Mark7

Jesus confronts the Pharisees and scribes for prioritizing human traditions over God's commandments, particularly regarding ritual washing and the Corban vow. He then teaches the multitude that true defilement comes from the evil within a man's heart, not from external things. Following this, Jesus travels to Tyre and Sidon, where he heals a Syrophoenician woman's daughter, and later, in Decapolis, he miraculously restores hearing and speech to a deaf man.
Listen to this chapter
0:00 0:00

Debate Over Tradition and Defilement

1
Then the Pharisees and some of the scribes who had come from Jerusalem gathered around Jesus, ​
2
and they saw some of His disciples eating with hands that were defiled—that is, unwashed.
3
Now in holding to the tradition of the elders, the Pharisees and all the Jews do not eat until they wash their hands ceremonially. ​
4
And on returning from the market, they do not eat unless they wash. And there are many other traditions for them to observe, including the washing of cups, pitchers, kettles, and couches for dining.
5
So the Pharisees and scribes questioned Jesus: “Why do Your disciples not walk according to the tradition of the elders? Instead, they eat with defiled hands.”
6
Jesus answered them, “Isaiah prophesied correctly about you hypocrites, as it is written: ‘These people honor Me with their lips, but their hearts are far from Me. ​
7
They worship Me in vain; they teach as doctrine the precepts of men.’
8
You have disregarded the commandment of God to keep the tradition of men.” ​
9
He went on to say, “You neatly set aside the command of God to maintain your own tradition.
10
For Moses said, ‘Honor your father and your mother’ and ‘Anyone who curses his father or mother must be put to death.’
11
But you say that if a man says to his father or mother, ‘Whatever you would have received from me is Corban’ (that is, a gift devoted to God), ​
12
he is no longer permitted to do anything for his father or mother.
13
Thus you nullify the word of God by the tradition you have handed down. And you do so in many such matters.” ​

What Truly Defiles a Person

14
Once again Jesus called the crowd to Him and said, “All of you, listen to Me and understand: ​
15
Nothing that enters a man from the outside can defile him; but the things that come out of a man, these are what defile him.” ​
16
Not present in the manuscripts this translation follows.
17
After Jesus had left the crowd and gone into the house, His disciples inquired about the parable. ​
18
“Are you still so dull?” He asked. “Do you not understand? Nothing that enters a man from the outside can defile him,
19
because it does not enter his heart, but it goes into the stomach and then is eliminated.” (Thus all foods are clean.) ​
20
He continued: “What comes out of a man, that is what defiles him.
21
For from within the hearts of men come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, ​
22
greed, wickedness, deceit, debauchery, envy, slander, arrogance, and foolishness.
23
All these evils come from within, and these are what defile a man.”

The Syrophoenician Woman's Faith

24
Jesus left that place and went to the region of Tyre. Not wanting anyone to know He was there, He entered a house, but was unable to escape their notice. ​
25
Instead, a woman whose little daughter had an unclean spirit soon heard about Jesus, and she came and fell at His feet.
26
Now she was a Greek woman of Syrophoenician origin, and she kept asking Jesus to drive the demon out of her daughter. ​
27
“First let the children have their fill,” He said. “For it is not right to take the children’s bread and toss it to the dogs.” ​
28
“Yes, Lord,” she replied, “even the dogs under the table eat the children’s crumbs.” ​
29
Then Jesus told her, “Because of this answer, you may go. The demon has left your daughter.” ​
30
And she went home and found her child lying on the bed, and the demon was gone.

Healing the Deaf and Mute Man

31
Then Jesus left the region of Tyre and went through Sidon to the Sea of Galilee and into the region of the Decapolis. ​
32
Some people brought to Him a man who was deaf and hardly able to speak, and they begged Jesus to place His hand on him.
33
So Jesus took him aside privately, away from the crowd, and put His fingers into the man’s ears. Then He spit and touched the man’s tongue. ​
34
And looking up to heaven, He sighed deeply and said to him, “Ephphatha!” (which means, “Be opened!”). ​
35
Immediately the man’s ears were opened and his tongue was released, and he began to speak plainly.
36
Jesus ordered them not to tell anyone. But the more He ordered them, the more widely they proclaimed it. ​
37
The people were utterly astonished and said, “He has done all things well! He makes even the deaf hear and the mute speak!” ​

Study Notes for Mark 7

Verse 1

The arrival of Pharisees and scribes specifically from Jerusalem indicates that this is an official, high-level challenge to Jesus’ authority and teaching methods.

Verse 3

Mark, writing primarily for a Gentile audience, pauses to explain the Jewish custom of ritual washing (not hygiene), which was based on the 'tradition of the elders' rather than the Mosaic Law itself.

Verse 6

Jesus quotes Isaiah 29:13, using prophetic Scripture to indict his accusers for their hypocrisy. They prioritize external, visible piety over genuine, internal devotion to God.

Verse 8

This verse summarizes Jesus' critique: by elevating human tradition to the level of divine command, they had effectively sidelined God’s true will.

Verse 11

Corban means 'a dedicated gift' or 'offering.' This tradition allowed a person to dedicate money to the Temple, thereby making it unavailable to support aging parents, violating the Fifth Commandment (Exodus 20:12).

Verse 13

Jesus demonstrates how religious rules, when based on human authority, can become instruments that actively undermine the clear moral obligations of God’s written Law.

Verse 14

Jesus shifts his address from the religious elite (the scribes) to the general public, teaching a profound principle accessible to all who would listen.

Verse 15

This statement is revolutionary, shifting the source of defilement from external ritual and diet (Mosaic Law) to internal moral condition (the heart). This paved the way for the later abolition of the Jewish food laws.

Verse 17

The disciples, still bound by traditional understanding, struggled with this radical teaching and needed private explanation from Jesus.

Verse 19

Mark adds a parenthetical explanation here, clarifying that Jesus' teaching rendered all foods clean. This is a crucial theological point for the early church’s mission to the Gentiles.

Verse 21

Jesus provides a comprehensive list of sins, identifying the 'heart' (the inner life and will) as the true factory of moral corruption and evil.

Verse 24

Jesus moves into Gentile territory (Tyre and Sidon), signaling the expansion of his ministry beyond the strict borders of Israel. His desire for privacy suggests a period of rest or focused teaching for the disciples.

Verse 26

The woman is identified as a Greek (culturally) and Syrophoenician (nationally), explicitly marking her as a Gentile outside the covenant promises of Israel.

Verse 27

Jesus affirms the priority of his mission to Israel ('the children'). The term 'dogs' (kynaria) is a diminutive, likely meaning 'house pets,' softening the analogy compared to a wild dog, but still indicating the Gentiles' secondary place at that time.

Verse 28

The woman’s response shows extraordinary humility and deep faith. She accepts the analogy but argues for the overflowing abundance of God’s grace, which extends even to the 'crumbs' meant for Gentiles.

Verse 29

Jesus commends her bold and persistent faith. This interaction serves as an early sign that the benefits of the kingdom would soon be extended fully to the Gentiles.

Verse 31

Jesus travels back toward Galilee, moving through the Decapolis, a region largely populated by Gentiles. This geography confirms his ongoing ministry to non-Jewish people.

Verse 33

Jesus often used physical actions (touching, spitting, isolating the man) in his healings. These actions were likely intended to communicate compassion and power to a man who could not hear verbal instructions.

Verse 34

Jesus looks up to heaven, acknowledging the source of his power, and speaks the Aramaic word 'Ephphatha' ('Be opened'). Mark includes the original Aramaic to emphasize the specific, immediate, and authoritative command of Christ.

Verse 36

Jesus frequently commanded silence (the 'Messianic Secret') to manage expectations about his role and to prevent premature conflict with authorities, though this command was often ignored.

Verse 37

The crowd’s astonishment reflects the fulfillment of Messianic prophecy found in Isaiah 35:5-6, where the Messiah is expected to open the ears of the deaf and loosen the tongue of the mute.

Use ← → arrow keys to navigate
Settings

Reading Style

Typeface

Font Size 19px

Reading Width 45 chars

Options