person [is] not able to defile him?

19 For it does not enter into his heart but into his stomach, and goes out into the latrine"--[thus] declaring all foods clean.

20 And he said, "What comes out of a person, that defiles a person.

21 For from within, from the heart of people, come evil plans, sexual immoralities, thefts, murders,

22 adulteries, [acts of] greed, malicious [deeds], deceit, licentiousness, {envy}, abusive speech, pride, foolishness.

23 All these evil [things] come from within and defile a person."

A Syrophoenician Woman’s Great Faith

24 And from there he set out [and] went to the region of Tyre. And [when he] entered into a house, he wanted no one to know, and [yet] he was not able to escape notice.

25 But immediately a woman whose young daughter was possessed by an unclean spirit, [when she] heard about him, came [and] fell down at his feet,

26 Now the woman was a Greek--a Syrophoenician by nationality--and she was asking him that he would expel the demon from her daughter.

27 And he said to her, "Let the children be satisfied first, for it is not right to take the children's bread and throw [it] to the dogs!"

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

29 And he said to her, "Because of this statement, go! The demon has gone out of your daughter."

30 And [when she] went to her home, she found the child lying on the bed and the demon gone.

A Man Deaf and Unable to Speak Healed

31 And again he went away from the region of Tyre [and] came through Sidon to the Sea of Galilee, within the region of the Decapolis.

32 And they brought to him a man who was deaf and had difficulty speaking, and they were imploring him that he would place his hand on him.

33 And he took him away from the crowd by himself [and] put his fingers into his ears, and [after] spitting, he touched his tongue.

34 And looking up to heaven, he sighed and said to him, "Ephphatha!" (that is, "Be opened!").

35 And his ears were opened and {his difficulty in speaking was removed} and he began to speak normally.

36 And he ordered them that they should say nothing, but as much as he ordered them [not to], they proclaimed [it] even more instead.

37 And they were amazed beyond all measure, saying, "He has done all [things] well! He even makes the deaf hear and the mute 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]. Literally "the"; the Greek article is used here as a possessive pronoun
• [b]. Literally "with the fist"; although the exact meaning of the phrase is uncertain, there is general agreement it has to do with the ritual or ceremonial nature of the handwashing
• [c]. *Here "[thus]" is supplied as a component of the participle ("holding fast to") which is understood as result
• [d]. The phrase "[when they come]" is not in the Greek text but is implied
• [e]. *The word "[traditions]" is not in the Greek text but is implied
• [f]. *Here "[and]" is supplied because the previous participle ("have received") has been translated as a finite verb
• [g]. The phrase "[for example]" is not in the Greek text but is supplied as a clarification in the English translation
• [h]. Several important manuscripts omit "and dining couches"
• [i]. Literally "the"; the Greek article is used here as a possessive pronoun
• [j]. A quotation from Isa 29:13
• [k]. Some manuscripts have "you can maintain"
• [l]. A quotation from Exod 20:12; Deut 5:16
• [m]. Literally "let him die the death"
• [n]. A quotation from Exod 21:17; Lev 20:9
• [o]. Literally "the"; the Greek article is used here as a possessive pronoun
• [p]. Literally "the"; the Greek article is used here as a possessive pronoun
• [q]. Literally "you would have been benefited"
• [r]. A Hebrew term referring to something consecrated as a gift to God and thus not available for ordinary use
• [s]. Literally "the"; the Greek article is used here as a possessive pronoun
• [t]. Literally "the"; the Greek article is used here as a possessive pronoun
• [u]. *Here "[thus]" is supplied as a component of the participle ("making void") which is understood as result
• [v]. *Here "[by]" is supplied as a component of the participle ("going") which is understood as means
• [w]. Most later manuscripts add v. 16, "If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear."
• [x]. Literally "the"; the Greek article is used here as a possessive pronoun
• [y]. *Here "[thus]" is supplied as a component of the participle ("declaring") which is understood as result
• [z]. Literally "the evil eye"
• [aa]. *Here "[and]" is supplied because the previous participle ("set out") has been translated as a finite verb
• [ab]. *Here "[when]" is supplied as a component of the participle ("entered") which is understood as temporal
• [ac]. *Here "[when]" is supplied as a component of the participle ("heard") which is understood as temporal
• [ad]. *Here "[and]" is supplied because the previous participle ("came") has been translated as a finite verb
• [ae]. *Here the direct object is supplied from context in the English translation
• [af]. *Here "[when]" is supplied as a component of the participle ("went") which is understood as temporal
• [ag]. *Here "[and]" is supplied because the previous participle ("went away") has been translated as a finite verb
• [ah]. Literally "the"; the Greek article is used here as a possessive pronoun
• [ai]. *Here "[and]" is supplied because the previous participle ("took ... away") has been translated as a finite verb
• [aj]. *Here "[after]" is supplied as a component of the participle ("spitting") which is understood as temporal
• [ak]. Some manuscripts have "And immediately"
• [al]. Literally "the bond of his tongue was loosened"
• [am]. *Here the direct object is supplied from context in the English translation