Mark 7 (NASB)
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Mark 7 New American Standard Bible (NASB)
Followers of Tradition
7 The Pharisees and some of the scribes gathered around Him when they had come from Jerusalem, 2 and had seen that some of His disciples were eating their bread with impure hands, that is, unwashed. 3 (For the Pharisees and all the Jews do not eat unless they [a]carefully wash their hands, thus observing the traditions of the elders; 4 and when they come from the market place, they do not eat unless they [b]cleanse themselves; and there are many other things which they have received in order to observe, such as the [c]washing of cups and pitchers and copper pots.) 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?” 6 And He said to them, “Rightly did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written:
The pharisees knew these requirements were only ‘tradition’ not actual scripture and yet they still criticized the disciples. They obviously chose tradition over scripture. It’s not surprising today then, when you look at all the different Christian denominations and so many of them differ on traditional issues rather than focusing solely scripture.
Instead,we should compare our actions and others’ actions to God’s commands. For example, if someone celebrates communion in a different way than we do or if someone has a slightly different lifestyle than we do, that’s okay. As long as we are all truly following God, we shouldn’t have to worry about man-made rules and guidelines.
What God decrees should be the final answer.
People do a lot of things because that’s how they were taught to do things. The Pharisees might’ve been taught to value tradition. I think it’s very important to constantly read the Bible and the Scriptures to be able to understand how God really wants us to behave.
As a child you’re responsible for obeying your father and mother so if they teach you to follow traditions you should! But as an adult, you need to investigate the scriptures to see that your behavior is consistent and obedient to God’s word.
‘This people honors Me with their lips,
But their heart is far away from Me.
7 ‘But in vain do they worship Me,
Teaching as doctrines the precepts of men.’
How do you make sure your heart isn’t far from God? When I read this I wondered about the pharisees how many things you could say about them, or about people in today’s church like:
They attend church, but their heart is far from Me.
They read their Bible, but their heart is far from Me.
They pray eloquently, but their heart is far from Me.
They contribute money, but their heart is far from Me.
They love to sing, but their heart is far from Me.
They talk to others about Jesus, but their heart is far from Me.
Check your heart place is it near to God?
looking at my life I have don a lot for the approval of others and wether going to church and doing bible reding for others, but win I took it for my self and not for my parents or my school work. that is win I feel that I have truly taking the lord firs and not just for the prestige of what others thing of me.
8 Neglecting the commandment of God, you hold to the tradition of men.”
9 He was also saying to them, “You are experts at setting aside the commandment of God in order to keep your tradition. 10 For Moses said, ‘Honor your father and your mother’; and, ‘He who speaks evil of father or mother, is to [d]be put to death’; 11 but you say, ‘If a man says to his father or his mother, whatever I have that would help you is Corban (that is to say, [e]given to God),’ 12 you no longer permit him to do anything for his father or his mother; 13 thus invalidating the word of God by your tradition which you have handed down; and you do many things such as that.”
The Heart of Man
14 After He called the crowd to Him again, He began saying to them, “Listen to Me, all of you, and understand: 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. 16 [[f]If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear.” ]
While the Pharisees and the scribes are talking about how unclean hands and food make people unclean, Jesus is telling them how it’s not what enters the body, rather, what comes out of the body, that makes someone unclean. By this, he meant pride and selfishness that the Pharisees and scribes had. That’s what makes our spirits unclean.
17 When he had left the crowd and entered the house, His disciples questioned Him about the parable. 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, 19 because it does not go into his heart, but into his stomach, and [g]is eliminated?” (Thus He declared all foods clean.) 20 And He was saying, “That which proceeds out of the man, that is what defiles the man. 21 For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed the evil thoughts, [h]fornications, thefts, murders, adulteries, 22 deeds of coveting and wickedness, as well as deceit, sensuality, [i]envy, slander, [j]pride and foolishness. 23 All these evil things proceed from within and defile the man.”
The Syrophoenician Woman
24 Jesus got up and went away from there to the region of Tyre[k]. And when He had entered a house, He wanted no one to know of it; [l]yet He could not escape notice. 25 But after hearing of Him, a woman whose little daughter had an unclean spirit immediately came and fell at His feet. 26 Now the woman was a [m]Gentile, of the Syrophoenician race. And she kept asking Him to cast the demon out of her daughter. 27 And He was saying to her, “Let the children be satisfied first, for it is not [n]good to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs.” 28 But she answered and *said to Him, “Yes, Lord, but even the dogs under the table feed on the children’s crumbs.” 29 And He said to her, “Because of this [o]answer go; the demon has gone out of your daughter.” 30 And going back to her home, she found the child [p]lying on the bed, the demon having left.
Where Jesus was, people notice. Some versions say ‘could not be hidden’. Is your life like that? Can Jesus not escape notice? Can he not be hidden? How do we make sure that Jesus’ presence in our lives cannot be hidden?
Many times when we’re in trouble, we run to a friend, or a sibling, or parents, but our first instinct should be to run to Jesus and God and ask for help or guidance.
First the Centurion and now the Syrophoenician woman. I think Jesus was awed at how many Gentiles had great faith in him. I wonder if they’re the reason why God let’s Gentiles into his kingdom now.
31 Again He went out from the region of Tyre, and came through Sidon to the Sea of Galilee, within the region of Decapolis. 32 They *brought to Him one who was deaf and spoke with difficulty, and they *implored Him to lay His hand on him. 33 Jesus took him aside from the crowd, by himself, and put His fingers into his ears, and after spitting, He touched his tongue with the saliva; 34 and looking up to heaven with a deep sigh, He *said to him, “Ephphatha!” that is, “Be opened!” 35 And his ears were opened, and the [q]impediment of his tongue [r]was removed, and he began speaking plainly. 36 And He gave them orders not to tell anyone; but the more He ordered them, the more widely they continued to proclaim it. 37 They were utterly astonished, saying, “He has done all things well; He makes even the deaf to hear and the mute to speak.”
I wonder if he did this things to show that he is the one that did the healing.
I’m guessing they had no idea how deep this statement really was, but it’s almost prophetic. Because Jesus is God, He did everything well during His life on earth. And He is continuing to do all things well and will do all things well for all of eternity because He is good and holy and perfect.
And if Jesus is working through me, those around me should be able to say that I am doing things well, just like Jesus did. I should be following Christ in this way.
Footnotes:
- Mark 7:3 Lit with the fist
- Mark 7:4 Or sprinkle
- Mark 7:4 Lit baptizing
- Mark 7:10 Lit die the death
- Mark 7:11 Or a gift, i.e. an offering
- Mark 7:16 Early mss do not contain this verse
- Mark 7:19 Lit goes out into the latrine
- Mark 7:21 I.e. acts of sexual immorality
- Mark 7:22 Lit an evil eye
- Mark 7:22 Or arrogance
- Mark 7:24 Two early mss add and Sidon
- Mark 7:24 Lit and
- Mark 7:26 Lit Greek
- Mark 7:27 Or proper
- Mark 7:29 Lit word
- Mark 7:30 Lit thrown
- Mark 7:35 Or bond
- Mark 7:35 Lit was loosed
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