Tyndale Open Study NotesMark 7

This account does not connect directly to what comes before it. It simply fits a general setting, such as "At one point in the ministry of Jesus."

After Mark sets the scene (7:1–4), he introduces the Pharisees' question (7:5). Then Jesus responds to the question (6–23).

The first part of the response focuses on two Old Testament passages (7:6–13). It also includes a two-part critique (strong criticism) of the Pharisees’ traditions (7:6–8, 9–13).

In the second part, Jesus explains what truly defiles a person (what makes someone unclean before God; 7:14–23).

Mark's audience already knows that the Pharisees and teachers of religious law were hostile to Jesus (see 2:16, 24; 3:6, 22).

Mark explains the Pharisees’ practices of ritual cleansing (ceremonial washing for religious purity) for his non-Jewish (Gentile) audience.

The traditions of the elders were not yet written down at that time. The Pharisees believed these teachings had been given to Moses on Mount Sinai along with the written law.

These traditions were later written down around AD 200 in the Mishnah (a collection of Jewish teachings and laws). The Mishnah is one of the main sources for understanding ancient Judaism.

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).

Jesus first responds by quoting Isaiah 29:13 (from the Greek version). This passage speaks about the problem of treating human ideas as if they were God’s commands.

It describes well what was happening with the Pharisees. They had replaced God’s law with their own traditions (human rules and teachings).

Next, Jesus gives an example where the Pharisees’ traditions went against God’s law. Their traditions allowed them to avoid what God’s law required.

• But you say: The contrast with God’s law is very strong. Their tradition went against God’s command to honor parents by caring for their needs.

• ‘Whatever you would have received from me is Corban’ (that is, a gift devoted to God): This tradition taught that people could avoid helping their parents. They could promise to give their resources to God instead. In this way, they ignored and dishonored their parents, even when their parents were in need.

• The result of such traditions was to cancel the word of God.

• in many such matters: This was not a unique instance (see, for example, Isaiah 1:10–20 and 58:1–14).

The second argument of Jesus against the Pharisees was a proverb he told the crowd. Later, in a private setting, Jesus explained it to his disciples (7:17–23). It concerns moral distinctions about eating (rules about what is right or wrong to eat). Eating affects the system that processes food, but moral issues involve the heart. The heart is a metaphor for where a person makes moral decisions.

How a person eats (with ceremonially clean or unclean hands) or what a person eats (ceremonially clean or unclean food) only affects the system that processes food. So it does not impact the moral issues of the human soul or inner being. To help his later audience understand the meaning of this teaching, Mark adds this comment Thus all foods are clean.

In the early church, Peter and Paul helped make this meaning clear (see Acts 10:1–11:18; Romans 14:14; 1 Corinthians 8:8; Galatians 2:11–21).

These verses list 13 things that truly make a person unclean (morally impure). These actions and wrong desires come from the heart (a person’s inner thoughts and intentions).

The discussion of clean and unclean and of undefiled and defiled in 7:1–23 has prepared Mark's audience for the story of the Gentile woman’s faith. Jews considered Gentiles to be defiled because they did not keep the regulations of the Torah (see Acts 10:1–11:18, especially 10:14–15; 11:2–3, 8–9).

• The city of Tyre and its nearby areas are on the Mediterranean coast in modern Lebanon. Tyre was originally an island but became a peninsula when Alexander the Great built a half-mile ramp from the shore in 332 BC.

  Tyre had one of the most important harbors on the eastern Mediterranean Sea. People from Tyre had previously come to hear Jesus and see his miracles (3:7–8). This explains how the woman from Tyre knew about him.

• There is much discussion about why Jesus left Galilee to visit this Gentile (non-Jewish) region. Mark does not explain the reason, so any suggestion is only a guess.

  However, Mark’s Gentile audience would have understood this journey as pointing ahead to the church’s mission to the Gentile world. This mission later led to their own coming to faith (for more about how the church began in Rome, see Romans Book Introduction).

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 the feet of Jesus and begging.

• Jesus responds to the woman in what might seem like a severe way. But their interaction shows that Jesus wanted to see her faith (compare Matthew 15:28).

• Jesus did not use the word first to exclude her as a Gentile (non-Jew) from God’s grace (kindness and favor). Instead, it showed that his mission was directed first to the Jews (Acts 13:46; Romans 1:16).

  The woman replied 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.

  Jewish writings often referred to Gentiles as dogs. Dogs were seen as dirty scavengers rather than family pets (see also study note on Revelation 22:15).

  The woman’s persistence and acknowledgment of Jesus as Lord were rewarded.

For similar healings from a distance, see Matthew 8:5–13, Luke 7:1–10, and John 4:46–54.

• This miracle is very similar in order and wording to the healing of the blind man in 8:22–26. Healing miracles in the Gospels often follow a similar pattern. As these stories were told and retold, their form and wording likely became more consistent.

• This miracle also includes a change of location. Some think the next miracle happened in a Gentile area such as Sidon or the Decapolis. However, it is more likely that it took place after Jesus returned to the Sea of Galilee. The next event clearly happens there (8:10), with no change in location mentioned.

• The healing was done in private (7:33; see 5:40–43; 8:23). This likely helped prevent people from spreading strong excitement about Jesus as the Messiah (God’s chosen king; see 3:11–12; compare John 6:15).

• Jesus also used saliva in another healing (Mark 8:23), when he put it on a man’s eyes to heal his blindness. The use of saliva for healing was common in the ancient world. People believed it could help heal certain conditions.

• And looking up to heaven, He sighed deeply: Since Jesus was looking up to heaven when he sighed, his sigh is probably best understood as a prayerful gesture.

• Ephphatha is an Aramaic word that Mark translates for his audience (see also 3:17; 5:41; 14:36; 15:34). These are not magical words. Mark is simply sharing some of the original words Jesus spoke.

  Matthew and Luke do not seem to have attributed any special importance to the Aramaic words of Jesus, since they did not include them in their Gospels.

Even though Jesus tried to avoid attention, his greatness could not be hidden. His character, his teaching, and his power to heal filled people with awe (deep wonder and respect).