Now when the Pharisees gathered to him, with some of the scribes who had come from Jerusalem, 2 they saw that some of his disciples ate with hands that were defiled, that is, unwashed. 3 (For the Pharisees and all the Jews do not eat unless they wash their hands properly, holding to the tradition of the elders, 4 and when they come from the marketplace, they do not eat unless they wash. And there are many other traditions that they observe, such as the washing of cups and pots and copper vessels and dining couches.) 5 And the Pharisees and the scribes asked him, “Why do your disciples not walk according to the tradition of the elders, but eat with defiled hands?” 6 And he said to them, “Well did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written,
“‘This people honors me with their lips,
but their heart is far from me;
7 in vain do they worship me,
teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’
8 You leave the commandment of God and hold to the tradition of men.”
9 And he said to them, “You have a fine way of rejecting the commandment of God in order to establish your tradition! 10 For Moses said, ‘Honor your father and your mother’; and, ‘Whoever reviles father or mother must surely die.’ 11 But you say, ‘If a man tells his father or his mother, “Whatever you would have gained from me is Corban”’ (that is, given to God)— 12 then you no longer permit him to do anything for his father or mother, 13 thus making void the word of God by your tradition that you have handed down. And many such things you do.”
What Defiles a Person
14 And he called the people to him again and said to them, “Hear me, all of you, and understand: 15 There is nothing outside a person that by going into him can defile him, but the things that come out of a person are what defile him.” 17 And when he had entered the house and left the people, his disciples asked him about the parable. 18 And he said to them, “Then are you also without understanding? Do you not see that whatever goes into a person from outside cannot defile him, 19 since it enters not his heart but his stomach, and is expelled?” (Thus he declared all foods clean.) 20 And he said, “What comes out of a person is what defiles him. 21 For from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, 22 coveting, wickedness, deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride, foolishness. 23 All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person.”
The Syrophoenician Woman's Faith
24 And from there he arose and went away to the region of Tyre and Sidon. And he entered a house and did not want anyone to know, yet he could not be hidden. 25 But immediately a woman whose little daughter had an unclean spirit heard of him and came and fell down at his feet. 26 Now the woman was a Gentile, a Syrophoenician by birth. And she begged him to cast the demon out of her daughter. 27 And he said to her, “Let the children be fed first, for it is not right to take the children's bread and throw it to the dogs.” 28 But she answered him, “Yes, Lord; yet even the dogs under the table eat the children's crumbs.” 29 And he said to her, “For this statement you may go your way; the demon has left your daughter.” 30 And she went home and found the child lying in bed and the demon gone.
Jesus Heals a Deaf Man
31 Then he returned from the region of Tyre and went through Sidon to the Sea of Galilee, in the region of the Decapolis. 32 And they brought to him a man who was deaf and had a speech impediment, and they begged him to lay his hand on him. 33 And taking him aside from the crowd privately, he put his fingers into his ears, and after spitting touched his tongue. 34 And looking up to heaven, he sighed and said to him, “Ephphatha,” that is, “Be opened.” 35 And his ears were opened, his tongue was released, and he spoke plainly. 36 And Jesus charged them to tell no one. But the more he charged them, the more zealously they proclaimed it. 37 And they were astonished beyond measure, saying, “He has done all things well. He even makes the deaf hear and the mute speak.” Mark 7 ESV
Mark 7
…4Thus the administrators and satraps sought a charge against Daniel concerning the kingdom, but they could find no charge or corruption, because he was trustworthy, and no negligence or corruption was found in him. 5Finally these men said, “We will never find any charge against this Daniel, unless we find something against him concerning the law of his God.” 6So the administrators and satraps went together to the king and said, “O King Darius, may you live forever!… Daniel 6: 4-6
With hands that were defiled - The Scribes followed an extrabiblical set of laws as laid out in their traditions. Jesus will call them out for this, in that they put more on the outward and ceremonial, and inwardly they themselves are unclean.
And had seen that some of His disciples (mathetes) were eating their bread with impure hands, that is, unwashed - Notice Mark gives Gentile readers the definition of impure hands as hands that are unwashed. Note Mark does not say "dirty" hands (so this has nothing to do with personal hygiene but only with "pseudo holiness!") but impure (see koinos below) hands, which speaks of ceremonial or ritual impurity as defined by the traditions of men, not by God's Law. Unwashed is aniptos (only here and Mt 15:20) and means not washed according to Jewish traditions for washing hands. Note that "had seen" is interrupted by an explanation in vv3-4 and picks back up in Mk 7:5 with "The Pharisees and the scribes asked Him...." "The scribes and Pharisees were not objecting because the disciples were eating with dirty hands but because they had not gone through the accepted purification rituals before eating with their hands. Most Jews regarded breaking these traditions as sin." (Constable) The Jewish writer Edersheim adds "Indeed, a Rabbi who had held this command in contempt was actually buried in excommunication." - Precept Austin
According to Josephus, “The Pharisees have imposed on the people many laws from the tradition of the fathers not written in the Law of Moses” (Ant. 13.10.6 §297). - PA
This people honors me with their lips - Lip service, sucking up, learning to say the right things, reading books on how to win friends and influence people, all legalism which bears only a semblance to good, yet is only an outward nod, not the true condition of the heart. Jesus is quoting Isaiah.
…12Or if the scroll is handed to one unable to read, he will say, “I cannot read.” 13Therefore the Lord said: “These people draw near to Me with their mouths and honor Me with their lips, but their hearts are far from Me. Their worship of Me is but rules taught by men. 14Therefore I will again confound these people with wonder upon wonder. The wisdom of the wise will vanish, and the intelligence of the intelligent will be hidden.”… Isaiah 29: 12-14
Honor your father and your mother - They didn't mind washing their hands, but in their greed were desperate to take their inheritances, yet not care for their parents at their time of need. The Pharisees allowed that those who raised and took care of them were not to be considered by way of a loop hole, and put off the weightier matters of their own slander. These scribes were much more like lawyers offering men loopholes in the law. God is not so easily bound, He knows what He meant when He said it, our preferences and language do not change His intent.
Speaks evil (2551) kakologeo from kakos = evil + lego = to speak) means literally to speak evil of, to curse (e.g., of parents in Mt 15:4, Mk 7:10). Kakologeo means tio use unjustified and abusive language against someone. Kakologeo is used in Mark 9:39 in regard to someone who was casting out demons. Louw-Nida says kakologeo means to revile or "to insult in a particularly strong and unjustified manner." The derivative word katalogos was a "slanderer." Hellenistically, kakologeo means to imprecate evil on, to curse someone (Lxx - Pr. 20:20; Ezek 22:7; Ex 22:28).
Corban (that is given to God) then you no longer permit him to do anything for his father or mother - They were being legalist and siding with cultural traditions as usual. Many times the gift to the temple did not come any where close to the amount needed to care fro the parents, but the religious rulers did not mind so much because now they at least got some. Both parties were corrupt because the son pocketed the rest. Both parties were wrong because they departed from God's intent. People still look for religions that suit their fancy and preachers who tickle their ears today.
Simply by saying "Corban" over a gift, a son could be freed of the obligation of having to give the gift to their needy parents! In essence the Pharisees and their evil traditions were promoting sinful behavior by sons! Talk about being deluded by doctrines of men! These Pharisees had no concept of the truth of God nor of the true and Living God. That's the deadly effect tradition can have on a heart! The heart becomes so unbelieving, so hardened, that it thinks it is doing right when in fact it is actually doing wrong. This is exactly what happened in the horrible days of the Judges where we read "In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did what was right in his own eyes. (NOTICE EVEN THOUGH THEY DID WRONG, THERE WERE SO DECEIVED, THEY THOUGHT THEY WERE DOING RIGHT!)" (Jdg 21:25+).
In answer to the Pharisees’ question, Jesus told them that they had rejected the commandment of God in order to keep their own tradition (Mark 7:6-9). Jesus gives the proof of their corruption of the Law by citing their use of “Corban.” Moses had instructed God’s people to “honor their father and mother” (Exodus 20:12), but the Pharisees negated that command by teaching that they could give money to the temple in lieu of helping their parents in need. Whatever money might have been used to provide for aging parents could be dedicated to the temple treasury instead. Saying, “It is Corban” would exempt a person from his responsibility to his parents. In other words, the Pharisees took a legitimate Corban offering and used it in an illegitimate and devious way to defraud their parents (and enrich themselves). Thus, the Law of God was nullified.
Jesus tells the Pharisees that their misuse of Corban was an evil rationale to avoid doing what they should. God never intended that the good principle of devoting something to the temple should be twisted to dishonor fathers and mothers. Ritual without reality is what the Pharisaic religion was all about. It was also ritual without righteousness and without relationship. Jesus taught that, without a personal relationship with God, ritual profits nothing, and the traditions of man should never usurp the authority of God’s Word. (Source: GotQuestions.org) - Precept Austin
From within, out of the heart of man - It wasn't outside temptations, it wasn't a man's eyes that caused him to lust, or be greedy for what his neighbor has, that sin originated in his heart. Through the lens of sin he takes in what he sees, and rather than repent most justify, laugh, and look for more.
…9Hide Your face from my sins and blot out all my iniquities. 10Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me. 11Cast me not away from Your presence; take not Your Holy Spirit from me.… Psalm 51: 9-11
Yet even the dogs under the table eat the children's crumbs - What a lesson, how arrogant we are, she recognized the sole way in front of her. She had probably experienced every other possible dead end, and she does not relent. She doesn't take it personal as so many today do, "you can't call me a sinner, if you point out what I did then you have four fingers pointing back at you." She didn't care, she saw salvation for her kid in Jesus and realized that His scraps were better than anything this world could offer. Very different approach than the self esteem gospel, vastly different than the I'm a good person cult or the cult of snow flakes. For this statement you may go your way, the demon has left your daughter. Paul echoes this woman only after he has been broken and matured as a Christian, he looks back and present and says, "oh wretched man that I am." Be offended as you want, but I am not special, you are not special in this, we are all the same, dead in our trespasses and sins. There is One Who is special, He Who knew no sin and became sin on our behalf so that we might become the righteousness of God. Jesus is the only One born of a woman, God being knit with humanity, deity taking on flesh, being special in that He did not fall into sin, in that He did not deserve it's wages, that's special, that's different, and if you want to be different then conform to that image. Otherwise you're like everyone else out there who is trying to explain how special they are through coloring their hair, piercing, tattooing, pushing the envelope, chasing what the world says makes you great, chasing the dollar, having all the toys that are supposed to make you special. If you want to be different, be humble, it's the last frontier, the most unknown and seldom visited place in the human experience, follow Christ.
22“The Son of Man must suffer many things,” He said. “He must be rejected by the elders, chief priests, and scribes, and He must be killed and on the third day be raised to life.” 23Then Jesus said to all of them, “If anyone wants to come after Me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow Me. 24For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will save it.… Luke 9: 22-24
Ephphatha - Be opened.
…21At that very hour Jesus healed many people of their diseases, afflictions, and evil spirits, and He gave sight to many who were blind. 22So He replied, “Go back and report to John what you have seen and heard: The blind receive sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is preached to the poor. 23Blessed is the one who does not fall away on account of Me.”… Luke 7: 21-23
…4Say to those with anxious hearts: “Be strong, do not fear! Behold, your God will come with vengeance. With divine retribution He will come to save you.” 5Then the eyes of the blind will be opened and the ears of the deaf unstopped. 6Then the lame will leap like a deer and the mute tongue will shout for joy. For waters will gush forth in the wilderness, and streams in the desert.… Isaiah 35: 4-6
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