Well, if you haven't guessed from my intro, this was one of those chapters. After I looked over my CMS in prep for doing this post, I took another couple days to re-think it. And re-think it I did. I like the outline better, but I like the chapter title worse. It's ok. I'll get there.
The Chapter Title for Mark 7 is (for now): Substance Disclosed (starts with an 's', second word starts with 'd'; which is how the outline worked out, too)
The Chapter Outline for Mark 7 is:
- Substitute dead traditions
- Sin defiles from within
- Syrophoenician "dog's" faith
- Speech and deafness healed
Mark 7:6 (ESV)Brief Commentary
And he said to 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;
Substitute dead traditions
The Pharisees belie their own problem; they call these practices 'traditions of the elders'
What is the place of 'traditions' in this sense? Are these the same as 'bylaws', or 'church constitutions'. Or does it extend to unwritten practices in the church?
It probably could have a very broad application to any practice, personal or institutional, that usurps authority and primacy of the Scriptures.
In these passages we see the trap of religion. Religion is (in my own words) based upon what people can do to advance their own spirituality (at least in their own minds). Religion is made up of rules and requirements that drive the process of spiritual standing with God; e.g. if I do something religious, then I am more spiritual. It is the heart of legalism.
These Pharisees (the most devout-acting individuals of the day; very 'spiritual' in appearance) think they have trapped Jesus because of certain unbecoming behavior displayed by His disciples. They didn't wash their hands before they ate. I would consider this particular tradition to be very helpful and important (hygienically speaking). There is nothing wrong with washing your hands before you eat. Jesus did not even argue the validity of the rule itself.
What He does is discloses the substance of their objection; they are 'teaching as doctrines the commandments of men' (7). They have placed their own rules ahead of even the Scriptures. They are hypocrites and idolaters.
Jesus then uses an example from their own traditions to exhibit His point. One of the traditions of the Pharisees was to declare something (money, possession) 'Corban'. This means that it is forever dedicated to the service of the Lord and cannot be given to any other person. Although, the catch is that the money or item can continue to be used by the owner himself. This was apparently abused in relationship to caring for one's parents. Individuals would declare something 'Corban' so they could continue using it themselves and not have to use it in support of aging parents. So by following their tradition, they are breaking a commandment.
I can't find a commentary to back me up :), but it looks like Jesus says (in His gracious way) 'there's more where that came from; you want to go on?' We tease the disciples for being slow to learn, but the Pharisees were worse. They continued to challenge Jesus even after He totally crushes them time after time. This time, He disclosed the substance behind the traditions they had substituted for God and His Word.
Sin defiles from within
Jesus continues to preach the truth and disclose the substance of the issue. The Pharisees had it backwards; they thought that religious behavior (avoiding certain things, keeping the rules and traditions, restricting their diets, etc) kept them free from sin. But Jesus turns them on their head. "It's not the stuff that we see 'go in' that defiles you, it is what comes out of your heart'. It is possible to display acceptable behavior but have a defiled and idolatrous heart.
In His explanation to His disciples, He goes even farther with the example of food. "What you eat goes to your stomach and then out. It's not about the food. It's more about your deepest desires. Food in itself is not a sin. Sin comes from your heart and has many faces..." Then Jesus starts a list.
But this is not a list given to us so we can simply avoid these things and then be ok. He prevents this interpretation with His very first example; evil thoughts. 'Ever have an evil thought?' Sin. There's more, but the point is made.
Jesus is making a priority statement here. He is more concerned about the hearts and eternal condition of people than He is about how well they follow rules. There are rules, and He will work on that with them. But the Pharisees thought that 'the way in' was through the rules. Jesus discloses the substance of the sin that defiles from within.
Syrophoenician "dog's" faith
Ok, so I honestly felt a little bad about this outline title at first. I felt weird calling this woman a 'dog'. But Jesus does in this context, so I think I'm safe :) (plus, it fits the outline so well with the 's' and the 'd').
A Gentile woman comes to Jesus because her daughter has a demon. She begs Him to heal her, but His first response is 'what I have come to do is not meant for the dogs'. Huh? But there were several cultural issues here that must be remembered. This woman was a Gentile; Jesus was a Jew. This woman was a....woman, and Jesus was a Man. As a Rabbi, Jesus was restricted from having contact with Gentiles and women. But there she was.
By 'dog', Jesus apparently meant to put His mission into perspective. The Gospel was first for the Jews. But He left a door open by saying that the children should be fed 'first'. So, she didn't leave dejected after Jesus gave His first response. She pressed in with faith. With a full loaf of faith, she asks for a crumb. And Jesus was moved by it. He honors her faith in Him and love for her daughter and grants the request.
Until this moment, I haven' thought of this interaction as prayer. But that's what this woman was doing; praying to Jesus. And she was praying in faith. And Jesus responded in grace. What a precious and powerful thing prayer is. I need to remember that.
Speech and deafness healed
In the last section of chapter 7, we find Jesus showing mercy on a man who was deaf and had a speech impediment. In this case, Jesus took the man aside, put His fingers in his ears, spit, and touched his tongue. Then Mark records that Jesus 'sighed' before He said 'be opened'. And it was done. Then, even though Jesus told them not to, the people zealously proclaimed the work of Jesus in the region.
Although there are several curious things about this interaction, I was most drawn to the 'sigh' of Jesus. But when I dug into it I found 3 different explanations in 3 different commentaries :)
- It was probably His strong emotion as He battled the satanic powers that enslaved the man
- It expressed His grief over the suffering that sin brought on mankind
- It expressed His incredible empathy and compassion toward the needs of this man.
Hebrews 2:17 (ESV)__
Therefore he had to be made like his brothers in every respect, so that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people.
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