Mark 7

1 Then came together unto Him the Pharisees and certain of the scribes, who came from Jerusalem.

2 And when they saw some of His disciples eat bread with defiled (that is to say, unwashed) hands, they found fault.

3 For the Pharisees and all the Jews do not eat, unless they wash their hands oft, holding to the tradition of the elders.

4 And when they come from the market, they eat not unless they wash; and there are many other customs which they have received and hold to, as the washing of cups, pots, brazen vessels and of tables.

5 Then the Pharisees and scribes asked Him, "Why walk not thy disciples according to the tradition of the elders, but eat bread with unwashed hands?"

6 He answered and said unto them, "Well hath Isaiah prophesied of you hypocrites, as it is written: `This people honoreth Me with their lips, but their heart is far from Me.

7 Therefore, in vain do they worship Me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.'

8 For laying aside the commandment of God, ye hold to the tradition of men, as the washing of pots and cups, and many other like things ye do."

9 And He said unto them, "Full well ye reject the commandment of God, that ye may keep your own tradition.

10 For Moses said, `Honor thy father and thy mother,' and, `Whoso curseth father or mother, let him die the death.'

11 But ye say that if a man shall say to his father or mother, `It is Corban' (that is to say, a gift of whatsoever thou mightest have profited from me), he shall be freed;

12 and ye suffer him no more to do aught for his father or his mother,

13 thus making the Word of God of no effect through your tradition, which ye have delivered. And many like things do ye."

14 And when He had called all the people unto Him, He said unto them, "Hearken unto Me every one of you, and understand:

15 There is nothing from outside a man that, entering into him, can defile him; but the things which come out of him, those are they that defile the man.

16 If any man have ears to hear, let him hear."

17 And when He had entered into the house away from the people, His disciples asked Him concerning the parable.

18 And He said unto them, "Are ye so without understanding also? Do ye not perceive that whatsoever thing from outside entereth into a man, it cannot defile him,

19 because it entereth not into his heart, but into the belly and goeth out into the drain, thereby purging all meats?"

20 And He said, "That which cometh out of the man, that defileth the man.

21 For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders,

22 thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lasciviousness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness:

23 all these evil things come from within and defile the man."

24 And from thence He arose and went into the region of Tyre and Sidon, and entered into a house, and would have no man know about it; but He could not be hid.

25 For a certain woman, whose young daughter had an unclean spirit, heard of Him, and came and fell at His feet.

26 The woman was a Greek, a Syrophoenician by nation, and she besought Him that He would cast forth the devil out of her daughter.

27 But Jesus said unto her, "Let the children first be filled, for it is not meet to take the children's bread and to cast it unto the dogs."

28 And she answered and said unto Him, "Yes, Lord, yet the dogs under the table eat of the children's crumbs."

29 And He said unto her, "For this saying go thy way; the devil is gone out of thy daughter."

30 And when she had come to her house, she found the devil gone out, and her daughter laid upon the bed.

31 And again, departing from the coasts of Tyre and Sidon, He came unto the Sea of Galilee through the midst of the region of Decapolis.

32 And they brought unto Him one who was deaf and had an impediment in his speech, and they besought Him to put His hand upon him.

33 And He took him aside from the multitude and put His fingers into his ears, and He spat and touched his tongue.

34 And looking up to Heaven, He sighed and said unto him, "Ephphatha," that is, "Be opened."

35 And straightway his ears were opened, and the bond of his tongue was loosed and he spoke plainly.

36 And He charged them that they should tell no man. But the more He charged them, the more widely they proclaimed it

37 and were astonished beyond measure, saying, "He hath done all things well; he maketh both the deaf to hear and the dumb to speak."

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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.