Chapter Text
Clean and Unclean
Then came together unto him the Pharisees, and certain of the scribes, which came from Jerusalem.
2And when they saw some of his disciples eat bread with defiled, that is to say, with unwashen, hands, they found fault.
3For the Pharisees, and all the Jews, except they wash their hands oft, eat not, holding the tradition of the elders.
4And 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, brasen vessels, and of tables.
5Then the Pharisees and scribes asked him, Why walk not thy disciples according to the tradition of the elders, but eat bread with unwashen hands?
6He 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.
7Howbeit in vain do they worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.
8For 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.
9And he said unto them, Full well ye reject the commandment of God, that ye may keep your own tradition.
10For Moses said, Honour thy father and thy mother; and, Whoso curseth father or mother, let him die the death:
11But 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.
12And ye suffer him no more to do ought for his father or his mother;
13Making the word of God of none effect through your tradition, which ye have delivered: and many such like things do ye.
14And when he had called all the people unto him, he said unto them, Hearken unto me every one of you, and understand:
15There 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.
16If any man have ears to hear, let him hear.
17And when he was entered into the house from the people, his disciples asked him concerning the parable.
18And 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;
19Because it entereth not into his heart, but into the belly, and goeth out into the draught, purging all meats?
20And he said, That which cometh out of the man, that defileth the man.
21For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders,
22Thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lasciviousness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness:
23All these evil things come from within, and defile the man.
The Faith of a Syrophoenician Woman
24And 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.
25For a certain woman, whose young daughter had an unclean spirit, heard of him, and came and fell at his feet:
26The woman was a Greek, a Syrophenician by nation; and she besought him that he would cast forth the devil out of her daughter.
27But 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.
28And she answered and said unto him, Yes, Lord: yet the dogs under the table eat of the children's crumbs.
29And he said unto her, For this saying go thy way; the devil is gone out of thy daughter.
30And when she was come to her house, she found the devil gone out, and her daughter laid upon the bed.
Jesus Heals a Deaf Man
31And again, departing from the coasts of Tyre and Sidon, he came unto the sea of Galilee, through the midst of the coasts of Decapolis.
32And 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.
33And he took him aside from the multitude, and put his fingers into his ears, and he spit, and touched his tongue;
34And looking up to heaven, he sighed, and saith unto him, Ephphatha, that is, Be opened.
35And straightway his ears were opened, and the string of his tongue was loosed, and he spake plain.
36And 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;
37And were beyond measure astonished, saying, He hath done all things well: he maketh both the deaf to hear, and the dumb to speak.
Summary
Pharisees and scribes from Jerusalem confront Jesus about His disciples eating with unwashed hands. Jesus quotes Isaiah to expose their hypocrisy, showing how they honor God with their lips while their hearts are far from Him. He teaches that defilement comes from within, not from external sources.
Jesus travels to the region of Tyre and Sidon, where a Syrophenician woman persuades Him to heal her daughter. He then heals a deaf man with a speech impediment in the region of Decapolis, commanding the people to tell no one, though they proclaim it widely.
Meaning
Jesus' teaching about inner versus outer defilement was revolutionary. By declaring all foods clean, He struck at the foundation of the ceremonial purity system, preparing the way for the inclusion of Gentiles in the people of God. The heart, not the diet, determines a person's standing before God.
The Syrophenician woman's humble persistence and wit in responding to Jesus' metaphor demonstrated a faith that transcended ethnic and cultural barriers. Her willingness to accept even crumbs from the Master's table revealed deeper understanding than many in Israel possessed.
Background
The tradition of the elders was an oral law that had accumulated over centuries of rabbinical interpretation. Handwashing before meals was not a matter of hygiene but of ritual purity, and failure to observe it was considered spiritually defiling.
The Decapolis was a region of ten Hellenistic cities east of the Jordan River and the Sea of Galilee. Jesus' ministry in these predominantly Gentile areas foreshadowed the global reach of the gospel.
Chapter Outline
- vv. 1-13Tradition versus the commandment of God
- vv. 14-23What truly defiles a person
- vv. 24-30The faith of the Syrophenician woman
- vv. 31-37Healing of the deaf and mute man
Key Verses
“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.”— 7:6
Jesus invokes Isaiah 29:13 to expose the gap between outward religion and inward devotion, a verse frequently cited as a warning against hollow worship.
“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.”— 7:15
A pivotal saying that relocates defilement from ritual externals to the moral condition of the heart, with sweeping implications for the ceremonial law.
“For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders,”— 7:21
Begins the catalog of vices that originate in the human heart, grounding Christian moral theology in interior disposition rather than external observance.
“And were beyond measure astonished, saying, He hath done all things well: he maketh both the deaf to hear, and the dumb to speak.”— 7:37
The crowd's acclamation echoes Isaiah 35:5-6, identifying Jesus' miracles as signs of the promised messianic age.
People & Places
People
- Pharisees — A Jewish sect devoted to strict observance of the law and oral tradition who challenge Jesus.
- Scribes — Legal experts from Jerusalem who join the Pharisees in confronting Jesus over ritual purity.
- Isaiah (Esaias) — The eighth-century prophet whose words against hypocrisy Jesus quotes.
- Moses — The lawgiver whose commandment to honor parents Jesus invokes against the Corban tradition.
- Syrophenician woman — A Gentile mother whose humble, persistent faith wins deliverance for her demon-possessed daughter.
- The deaf man — A man with a speech impediment whom Jesus heals privately in the Decapolis.
Places
- Jerusalem — The religious capital from which the Pharisees and scribes traveled to scrutinize Jesus.
- Tyre and Sidon — Gentile coastal cities of Phoenicia where Jesus withdraws and meets the Syrophenician woman.
- Sea of Galilee — The freshwater lake in northern Israel that serves as the hub of Jesus' Galilean ministry.
- Decapolis — A league of ten Hellenistic cities east and southeast of Galilee, predominantly Gentile in population.
Prophecy & Fulfillment
Jesus applies Isaiah 29:13 to the Pharisees in verses 6-7, presenting their lip-service worship as the very hypocrisy the prophet condemned. More strikingly, the closing acclamation in verse 37 — 'he maketh both the deaf to hear, and the dumb to speak' — deliberately echoes Isaiah 35:5-6, which foretold that when God came to save his people the ears of the deaf would be unstopped and the tongue of the dumb would sing. Mark frames the healing as a sign that the messianic age has arrived in Jesus.
Devotional
Mark 7 confronts a temptation every believer faces: mistaking religious habit for a living relationship with God. Jesus is not against tradition, but against tradition that crowds out love — the son who hides behind 'Corban' while neglecting his aging parents is a sobering picture.
The chapter then turns the searchlight inward. Defilement is not what touches us from outside; it is what rises from within. Yet the same chapter shows hope: a desperate Gentile mother is heard, and a man locked inside silence is opened. Bring Jesus your hidden heart and your hidden needs. He still says, 'Ephphatha.'
Literary Style
Gospel narrative weaving controversy dialogue, prophetic citation, parabolic teaching, and miracle story. Mark employs vivid sensory detail (fingers in ears, spittle, the Aramaic 'Ephphatha'), an explanatory aside for Gentile readers in verse 19, and a closing chorus that intentionally echoes Isaiah.