New International Reader s Version - NIrV - 1996
Mark 7
1
The Pharisees gathered around Jesus. So did some of the teachers of the law. All of them had come from Jerusalem.
Reference
References Jerusalem
Mark 3:22
2
They saw some of his disciples eating food with "unclean" hands. That means they were not washed.
Reference
3
The Pharisees and all the Jews do not eat unless they wash their hands to make them pure. That's what the elders teach.
Reference
4
When they come from the market place, they do not eat unless they wash. And they follow many other teachings. For example, they wash cups, pitchers, and kettles in a special way.
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5
So the Pharisees and the teachers of the law questioned Jesus. "Why don't your disciples live by what the elders teach?" they asked. "Why do they eat their food with 'unclean' hands?"
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6
He replied, "Isaiah was right. He prophesied about you people who pretend to be good. He said, " 'These people honor me by what they say. But their hearts are far away from me.
Reference
7
Their worship doesn't mean anything to me. They teach nothing but human rules.' --(Isaiah 29:13)
Reference
8
You have let go of God's commands. And you are holding on to the teachings that men have made up."
9
Jesus then said to them, "You have a fine way of setting aside God's commands! You do this so you can follow your own teachings.
Reference
Parallel theme
Isaiah 29:13
Mark 7:3
References God
2 Thessalonians 2:4
Word
Galatians 2:21
Isaiah 24:5
Psalm 119:126
Mark 7:13
Romans 3:31
10
Moses said, 'Honor your father and mother.'--(Exodus 20:12; Deuteronomy 5:16) He also said, 'If anyone calls down a curse on his father or mother, he will be put to death.'--(Exodus 21:17; Leviticus 20:9)
Reference
Curse
Exodus 21:17
Leviticus 20:9
Matthew 15:4
Parallel theme
Exodus 20:12
Deuteronomy 5:16
Mark 10:19
11
But you allow people to say to their parents, 'Any help you might have received from us is Corban.' (Corban means 'a gift set apart for God.' )
Reference
Parallel theme
Matthew 23:18
12
So you no longer let them do anything for their parents.
13
You make the word of God useless by putting your own teachings in its place. And you do many things like that."
Reference
14
Again Jesus called the crowd to him. He said, "Listen to me, everyone. Understand this.
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15
Nothing outside of you can make you 'unclean' by going into you. It is what comes out of you that makes you 'unclean.' "
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17
Then he left the crowd and entered the house. His disciples asked him about this teaching.
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18
"Don't you understand?" Jesus asked. "Don't you see? Nothing that enters people from the outside can make them 'unclean.'
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19
It doesn't go into the heart. It goes into the stomach. Then it goes out of the body." In saying this, Jesus was calling all foods "clean."
Reference
21
Evil thoughts come from the inside, from people's hearts. So do sexual sins, stealing and murder. Adultery,
Reference
Evil
Jeremiah 17:9
Matthew 15:19
Acts 8:22
Ezekiel 38:10
Jeremiah 4:14
Matthew 9:4
James 2:4
Isaiah 59:7
Parallel theme
Proverbs 4:23
Luke 16:15
22
greed, hate and cheating come from people's hearts too. So do desires that are not pure, and wanting what belongs to others. And so do telling lies about others and being proud and being foolish.
Reference
24
Jesus went from there to a place near Tyre. He entered a house. He did not want anyone to know where he was. But he could not keep it a secret.
Reference
25
Soon a woman heard about him. An evil spirit controlled her little daughter. The woman came to Jesus and fell at his feet.
Reference
Parallel theme
Matthew 15:22
26
She was a Greek, born in Syrian Phoenicia. She begged Jesus to drive the demon out of her daughter.
Reference
27
"First let the children eat all they want," he told her. "It is not right to take the children's bread and throw it to their dogs."
Reference
28
"Yes, Lord," she replied. "But even the dogs under the table eat the children's crumbs."
Reference
Parallel theme
Romans 3:29
Isaiah 45:22
Isaiah 49:6
Psalm 145:16
Ephesians 3:8
Matthew 5:45
References Lord
Romans 10:12
29
Then he told her, "That was a good reply. You may go. The demon has left your daughter."
Reference
30
So she went home and found her child lying on the bed. And the demon was gone.
31
Then Jesus left the area of Tyre and went through Sidon. He went down to the Sea of Galilee and into the area known as the Ten Cities.
Reference
32
There some people brought a man to him. The man was deaf and could hardly speak. They begged Jesus to place his hand on him.
Reference
33
Jesus took the man to one side, away from the crowd. He put his fingers into the man's ears. Then he spit and touched the man's tongue.
Reference
34
Jesus looked up to heaven. With a deep sigh, he said to the man, "Ephphatha!" That means "Be opened!"
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35
The man's ears were opened. His tongue was freed up, and he began to speak clearly.
36
Jesus ordered the people not to tell anyone. But the more he did so, the more they kept talking about it.
Reference
37
People were really amazed. "He has done everything well," they said. "He even makes deaf people able to hear. And he makes those who can't speak able to talk."
Reference
Parallel theme
Mark 6:51
Mark 5:42
Mark 4:41
Mark 2:12
Genesis 1:31
Psalm 139:14
Acts 14:11
Mark 1:27
Luke 23:41
Summary of Mark 7
Mark 7 begins with Pharisees and teachers of the law from Jerusalem confronting Jesus because some of His disciples eat without performing the traditional ceremonial handwashing expected by these religious leaders.
Jesus responds by exposing a deeper problem, explaining that religious traditions become dangerous when people treat human rules as though they were God's commands and use those traditions to avoid the responsibilities that God has clearly established.
He specifically points to the practice of Corban, through which someone could dedicate resources to God while effectively preventing those resources from being used to support aging parents, showing how a religious practice could be manipulated to appear righteous while neglecting an obvious moral obligation.
Jesus therefore emphasizes that genuine obedience to God cannot be measured simply by external rituals, because a person can appear religious on the outside while remaining spiritually distant from God within.
Jesus then turns to the crowd and teaches that what enters a person from outside does not ultimately make that person morally unclean, because physical food passes through the body rather than transforming the heart.
Instead, Jesus explains that true moral defilement comes from within, because evil thoughts and desires produce actions such as sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, deceit, envy, pride, slander, and foolishness.
This teaching moves the focus of holiness away from merely external observance and toward the inner character of the person, emphasizing that genuine spiritual purity requires the transformation of the heart.
Jesus then travels into the region of Tyre, where He encounters a Gentile woman whose daughter is suffering because of an unclean spirit.
The woman falls at Jesus' feet and repeatedly asks Him to free her daughter, and although Jesus initially speaks about the priority of feeding the children before the household dogs, the woman responds with remarkable humility and persistence by pointing out that even the dogs beneath the table receive the crumbs.
Jesus recognizes the significance of her response and tells her that the demon has left her daughter, demonstrating that God's mercy is not restricted by ethnic or geographical boundaries and that genuine faith can be found beyond the traditional boundaries of Israel.
The woman returns home and discovers her daughter peacefully resting, confirming that Jesus' authority over evil extends even to those who are outside the immediate Jewish setting of His ministry.
Jesus then travels through Sidon and the Decapolis before returning toward the Sea of Galilee, where people bring Him a man who is deaf and has difficulty speaking.
Jesus takes the man away from the crowd, communicates with him through physical gestures, looks toward heaven, and commands him to be opened, after which the man's ears immediately become functional and his ability to speak is restored.
The people are astonished and declare that Jesus does everything well, because He restores hearing to the deaf and speech to those who cannot speak clearly.
Mark 7 therefore connects two major themes that might initially seem unrelated: true spiritual purity and Jesus' healing power, because both demonstrate that God's work reaches deeper than outward appearances.
The Pharisees focus on external cleanliness while Jesus focuses on the condition of the heart, and the miracles that follow demonstrate His ability to restore people whose conditions place them outside ordinary social and religious life.
The Gentile woman's daughter is restored from spiritual oppression, while the deaf man's communication is restored, showing that Jesus' compassion reaches across ethnic, geographical, physical, and spiritual boundaries.
The central message is that true purity comes from a heart that is aligned with God rather than from human traditions alone, while genuine faith is demonstrated through humble trust in Jesus and openness to His transforming power.
Mark 7 ultimately presents Jesus as the One who exposes empty religious formalism, redirects holiness toward the heart, welcomes persistent faith from unexpected people, and restores those who are physically, spiritually, and socially unable to restore themselves.
Jesus responds by exposing a deeper problem, explaining that religious traditions become dangerous when people treat human rules as though they were God's commands and use those traditions to avoid the responsibilities that God has clearly established.
He specifically points to the practice of Corban, through which someone could dedicate resources to God while effectively preventing those resources from being used to support aging parents, showing how a religious practice could be manipulated to appear righteous while neglecting an obvious moral obligation.
Jesus therefore emphasizes that genuine obedience to God cannot be measured simply by external rituals, because a person can appear religious on the outside while remaining spiritually distant from God within.
Jesus then turns to the crowd and teaches that what enters a person from outside does not ultimately make that person morally unclean, because physical food passes through the body rather than transforming the heart.
Instead, Jesus explains that true moral defilement comes from within, because evil thoughts and desires produce actions such as sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, deceit, envy, pride, slander, and foolishness.
This teaching moves the focus of holiness away from merely external observance and toward the inner character of the person, emphasizing that genuine spiritual purity requires the transformation of the heart.
Jesus then travels into the region of Tyre, where He encounters a Gentile woman whose daughter is suffering because of an unclean spirit.
The woman falls at Jesus' feet and repeatedly asks Him to free her daughter, and although Jesus initially speaks about the priority of feeding the children before the household dogs, the woman responds with remarkable humility and persistence by pointing out that even the dogs beneath the table receive the crumbs.
Jesus recognizes the significance of her response and tells her that the demon has left her daughter, demonstrating that God's mercy is not restricted by ethnic or geographical boundaries and that genuine faith can be found beyond the traditional boundaries of Israel.
The woman returns home and discovers her daughter peacefully resting, confirming that Jesus' authority over evil extends even to those who are outside the immediate Jewish setting of His ministry.
Jesus then travels through Sidon and the Decapolis before returning toward the Sea of Galilee, where people bring Him a man who is deaf and has difficulty speaking.
Jesus takes the man away from the crowd, communicates with him through physical gestures, looks toward heaven, and commands him to be opened, after which the man's ears immediately become functional and his ability to speak is restored.
The people are astonished and declare that Jesus does everything well, because He restores hearing to the deaf and speech to those who cannot speak clearly.
Mark 7 therefore connects two major themes that might initially seem unrelated: true spiritual purity and Jesus' healing power, because both demonstrate that God's work reaches deeper than outward appearances.
The Pharisees focus on external cleanliness while Jesus focuses on the condition of the heart, and the miracles that follow demonstrate His ability to restore people whose conditions place them outside ordinary social and religious life.
The Gentile woman's daughter is restored from spiritual oppression, while the deaf man's communication is restored, showing that Jesus' compassion reaches across ethnic, geographical, physical, and spiritual boundaries.
The central message is that true purity comes from a heart that is aligned with God rather than from human traditions alone, while genuine faith is demonstrated through humble trust in Jesus and openness to His transforming power.
Mark 7 ultimately presents Jesus as the One who exposes empty religious formalism, redirects holiness toward the heart, welcomes persistent faith from unexpected people, and restores those who are physically, spiritually, and socially unable to restore themselves.