Mark 7
This devotional is written by Matt Coombs.
Mark 7
That which defiles
The Pharisees and some of the teachers of the law who had come from Jerusalem gathered round Jesus 2 and saw some of his disciples eating food with hands that were defiled, that is, unwashed. 3 (The Pharisees and all the Jews do not eat unless they give their hands a ceremonial washing, holding to the tradition of the elders. 4 When they come from the market-place they do not eat unless they wash. And they observe many other traditions, such as the washing of cups, pitchers and kettles.)
5 So the Pharisees and teachers of the law asked Jesus, ‘Why don’t your disciples live according to the tradition of the elders instead of eating their food with defiled hands?’
6 He replied, ‘Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you hypocrites; as it is written:
‘“These people honour me with their lips,
but their hearts are far from me.
7 They worship me in vain;
their teachings are merely human rules.”
8 You have let go of the commands of God and are holding on to human traditions.’
9 And he continued, ‘You have a fine way of setting aside the commands of God in order to observe your own traditions! 10 For Moses said, “Honour your father and mother,” and, “Anyone who curses their father or mother is to be put to death.” 11 But you say that if anyone declares that what might have been used to help their father or mother is Corban (that is, devoted to God) – 12 then you no longer let them do anything for their father or mother. 13 Thus you nullify the word of God by your tradition that you have handed down. And you do many things like that.’
14 Again Jesus called the crowd to him and said, ‘Listen to me, everyone, and understand this. 15 Nothing outside a person can defile them by going into them. Rather, it is what comes out of a person that defiles them.’
17 After he had left the crowd and entered the house, his disciples asked him about this parable. 18 ‘Are you so dull?’ he asked. ‘Don’t you see that nothing that enters a person from the outside can defile them? 19 For it doesn’t go into their heart but into their stomach, and then out of the body.’ (In saying this, Jesus declared all foods clean.)
20 He went on: ‘What comes out of a person is what defiles them. 21 For it is from within, out of a person’s heart, that evil thoughts come – sexual immorality, theft, murder, 22 adultery, greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance and folly. 23 All these evils come from inside and defile a person.’
Jesus honours a Syro-Phoenician woman’s faith
24 Jesus left that place and went to the vicinity of Tyre. He entered a house and did not want anyone to know it; yet he could not keep his presence secret. 25 In fact, as soon as she heard about him, a woman whose little daughter was possessed by an impure spirit came and fell at his feet. 26 The woman was a Greek, born in Syrian Phoenicia. She begged Jesus to drive the demon out of her daughter.
27 ‘First let the children eat all they want,’ he told her, ‘for it is not right to take the children’s bread and toss it to the dogs.’
28 ‘Lord,’ she replied, ‘even the dogs under the table eat the children’s crumbs.’
29 Then he told her, ‘For such a reply, you may go; the demon has left your daughter.’
30 She went home and found her child lying on the bed, and the demon gone.
Jesus heals a deaf and mute man
31 Then Jesus left the vicinity of Tyre and went through Sidon, down to the Sea of Galilee and into the region of the Decapolis. 32 There some people brought to him a man who was deaf and could hardly talk, and they begged Jesus to place his hand on him.
33 After he took him aside, away from the crowd, Jesus put his fingers into the man’s ears. Then he spat and touched the man’s tongue. 34 He looked up to heaven and with a deep sigh said to him, ‘Ephphatha!’ (which means ‘Be opened!’). 35 At this, the man’s ears were opened, his tongue was loosed and he began to speak plainly.
36 Jesus commanded them not to tell anyone. But the more he did so, the more they kept talking about it. 37 People were overwhelmed with amazement. ‘He has done everything well,’ they said. ‘He even makes the deaf hear and the mute speak.’
The Pharisees and some of the teachers of the law who had come from Jerusalem gathered round Jesus 2 and saw some of his disciples eating food with hands that were defiled, that is, unwashed. 3 (The Pharisees and all the Jews do not eat unless they give their hands a ceremonial washing, holding to the tradition of the elders. 4 When they come from the market-place they do not eat unless they wash. And they observe many other traditions, such as the washing of cups, pitchers and kettles.)
5 So the Pharisees and teachers of the law asked Jesus, ‘Why don’t your disciples live according to the tradition of the elders instead of eating their food with defiled hands?’
6 He replied, ‘Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you hypocrites; as it is written:
‘“These people honour me with their lips,
but their hearts are far from me.
7 They worship me in vain;
their teachings are merely human rules.”
8 You have let go of the commands of God and are holding on to human traditions.’
9 And he continued, ‘You have a fine way of setting aside the commands of God in order to observe your own traditions! 10 For Moses said, “Honour your father and mother,” and, “Anyone who curses their father or mother is to be put to death.” 11 But you say that if anyone declares that what might have been used to help their father or mother is Corban (that is, devoted to God) – 12 then you no longer let them do anything for their father or mother. 13 Thus you nullify the word of God by your tradition that you have handed down. And you do many things like that.’
14 Again Jesus called the crowd to him and said, ‘Listen to me, everyone, and understand this. 15 Nothing outside a person can defile them by going into them. Rather, it is what comes out of a person that defiles them.’
17 After he had left the crowd and entered the house, his disciples asked him about this parable. 18 ‘Are you so dull?’ he asked. ‘Don’t you see that nothing that enters a person from the outside can defile them? 19 For it doesn’t go into their heart but into their stomach, and then out of the body.’ (In saying this, Jesus declared all foods clean.)
20 He went on: ‘What comes out of a person is what defiles them. 21 For it is from within, out of a person’s heart, that evil thoughts come – sexual immorality, theft, murder, 22 adultery, greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance and folly. 23 All these evils come from inside and defile a person.’
Jesus honours a Syro-Phoenician woman’s faith
24 Jesus left that place and went to the vicinity of Tyre. He entered a house and did not want anyone to know it; yet he could not keep his presence secret. 25 In fact, as soon as she heard about him, a woman whose little daughter was possessed by an impure spirit came and fell at his feet. 26 The woman was a Greek, born in Syrian Phoenicia. She begged Jesus to drive the demon out of her daughter.
27 ‘First let the children eat all they want,’ he told her, ‘for it is not right to take the children’s bread and toss it to the dogs.’
28 ‘Lord,’ she replied, ‘even the dogs under the table eat the children’s crumbs.’
29 Then he told her, ‘For such a reply, you may go; the demon has left your daughter.’
30 She went home and found her child lying on the bed, and the demon gone.
Jesus heals a deaf and mute man
31 Then Jesus left the vicinity of Tyre and went through Sidon, down to the Sea of Galilee and into the region of the Decapolis. 32 There some people brought to him a man who was deaf and could hardly talk, and they begged Jesus to place his hand on him.
33 After he took him aside, away from the crowd, Jesus put his fingers into the man’s ears. Then he spat and touched the man’s tongue. 34 He looked up to heaven and with a deep sigh said to him, ‘Ephphatha!’ (which means ‘Be opened!’). 35 At this, the man’s ears were opened, his tongue was loosed and he began to speak plainly.
36 Jesus commanded them not to tell anyone. But the more he did so, the more they kept talking about it. 37 People were overwhelmed with amazement. ‘He has done everything well,’ they said. ‘He even makes the deaf hear and the mute speak.’
Reflection
Let’s zoom in on one of the most uncomfortable stories in the gospels - Jesus and the Syrophonecian woman.
Here, we see a sincere foreign woman looking for help from Jesus. He responds apparently insensitively to her suffering as he insults her and likens her to a dog (a common Jewish insult directed towards gentiles). The woman responds in a way that surprises and impresses Jesus and he finally accepts and delivers her daughter from a demon.
In Middle Eastern culture, dogs were almost as despised as pigs. They were never kept as pets and, if tamed at all, were used as dangerous half-wild guard dogs.
This is incredibly insulting.
When we read the Bible we can’t picture everything that is happening in the scene. We don’t necessarily pick up on tone, body language, winks, glances, nods.
Theologians love to theorise what was going on in this scene where Jesus seems so out of character. Some suggest the word dog in the original language was more like cute puppy. Some wonder whether he gave an encouraging wink as he said it encouraging her to be persistent and adamant with her request despite the usual cultural insults.
Who knows!?
What we do know is that Jesus was always being followed by and was training his disciples. They would have been nearby, the fact that Mark records this story suggests it was a significant moment. Perhaps he learned something from this encounter, and perhaps he hopes that we will learn something from it too.
The woman doesn’t seem particularly put out about being called a dog. She knew that as a Gentile, she was considered by Jews to be less than human. Jesus, being Jewish, was crashing through all manner of religious and cultural boundaries by even conversing with her. But it's in his flagrant disregard for the rules that he’s rewarded with the two magic ingredients he can work with: humility and faith.
If we can also come to Jesus in humility (fully acknowledging the stuff we do that creates barriers between us and him) but also faith (confidence that Jesus loves us and is powerful enough to overcome those barriers), then we too can experience his healing power in our lives no matter who we are or what we’ve done.
This is a story of grace, faith and power.
Here, we see a sincere foreign woman looking for help from Jesus. He responds apparently insensitively to her suffering as he insults her and likens her to a dog (a common Jewish insult directed towards gentiles). The woman responds in a way that surprises and impresses Jesus and he finally accepts and delivers her daughter from a demon.
In Middle Eastern culture, dogs were almost as despised as pigs. They were never kept as pets and, if tamed at all, were used as dangerous half-wild guard dogs.
This is incredibly insulting.
When we read the Bible we can’t picture everything that is happening in the scene. We don’t necessarily pick up on tone, body language, winks, glances, nods.
Theologians love to theorise what was going on in this scene where Jesus seems so out of character. Some suggest the word dog in the original language was more like cute puppy. Some wonder whether he gave an encouraging wink as he said it encouraging her to be persistent and adamant with her request despite the usual cultural insults.
Who knows!?
What we do know is that Jesus was always being followed by and was training his disciples. They would have been nearby, the fact that Mark records this story suggests it was a significant moment. Perhaps he learned something from this encounter, and perhaps he hopes that we will learn something from it too.
The woman doesn’t seem particularly put out about being called a dog. She knew that as a Gentile, she was considered by Jews to be less than human. Jesus, being Jewish, was crashing through all manner of religious and cultural boundaries by even conversing with her. But it's in his flagrant disregard for the rules that he’s rewarded with the two magic ingredients he can work with: humility and faith.
If we can also come to Jesus in humility (fully acknowledging the stuff we do that creates barriers between us and him) but also faith (confidence that Jesus loves us and is powerful enough to overcome those barriers), then we too can experience his healing power in our lives no matter who we are or what we’ve done.
This is a story of grace, faith and power.
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