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Commentary Index | Return to PrayerRequest.com | DownloadBob Utley You Can Understand the Bible - Mark 7:17 - 7:23
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This Chapter Verse Commentaries:
NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: Mar_7:17-23
17When he had left the crowd and entered the house, His disciples questioned Him about the parable. 18And He said to them, "Are you so lacking in understanding also? Do you not understand that whatever goes into the man from outside cannot defile him, 19because it does not go into his heart, but into his stomach, and is eliminated?" (Thus He declared all foods clean.) 20And He was saying, "That which proceeds out of the man, that is what defiles the man. 21For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed the evil thoughts, fornications, thefts, murders, adulteries, 22deeds of coveting and wickedness, as well as deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride and foolishness. 23All these evil things proceed from within and defile the man."
Mar_7:17 "His disciples questioned Him" Mat_15:15 says Peter. Jesus' words were so shocking to these Jews of the first century! Jesus was cancelling Moses! Who was this unofficial rabbi claiming to be?
Mar_7:18 "'Are you so lacking in understanding also'" Jesus marveled at the disciples' slowness to comprehend. His message was so different from what they had heard all their lives (i.e., Pharisaic theology). Tradition is hard to correct (cf. Mar_4:13; Mar_4:40; Mar_6:52; Mar_8:21). Trusting Jesus as the promised Messiah meant a radical break with their cherished traditions and cultural expectations. The "Living Word" supercedes the "written word"! Believers worship Jesus, not the Bible.
Usually commentators say that Jesus rejected the oral tradition of the Jews, but always affirmed the OT laws. However, this rejection of the food laws and His rejection of Moses' teaching on divorce in Mat_5:31-32 (cf. Mar_10:2-12) clearly shows that Jesus saw Himself as the proper interpreter and even Lord over the OT (cf. Mat_5:38-39). He is God's ultimate revelation. None of us who cherish the Bible feel comfortable with this. We see the Bible as authoritative and relevant. However, how many other OT texts did Jesus see as not clearly revealing the Father's intent? This not only shocked the scribes, to an extent it shocks me! It reminds me that the OT is not mandatory for NT believers (cf. Acts 15; Galatians 3). It surely is Scripture and it surely reveals God, but I am not bound by its rituals or procedures (cf. Act_15:6-11; Act_15:19). I am bound by its world view and revelation of God and His purposes and promises (cf. Mat_5:17-20)!
Mar_7:19
NASB, NRSV "(Thus He declared all foods clean)"
NKJV "thuspurifying all foods"
TEV "(. . .Jesus declared that all foods are fit to be eaten)"
NJB "(Thus he pronounced all food clean)"
The parentheses reflect the translators' view that it is an editorial comment (probably from Peter's experience in Acts 10). It is such an important NT truth (cf. Rom_14:13-23; 1Co_8:1-13; 1Co_10:23-33). Humans are not right with God based on what they eat or do not eat! The new covenant is not based on OT regulations (i.e., Leviticus 11; Acts 15). God looks at the heart, not the stomach!
Mar_7:20 The OT rabbis said that the mind was a fertile, prepared seed bed and that the eyes and ears are the windows of the soul. Whatever one allows to enter, takes root. Sin begins in the thought life and develops into actions. Human speech reveals the heart!
hyperlink
Mar_7:21 "out of the heart of men" Jesus lists a series of sinful attitudes and actions. These same types of sins were condemned by the Stoics. Paul also has several lists of sins like this one (cf. Rom_1:29-31; 1Co_5:11; 1Co_6:9; 2Co_12:20; Gal_5:19-21; Eph_4:31; Eph_5:3-4; Col_3:5-9; 2Ti_3:2-5). See hyperlink at 1Pe_4:2.
▣ "fornications" The English word "pornography" shares the same root word as this Greek term. It meant any inappropriate sexual activity: premarital sex, homosexuality, bestiality, and even a refusal of Levirate responsibilities (a brother failing to sexually relate to the widow of a deceased brother in order to provide an heir).
In the OT there was a distinction between marital infidelity (adultery) and pre-marital promiscuity (fornication). However, this distinction is lost by the NT period.
▣ "murder. . .deeds of coveting. . .deceit. . .pride" These same terms describe the pagan world in Rom_1:29-31. They show a heart out of control, a heart bent on "more for self at any cost."
▣ "adulteries" This is the word moicheia, which refers to extra-marital sexual relations (cf. 1Co_6:9-10). It came to be used metaphorically for idolatry. In the OT YHWH was the husband and Israel was the wife; therefore, going after other gods was a form of infidelity.
▣ "sensuality" This is used in Rom_13:13 to show how believers should not live. In Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament Based on Semantic Domains, vol. 1, p. 771, Louw and Nida define this term as "behavior completely lacking in moral restraint, usually with the implication of sexual licentiousness." Notice how many of these terms imply an uncontrolled sexuality, so characteristic of pagan culture of the first century.
Mar_7:22 The order of this list of sins changes from translation to translation. In summary, life apart from God is out of bounds! Paul's list in Gal_5:19-21 describes the evil and the list in Gal_5:22-23 describes the godly.
NASB, NRSV,
NJB "envy"
NKJV "an evil age"
TEV "jealousy"
This is literally "an evil eye" (cf. NASB marginal note). In the Near East people were very conscious of someone putting a hex on them (i.e., active evil). In Hebrew it has the connotation of self-centered jealousy (cf. Deu_15:9; Pro_23:6).
NASB, NRSV,
TEV, NJB "slander"
NKJV "blasphemy"
The term is literally "blasphemy," which denoted saying something about someone that was not true. It can be used of slander or falsehoods about God or humans (cf. Act_6:11; Rom_2:24).
▣ "pride" This refers to a haughty, contemptuous, or proud person (cf. Luk_1:51; Rom_1:30; 2Ti_3:2; Jas_4:6; 1Pe_5:5).
Mar_7:23 The parallel in Mat_15:20 summarizes the whole argument (cf. 1Sa_16:7).