Traditions and Commandments
1pNow when the Pharisees gathered to him, with some of the scribes qwho had come from Jerusalem, 2they saw that some of his disciples ate with hands that were rdefiled, that is, unwashed. 3(For the Pharisees and all the Jews do not eat unless they wash their hands properly,1 holding to sthe tradition of tthe elders, 4and when they come from the marketplace, they do not eat unless they wash.2 And there are many other traditions that they observe, such as uthe washing of vcups and pots and copper vessels and dining couches.3) 5And the Pharisees and the scribes asked him, “Why do your disciples not walk according to sthe tradition of tthe elders, wbut eat with rdefiled hands?” 6And he said to them, “Well did Isaiah prophesy of you xhypocrites, as it is written,
y“‘This people honors me with their lips,
but their heart is far from me;
7in vain do they worship me,
teaching as zdoctrines the commandments of men.’
8You leave the commandment of God and hold to the tradition of men.”
9And he said to them, “You have a fine way of arejecting the commandment of God in order to establish your tradition! 10For Moses said, b‘Honor your father and your mother’; and, c‘Whoever reviles father or mother must surely die.’ 11But you say, ‘If a man tells his father or his mother, “Whatever you would have gained from me is Corban”’ (that is, given to God)4— 12then you no longer permit him to do anything for his father or mother, 13thus dmaking void the word of God by your tradition that you have handed down. And many such things you do.”
What Defiles a Person
14And he called the people to him again and said to them, e“Hear me, all of you, and understand: 15fThere 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.”5 17And when he had entered gthe house and left the people, hhis disciples asked him about the parable. 18And he said to them, “Then iare you also without understanding? Do you not see that whatever goes into a person from outside cannot defile him, 19since it enters not his heart jbut his stomach, and is expelled?”6 (kThus he declared all foods clean.) 20And he said, l“What comes out of a person is what defiles him. 21For from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, mmurder, adultery, 22coveting, wickedness, deceit, nsensuality, oenvy, pslander, qpride, rfoolishness. 23sAll these evil things come from within, and they defile a person.”
The Syrophoenician Woman's Faith
24And from there he arose and went away to the region of Tyre and Sidon.7 And he entered a house and did not want anyone to know, yet he could not be hidden. 25But immediately a woman whose little daughter had an unclean spirit heard of him and came and fell down at his feet. 26tNow the woman was a uGentile, va Syrophoenician by birth. And she begged him to cast the demon out of her daughter. 27And he said to her, “Let the children be wfed first, for it is not right to take the children's bread and xthrow it to the dogs.” 28But she answered him, “Yes, Lord; yet even the dogs under the table eat the children's ycrumbs.” 29And he said to her, “For this statement you may zgo your way; the demon has left your daughter.” 30And she went home and found the child lying in bed and the demon gone.
Jesus Heals a Deaf Man
31aThen he returned from the region of Tyre and went through Sidon to bthe Sea of Galilee, in the region of the cDecapolis. 32And they brought to him da man who was deaf and dhad a speech impediment, and they begged him to elay his hand on him. 33And ftaking him aside from the crowd privately, he put his fingers into his ears, and fafter spitting touched his tongue. 34And glooking up to heaven, hhe sighed and said to him, “Ephphatha,” that is, “Be opened.” 35dAnd his ears were opened, his tongue was released, and he spoke plainly. 36And iJesus8 charged them to tell no one. But jthe more he charged them, the more zealously they proclaimed it. 37And they were kastonished beyond measure, saying, “He has done all things well. He even makes the deaf hear and the mute speak.”
Footnotes
- 1 7:3 Greek unless they wash the hands with a fist, probably indicating a kind of ceremonial washing
- 2 7:4 Greek unless they baptize; some manuscripts unless they purify themselves
- 3 7:4 Some manuscripts omit and dining couches
- 4 7:11 Or an offering
- 5 7:15 Some manuscripts add verse 16: If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear
- 6 7:19 Greek goes out into the latrine
- 7 7:24 Some manuscripts omit and Sidon
- 8 7:36 Greek he
Scripture and Tradition — Part One
Mark 7:1–8 Sermon • Includes Transcript • 45:11 • ID: 2727Scripture and Tradition — Part Two
Mark 7:9–13 Sermon • Includes Transcript • 35:10 • ID: 2728The Heart of the Matter
Mark 7:14–23 Sermon • Includes Transcript • 42:28 • ID: 2729The Present Kingdom — Part One
Matthew 1:1 – John 21:25 Sermon • Includes Transcript • 37:00 • ID: 2392A Study in Mark, Volume 3
Prophet, Shepherd, Healer, and Provider Mark 6:6–8:21 Series • ID: 14103Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved. The ESV text may not be quoted in any publication made available to the public by a Creative Commons license. The ESV may not be translated in whole or in part into any other language.