Mark 7:1-37
1 Then came together unto him the Pharisees, and certain of the scribes, which came from Jerusalem.
2 And when they saw some of his disciples eat bread with defiled,a that is to say, with unwashen, hands, they found fault.
3 For the Pharisees, and all the Jews, except they wash their hands oft,b eat not, holding the tradition of the elders.
4 And when they come from the market, except they wash, they eat not. And many other things there be, which they have received to hold, as the washing of cups, and pots,c brasen 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 unwashen hands?
6 He answered and said unto them,Well hath Esaias prophesied of you hypocrites, as it is written, This people honoureth me with their lips, but their heart is far from me.
7 Howbeit in vain do they worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.
8 For laying aside the commandment of God, ye hold the tradition of men, as the washing of pots and cups: and many other such like things ye do.
9 And he said unto them,Full well ye rejectd the commandment of God, that ye may keep your own tradition.
10 For Moses said, Honour thy father and thy mother; and, Whoso curseth father or mother, let him die the death:
11 But ye say, If a man shall say to his father or mother, It is Corban, that is to say, a gift, by whatsoever thou mightest be profited by me; he shall be free.
12 And ye suffer him no more to do ought for his father or his mother;
13 Making the word of God of none effect through your tradition, which ye have delivered: and many such 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 without 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 was entered into the house from the people, his disciples asked him concerning the parable.
18 And he saith unto them,Are ye so without understanding also? Do ye not perceive, that whatsoever thing from without entereth into the man, it cannot defile him;
19 Because it entereth not into his heart, but into the belly, and goeth out into the draught, 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,e 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 borders of Tyre and Sidon, and entered into an house, and would have no man know 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,f a Syrophenician 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 was 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 coasts of Decapolis.
32 And they bring unto him one that was deaf, and had an impediment in his speech; and they beseech 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 spit, and touched his tongue;
34 And looking up to heaven, he sighed, and saith unto him,Ephphatha, that is,Be opened.
35 And straightway his ears were opened, and the string of his tongue was loosed, and he spake plain.
36 And he charged them that they should tell no man: but the more he charged them, so much the more a great deal they published it;
37 And were beyond measure astonished, saying, He hath done all things well: he maketh both the deaf to hear, and the dumb to speak.
Christ in the Bible: Mark’s Gospel
Keith Simons
This commentary has been through Advanced Checking.Chapter 7
God’s people must be different
Verses 1-16God’s people should not do all the same things that other people do. They must be different. God gave his *law to teach people how they should do that.
The first leaders of the *Pharisees also wanted to teach people that they should be different. So those leaders made rules. And the *Pharisees were careful to obey those rules.
For example, they had to wash before a meal. They were already clean, but they washed again because of the rule. The *Jews all did this. So the *Pharisees were surprised when Jesus’ *disciples did not do it.
Jesus told the *Pharisees that they must always obey God. That is more important than any rules are. Men made those rules. So the *Pharisees did not need to obey those rules. But they must always obey God’s *law.
Jesus gave an example to the *Pharisees. God has said that a person must help his parents. But the *Pharisees had another rule. A person did not have to help his parents if he gave a gift to God instead. Jesus did not agree.
Jesus told the people that they should think about his words. The *Pharisees had many rules about food. But food is only something that goes into a person’s body. And God teaches that other things matter very much. They are the bad things that people do. They start as ideas. But they do not stay in a person’s mind. They come out of it. And then they cause trouble for other people. God’s *law is against those things.
Verses 17-23
The *disciples wanted Jesus to explain the words that he had spoken to the *Pharisees.
God has given many kinds of food that people can eat. All these foods are good, because they are all from God. But God’s rules said that the *Jews should only eat certain kinds of food. Those rules made the *Jews different from other people.
God gave those rules to teach an important lesson to his people. The *Pharisees knew the rules, but they had not yet understood that lesson. So Jesus explained the lesson to his *disciples.
Jesus said that food passes through the body. If a person is well, his body is able to take the good part out of the food. The body itself cleans the food. God made the body so that it would do this.
But other things happen during people’s lives that God does not want. People do very many wrong things. Jesus gave a long list of those things. They always start as ideas in a person’s mind. In the end, they usually cause troubles for other people. They are all against God’s *law.
God’s people should obey him. That is how God wants his people to be different.
Jesus in Syrophoenicia
Verses 24-30Jesus did not often leave the country called Israel. God had sent him first to the *Jews, who live in Israel. But God loves the people who live in every country. He wants to help them all. Everybody should believe him. And everybody should obey him.
Everywhere, people have the same troubles. The woman’s daughter had a bad *spirit. And the woman was sure that Jesus was able to help the girl.
Jesus wanted to know whether the woman really believed God. So he told her that God had sent him to the *Jews. The *Jews were like God’s children. God knew that they needed help. So God had sent Jesus to them.
It would be easy for the woman to say that all people are God’s children. God made them all. And he loves them all. That is right, but the woman had another answer.
This was her answer. God is good to his children. He gives them everything that they need. But God loves everything that he has made. He even gives good things to those animals that people do not like.
The woman had given a good answer. It was clear that she believed God. And God did help her. Jesus told her that her daughter was well. The bad *spirit had left the girl.
A man who could not hear
Verses 31-37Jesus continued to travel. A man came who could not hear.
Jesus could not use words to talk to the man. So Jesus could not explain to the man that he should believe God. Instead, Jesus did certain things so that the man would know.
First, Jesus led the man away. So it was clear that he wanted to help the man.
Then Jesus touched the man’s ears. So the man knew that Jesus wanted to make the ears well.
Then Jesus took water from his mouth. Doctors used water from their mouths. They used it with their medicine. Jesus was not making any medicine. But he was explaining that he was able to make the man well.
Next, Jesus looked up. He looked towards God’s home that is called *heaven. So Jesus was showing that God would make the man well.
Immediately, the man was well again. He was able to hear. And he could speak, too.
God’s message is important. When we explain it, people should be able to understand. Sometimes we must learn a new language to speak about God. Sometimes we teach people by the things that we do. Sometimes we must explain in a different way. Jesus did that for this man. We should do the same for other people.
This book is in EasyEnglish Level A (1200 words).
Gospel ~ a book that tells about the things that Jesus did. And it includes some things that he taught. There are 4 Gospels in the Bible. They are the books by Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.
law ~ a country’s rules; the rules that God gave to Moses; one of these rules. The Jews had to obey the laws that God gave to Moses.
Jew ~ a person who is born from the families of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
Pharisees ~ a group of Jews. Pharisees went to a special school to learn God’s laws. They tried to obey all God’s laws. But many Pharisees did not like the things that Jesus taught.
Jew ~ a person who is born from the families of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
law ~ a country’s rules; the rules that God gave to Moses; one of these rules. The Jews had to obey the laws that God gave to Moses.
Jew ~ a person who is born from the families of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
disciple ~ a student of a great teacher. Usually, the disciple travelled with his teacher and he worked for his teacher.
spirit ~ the part of a person that is alive, but which we cannot see. There are also bad spirits and good spirits. The Holy Spirit is God’s Spirit.
holy ~ special for God.
heaven ~ God’s home.
Mark’s Good News
Mark’s Gospel
Hilda Bright
Chapter 7
The Law and tradition 7:1-23
v1 The *Pharisees and some of the experts on the law who came from Jerusalem gathered round Jesus. v2 They noticed that some of Jesus’ *disciples did not wash their hands in the special *Jewish way before a meal. v3 (The *Jews, and especially the *Pharisees, do not eat until they have poured water over their hands. In this way they obey the old traditions. v4 When they come from the market place, they always wash themselves before a meal. They obey many other traditions, such as the ceremony of washing cups, jugs and kettles.) v5 The *Pharisees and the *scribes asked Jesus, ‘Why do your *disciples not live in the way that our *ancestors taught us? Why do they eat when they have not carried out the hand washing ceremony?’ v6 Jesus replied, ‘You are not honest! Isaiah *prophesied about you. He said, “These people give me honour by what they say. But their hearts are far away from me. v7 Their *worship does not mean anything. They teach rules that men have made up instead of God’s rules” (Isaiah 29:13). v8 You take no notice of God’s commands. You obey rules that men have made up.’ v9 Jesus then said to them, ‘You have a good way not to obey God’s law in order to obey your own tradition! v10 Moses said, “Give honour to your father and mother” and, “You must kill anyone who says evil things about his father or mother.” v11 But you allow a man to say to his parents, “Any help that you might have received from me is ‘Corban’. (That means ‘I have given it to God’.)” v12 So you do not allow him to do anything for his father or mother. v13 In this way, you make God’s law have no effect because of the traditions that you obey. And you do many other things like that.’
v14 Then Jesus called the people close to him again. He said to them, ‘Listen, all of you, and understand this. v15 Nothing that goes into a man from outside will make him *unclean. What comes out of a man makes him *unclean.’ [v16 ‘You have ears to hear with. Make sure that you listen.’] v17 When Jesus had gone into the house, away from the crowd, the *disciples asked him about this *parable. v18 Jesus said, ‘You do not seem to understand, either. What you eat cannot make you *unclean. You should be able to see that. v19 Food does not go into the mind. It only goes into the stomach and it passes out of the body.’ (By saying this, Jesus was calling all food clean.) v20 ‘But what comes out of a man makes him *unclean. v21 Evil thoughts come from the inside, from man’s mind. So do wrong sex behaviour, murder and *adultery. v22 Stealing, wicked actions, cheating and desires that are not pure come from inside people too. So does the desire for what other people have, lies about other people, pride and foolish behaviour. v23 All these evil things come from inside a man and they make him *unclean!’
Verses 2-4 The *disciples did not have dirty hands. Mark explained it for his *Gentile readers. The *Jews had a special way to wash their hands before a meal. It was not in order to remove dirt. It was a ceremony. It made sure that they had separated themselves from anything ‘*unclean’. Certain foods were ‘*unclean’. *Gentiles were ‘*unclean’. The *Jews had to pour water over each hand in a special way. And they had to wash each hand with the fist of the other hand. They did this when they came in from the town. They might have touched something that a *Gentile had touched. They were also very careful to wash anything that they drank from. They washed equally carefully anything that they used to prepare a meal.
Verses 6-7 Jesus said that they were not honest. Many translations use the word ‘hypocrites’ here. This means that they are like actors. They are hiding their real character. They said that they were obeying God’s laws. But they were failing to obey God’s laws. And they were expecting everyone to follow their traditions. Jesus used the words of Isaiah to emphasise that their religion was only a show on the outside. They were not sincere, because they put their own ideas in place of God’s laws.
Verse 9 Jesus said that they had a ‘good’ way not to obey God’s law. He was expressing his disgust when he said that. He meant that they were clever at following their own rules instead of God’s rules.
Verses 10-13 Jesus gave an example of their wrong attitude. The word ‘Corban’ means a gift that someone has promised to God. A man could say that some of his money was ‘Corban’. He could give it to *Temple funds or he could use it for himself. But nobody else could benefit from it. When his parents needed his help, he would make this excuse. So he avoided his duty to his parents in order to follow a tradition. He was therefore not obeying the command of God to give honour to his father and mother.
Jesus said that they had other ways not to obey God’s laws. They did it in order to obey their own rules.
Verses 14-15 Jesus wanted the people to realise that the *Pharisees’ idea of *unclean was wrong. The *Pharisees thought that in order to be holy they must obey special rules about washing. That was wrong. God wanted people to have good thoughts and to obey his laws.
Verse 16 is only in some copies of Mark’s book. It repeats what Jesus had said after the *parable of the four soils (4:3-9).
Verses 18-19 Food goes through a man’s body in the usual way. It goes into his mouth, then into his stomach and, in the end, it passes out again. So it cannot make him ‘*unclean’ with God because it does not affect his thoughts and actions. Jesus meant that ‘things’ cannot be *unclean. It is people who become *unclean. They become *unclean because of their own actions.
The *Pharisees refused to eat certain food. They believed that this could make them holy. They must not eat with *Gentiles. Mark writes a note to say that Jesus was making foods ‘clean’. Jesus showed that *sin begins with a person’s thoughts. It would be possible to be holy without worrying about the right kind of food. Later, Peter learned something about food: The food that he ate made no difference to his *relationship with God. He could even visit a *Gentile and he could share a meal with him (Acts 10:9-29).
Verse 21 ‘Evil thoughts’ produce evil actions. ‘Wrong sex behaviour’ means every kind of wrong sex act. ‘*Adultery’ is a particular kind of wrong sex behaviour. It is when one person has sex with another person’s wife or husband. Herod Antipas was guilty of ‘*adultery’ when he took his brother Philip’s wife.
Verse 22 ‘Cheating’ means when a person does not speak the truth. He loses the confidence of other people. ‘The desire for what other people have’ makes a person unhappy. The ‘*unclean’ person is not pleased about other people’s happiness or success. Instead, the ‘*unclean’ person hates them.
‘Pride’. A proud man thinks that he is better than anyone else. He cannot see it when he is wrong. He even expects God to respect him. But God ‘opposes proud people’ (James 4:6).
‘Foolish behaviour’. This can mean to spend time on activities that have no worth. But some people do wrong things whenever they want to. The words ‘foolish behaviour’ describe the actions of those people also.
Verse 23 All these evil actions come from what a man thinks about. Paul told the Christians at Philippi to think about what is pure and right (Philippians 4:8).
Jesus cures the daughter of a *Gentile 7:24-30
v24 Jesus left there. And he went away to the region called Tyre and Sidon. He went into a house, and he did not want anyone to know about it. But they could not keep it a secret. v25 Immediately, a woman whose daughter had an *unclean *spirit heard about him. She came and she fell at Jesus’ feet. v26 The woman was a *Gentile. She was born in Syro-Phoenicia. She asked Jesus to send the evil *spirit out of her daughter. v27 Jesus said to her, ‘First of all, the children must have their food. One should not take food from the children and throw it to the *dogs. That is not right.’ v28 But she answered Jesus, ‘That is true, *Lord. But even the *dogs under the table eat the bits of bread that the children throw away.’ v29 Jesus said to her, ‘Because of what you have said, go on your way. The evil *spirit has gone out of your daughter!’ v30 And she went home. And she found that the child was lying in bed. The evil *spirit had gone.
Verse 24 Jesus went north, probably in order to obtain some peace and quiet. He had made many enemies in Galilee, and the crowds were always demanding his help. Tyre and Sidon were two important harbours north of Capernaum. They were not on the Sea of Galilee. They were on the Mediterranean Sea.
Verse 27 Jesus’ answer to the woman sounds like an insult. ‘Dog’ was a word that people used as an insult. The *Jews sometimes called *Gentiles ‘*dogs’. But Jesus did not use the usual word for wild, dirty *dogs. He used a word that describes a family pet. The kind of voice that Jesus used would also make a difference. He was probably smiling as he spoke. He said that the children must have their food first. He meant his own people, the *Jews, must receive the first offer of the *gospel.
Verse 28 People threw bread that they did not want to the family pets. Perhaps the woman could get the pieces that the children had thrown away. That is what she thought.
Verse 29 Jesus was pleased with the *faith that she had shown in her reply. Jesus was at a distance and he could not see the woman’s daughter. But she became well. Jesus cured a *Roman soldier’s servant without going to see him. Luke records that (Luke 7:1-10).
Jesus began his work among the *Jews. He would reach the *Gentiles by means of the *Jews. The woman was a sign of the *Gentiles who would accept the *gospel. They would believe the *gospel that most *Jews refused. Mark had described how Jesus removed the difference between ‘clean’ and ‘*unclean’ food (7:14-23). In this incident, he removed the difference between *Jew and *Gentile, between ‘clean’ and ‘*unclean’ people.
Jesus cures a deaf man 7:31-37
v31 Jesus left Tyre and he went through Sidon to the Sea of Galilee, and the region of the Ten Towns. v32 They brought a man to Jesus. The man was deaf and he could not speak clearly. They asked Jesus to lay his hands on him. v33 Jesus took him away from the crowd to a private place. He put his fingers in the man’s ears. He touched the man’s tongue with liquid from his mouth. v34 He looked up to heaven. He sighed and he said to him, ‘Ephphatha’. That means ‘Be open!’ v35 He could hear. His tongue became free and he could speak clearly. v36 Jesus told the people not to tell anyone. But the more he told them not to, the more they spread the news. v37 They were completely astonished. They said, ‘Everything that he does is wonderful. He even cures those who are deaf and dumb.’
Verse 31 Jesus made a long journey back to Galilee. It may have taken several months. He may have used the time to teach his *disciples.
Verse 32 Because the man was deaf, he had not learnt to speak clearly.
Verse 33 Jesus took him away to a quiet place. When a deaf person starts to hear again, every sound seems very loud. It would not be pleasant for the man if he were in a noisy crowd. So Jesus thought about how the man would feel. Jesus showed the man what he was going to do. He touched the man’s ears. *Jewish doctors used liquid from their mouths. They believed that it could cure people. Jesus touched the man’s tongue. Then the man would know that Jesus would make a difference to his speech. Jesus showed where the power to cure would come from. He looked up to heaven. ‘Ephphatha’ was an *Aramaic word. Mark explained it in *Greek.
Verse 36 The people did not obey Jesus. So, it was difficult for him to have the peace to train his *disciples.
Verse 37 Jesus made the words of Isaiah come true. Isaiah said that, when God comes to rescue his people,
‘He will open the ears of those who cannot hear.
And those who cannot speak will shout for joy’ (Isaiah 35:5-6).
Pharisees ~ a group of Jews who thought that they obeyed all God’s commands. Many Pharisees did not like the things that Jesus taught. These men thought that they were not doing any wrong things. So, they became very proud.Jew ~ a person who is from the family of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob; a person who believes what Jews believe.
disciples ~ people who follow someone in order to learn from him.
Jewish ~ a word that describes a Jew or anything about Jews.
Jew ~ a person who is from the family of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob; a person who believes what Jews believe.
Jew ~ a person who is from the family of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob; a person who believes what Jews believe.
scribes ~ writers, especially the Jewish lawyers.
Jewish ~ a word that describes a Jew or anything about Jews.
Jew ~ a person who is from the family of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob; a person who believes what Jews believe.
ancestors ~ people in the past from whom one's parents came.
prophesy ~ to tell about things that will happen in the future; to speak with the help of God (or of a false god); to speak on behalf of God (or of a false god).
worship ~ show honour to God, usually with other people.
unclean ~ dirty or not holy.
parable ~ a story with a hidden meaning.
adultery ~ when one person has sex with another person’s wife or husband.
Gentiles ~ people who are not Jews.
Jew ~ a person who is from the family of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob; a person who believes what Jews believe.
Temple ~ the special building in Jerusalem where the Jews worshipped God.
Jew ~ a person who is from the family of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob; a person who believes what Jews believe.
worship ~ show honour to God, usually with other people.
sin ~ when people do not obey God’s commands.
relationship ~ people have a relationship when they are relatives or good friends; or when they live together.
adultery ~ when one person has sex with another person’s wife or husband.
spirit ~ the part of a person who is alive that we cannot see. There are good spirits, like God’s Spirit and his angels. And there are bad spirits, like Satan and his angels.
angel ~ God’s special messenger.
Satan ~ the chief evil spirit.
messenger ~ a person who gives a message.
dog ~ an animal that some people have in their houses.
Lord ~ master; a name that we call God or Jesus; we call God or Jesus Lord when we obey them.
gospel ~ good news that God saves people from sin by Jesus Christ.
Gospel ~ one of the first four books in the New Testament.
save ~ rescue from the results of sin.
sin ~ when people do not obey God’s commands.
New Testament ~ the last part of the Bible, which the writers wrote after the life of Jesus. It is about Jesus’ works and the things that he taught and about the first Christians.
faith ~ belief in someone or something, or things that Christians believe about Jesus.
Roman ~ Rome was the capital city of the rulers at that time. That which belonged to Rome was Roman.
Aramaic ~ the language that the Jews spoke when Jesus was on earth.
Jew ~ a person who is from the family of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob; a person who believes what Jews believe.
Greek ~ the language in which the authors wrote the New Testament.
New Testament ~ the last part of the Bible, which the writers wrote after the life of Jesus. It is about Jesus’ works and the things that he taught and about the first Christians.