Mark 7

Introduction

Mark 7 brings into sharp focus the conflict between Jesus and the religious authorities over what truly constitutes purity before God. The chapter opens with Pharisees and scribes from Jerusalem confronting Jesus about his disciples' failure to observe the ritual handwashing traditions of the elders. Jesus responds sharply: they have elevated human tradition above God's commandments, using the Corban practice as a case study. He then turns to the crowd and states a new principle -- nothing entering a person from outside can defile them; only what comes from within, from the heart, defiles. Mark adds an editorial comment with far-reaching implications: by this teaching, Jesus declared all foods clean.

The chapter's second half moves from theological controversy to dramatic action, as Jesus travels into Gentile territory. There he encounters a Syrophoenician woman whose bold faith wins healing for her daughter, and then heals a deaf man with a speech impediment in the Decapolis. These two episodes -- one involving a Gentile woman's verbal wit and the other a man's inability to speak at all -- form a pair that illustrates the expanding reach of Jesus' ministry beyond Israel. Matthew 15 contains a parallel account of much of this material. Throughout the chapter, Jesus redraws the boundaries -- clean and unclean, Jew and Gentile, insider and outsider -- around faith rather than ritual observance.

The Tradition of the Elders (vv. 1-13)

¹ Then the Pharisees and some of the scribes who had come from Jerusalem gathered around Jesus, ² and they saw some of His disciples eating with hands that were defiled -- that is, unwashed.

³ Now in holding to the tradition of the elders, the Pharisees and all the Jews do not eat until they wash their hands ceremonially. ⁴ And on returning from the market, they do not eat unless they wash. And there are many other traditions for them to observe, including the washing of cups, pitchers, kettles, and couches for dining.

⁵ So the Pharisees and scribes questioned Jesus: "Why do Your disciples not walk according to the tradition of the elders? Instead, they eat with defiled hands."

⁶ Jesus answered them, "Isaiah prophesied correctly about you hypocrites, as it is written: 'These people honor Me with their lips, but their hearts are far from Me. ⁷ They worship Me in vain; they teach as doctrine the precepts of men.'

⁸ You have disregarded the commandment of God to keep the tradition of men."

⁹ He went on to say, "You neatly set aside the command of God to maintain your own tradition. ¹⁰ For Moses said, 'Honor your father and your mother' and 'Anyone who curses his father or mother must be put to death.' ¹¹ But you say that if a man says to his father or mother, 'Whatever you would have received from me is Corban' (that is, a gift devoted to God), ¹² he is no longer permitted to do anything for his father or mother. ¹³ Thus you nullify the word of God by the tradition you have handed down. And you do so in many such matters."

¹ And the Pharisees and some of the scribes who had come from Jerusalem gathered around him, ² and they noticed that some of his disciples were eating bread with defiled hands -- that is, unwashed.

³ For the Pharisees, and all the Jews, do not eat unless they wash their hands with a fist, holding to the tradition of the elders. ⁴ And when they come from the marketplace, they do not eat unless they wash themselves. And there are many other things they have received to observe: the washing of cups and pitchers and bronze vessels and dining couches.

⁵ So the Pharisees and the scribes asked him, "Why do your disciples not walk according to the tradition of the elders, but eat bread with defiled hands?"

⁶ And he said to them, "Well did Isaiah prophesy about you hypocrites, as it is written: 'This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me. ⁷ In vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.'

⁸ You abandon the commandment of God and hold to the tradition of men."

⁹ And he said to them, "You have a fine way of setting aside the commandment of God in order to establish your tradition! ¹⁰ For Moses said, 'Honor your father and your mother,' and, 'Whoever speaks evil of father or mother, let him surely die.' ¹¹ But you say, 'If a man says to his father or mother, "Whatever you might have received from me is Corban"' -- that is, a gift devoted to God -- ¹² then you no longer allow him to do anything for his father or mother, ¹³ thus making void the word of God by your tradition that you have handed down. And you do many such things."

Notes

The delegation of Pharisees and scribes has come from Jerusalem -- the center of religious authority -- to Galilee, suggesting an official investigation of Jesus' movement. The issue they raise is not about hygiene but about ritual purity. The word κοιναῖς ("defiled" or "common") does not mean dirty; it means ritually impure, unfit for contact with the holy. Mark provides an explanatory aside for his Gentile readers (vv. 3-4), describing Jewish washing customs they would not have known.

The curious phrase πυγμῇ (literally "with a fist") in verse 3 has puzzled translators for centuries. It may refer to a specific method of washing -- rubbing one hand with the fist of the other -- or it may mean "up to the wrist" or "diligently." Some translations render this "ceremonially," which captures the intent if not the literal meaning. The translation here preserves the literal Greek to reflect the textual difficulty. In verse 4, the verb βαπτίσωνται ("wash themselves") is related to the word for baptism and suggests a more thorough immersion or ritual purification upon returning from the marketplace, where contact with Gentiles or other sources of impurity was likely.

The quotation from Isaiah 29:13 follows the Septuagint (Greek Old Testament) rather than the Hebrew text. In the Hebrew, Isaiah says the people's worship is based on "a commandment of men learned by rote," whereas the Septuagint version -- which Jesus cites -- says they "teach as doctrines the commandments of men." The Septuagint wording sharpens the critique: human traditions are not merely habitual but are being taught as though they carry divine authority.

Jesus' word καλῶς ("well" or "finely") in verse 9 is bitterly ironic -- "You have a fine way of setting aside God's commandment!" The Κορβᾶν example cuts to the heart of the issue. The term is a Hebrew/Aramaic word meaning a gift dedicated to God (Leviticus 1:2, Leviticus 27:9-11). The practice Jesus condemns involved declaring one's resources as Corban -- devoted to the temple -- and then using that declaration as an excuse to avoid supporting aging parents. The resources might not even have been given to the temple; the mere vow was enough to create a legal barrier against helping one's family. Jesus exposes this as using religious devotion to evade the fifth commandment (Exodus 20:12) and the capital law protecting parental honor (Exodus 21:17).

The verb ἀκυροῦντες ("making void" or "nullifying") in verse 13 is a legal term meaning to annul a binding agreement. Jesus is saying the Pharisees have effectively repealed God's word through their tradition -- a severe charge directed at those who considered themselves guardians of the Torah. His closing phrase -- "and you do many such things" -- indicates that Corban is merely one example of a systemic problem.

What Defiles a Person (vv. 14-23)

¹⁴ Once again Jesus called the crowd to Him and said, "All of you, listen to Me and understand: ¹⁵ Nothing that enters a man from the outside can defile him; but the things that come out of a man, these are what defile him."

¹⁷ After Jesus had left the crowd and gone into the house, His disciples inquired about the parable. ¹⁸ "Are you still so dull?" He asked. "Do you not understand? Nothing that enters a man from the outside can defile him, ¹⁹ because it does not enter his heart, but it goes into the stomach and then is eliminated." (Thus all foods are clean.)

²⁰ He continued: "What comes out of a man, that is what defiles him. ²¹ For from within the hearts of men come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, ²² greed, wickedness, deceit, debauchery, envy, slander, arrogance, and foolishness. ²³ All these evils come from within, and these are what defile a man."

¹⁴ And he called the crowd to him again and said to them, "Hear me, all of you, and understand: ¹⁵ There is nothing outside a person that by going into him can defile him, but the things that come out of a person are what defile him."

¹⁷ And when he had entered the house, away from the crowd, his disciples asked him about the parable. ¹⁸ And he said to them, "Are you also then without understanding? Do you not see that whatever goes into a person from outside cannot defile him, ¹⁹ because it does not enter his heart but his stomach, and passes out into the drain?" -- thus declaring all foods clean.

²⁰ And he said, "What comes out of a person, that is what defiles him. ²¹ For from within, out of the heart of human beings, come evil thoughts: sexual immorality, theft, murder, ²² adultery, greed, wickedness, deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, arrogance, foolishness. ²³ All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person."

Notes

Verse 16 ("If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear") is absent from the earliest and best Greek manuscripts (including Sinaiticus and Vaticanus) and is likely a later scribal addition harmonizing with similar sayings elsewhere in the Gospels. Most modern translations omit it or relegate it to a footnote.

Jesus' pronouncement in verse 15 upends the existing categories of purity. By declaring that nothing entering a person from outside can make them κοινῶσαι ("defile" or "make common"), he is striking at the root of the entire Levitical food-law system. The word κοινόω is the same one used in verse 2 for the disciples' "defiled" hands -- Jesus is redefining the very category of defilement.

The parenthetical comment in verse 19 carries wide-reaching theological implications. The Greek reads καθαρίζων πάντα τὰ βρώματα -- "cleansing all foods." Grammatically, the masculine participle καθαρίζων ("cleansing") does not agree with its nearest possible antecedent (the neuter "drain" or "stomach"), which has led most scholars to read it as Mark's own editorial comment rather than as part of Jesus' speech. The subject is Jesus: "He declared all foods clean." This reading, adopted by virtually all modern translations, understands Mark as drawing out the full implication of Jesus' teaching -- an implication that the early church wrestled with for decades (see Acts 10:9-16, Galatians 2:11-14).

The vice list in verses 21-22 contains twelve items, moving from the plural (evil thoughts, acts of sexual immorality, thefts, murders, adulteries, acts of greed) to the singular (wickedness, deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, arrogance, foolishness). The first six are concrete actions; the latter six are dispositions and character traits. The Greek πορνεῖαι ("sexual immorality") is a broad term covering all sexual activity outside the covenant of marriage. The term ἀσέλγεια ("debauchery" or "sensuality") refers to unbridled self-indulgence and shamelessness. The phrase ὀφθαλμὸς πονηρός ("evil eye"), often translated as "envy," is a Semitic idiom for jealousy or stinginess (see Deuteronomy 15:9, Matthew 20:15).

The heart (καρδία) in Jewish thought was not the seat of emotion (as in modern Western usage) but the center of the whole person -- mind, will, and character. Jesus' point is that true defilement is a moral and spiritual reality originating in the inner person, not a ritual contamination from external contact with certain foods or unwashed hands.

Interpretations

The parenthetical "thus declaring all foods clean" has been interpreted differently across traditions. Most Protestant interpreters, following the grammatical reading of the participle, take this as Mark's inspired editorial comment explaining the full scope of Jesus' teaching -- that the Levitical food laws were fulfilled and set aside in Christ. This is consistent with Paul's teaching in Romans 14:14 ("nothing is unclean in itself") and Peter's vision in Acts 10:15 ("What God has made clean, do not call common").

Some interpreters, particularly those sympathetic to a more gradual unfolding of the law's abrogation, argue that Jesus' statement was originally about the handwashing traditions of the elders (the immediate context) rather than the Mosaic food laws themselves, and that Mark's editorial comment represents the church's later theological reflection on the implications of Jesus' teaching. On this reading, the food laws were not set aside by Jesus' words in real time but were understood to be set aside as the church reflected on his teaching in light of the resurrection and the inclusion of Gentiles.

The practical result is the same across Protestant traditions: the Mosaic dietary laws are no longer binding on Christians. The debate is over the timing and mechanism of their abrogation -- whether Jesus set them aside explicitly during his ministry or whether the early church came to understand this as the implication of his broader teaching about the heart.

The Syrophoenician Woman's Faith (vv. 24-30)

²⁴ Jesus left that place and went to the region of Tyre. Not wanting anyone to know He was there, He entered a house, but was unable to escape their notice. ²⁵ Instead, a woman whose little daughter had an unclean spirit soon heard about Jesus, and she came and fell at His feet. ²⁶ Now she was a Greek woman of Syrophoenician origin, and she kept asking Jesus to drive the demon out of her daughter.

²⁷ "First let the children have their fill," He said. "For it is not right to take the children's bread and toss it to the dogs."

²⁸ "Yes, Lord," she replied, "even the dogs under the table eat the children's crumbs."

²⁹ Then Jesus told her, "Because of this answer, you may go. The demon has left your daughter." ³⁰ And she went home and found her child lying on the bed, and the demon was gone.

²⁴ And rising from there, he went away into the region of Tyre. And entering a house, he wanted no one to know, yet he could not be hidden. ²⁵ But immediately a woman whose little daughter had an unclean spirit heard about him and came and fell at his feet. ²⁶ Now the woman was a Greek, a Syrophoenician by birth. And she kept asking him to cast the demon out of her daughter.

²⁷ And he said to her, "Let the children be fed first, for it is not right to take the children's bread and throw it to the dogs."

²⁸ But she answered him, "Lord, even the dogs under the table eat the children's crumbs."

²⁹ And he said to her, "Because of this word, go -- the demon has left your daughter." ³⁰ And going to her house, she found the child lying on the bed, and the demon gone.

Notes

Jesus' withdrawal to the region of Tyre takes him outside the borders of Israel into Gentile territory for the first time in Mark's Gospel. Some manuscripts add "and Sidon," but the earliest witnesses read simply "Tyre." That he "wanted no one to know" suggests a desire for withdrawal, possibly for rest or private instruction of his disciples, but his reputation has preceded him.

Mark identifies the woman with three descriptors: she is a Ἑλληνίς ("Greek" -- meaning Gentile by culture and religion), a Συροφοινίκισσα ("Syrophoenician" -- from the province of Syria-Phoenicia, as distinct from Libyo-Phoenicians of North Africa), and she is identified τῷ γένει ("by birth" or "by race"). Matthew's parallel account (Matthew 15:22) calls her a "Canaanite woman," using an archaic Old Testament term that evokes the ancient enmity between Israel and the peoples of the land. Both mark her as thoroughly foreign.

The word κυναρίοις ("dogs") is a diminutive -- literally "little dogs" or "puppies" -- and refers to household pets rather than the wild, scavenging street dogs that roamed ancient cities. This distinction matters: Jesus is not hurling an insult but using a household metaphor. The "children" (τέκνα) represent Israel; the "dogs" represent Gentiles. The word πρῶτον ("first") is crucial and unique to Mark's account -- it implies a sequence, not an exclusion. The children eat first, but the dogs will also be fed. Jesus is affirming the salvation-historical priority of Israel (Romans 1:16, "to the Jew first") while leaving the door open for Gentile inclusion.

The woman's response is deft. She does not challenge the metaphor but works within it, turning it to her advantage. She accepts the "first" and asks only for the crumbs that fall even while the children are eating -- not after, but simultaneously. Jesus commends her λόγον ("word" or "statement") -- not her faith explicitly (as in Matthew's account, Matthew 15:28), but her reasoning and rhetorical skill. The healing is performed at a distance, without Jesus ever seeing the child -- a demonstration of authority unconstrained by physical proximity.

This is the only story in the Gospels where someone appears to "win an argument" with Jesus, and it foreshadows the Gentile mission that will follow the resurrection.

Interpretations

The tone and intent of Jesus' words to the Syrophoenician woman have been much debated. Some interpreters hold that Jesus was genuinely testing the woman's faith, using the metaphor of children and dogs to draw out a response that would demonstrate the kind of faith he rewards. Others argue that Jesus was speaking ironically, already intending to help but using the exchange to teach his disciples about the scope of God's mercy. Still others suggest that Jesus was voicing the conventional Jewish attitude toward Gentiles precisely in order to subvert it -- letting the woman's response overturn the assumption from within. Whatever the precise reading, all Protestant traditions agree that the passage affirms the universal reach of God's grace and anticipates the Great Commission (Matthew 28:19-20).

Healing of the Deaf Mute (vv. 31-37)

³¹ Then Jesus left the region of Tyre and went through Sidon to the Sea of Galilee and into the region of the Decapolis. ³² Some people brought to Him a man who was deaf and hardly able to speak, and they begged Jesus to place His hand on him.

³³ So Jesus took him aside privately, away from the crowd, and put His fingers into the man's ears. Then He spit and touched the man's tongue. ³⁴ And looking up to heaven, He sighed deeply and said to him, "Ephphatha!" (which means, "Be opened!").

³⁵ Immediately the man's ears were opened and his tongue was released, and he began to speak plainly. ³⁶ Jesus ordered them not to tell anyone. But the more He ordered them, the more widely they proclaimed it. ³⁷ The people were utterly astonished and said, "He has done all things well! He makes even the deaf hear and the mute speak!"

³¹ And leaving the region of Tyre, he went through Sidon to the Sea of Galilee, through the middle of the region of the Decapolis. ³² And they brought to him a man who was deaf and could hardly speak, and they begged him to lay his hand on him.

³³ And taking him aside from the crowd privately, he put his fingers into his ears, and after spitting, he touched his tongue. ³⁴ And looking up to heaven, he groaned and said to him, "Ephphatha!" -- that is, "Be opened!"

³⁵ And immediately his ears were opened and the bond of his tongue was released, and he began to speak clearly. ³⁶ And he ordered them to tell no one. But the more he ordered them, the more abundantly they proclaimed it. ³⁷ And they were utterly astonished beyond measure, saying, "He has done all things well -- he makes even the deaf hear and the mute speak!"

Notes

Jesus' route is geographically unusual: from Tyre he goes north through Sidon, then southeast to the Sea of Galilee via the Decapolis -- a long, circuitous journey through predominantly Gentile territory. The Decapolis ("Ten Cities") was a league of Hellenistic cities east of the Jordan, and this is the same region where Jesus had previously healed the Gerasene demoniac (Mark 5:1-20). The man healed there had been told to go and proclaim what the Lord had done for him -- and now, when Jesus returns, people are bringing the sick to him. The earlier man's testimony has prepared the ground.

The man is described as κωφόν ("deaf") and μογιλάλον ("having a speech impediment" or "hardly able to speak"). This second word is extremely rare -- it appears only here in the New Testament and only once in the Septuagint, at Isaiah 35:6: "then the tongue of the mute will shout for joy." The verbal echo is almost certainly intentional: Mark is signaling that Isaiah's prophecy of the messianic age is being fulfilled before the reader's eyes.

Jesus' healing method here is notably physical. He takes the man aside κατ᾽ ἰδίαν ("privately"), removes him from the crowd, and uses touch and saliva -- means of communication with a man who cannot hear words. The fingers in the ears and the touching of the tongue correspond directly to the man's two afflictions. The use of saliva was common in ancient healing practices, both Jewish and Greco-Roman, and would have communicated Jesus' intention to heal.

The word ἐστέναξεν ("he groaned" or "he sighed deeply") reveals an emotional dimension to the healing. The same word is used in Romans 8:23 for the groaning of believers who await the redemption of their bodies. Jesus' groan may express compassion for the man's suffering, grief over the brokenness of the fallen creation, or the spiritual exertion involved in the miracle. It is a deeply human moment for the Son of God.

The command Ἐφφαθά is one of the few places where Mark preserves Jesus' actual Aramaic word (see also Mark 5:41, "Talitha koum"). The Aramaic is an imperative of the root meaning "to open," and Mark translates it for his readers: Διανοίχθητι ("Be opened!"). The response is immediate: the man's ears ἠνοίγησαν ("were opened") and ὁ δεσμὸς τῆς γλώσσης ("the bond of his tongue") was loosed. The language of "binding" and "loosing" suggests that the man's condition had a spiritual dimension -- his tongue was literally held captive.

The crowd's response in verse 37 -- Καλῶς πάντα πεποίηκεν ("He has done all things well") -- echoes Genesis 1:31, where God sees everything he has made and declares it "very good." Whether conscious or not, the allusion connects Jesus to a work of new creation, restoring what sin and the fall have broken. The additional comment that "he makes even the deaf hear and the mute speak" draws directly on Isaiah 35:5-6, confirming that in Jesus, the long-awaited restoration of all things has begun.

The repeated command to silence (Mark 1:44, Mark 5:43, Mark 8:30) and its repeated failure highlight a paradox in Mark's Gospel: the good news about Jesus is too powerful to be contained, yet premature proclamation risks distorting who he is and what he has come to do. The messianic secret will not be resolved until the cross reveals the true nature of Jesus' kingship.