Mark 7 Study Notes

7:1-23 This is Jesus’s longest conflict speech in the Gospel of Mark.

7:1 On the Pharisees and scribes, see notes at 1:21-22; 2:15-17; and 3:22.

7:2 As in 2:18,24, the dispute occurred over the actions of Jesus’s disciples. Unclean . . . hands refers to ritual cleansing, not hygiene.

7:3-4 These verses are an explanatory parenthesis. This is Mark’s only reference to the Jews as a group. The tradition of the elders (cp. vv. 5,8-9,13) refers to oral traditions that had grown up around the written law. Such traditions became the heart of rabbinic Judaism. Apparently when the Pharisees returned from the marketplace they did more than just ritually wash their hands; they thoroughly purified themselves.

7:5 Jesus replied in v. 8 that the tradition of the elders is merely “human tradition.”

7:6-7 The word for hypocrites refers to an actor who hid behind a mask. Thus the word means “pretender.” Jesus’s quotation from Is 29:13 clearly defined what a hypocrite was and focused on God’s condemnation of those who taught as doctrines human commands.

7:8-9 Jesus accused the scribes and Pharisees of abandoning the command of God while keeping human tradition. They made their oral traditions more important than God’s law.

7:10 By quoting the fifth commandment (Ex 20:12; Dt 5:16) and Ex 21:17 (Lv 20:9), Jesus introduced a specific example of what he charged in Mk 7:8-9.

7:11-13 You say is emphatic and pits the rabbis’ teaching against the word of God. The rabbinic custom of corban (modified from Lv 27:28; Nm 18:14) allowed a person to devote all his material goods to the Lord. The rabbis shamefully allowed corban to excuse sons from meeting the material needs of their aging parents. You do many other similar things emphasized that the corban practice was representative of other hypocritical Pharisaic practices.

7:14-15 Jesus broadened his audience to the crowd and expanded his topic to true defilement. Verse 15 is the heart of his teaching. A person is defiled by what comes out, not what goes in.

7:17-18 The disciples asked Jesus privately about the parable of v. 15. Jesus repeated what he had said and rebuked them for their lack of understanding.

7:19 What goes into a person’s stomach doesn’t defile because it is digested and eliminated. Recall that Mark was written under Peter’s influence and that Peter learned in Ac 10:15 that all foods are clean. Thus the parenthetical statement of Mk 7:19 indicates that Mark, Peter, and others looked back afresh on Jesus’s saying and realized that he had pronounced all foods clean. They failed fully to grasp this when Jesus originally uttered it.

7:20-23 Jesus listed thirteen moral problems to illustrate his point about internal defilement. The first seven are plural and indicate repeated acts. Sexual immoralities (Gk porneia) includes all illicit sexual practices outside marriage. Evil actions is a term for maliciousness. The last six evils are all singular, indicating attitudes. Envy refers to jealousy, covetousness, and a grudging attitude. The word for pride refers to exalting oneself above others. Foolishness is lack of moral judgment.

7:24-8:10 These verses describe Jesus’s ministry in the Gentile areas of Tyre, Sidon, and the Decapolis.

7:24 Tyre was on the Mediterranean coast northwest of Galilee. Jesus went to the region of Tyre, which refers to the administrative district around Tyre and not to the city itself.

7:25-26 This woman was a Gentile who lived according to Greek culture. A Syrophoenician (a Phoenician from Syria) reflects Mark’s use of double expression, with the second term being more specific. Fell at his feet recalls the actions of Jairus (5:23) and the Gerasene demoniac (5:6).

7:27 In Jesus’s curt statement, the children refers to the Jews (cp. Mt 15:24). Jews typically referred to Gentiles as dogs. Since Jews considered dogs unclean (Ex 22:31; 1Kg 21:23; 22:38; 2Kg 9:36; Pr 26:11; Mt 7:6; 2Pt 2:22), calling someone a dog was an insult (1Sm 17:43; 24:14; 2Sm 16:9; Is 56:10-11).

7:28 Lord can be a divine title or just a polite address. The woman asserted that even though dogs did not eat with the children at the table, they did eat the crumbs that fell to the floor (cp. Lk 16:21). She accepted the priority of Jesus’s mission to the Jews but pointed out that Israel’s privileges did not exclude Gentiles from enjoying the overflow.

7:29-30 The narrative returns to the exorcism, which was the occasion for the woman’s coming to Jesus. His words because of this reply in Matthew’s account focuses on the greatness of the woman’s faith (Mt 15:28).

7:31-37 This account is likely part of a larger healing ministry in the Decapolis that Matthew summarized (Mt 15:29-31). Jesus’s reception this time contrasts with that of his first visit (cp. Mk 5:17) and possibly hints at the success of the Gerasene demoniac’s proclamation (5:20).

7:31 By way of Sidon . . . the Decapolis indicates Jesus traveled more than twenty miles farther north before turning southeast. The entire journey was more than 120 miles. On the Decapolis, see note at 5:19-20.

7:32 Difficulty speaking is also used in the Greek version of Is 35:5-6, a passage that Jesus fulfilled with this miracle.

7:33-34 Only here and in 8:22-26 did Jesus take the person he healed aside in private. Spitting (cp. 8:23) probably means Jesus spit into his hand and applied saliva to the man’s tongue (Jn 9:6). Looking up to heaven is a sign of prayer (see note at 6:41). Sighed deeply indicates Jesus’s deep emotional involvement. Mark translates the Aramaic word Ephphatha parenthetically (cp. 5:41).

7:35 He began to speak clearly indicates that, like many deaf people, he was previously able to make sounds but not form coherent words.

7:36 Proclaimed is the word Mark used for telling others about Jesus (Gk kērusso). The people of the Decapolis now responded as the Gerasene demoniac had done (5:20).

7:37 While Jesus’s other healing miracles brought astonishment and amazement (1:22,27; 2:12; 5:20,42; 6:2,6,51), this is the only time that extremely or “beyond all measure” appears. He has done everything well echoes the Septuagint wording of Gn 1:31. Once again, Jesus had done what only God could do (Ex 4:11).