Mark 7:1
The Pharisees and some of the scribes gathered around Him when they had come from Jerusalem,
(a) Pharisees; see entry for Matt. 3:7.
(b) Scribes; see entry for Matt. 5:20.
Mark 7:3
(For the Pharisees and all the Jews do not eat unless they carefully wash their hands, thus observing the traditions of the elders;
(a) Pharisees; see entry for Matt. 3:7.
(b) The traditions of the elders; see entry for Mark 7:5.
Mark 7:4
and when they come from the market place, they do not eat unless they cleanse themselves; and there are many other things which they have received in order to observe, such as the washing of cups and pitchers and copper pots.)
The washing of cups. The original word for washing (baptismos) is related to the word for baptism (baptisma) and means immersion. To be baptized means to be dipped or immersed. See entry for Baptism.
Mark 7:5
The Pharisees and the scribes asked Him, “Why do Your disciples not walk according to the tradition of the elders, but eat their bread with impure hands?”
(a) Pharisees; see entry for Matt. 3:7.
(b) Scribes; see entry for Matt. 5:20.
(c) The traditions of the elders refer to the teachers of Jewish teachers and sages that had been orally handed down. Jesus rebuked the Pharisees and scribes for putting more emphases on these teachings than the commandment of God (see Mark 7:8).
Mark 7:13
thus invalidating the word of God by your tradition which you have handed down; and you do many things such as that.”
The word of God in this context is the law, specifically the fifth commandment (see Mark 7:10).
The word of God is the means by which God reveals himself and his will. In the old covenant, God communicated his will to Israel through the Ten Commandments and the law. However, the religious Jews twisted the law to suit their traditions. By doing this the nullified the word of God.
See entry for The Word of God.
Mark 7:14
After he called the crowd to him again, he began saying to them, “Listen to me, all of you, and understand:
(a) He called the crowd to him. Jesus has spoken to the Pharisees privately (verses 6–13); now speaks directly to the people. He wants them to know that their leaders have some screwy ideas about holiness and things that defile us.
(b) What enters the mouth. Religion puts a lot of emphasis on what we can and can’t eat, but food doesn’t make us more or less holy (see verse 19). Neither does eating food with unwashed hands (Matt. 15:20).
(c) What proceeds out of the mouth. Our words reveal our heart (see verse 21).
Mark 7:15
there is nothing outside the man which can defile him if it goes into him; but the things which proceed out of the man are what defile the man.
Jesus is not saying Christians have a sinful nature inside them that can defile them. He’s saying an unregenerate heart that yields to sin will be revealed in the way we talk (verse 21–22).
Mark 7:16
[“If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear.”]
Ears to hear. “You need to hear and receive this.” See the entry for Matt. 11:15.
Mark 7:17
When he had left the crowd and entered the house, his disciples questioned him about the parable.
(a) Questioned. The disciples regularly asked Jesus to explain his parables (Matt. 13:36, Mark 4:10, Luke 8:9).
(b) Parable. Jesus’ teaching about things that come in and go out of our mouths (verse 14) was more of a proverb than a parable.
Mark 7:18
And he said to them, “Are you so lacking in understanding also? Do you not understand that whatever goes into the man from outside cannot defile him,
(a) Lacking in understanding. “After being with me all this time are you still having trouble discerning the spiritual meaning of my words?”
(b) Goes into the man. Food that passes through our bodies has no bearing on our standing before God. There are no foods that make you more or less holy. All foods are clean (Mark 7:19). Although the Jews were bound by the dietary restrictions of the old covenant (e.g., Lev. 11), in the new covenant we are free to eat anything (Rom. 14:14, 20, 1 Cor. 8:8). “Everything created by God is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with gratitude” (1 Tim. 4:4).
Mark 7:19
because it does not go into his heart, but into his stomach, and is eliminated?” (Thus he declared all foods clean.)
He declared all foods clean. The author, Mark, draws the logical conclusion. Yet the disciples did not grasp it straight away. Peter need a vision and a voice from heaven to convince him, and even then he was a little unsure (Acts 10:9–16). Paul had a stronger conviction. “I know and am convinced in the Lord Jesus that nothing is unclean in itself… All things indeed are clean” (Rom. 14:14, 20).
Mark 7:20
And he was saying, “That which proceeds out of the man, that is what defiles the man.
The Pharisees and scribes were concerned that the disciples were eating with “impure” (i.e., unwashed) hands (verse 2). However, Jesus teaches us to be more concerned with what comes out of us than what goes in.
Mark 7:21
“For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed the evil thoughts, fornications, thefts, murders, adulteries,
The heart is a metaphor for the inner man (Rom. 7:21). Peter refers to it as “the hidden person of the heart” (1 Pet. 3:4). Manmade religion is focused on externals – your behavior and appearance – but the grace of God transforms the heart.
Some use this verse to claim we are all born with wicked hearts. But Jesus said the hearts of some became dull and calloused (Matt. 13:15). We are not born insensitive to the things of God, but we become corrupted by the deceitful desires of the old self (Eph. 4:22), the pollutions of this world (2 Pet. 2:20), and law-based religion (2 Cor. 3:15).
Mark 7:24
Jesus got up and went away from there to the region of Tyre. And when he had entered a house, he wanted no one to know of it; yet he could not escape notice.
Tyre. Jesus leaves Galilee and enters southern Phoenicia (modern-day Lebanon), possibly to take a break from ministry.
Mark 7:26
Now the woman was a Gentile, of the Syrophoenician race. And she kept asking Him to cast the demon out of her daughter.
Syrophoenician. The woman was from the nation of Phoenicia, which was part of the Roman province of Syria. In Matthew’s account, she appeals to Jesus calling him “Lord, Son of David” (Matt. 15:22). This suggests she was trying to pass herself off as a Jew in order to convince Jesus to help her. Jesus was more than willing to help her, but first she had to stop pretending she was somebody she was not.
Mark 7:27
And he was saying to her, “Let the children be satisfied first, for it is not good to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs.”
(a) The children are the Jews to whom Christ had been sent (Rom. 9:4), while the dogs were the Gentiles.
(b) Dogs. In other words, “I know you are not who you are pretending to be and that you are a Gentile.”
Mark 7:28
But she answered and said to him, “Yes, Lord, but even the dogs under the table feed on the children’s crumbs.”
She admits that she is a Gentile without any right to the blessings promised to the Jews. Yet she still has faith that Jesus can help her.
Mark 7:29
And he said to her, “Because of this answer go; the demon has gone out of your daughter.”
In Matthew’s account, Jesus says “O woman, your faith is great” (Matt. 15:28).
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