Mark 7

1 And ye pharises came togedder vnto him and dyvers of ye scribes which came from Ierusalem.

2 And whe they sawe certayne of his disciples eate breed wt comen hondes (that is to saye wt vnwesshen hondes) they coplayned.

3 For the pharises and all the Iewes excepte they washe their hondes ofte eate not observinge the tradicions of the elders.

4 And whe they come from the market except they washe they eate not. And many other thinges ther be which they have taken apon them to observe as the wasshinge of cuppes and cruses and of brasen vessels and of tables.

5 Then axed him the pharises and sribes why walke not thy disciples accordinge to ye tradicions of the elders but eate breede with vnweshen hondes?

6 He answered and sayde vnto them: well prophesied Esaias of you ypocrites as it is writte: This people honoreth me with their lyppes but their hert is farre from me:

7 In vayne they worshippe me teachinge doctryns which are nothinge but ye comaundementes of men.

8 For ye laye the commaundement of God aparte and observe the tradicions of men as the wesshinge of cruses and of cuppes and many other suche lyke thinges ye do.

9 And he sayde vnto them: well ye cast asyde the comaundement of God to mayntayne youre owne tradicios.

10 For Moses sayde: Honoure thy father and thy mother: and whosoever cursseth father or mother let him dye for it.

11 But ye saye: a man shall saye to father or mother Corban: which is: that thou desyrest of me to helpe the with is geven God.

12 And so ye soffre him no more to do ought for his father or his mother

13 makinge the worde of God of none effecte through youre awne tradicions which ye have ordeyned. And many soche thinges ye do.

14 And he called all the people vnto him and sayde vnto them: Herken vnto me every one of you and vnderstonde.

15 There is no thinge with out a man that can defyle him when it entreth into him: but thoo thinges which procede out of him are those which defyle ye man.

16 If eny man have eares to heare let him heare

17 And whe he came to house awaye fro the people his disciples axed him of the similitude.

18 And he sayd vnto the: Are ye so without vnderstondinge? Do ye not yet perceave yt whatsoever thinge from wt out entreth into a man it can not defyle him

19 because it entrith not in to his hert but into ye belly: and goeth out into the draught that porgeth oute all meates.

20 And he sayde: yt defileth a ma which cometh oute of a man.

21 For fro wt in even oute of the herte of men proceade evill thoughtes: advantry fornicacion murder

22 theeft coveteousnes wickednes diceyte vnclennes and a wicked eye blasphemy pryde folysshnes:

23 all these evyll thinges come from with in and defile a man.

24 And from thence he rose and went into ye borders of Tyre and Sidon and entred into an housse and wolde that no man shnld have knowen: But he coulde not be hyd.

25 For a certayne woma whose doughter had a foule sprete hearde of him and came and fell at his fete.

26 The woman was a Greke oute of Syrophenicia and she besought him yt he wolde caste out ye devyll oute of her doughter.

27 And Iesus sayde vnto her: let the chyldren fyrst be feed. For it is not mete to take the chyldres breed and to caste it vnto whelppes.

28 She answered and sayde vnto him: even soo master neverthelesse the whelppes also eate vnder the table of the chyldrens cromes.

29 And he sayde vnto her: for this sayinge goo thy waye the devyll is gone out of thy doughter.

30 And when she was come home to her housse she founde the devyll departed and her doughter lyinge on the beed.

31 And he departed agayne from the coostes of Tyre and Sidon and came vnto the see of Galile thorowe ye middes of the coostos of ye .x. cities.

32 And they brought vnto him one yt was deffe and stambred in his speche and prayde him to laye his honde apon him.

33 And he toke him asyde from ye people and put his fyngers in his eares and dyd spyt and touched his tounge

34 and loked vp to heven and sygthed and sayde vnto him: ephatha that is to saye be openned.

35 And streyght waye his eares were openned and the stringe of his tounge was loosed and he spake playne.

36 And he comaunded them that they shuld tell no man. But the more he forbad them soo moche the more a greate deale they publesshed it:

37 and were beyonde measure astonyed sayinge: He hath done all thinges well and hath made booth the deffe to heare and the dome to speake.

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.