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Texts -- Mark 7:1-6 (NET)

Context
Breaking Human Traditions
7:1 Now the Pharisees and some of the experts in the law who came from Jerusalem gathered around him . 7:2 And they saw that some of Jesus ’ disciples ate their bread with unclean hands , that is , unwashed . 7:3 (For the Pharisees and all the Jews do not eat unless they perform a ritual washing , holding fast to the tradition of the elders . 7:4 And 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.) 7:5 The 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 ?” 7:6 He said to them , “Isaiah prophesied correctly about you hypocrites , as it is written : ‘This people honors me with their lips , but their heart is far from me .

Pericope

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Bible Dictionary

  • Pharisees

    [isbe] PHARISEES - far'-i-sez (perushim; Pharisaioi): 1. Name and General Character 2. Authorities--Josephus--New Testament--Talmud I. HISTORY OF THE SECT 1. Associated at First with Hasmoneans, but Later Abandon Them 2. Change of ...
    [smith] a religious party or school among the Jews at the time of Christ, so called from perishin , the Aramaic form of the Hebrew word perushim , "separated." The chief sects among the Jews were the Pharisees, the Sadducees and the ...
    [nave] PHARISEES A sect of the Jews, Acts 15:5. Doctrines of, Matt. 15:9; concerning the resurrection, Acts 23:6, 8; association with tax collectors and siers, Matt. 9:11-13. Traditions of, in regard to fasting, Matt. 9:14; Luke ...

  • Washing

    [ebd] (Mark 7:1-9). The Jews, like other Orientals, used their fingers when taking food, and therefore washed their hands before doing so, for the sake of cleanliness. Here the reference is to the ablutions prescribed by tradition...
    [nave] WASHING, Ex. 19:10, 14; Matt. 15:2; Mark 7:2-5, 8, 9; Luke 11:38; Heb. 9:10. Of priests, Ex. 29:4; 30:18-21; 40:12, 31, 32; Lev. 8:6; 16:4, 24, 26, 28; Num. 19:7-10, 19; 2 Chr. 4:6. Of burnt offerings, Lev. 1:9, 13; 9:14;...

  • ABLUTION

    [ebd] or washing, was practised, (1.) When a person was initiated into a higher state: e.g., when Aaron and his sons were set apart to the priest's office, they were washed with water previous to their investiture with the priestl...
    [isbe] ABLUTION - ab-lu'-shun: The rite of ablution for religious purification seems to have been practiced in some form in all lands and at all times. The priests of Egypt punctiliously practiced it (Herodotus ii.37). The Greeks w...

  • Tradition

    [ebd] any kind of teaching, written or spoken, handed down from generation to generation. In Mark 7:3, 9, 13, Col. 2:8, this word refers to the arbitrary interpretations of the Jews. In 2 Thess. 2:15; 3:6, it is used in a good sen...
    [isbe] TRADITION - tra-dish'-un: The Greek word is paradosis, "a giving over," either by word of mouth or in writing; then that which is given over, i.e. tradition, the teaching that is handed down from one to another. The word doe...
    [nave] TRADITION, the decisions and minor precepts taught by Paul, 1 Cor. 11:2; 2 Thess. 2:15; 3:6. Commandments of men, Matt. 12:1-8; 15:2-6; Mark 7:3-9; Luke 6:1-11; Col. 2:8; 1 Pet. 1:18. Not authoritative, Matt. 15:3-20; 1 Tim...

  • Purification

    [smith] in its legal and technical sense, is applied to the ritual observances whereby an Israelite was formally absolved from the taint of uncleanness. The essence of purification, in all eases, consisted in the use of water, whethe...
    [nave] PURIFICATION, sanitary and symbolical. For women before marriage, Esth. 2:12; after childbirth, Lev. 12:6-8; Luke 2:22; after menstruation, Lev. 15:19-33; 2 Sam. 11:4. Of the Jews before the passover, John 11:55. For those ...

  • HOLINESS

    [isbe] HOLINESS - ho'-li-nes (qadhosh, "holy," qodhesh, "holiness"; hagios, "holy"): I. IN THE OLD TESTAMENT MEANING OF THE TERM 1. The Holiness of God (1) Absoluteness and Majesty (2) Ethical Holiness 2. Holiness of Place, Time an...

  • JESUS CHRIST, 4C2

    [isbe] JESUS CHRIST, 4C2 - Second Period--After the Mission of the Twelve till the Departure from Galilee I. From the Death of the Baptist till the Discourse on Bread of Life. 1. The Murder of the Baptist and Herod's Alarms: (Matth...

  • MARK, THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO, 1

    [isbe] MARK, THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO, 1 - || I. OUR SECOND GOSPEL II. CONTENTS AND GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS 1. Scope 2. Material Peculiar to Mark 3. Quotations 4. A Book of Mighty Works 5. The Worker Is Also a Teacher 6. A Book of G...

  • Government

    [nave] GOVERNMENT Paternal functions of, Gen. 41:25-57. Civil service school provided by, Dan. 1:3-20. Maintains a system of public instruction, 2 Chr. 17:7-9. Executive departments in. See: Cabinet; King; Ruler; Statecraft. Ju...

  • WASHING OF FEET

    [isbe] WASHING OF FEET - The Old Testament references (Gen 18:4; 19:2: 24:32; 43:24; Jdg 19:21; 1 Sam 25:41; 2 Sam 11:8; Song 5:3; Ps 58:10) show that the washing of the feet was the first act on entering the tent or house after a ...

  • Jesus, The Christ

    [nave] JESUS, THE CHRIST. Index of Sub-topics History of; Miscellaneous Facts Concerning; Unclassified Scriptures Relating to; Ascension of; Atonement by; Attributes of; Compassion of; Confessing; Creator; Death of; Design of His...

  • Ecclesiasticism

    [nave] ECCLESIASTICISM The Jewish, rebuked by Jesus, Matt. 9:10-13; 23:2-4, 8-10, 13-35; Mark 9:49, 50; to be overthrown, Matt. 21:19, 20, 28-44. Traditional rules of the Jewish, Matt. 15:1-20; Mark 7:2-23. See: Commandments of M...

  • Commandments

    [nave] COMMANDMENTS. Ex. 13:8-10; Ex. 20:3; Ex. 20:4-6; Ex. 20:7; Ex. 20:8-11; Ex. 20:12; Ex. 20:13; Ex. 20:14; Ex. 20:15; Ex. 20:16; Ex. 20:17 Deut. 5:6-21. Deut. 4:5, 9, 10; Deut. 6:4-9; Deut. 11:18-21; Deut. 32:46, 47; Josh. 8:...

  • Hands

    [nave] HANDS Laying on of hands, Heb. 6:2; in consecration, Gen. 48:14; Ex. 29:10, 15, 19; Lev. 1:4; 3:2, 8, 13; 4:15, 24, 33; 16:21; in ordaining the Levites, Num. 8:10, 11; Joshua, Num. 27:18-23; Deut. 34:9; Timothy, 1 Tim. 4:14;...

  • UNCLEANNESS

    [isbe] UNCLEANNESS - un-klen'-nes: I. TERMS 1. In the Old Testament (Hebrew) 2. In the New Testament 3. In the Septuagint II. POSSIBLE RELATION OF ISRAEL'S LAWS ON UNCLEANNESS WITH THE LAWS OF TABOO AMONG THE NATIONS III. TEACHING ...

  • FRONTLETS, OR PHYLACTERIES

    [smith] (Exodus 13:16; 6:8; 11:18; Matthew 23:5) These "frontlets" or "phylacteries" were strips of parchment, on which were written four passages of Scripture, (Exodus 13:2-10,11-17; 6:4-9,13-23) in an ink prepared for the purpose. ...

  • PURITY

    [isbe] PURITY - pu'-ri-ti: The Bible bears witness to the long struggle over and in man to secure physical, mental, and moral cleanliness. The various forms of purity have relation to each other. We have a common proverb that "clea...

  • MEDICINE

    [smith] Egypt was the earliest home of medical and other skill for the region of the Mediterranean basin, and every Egyptian mummy of the more expensive and elaborate sort involved a process of anatomy. Still we have no trace of any ...

  • WASH; WASHING

    [isbe] WASH; WASHING - wosh, wosh'-ing: The two usual Hebrew words for "wash" are rachats, and kabhac, the former being normally used of persons or of sacrificial animals (Gen 18:4, etc., often translated "bathe"; Lev 15:5, etc.), ...

  • Bronze

    [nave] BRONZE or more probably Copper. Smelted, Ezek. 22:20; Job 28:2. A mineral of Canaan, Deut. 8:9; Josh. 22:8; of Syria, 2 Sam. 8:8. Tyrians traded in, Ezek. 27:13. Abundance of, for the temple, 1 Kin. 7:47; 1 Chr. 22:14. A...
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Expository Notes on the Bible (Constable)

  • Early tradition says Mark wrote in Italy5and in Rome.6This external testimony finds support in the internal evidence of the Gospel itself. Many indications in the text point to Mark's having written for Gentile readers origin...
  • It is common today for scholars to hold Markan priority. This is the view that Mark wrote his Gospel first and the other Gospel evangelists wrote after he did. This view has become popular since the nineteenth century. Before...
  • I. Introduction 1:1-13A. The title of the book 1:1B. Jesus' preparation for ministry 1:2-131. The ministry of John the Baptist 1:2-82. The baptism of Jesus 1:9-113. The temptation of Jesus 1:12-13II. The Servant's early Galil...
  • Mark omitted Jesus' year of early Judean ministry (John 1:15-4:42), as did the other Synoptic evangelists. He began his account of Jesus' ministry of service in Galilee, northern Israel (1:14-6:6a). Because of increasing oppo...
  • The following incident demonstrated Jesus' sovereign authority over the Sabbath. This is the last in this series of conflict accounts. It provides the climax in this section of Mark's narrative.3:1-2 This event happened on a ...
  • This pericope introduces Jesus' continuing ministry in Galilee following the religious leaders' decision to kill Him (cf. 1:14-15; 2:13). It provides much more detail than the parallel account in Matthew.3:7-8 The sea to whic...
  • Jesus' selection of 12 disciples constituted an important advance in His ministry. These men would be the primary beneficiaries of His training for leadership to carry out His mission. The plot to take His life made the train...
  • This is the first of three extended teaching sessions that Mark recorded (cf. 7:1-23; 13:3-37). The three parables in this section describe the character of the messianic kingdom.Parables are illustrations that teach truth by...
  • Even though Jesus gave ample evidence that He was more than a mere man (4:35-5:43) those who knew Him best on the physical plane still refused to believe in Him (6:1-6a). This refusal led Jesus to turn increasingly from the m...
  • The increasing hostility of Israel's religious leaders and the rejection of the multitudes (3:7-6:6a) led Jesus to concentrate on training His disciples increasingly. This section of Mark's Gospel shows how Jesus did that. Wh...
  • This is another of Mark's "sandwich"or chiastic sections. The main event is Jesus' sending the Twelve on a preaching and healing mission that extended His own ministry. Within this story, between their departing and their ret...
  • This confrontation played an important part in Jesus' decision to withdraw from Galilee again (v. 24; cf. 2:1-3:6). Along with mounting popularity (6:53-56) came increasing opposition from the Jewish religious leaders. This s...
  • 7:1-2 For a second time Mark recorded a delegation of religious leaders coming from Jerusalem to investigate Jesus (cf. 3:22). The writer interpreted what ceremonially impure hands were for his Gentile readers. The scribes an...
  • In replying Jesus did not explain or justify His disciples' conduct. Instead He addressed the issue of the source of religious authority (vv. 6-13) and the issue of the nature of defilement (vv. 14-23).7:6-7 Jesus boldly call...
  • Jesus continued His response to the critics by focusing on the particular practice that they had objected to (v. 5). The question of what constituted defilement was very important. The Jews had wandered far from God's will in...
  • Jesus increased His ministry to Gentiles as He experienced increasing rejection from the Jews. This third withdrawal from Galilee took Jesus outside Palestine for the first time. Mark also recorded Jesus doing more things out...
  • The disciples had not yet understood the lessons that Jesus sought to teach them. Mark constructed his Gospel to show that in His discipleship training Jesus repeated lessons to train them. One writer noticed the following re...
  • Matthew's account of this incident is fuller than Mark's. Probably Mark just summarized it here to parallel 7:1-23 and so advance his theme of discipleship training.8:11 Matthew noted that the Sadducees accompanied the Pharis...
  • Mark gave more precise time intervals than Matthew did. Matthew related the cursing of the fig tree (Matt. 21:12-17) and Jesus' lesson to the disciples the following day (Matt. 21:18-22) back to back.11:12-13 The next day was...
  • The Olivet Discourse is the longest section of Jesus' teaching that Mark recorded (cf. 4:1-34; 7:1-23). Mark used this discourse as a bridge between Jesus' controversies with Israel's leaders (11:27-12:44) and the account of ...
  • Adams, J. McKee. Biblical Backgrounds. Nashville: Broadman Press, 1965.Alexander, Joseph Addison. The Gospel According to Mark. 1881. Reprint ed. London: Banner of Truth, 1960.Alexander, William M. Demonic Possession in the N...
  • Luke omitted several incidents here that the other evangelists included (Matt. 14:22-16:12; Mark 6:45-8:26; John 6:16-66). By doing so, he tied the questions of Herod and the multitude about Jesus' identity with Peter's answe...
  • 11:37-38 Many of Jesus' teaching opportunities arose during meals (cf. 14:1-24; Matt. 15:1-20; 23:1-36; Mark 7:1-22). This was one such situation. Jesus offended His host by not washing ritually before eating. Luke omitted an...
  • The first miracle that Jesus performed, in His public ministry and in John's Gospel, was semi-public. Apparently only Jesus' disciples, the servants present, and Jesus' mother understood what had happened.2:1 The third day ev...
  • The writer proceeded to explain what the community of Christians that he addressed should do to rectify its dangerous condition.6:1 Since they needed stretching mentally they should with the writer "press on to maturity."That...

Expositions Of Holy Scripture (Maclaren)

  • Mark 1-9
  • Jesus put forth His hand, and touched him.'--Mark 1:41.BEHOLD the servant of the Lord' might be the motto of this Gospel, and He went about doing good and healing' the summing up of its facts. We have in it comparatively few ...
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