Mark — Chapter 7

Loading ESV text...

1Then 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.

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.

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.

1And there are gathered together unto him the Pharisees, and certain of the scribes, who had come from Jerusalem,

2and had seen that some of his disciples ate their bread with defiled, that is, unwashen, hands.

3(For the Pharisees, and all the Jews, except they wash their hands diligently, eat not, holding the tradition of the elders;

4and [when they come] from the market-place, except they bathe themselves, they eat not; and many other things there are, which they have received to hold, washings of cups, and pots, and brasen vessels.)

5And the Pharisees and the scribes ask him, Why walk not thy disciples according to the tradition of the elders, but eat their bread with defiled hands?

6And he said unto them, Well did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written, This people honoreth me with their lips, But their heart is far from me.

7But in vain do they worship me, Teaching [as their] doctrines the precepts of men.

8Ye leave the commandment of God, and hold fast the tradition of men.

9And he said unto them, Full well do ye reject the commandment of God, that ye may keep your tradition.

10For Moses said, Honor thy father and thy mother; and, He that speaketh evil of father or mother, let him die the death:

11but ye say, If a man shall say to his father or his mother, That wherewith thou mightest have been profited by me is Corban, that is to say, Given [to God];

12ye no longer suffer him to do aught for his father or his mother;

13making void the word of God by your tradition, which ye have delivered: and many such like things ye do.

14And he called to him the multitude again, and said unto them, Hear me all of you, and understand:

15there is nothing from without the man, that going into him can defile him; but the things which proceed out of the man are those that defile the man.

16[If any man hath ears to hear, let him hear.]

17And when he was entered into the house from the multitude, his disciples asked of him the parable.

18And he saith unto them, Are ye so without understanding also? Perceive ye not, that whatsoever from without goeth into the man, [it] cannot defile him;

19because it goeth not into his heart, but into his belly, and goeth out into the draught? [This he said], making all meats clean.

20And he said, That which proceedeth out of the man, that defileth the man.

21For from within, out of the heart of men, evil thoughts proceed, fornications, thefts, murders, adulteries,

22covetings, wickednesses, deceit, lasciviousness, an evil eye, railing, pride, foolishness:

23all these evil things proceed from within, and defile the man.

24And from thence he arose, and went away into the borders of Tyre and Sidon. And he entered into a house, and would have no man know it; and he could not be hid.

25But straightway a woman, whose little daughter had an unclean spirit, having heard of him, came and fell down at his feet.

26Now the woman was a Greek, a Syrophoenician by race. And she besought him that he would cast forth the demon out of her daughter.

27And he said unto her, Let the children first be filled: for it is not meet to take the children`s bread and cast it to the dogs.

28But she answered and saith unto him, Yea, Lord; even the dogs under the table eat of the children`s crumbs.

29And he said unto her, For this saying go thy way; the demon is gone out of thy daughter.

30And she went away unto her house, and found the child laid upon the bed, and the demon gone out.

31And again he went out from the borders of Tyre, and came through Sidon unto the sea of Galilee, through the midst of the borders of Decapolis.

32And they bring unto him one that was deaf, and had an impediment in his speech; and they beseech him to lay his hand upon him.

33And he took him aside from the multitude privately, and put his fingers into his ears, and he spat, and touched his tongue;

34and looking up to heaven, he sighed, and saith unto him, Ephphatha, that is, Be opened.

35And his ears were opened, and the bond 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 they were beyond measure astonished, saying, He hath done all things well; he maketh even the deaf to hear, and the dumb to speak.

1Now the Pharisees and some of the experts in the law who came from Jerusalem gathered around him.

2And they saw that some of Jesus’ disciples ate their bread with unclean hands, that is, unwashed.

3(For the Pharisees and all the Jews do not eat unless they perform a ritual washing, holding fast to the tradition of the elders.

4And when they come from the marketplace, they do not eat unless they wash. They hold fast to many other traditions: the washing of cups, pots, kettles, and dining couches.)

5The Pharisees and the experts in the law asked him, “Why do your disciples not live according to the tradition of the elders, but eat with unwashed hands?”

6He said to them, “Isaiah prophesied correctly about you hypocrites, as it is written:“‘This people honors me with their lips,but their hearts are far from me.

7They worship me in vain,teaching as doctrine the commandments of men.’

8Having no regard for the command of God, you hold fast to human tradition.”

9He also said to them, “You neatly reject the commandment of God in order to set up your tradition.

10For Moses said, ‘Honor your father and your mother,’ and, ‘Whoever insults his father or mother must be put to death.’

11But you say that if anyone tells his father or mother, ‘Whatever help you would have received from me is corban’ (that is, a gift for God),

12then you no longer permit him to do anything for his father or mother.

13Thus you nullify the word of God by your tradition that you have handed down. And you do many things like this.”

14Then he called the crowd again and said to them, “Listen to me, everyone, and understand.

15There is nothing outside of a person that can defile him by going into him. Rather, it is what comes out of a person that defiles him.”

16[This verse is not included in the NET; see KJV/ASV for the traditional rendering.]

17Now when Jesus had left the crowd and entered the house, his disciples asked him about the parable.

18He said to them, “Are you so foolish? Don’t you understand that whatever goes into a person from outside cannot defile him?

19For it does not enter his heart but his stomach, and then goes out into the sewer.” (This means all foods are clean.)

20He said, “What comes out of a person defiles him.

21For from within, out of the human heart, come evil ideas, sexual immorality, theft, murder,

22adultery, greed, evil, deceit, debauchery, envy, slander, pride, and folly.

23All these evils come from within and defile a person.”

24After Jesus left there, he went to the region of Tyre. When he went into a house, he did not want anyone to know, but he was not able to escape notice.

25Instead, a woman whose young daughter had an unclean spirit immediately heard about him and came and fell at his feet.

26The woman was a Greek, of Syrophoenician origin. She asked him to cast the demon out of her daughter.

27He said to her, “Let the children be satisfied first, for it is not right to take the children’s bread and to throw it to the dogs.”

28She answered, “Yes, Lord, but even the dogs under the table eat the children’s crumbs.”

29Then he said to her, “Because you said this, you may go. The demon has left your daughter.”

30She went home and found the child lying on the bed, and the demon gone.

31Then Jesus went out again from the region of Tyre and came through Sidon to the Sea of Galilee in the region of the Decapolis.

32They brought to him a deaf man who had difficulty speaking, and they asked him to place his hands on him.

33After Jesus took him aside privately, away from the crowd, he put his fingers in the man’s ears, and after spitting, he touched his tongue.

34Then he looked up to heaven and said with a sigh, “Ephphatha” (that is, “Be opened”).

35And immediately the man’s ears were opened, his tongue loosened, and he spoke plainly.

36Jesus ordered them not to tell anyone. But as much as he ordered them not to do this, they proclaimed it all the more.

37People were completely astounded and said, “He has done everything well. He even makes the deaf hear and the mute speak.”

1Then the Pharisees and some of the scribes gathered together to him, having come from Jerusalem.

2Now when they saw some of his disciples eating bread with defiled, that is unwashed, hands, they found fault.

3(For the Pharisees and all the Jews, don’t eat unless they wash their hands and forearms, holding to the tradition of the elders.

4They don’t eat when they come from the marketplace unless they bathe themselves, and there are many other things, which they have received to hold to: washings of cups, pitchers, bronze vessels, and couches.)

5The Pharisees and the scribes asked him, “Why don’t your disciples walk according to the tradition of the elders, but eat their bread with unwashed hands?”

6He answered them, “Well did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written, ‘This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me.

7But they worship me in vain, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’

8“For you set aside the commandment of God, and hold tightly to the tradition of men—the washing of pitchers and cups, and you do many other such things.”

9He said to them, “Full well do you reject the commandment of God, that you may keep your tradition.

10For Moses said, ‘Honor your father and your mother;’ and, ‘He who speaks evil of father or mother, let him be put to death.’

11But you say, ‘If a man tells his father or his mother, “Whatever profit you might have received from me is Corban, that is to say, given to God”;’

12then you no longer allow him to do anything for his father or his mother,

13making void the word of God by your tradition, which you have handed down. You do many things like this.”

14He called all the multitude to himself, and said to them, “Hear me, all of you, and understand.

15There is nothing from outside of the man, that going into him can defile him; but the things which proceed out of the man are those that defile the man.

16If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear!”

17When he had entered into a house away from the multitude, his disciples asked him about the parable.

18He said to them, “Are you also without understanding? Don’t you perceive that whatever goes into the man from outside can’t defile him,

19because it doesn’t go into his heart, but into his stomach, then into the latrine, thus purifying all foods?”

20He said, “That which proceeds out of the man, that defiles the man.

21For from within, out of the hearts of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, sexual sins, murders, thefts,

22covetings, wickedness, deceit, lustful desires, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, and foolishness.

23All these evil things come from within, and defile the man.”

24From there he arose, and went away into the borders of Tyre and Sidon. He entered into a house, and didn’t want anyone to know it, but he couldn’t escape notice.

25For a woman, whose little daughter had an unclean spirit, having heard of him, came and fell down at his feet.

26Now the woman was a Greek, a Syrophoenician by race. She begged him that he would cast the demon out of her daughter.

27But Jesus said to her, “Let the children be filled first, for it is not appropriate to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs.”

28But she answered him, “Yes, Lord. Yet even the dogs under the table eat the children’s crumbs.”

29He said to her, “For this saying, go your way. The demon has gone out of your daughter.”

30She went away to her house, and found the child having been laid on the bed, with the demon gone out.

31Again he departed from the borders of Tyre and Sidon, and came to the sea of Galilee, through the middle of the region of Decapolis.

32They brought to him one who was deaf and had an impediment in his speech. They begged him to lay his hand on him.

33He took him aside from the multitude, privately, and put his fingers into his ears, and he spat, and touched his tongue.

34Looking up to heaven, he sighed, and said to him, “Ephphatha!” that is, “Be opened!”

35Immediately his ears were opened, and the impediment of his tongue was released, and he spoke clearly.

36He commanded them that they should tell no one, but the more he commanded them, so much the more widely they proclaimed it.

37They were astonished beyond measure, saying, “He has done all things well. He makes even the deaf hear, and the mute speak!”

Summary
Authorship & Background
Map & Geography
Commentary
Videos
Reflection

Summary

Jesus confronts the Pharisees' man-made traditions, teaches that defilement comes from the heart not from food, heals a Syrophoenician woman's daughter, and restores hearing and speech to a deaf man.

Authorship & Background

Author: John Mark (see Chapter 1 notes for full authorship details).
Historical Context: Chapter 7 contains Jesus' confrontation with the Pharisees over tradition vs. God's commands (vv.1-23), the healing of the Syrophoenician woman's daughter (vv.24-30), and the healing of a deaf man (vv.31-37). Mark explains Jewish customs for his Gentile readers (vv.3-4) — confirming his non-Jewish audience.
Tradition vs. Scripture (vv.1-23): The Pharisees challenged Jesus because His disciples didn't follow the ritual hand-washing tradition. Jesus' response is devastating: they honor God with their lips but their hearts are far from Him (Isaiah 29:13). They use tradition to nullify God's actual commands — specifically the "Corban" loophole that allowed people to avoid supporting their parents.
The Heart as the Source of Sin (vv.20-23): Jesus lists thirteen sins that come "from within, out of the heart of men." This is one of the most comprehensive sin lists in the Gospels — and it demolishes any notion that defilement is external. The problem is not what goes into a man but what comes out.
The Syrophoenician Woman (vv.24-30): A Gentile woman whose daughter is demon- possessed. Jesus' response about "children's bread" and "dogs" tests her faith. She passes brilliantly — accepting her position but arguing that even dogs get crumbs. Jesus commends her faith and heals her daughter at a distance.

Map & Geography

  • Tyre and Sidon (v.24, 31): Jesus withdrew to the region of Tyre (Phoenicia/modern Lebanon), about 35 miles northwest of the Sea of Galilee — deep into Gentile territory.
  • Decapolis (v.31): Jesus returned through the region of the Decapolis (ten Greek cities east of the Jordan and Sea of Galilee). The deaf man was healed here.
  • The geographic movement shows Jesus ministering among Gentiles — previewing the universal reach of the Gospel.

Commentary

  • Enduring Word (David Guzik): enduringword.com Guzik examines the tradition vs. Scripture conflict, the Corban loophole, the heart as the source of sin, the Syrophoenician woman's faith, and the deaf man's healing.
  • Charles Spurgeon: Sermon: "The Heart's Defilement" on vv.20-23 (MTP Vol. 10, No. 591) "From within — not from without. The problem is not your environment, not your circumstances, not your upbringing — it is your heart. Until the heart is changed, nothing else changes. You can wash the outside of the cup all day long — the inside remains filthy." Sermon: "Crumbs from the Table" on v.28 (MTP Vol. 22, No. 1325) "Even the dogs eat the crumbs — she took the very word that seemed to exclude her and turned it into her argument. That is faith at its finest — faith that will not be denied, faith that finds a way even when the door seems closed."

Reflection

  • 1. The Pharisees honored God with their lips but their hearts were far from Him (v.6). Honest check: is your worship genuine or performative? Is there a gap between what you say about God and how you actually live?
  • 2. Jesus lists thirteen sins that come from the heart (vv.21-22). Which ones hit closest to home for you? Evil thoughts? Covetousness? Pride? Deceit? The heart is the source — what are you doing to address the root, not just the fruit?
  • 3. The Syrophoenician woman wouldn't take no for an answer (v.28). Her faith was persistent, creative, and humble. How persistent is your prayer? Do you give up when God seems silent, or do you press in?
  • 4. "He hath done all things well" (v.37). That is the verdict on Jesus' life and ministry. Could the same be said of you — that you do all things well? What would need to change for that to be true?
  • 5. The Pharisees used "Corban" to avoid caring for their parents while appearing religious (v.11). Where might you be using religious language or activity to avoid a genuine obligation — to family, to community, to the vulnerable?
  • 6. Jesus said defilement comes from within (v.15). We often blame external factors for our sin — "If my circumstances were different..." How does Jesus' teaching challenge that excuse?
  • 7. The Syrophoenician woman was a Gentile, a woman, and desperate — three strikes against her in that culture. Yet her faith moved Jesus. What does her example teach you about approaching God when you feel unworthy?
  • 8. Jesus "sighed" before healing the deaf man (v.34). He was emotionally moved by human suffering. How does knowing that Jesus feels your pain change how you bring your struggles to Him?
  • 9. Mark notes that Jesus "declared all foods clean" (v.19). The old dietary laws are fulfilled in Christ. Where might you be holding onto religious rules that Christ has fulfilled? What does freedom in Christ look like for you?