Mark 7
Summary for Mark 7:1-23: 7:1-23 a This account has no direct connection with what precedes it. It assumes only a context such as “Once in the ministry of Jesus.” After setting the scene (7:1-4 b), Mark introduces the Pharisees’ question (7:5 c), followed by Jesus’ response (7:6-23 d). The first part of Jesus’ response (7:6-13 e) centers around two Old Testament passages and a twofold attack on the Pharisees’ traditions (7:6-8 f, 9-13 g). In the second part (7:14-23 h), Jesus teaches about what does and does not truly defile. 7:1 i Readers already know that the Pharisees and teachers of religious law were hostile to Jesus (see 2:16 j, 24 k; 3:6 l, 22 m).Summary for Mark 7:2-4: 7:2-4 n Mark explains the Pharisaic practices of ritual cleansing for his non-Jewish (Gentile) readers. The ancient traditions (literally the traditions of the elders) were as yet unwritten accounts that the Pharisees believed had been given to Moses on Mount Sinai along with the written law. They were written down around AD 200 in the Mishnah, one of the key sources for understanding ancient Judaism.
7:5 o Since the Pharisees believed that their oral traditions were given to Moses as part of God’s divine revelation, they asked Jesus why his disciples did not keep them. After all, teachers were responsible for the behavior of their disciples (see 2:24 p).
Summary for Mark 7:6-8: 7:6-8 q Jesus first responds by quoting Isa 29:13 r (Greek version), which deals with the farce of equating man-made ideas with God’s commands. It describes well the situation in which the Pharisees had substituted their human tradition for God’s law.
Summary for Mark 7:9-13: 7:9-13 s Next, Jesus provides an instance where the Pharisees’ traditions contradicted God’s law and allowed them to sidestep its requirements.
Summary for Mark 7:11-12: 7:11-12 t But you say: The contrast with God’s law is emphatic—their tradition repudiated God’s command for people to honor their parents by providing for their needs.
• ‘For I have vowed to give to God what I would have given to you’: The tradition said that people could sidestep their obligation to support their parents by dedicating some of their resources to God, thus disregarding and dishonoring their needy parents.
7:13 u The result of such traditions was to cancel the word of God.
• only one example among many others: It was not an isolated instance; see, e.g., Isa 1:10-20 v; 58:1-14 w.
Summary for Mark 7:14-23: 7:14-23 x Jesus’ second argument against the Pharisees was a proverb that Jesus told the crowd. Later, in the privacy of a home, Jesus explained it to his disciples (7:17-23 y). It concerns moral distinctions about eating. Eating affects the digestive system, but moral issues involve the heart. The heart is a metaphor for the seat of moral decision making. How a person eats (with clean or unclean hands) or what a person eats (clean or unclean food) affects only the digestive tract, so it has no bearing on the moral issues of the soul. To help his later readers understand the implications of Jesus’ teaching, Mark adds the interpretive comment By saying this, he declared that every kind of food is acceptable in God’s eyes. In the apostolic church, Peter and Paul were instrumental in bringing this implication to light (see Acts 10:1–11:18 z; Rom 14:14 aa; 1 Cor 8:8 ab; Gal 2:11-21 ac).
Summary for Mark 7:20-22: 7:20-22 ad These verses summarize thirteen things that truly defile a person. These actions and vices all come from the heart.
Summary for Mark 7:24-30: 7:24-30 ae The discussion of clean and unclean and of undefiled and defiled in 7:1-23 af has prepared readers for the story of the Gentile woman’s faith. For Jews, Gentiles were defiled by definition, because they did not keep the regulations of the Torah (see Acts 10:1–11:18 ag, especially 10:14-15 ah; 11:2-3 ai, 8-9 aj). 7:24 ak The city of Tyre and its surrounding regions lie on the Mediterranean coast in modern-day Lebanon. Originally an island, Tyre became a peninsula when Alexander the Great constructed a half-mile ramp from the mainland in 332 BC. Tyre had one of the most important harbors on the eastern side of the Mediterranean Sea. People earlier had come from Tyre to hear Jesus and see him work miracles (3:7-8 al), which explains how the Tyrian woman knew of him.
• There is much discussion about why Jesus left Galilee to visit this Gentile region. Mark provides no explanation, so any suggestion is pure speculation. Mark’s Gentile readers, however, would have understood this journey by Jesus as foreshadowing the church’s mission to the Gentile world that led to their own conversion (for more about the genesis of the church in Rome, see Romans Book Introduction).
Summary for Mark 7:25-26: 7:25-26 am The woman was from Syrian Phoenicia and therefore a Gentile. The urgency and intensity of the woman’s petition is seen in her falling at Jesus’ feet and begging.
Summary for Mark 7:27-28: 7:27-28 an Jesus’ reply to the woman seems like a harsh refusal, but their interaction indicates that he wanted to see her faith (cp. Matt 15:28 ao).
• Jesus’ use of first did not exclude her as a Gentile from the grace of God but indicated that his mission was first to the Jews (Acts 13:46 ap; Rom 1:16 aq). The woman responded to Jesus’ words with humility and faith. She acknowledged the priority of the Jewish people but argued that there was more than enough food for the dogs as well. (In Jewish literature, Gentiles were frequently referred to as dogs, which were seen as filthy scavengers rather than as adorable pets; see also study note on Rev 22:15.) The woman’s persistence and acknowledgment of Jesus as Lord were rewarded.
Summary for Mark 7:29-30: 7:29-30 ar For similar healings from a distance, see Matt 8:5-13 as // Luke 7:1-10 at and John 4:46-54 au.
Summary for Mark 7:31-37: 7:31-37 av This miracle is very similar in order and vocabulary to the healing of the blind man in 8:22-26 aw. Healing miracles in the Gospels follow a similar pattern—the constant telling and retelling of similar stories probably standardized their form and wording.
• This healing miracle includes a change of scene. Although some interpret the next miracle as occurring in the Gentile world (Sidon or Decapolis), it probably took place after Jesus returned to the Sea of Galilee. The next incident takes place there (8:10 ax) without a change of scene.
7:33 ay The healing was performed privately (7:33 az; see 5:40-43 ba; 8:23 bb) to prevent the spread of messianic fervor (see 3:11-12 bc; cp. John 6:15 bd).
• Jesus also used saliva in a healing at Mark 8:23 be, where he spit on a man’s eyes in curing his blindness. The medicinal use of saliva in ancient times is well documented.
7:34 bf Since Jesus was looking up to heaven when he sighed, his sigh is probably best understood as a prayerful gesture.
• Ephphatha is an Aramaic term that Mark translates for his readers (see also 3:17 bg; 5:41 bh; 14:36 bi; 15:34 bj). These are not magical formulas or incantations; Mark is simply recounting some of the original words Jesus spoke. Matthew and Luke do not seem to have attributed any special significance to the Aramaic words of Jesus, since they did not include them in their Gospels.
Summary for Mark 7:36-37: 7:36-37 bk Despite his desire to avoid attention, Jesus’ greatness shone too brightly—his person, his teaching, and his ability to heal inspired awe, and he could not be hidden.
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