Advanced Commentary

Texts -- Mark 7:17-37 (NET)

Context
7:17 Now when Jesus had left the crowd and entered the house , his disciples asked him about the parable . 7:18 He said to them , “Are you so foolish ? Don’t you understand that whatever goes into a person from outside cannot defile him ? 7:19 For it does not enter his heart but his stomach , and then goes out into the sewer .” (This means all foods are clean .) 7:20 He said , “What comes out of a person defiles him . 7:21 For from within, out of the human heart , come evil ideas , sexual immorality , theft , murder , 7:22 adultery , greed , evil , deceit , debauchery , envy , slander , pride , and folly . 7:23 All these evils come from within and defile a person .”
A Syrophoenician Woman’s Faith
7:24 After 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 . 7:25 Instead , a woman whose young daughter had an unclean spirit immediately heard about him and came and fell at his feet . 7:26 The woman was a Greek , of Syrophoenician origin . She asked him to cast the demon out of her daughter . 7:27 He 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 .” 7:28 She answered , “Yes , Lord , but even the dogs under the table eat the children’s crumbs .” 7:29 Then he said to her , “Because you said this , you may go . The demon has left your daughter .” 7:30 She went home and found the child lying on the bed , and the demon gone .
Healing a Deaf Mute
7:31 Then Jesus went out again from the region of Tyre and came through Sidon to the Sea of Galilee in the region of the Decapolis . 7:32 They brought to him a deaf man who had difficulty speaking , and they asked him to place his hands on him . 7:33 After 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 . 7:34 Then he looked up to heaven and said with a sigh , “Ephphatha ” (that is , “Be opened ”). 7:35 And immediately the man’s ears were opened , his tongue loosened , and he spoke plainly . 7:36 Jesus ordered them not to tell anything . But as much as he ordered them not to do this, they proclaimed it all the more . more . 7:37 People were completely astounded and said , “He has done everything well . He even makes the deaf hear and the mute speak .”

Pericope

NET

Bible Dictionary

more

Arts

Hymns

(Note: In "active" or "on" condition, the hymns music will be played automatically when mouse hover on a hymns title)
  • [Mar 7:37] Now, In A Song Of Grateful Praise

Questions

Sermon Illustrations

General; Expulsion of demons; The Source of Sin; Translation Errors

Resources/Books

Expository Notes on the Bible (Constable)

  • 6:9-12 "The same explanation for Enoch's rescue from death (he walked with God') is made the basis for Noah's rescue from death in the Flood: he walked with God' (6:9). Thus in the story of Noah and the Flood, the author is a...
  • This is the only offering that ordinary Israelites could eat, but the priests also ate a part. This pericope clarifies who could eat what and when. For many Israelites eating the peace offering was probably the main, and perh...
  • "This chapter contains a selected list of creatures that divides each type of creature into various classes of purity. According to the final verse in the chapter, the decisive question was whether a class of animals was uncl...
  • Genesis reveals how people can have a relationship with God. This comes through trust in God and obedience to Him. Faith is the key word in Genesis. God proves Himself faithful in this book.Exodus reveals that God is also sov...
  • Coveting means inordinately desiring to possess what belongs to another person. This commandment deals with motivation rather than deed, with attitude rather than action. It gets at the spirit that often leads to the sins for...
  • The third commandment is, "You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain"(5:11). This section of laws deals with the exclusiveness of the Lord and His worship as this pertains to Israel's separation from all other ...
  • The five Danites continued northward about 100 miles and finally came upon an area they felt would be ideal for their needs. They discovered the isolated town of Laish (Leshem, Josh. 19:47) that they believed they could captu...
  • The last pericope of this chapter emphasizes the importance of persisting in the good practices that will lead to life. Success usually comes to those who keep concentrating on and perfecting the basics in their work. Our tem...
  • Isaiah, speaking for the sinful Israelites (cf. 6:5), first acknowledged the consequences of their behavior (vv. 9-11) and then confessed their guilt (vv. 12-15a).59:9 Because they had denied justice and righteousness to othe...
  • This oracle is similar to the one in Isaiah 15 and 16.555Other oracles against Moab appear in Ezekiel 25:8-11, Amos 2:1-3, and Zephaniah 2:9, but this is the longest one. It is very difficult to say when Jeremiah gave this or...
  • It was natural for Jesus to explain His view of the Old Testament since He would shortly proceed to interpret it to His hearers.5:17 Some of the Jews may have already concluded that Jesus was a radical who was discarding the ...
  • 8:5 Centurions were Roman military officers each of whom controlled 100 men, therefore the name "centurion."They were the military backbone of the Roman Empire. Interestingly every reference to a centurion in the New Testamen...
  • 9:32-33 The Greek word translated "dumb"(NASB, kophos) refers to deaf people, mutes, and people who were both deaf and dumb. This man's condition was the result of demonic influence, though that was not the cause in all such ...
  • 15:10-11 Jesus had been responding to the question of His critics so far. Now He taught the assembled crowds the same lesson and at the same time gave a direct answer to the Pharisees and scribes. He responded with a parable ...
  • Jesus departed from the region around Tyre and Sidon (v. 21) and returned to the Sea of Galilee. There are several clues in the verses that follow that enable the reader to see that Jesus went to the eastern (Gentile) side of...
  • 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...
  • Notice first some linguistic characteristics. Mark used a relatively limited vocabulary when he wrote this Gospel. For example, he used only about 80 words that occur nowhere else in the Greek New Testament compared with Luke...
  • 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...
  • This pericope evidently describes one incident during the Galilean preaching tour just summarized. It provides a striking example of Jesus' supernatural power. This is only one of two healings of lepers that the Gospels recor...
  • 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...
  • 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...
  • Many unique features of Mark's narrative indicate that it came from an eyewitness account, probably Peter. These include mention of "that day"(v. 35), "as He [Jesus] was"and the other boats (v. 36), the stern and the cushion ...
  • Even though Mark had already reported that Jesus had exorcized many demons, this case was extraordinary.5:1 Mark and Luke called this area the country of the Gerasenes, but Matthew called it the country of the Gadarenes. Gerg...
  • This is one of the sections of Mark's Gospel that has a chiastic structure (cf. 3:22-30; 6:14-29; 11:15-19).A The appeal of Jairus for his daughter 5:21-24B The healing of the woman with the hemorrhage 5:25-34A' The raising o...
  • 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...
  • 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...
  • Mark was the only evangelist to record this miracle. He apparently included it in his Gospel because it is another instance of Jesus healing a Gentile. This particular miracle is also significant because it prefigured Jesus o...
  • 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...
  • This pericope parallels and recalls Jesus' teaching about bread when He cast the demon out of the Phoenician girl (7:24-30). In both cases leavened bread metaphorically represented teaching. The Gentile woman wanted Jesus' te...
  • Mark is the only evangelist who recorded this miracle. It corresponds to the healing of the deaf man with the speech impediment (7:31-36), the only other miracle that Mark alone recorded. This is the only miracle in Mark that...
  • The healing of the deaf man with the speech impediment resulted in a confession of Jesus' greatness that fell short of identifying Him as God (7:37). The healing of the blind man was the incident that God used to open the dis...
  • 8:31 Jesus' clear revelation of His coming suffering, death, and resurrection resulted from Peter's confession of faith. The disciples were now ready to receive what would have been completely incomprehensible if they still v...
  • The appearance of Elijah on the mountain led to a discussion of his role as Messiah's forerunner. This conversation developed as the disciples followed Jesus down the mountain.9:9 Jesus again commanded secrecy (cf. 1:34, 43-4...
  • The simple trust in Jesus that the children in this pericope demonstrated contrasts with the hostility of the Pharisees in the previous paragraph.10:13-14 Mark's account of this incident is very similar to Matthew's. However,...
  • This was Jesus' second messianic act that constituted part of His formal presentation to Israel. The first was the Triumphal Entry (vv. 1-11).11:15-16 The market atmosphere existed in the court of the Gentiles, the outermost ...
  • 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 ...
  • 13:1 This discourse evidently followed Jesus' departure from the temple on Wednesday with His disciples. The stones that caught the disciple's eye were probably those above the floor of the temple courtyard. Herod the Great h...
  • 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...
  • The theme of discipleship training continues in this section of verses. The 70 disciples that Jesus sent out contrast with the three men Luke just finished presenting (9:57-62). This was a second mission on which Jesus sent a...
  • 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 superficial connection between this pericope and the preceding one is that they both contain parables about prayer. However the more significant link is the people of faith (v. 8). This parable graphically contrasts the r...
  • The exact time of this miracle and Jesus' resultant discourse is unclear. Evidently these events transpired sometime between the feast of Tabernacles (7:2, 10; September 10-17, 32 A.D.) and the feast of Dedication (10:22-39; ...
  • "Though Peter was not by training or inclination an overly scrupulous Jew, and though as a Christian his inherited prejudices were gradually wearing thin, he was not prepared to go so far as to minister directly to Gentiles. ...
  • Paul began his explanation of the believer's relationship to sin by expounding the implications of our union with Christ (6:1-14). He had already spoken of this in 5:12-21 regarding justification, but now he showed how that u...
  • 7:1 "Those who know law"--the article "the"before "law"is absent in the Greek text--were Paul's Roman readers. They lived in the capital of the empire where officials debated, enacted, and enforced laws. They of all people we...
  • The reason for Israel's failure mentioned in 9:32-33, namely her rejection of Christ, led Paul to amplify that subject further in this section.10:1 This pericope opens with Paul returning to his feelings of compassionate conc...
  • In the previous section Paul addressed both the "weak"and the "strong"Christians, but he spoke mainly about the weaker brother's temptation to condemn the stronger believer. In this section he dealt more with the temptation t...
  • 5:1 "Immorality"is a general translation of the Greek word porneia, which means fornication, specifically sexual relations with a forbidden mate. The precise offense in this case was sexual union with the woman who had marrie...
  • Paul began by arguing against his recipients' distortion of Christian freedom and their misunderstanding of the nature of the body.6:12 Paul was and is famous as the apostle of Christian liberty. He saw early in his Christian...
  • As with the issue of marriage, however, Paul granted that there are some matters connected with idolatry that are not wrong. He next gave his readers some help in making the tough choices needed in view of the amoral nature o...
  • Paul mentioned the incident in which he reproved Peter, the Judaizers' favorite apostle, to further establish his own apostolic authority and to emphasize the truth of his gospel.2:11 Peter had shaken hands with Paul in Jerus...
  • Having revealed what believers have in Christ, Paul next pointed out the errors of the false teachers more specifically to help his readers identify and reject their instruction."Sad to say, there are many Christians who actu...
  • In this pericope Paul reminded Timothy of the apostasy that Jesus Christ had foretold to equip him to identify and to deal with it.143"The change that occurs at 4:1 following the hymn of victory, then, is not unexpected. Oppo...
  • Paul emphasized the need to guard the church against false teaching to inform Titus how to deal with the problems false teachers create. The instructions in this pericope naturally grew out of Paul's emphasis on the elder's r...
  • 22:12 Jesus Christ repeated His promise to return soon (v. 7, cf. 1:3; 22:20)."Nowhere is a date set, nor was there any definite promise that the consummation would occur within the lifetime of the first century Christians. N...

Expositions Of Holy Scripture (Maclaren)

  • Mark 1-9
  • And 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. 25. For a certain woman, whose young daughter had an unclean spirit, he...
  • He touched his tongue; and looking up to heaven, He sighed, and saith Ephphatha, that is, Be opened.'--Mark 7:33-34.FOR what reason was there this unwonted slowness in Christ's healing works? For what reason was there this un...
Back to Commentary Page


TIP #35: Tell your friends ... become a ministry partner ... use the NET Bible on your site. [ALL]
created in 0.05 seconds
powered by
bible.org - YLSA