Hey there…well I trust that this finds you well and up for a bit of bible study. I’m posting my somewhat random thoughts on this chapter…so I hope it gets you thinking and hopefully we can chat about it in the forum. It’s always interesting to hear from other people as I find different people offer different perspectives and I always end up seeing things I’ve overlooked!
Clean and Unclean: Mark 7:v1-23

A recurring theme throughout Mark and the other gospels is that people (disciples, pharisees, average Joe/Joesephine) just aren’t getting who Jesus was. It doesn’t matter if He raised he dead, walked on water, got rid of demons etc…it just wasn’t registering that he is the son of God! Have you ever looked at one of those magic eye puzzles? I used to go cross eyed for hours over those things and just didn’t see what was before my very eyes! All I could see was fuzzy dots! Jesus was right before their eyes, performing miracles and relating to them in parables but still nothing. At the beginning of this chapter it is the Pharisees who have hardened their hearts to Jesus and they are all het up about the disciples eating without having washed their hands. Now this bothered them becasue they had strict rules about these sorts of things:

“The Pharisees and all the Jews do not eat unless they give their hands a ceremonial washing, holding to the tradition of the elders. When they come to the market place they do not eat unless they wash. And they observe many other traditions, such as the washing of cups, pitchers and kettles” Mark 7: 3-4.

The Pharisees were obsessed with tradition and this is the key word in this passage, and they expected others to heed these traditions. Jesus acknowledeged that the disciples hadn’t washed their hands, and said:

“Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you hypocrites; as it is written: “These people honour me with their lips, but there hearts are far from me. They worship me in vain; their teachings are merely human rules”. Mark 7:v6-7.

This is a rebuke, and a reminder that Jesus looks at our hearts not at our outward appearance. Jesus impies that ‘traditions’ suck and that really isn’t what is important. He sees beyond the ritual and sees the truth of our motives. I’m wondering if as Christians we are worrying about traditions that God really isn’t interested in? What do you think?

Jesus then stresses that it’s what comes out of us that makes us unclean, not what goes in. Jesus gives a sobering example of what types of things can come out of us:

“From within, out of our hearts , come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance and folly, All these evils come from inside and make you unclean”. (Mark 7:v20-23).

Reading those verses, made me think of all the rubbish that comes out of me and so often I don’t take responsibility for my thoughts and actions, but they are coming from inside me and I am desperately in need of God’s grace. Thankfully, because of Jesus, God’s grace is available to us, lets draw near to him and ask him for forgiveness.

Moving on and skipping past the middle section, beacause I don’t think I have any insights to offer (please post yours) about the healing of the Greek woman’s daughter…sorry…we get to Mark 7:v31-37 ‘The healing of a deaf and mute man”.

Jesus comes across a deaf and mute man, who has been brought to Jesus for healing. Jesus takes him aside and places his hands on him, spits and touches his tongue, and:

“He looked up to heaven with a deep sigh said to him be opened!” Mark 7:v34.

I think Jesus looked up to heaven to show the man that the power was coming from prayer . The man is healed and I think although this is a physical healing it shows that Jesus can enable us to hear him. The Pharisees couldn’t hear Jesus but Jesus could open their ears and he can open ours! I remember when I wasn’t a Christian and people would talk to me about Jesus, but I didn’t hear it. But one day Jesus opened my ears and I received him into my heart. I think this is really encouraging and it gives me hope for my family and friends who are deaf to Jesus.