Mark 7

What Makes People Unclean?

1The Pharisees and some of the teachers of the law who’d come from Jerusalem gathered around Jesus. 2They saw some of his disciples eating food with hands that were unclean, that is, not ceremonially washed. 3The Pharisees and all the Jews never eat until they’ve washed their hands to make them clean. Their elders teach that they have to do that. 4When they come home from the market, they have to take a bath before they can eat anything. And they follow many other teachings too. For example, they wash cups, pitchers, and kettles in a special way.

5So the Pharisees and the teachers of the law asked Jesus, “Why don’t your disciples follow what the elders teach? Why do they eat their food with unclean hands?”

6Jesus answered, “Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you hypocrites! He said,

“ ‘These people honor me by what they say,

but their hearts are far away from me.

7Their worship doesn’t mean anything to me,

because they’re only teaching human rules.’

8You’ve let go of God’s commands, and instead you’re holding on to teachings that people have passed down.”

9Jesus continued, “You have a fine way of setting aside God’s commands so that you can follow your own teachings. 10Moses said, ‘Honor your father and mother.’ He also said, ‘Anyone who curses their father or mother must be put to death.’ 11But you tell people that if they have money that they could use to help their parents, they can say instead that it’s Corban. (That means ‘a gift set apart for God.’) 12So you no longer allow them to do anything for their parents anymore. 13You make the word of God useless by putting your own teachings in its place. And you do this a lot.”

14Jesus called the crowd to him again and said, “Listen to me, everyone, and understand this. 15-16Nothing that’s outside of a person can make them unclean by going into them. It’s what comes out of a person that makes them unclean.”

17When he left the crowd and entered the house, his disciples asked him what he’d meant by that. 18“Don’t you understand?” Jesus asked. “Don’t you see that nothing that goes into a person from the outside can make them unclean? 19It doesn’t go into their heart, but into their stomach, and then it passes right back out of the body.” This meant that all foods were clean.

20He went on to say, “What comes out of a person is what makes them unclean. 21It’s from the inside, from a person’s heart, that bad things come: sexual sins, stealing, murder, 22adultery, greed, hate, cheating, impurity, jealousy, lying, pride, and foolishness. 23All these bad things come from inside a person, and that’s what makes them unclean.”

Jesus Honors a Greek Woman’s Faith

24Jesus went from there to a place near Tyre. He didn’t want anyone to know which house he was staying in, but he couldn’t keep it a secret. 25There was a woman whose little daughter had an evil spirit. As soon as the woman heard that Jesus was nearby, she came and bowed down at his feet. 26She was a Greek woman who’d been born in Syrian Phoenicia. She begged Jesus to drive the demon out of her daughter.

27“First let the children eat all they want,” he told her. “It isn’t right to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs.”

28“Lord,” she answered, “even the dogs eat the children’s crumbs under the table.”

29“That’s a good answer,” Jesus told her. “Go on home, the demon has left your daughter.”

30So she went home and found her child lying quietly in bed, because the demon had gone.

Jesus Heals a Man Who Can’t Hear or Speak

31Then Jesus left the area of Tyre and went through Sidon, down to the Sea of Galilee, and into the area known as the Ten Cities. 32There some people brought a man to Jesus who was deaf and could hardly speak. They begged Jesus to place his hands on the man.

33Jesus took the man to one side, away from the crowd. He put his fingers into the man’s ears, and then he spit and touched the man’s tongue. 34Jesus looked up to heaven and said to the man with a deep sigh, “Ephphatha!” which means, “Be opened!” 35The man’s ears were opened, his tongue was freed up, and he began to speak clearly.

36Jesus ordered the people not to tell anyone. But the more he did, the more they kept talking about it. 37People were overwhelmed and amazed and said, “He has done everything well. He even makes deaf people able to hear, and he makes those who can’t speak able to talk.”

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Mark 7

Jesus Challenges the Pharisees’ Traditions

(Matthew 15:1–20)

1The Pharisees and some experts in Moses’ Teachings who had come from Jerusalem gathered around Jesus. 2They saw that some of his disciples were unclean #7:2 “Unclean” refers to anything that Moses’ Teachings say is not presentable to God. because they ate without washing their hands.

3(The Pharisees, like all other Jewish people, don’t eat unless they have properly washed their hands. They follow the traditions of their ancestors. 4When they come from the marketplace, they don’t eat unless they have washed first. They have been taught to follow many other rules. For example, they must also wash their cups, jars, brass pots, and dinner tables.#7:4 Some manuscripts and translations omit “and dinner tables.”)

5The Pharisees and the experts in Moses’ Teachings asked Jesus, “Why don’t your disciples follow the traditions taught by our ancestors? They are unclean because they don’t wash their hands before they eat!”

6Jesus told them, “Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you hypocrites in Scripture:

‘These people honor me with their lips,

but their hearts are far from me.

7Their worship of me is pointless,

because their teachings are rules made by humans.’

8“You abandon the commandments of God to follow human traditions.” 9He added, “You have no trouble rejecting the commandments of God in order to keep your own traditions! 10For example, Moses said, ‘Honor your father and your mother’ and ‘Whoever curses father or mother must be put to death.’ 11But you say, ‘If a person tells his father or mother that whatever he might have used to help them is corban (that is, an offering to God), 12he no longer has to do anything for his father or mother.’ 13Because of your traditions you have destroyed the authority of God’s word. And you do many other things like that.”

14Then he called the crowd again and said to them, “Listen to me, all of you, and try to understand! 15Nothing that goes into a person from the outside can make him unclean. It’s what comes out of a person that makes him unclean. 16Let the person who has ears listen!” #7:16 Some manuscripts and translations omit this verse.

17When he had left the people and gone home, his disciples asked him about this illustration.

18Jesus said to them, “Don’t you understand? Don’t you know that whatever goes into a person from the outside can’t make him unclean? 19It doesn’t go into his thoughts but into his stomach and then into a toilet.” (By saying this, Jesus declared all foods acceptable.) 20He continued, “It’s what comes out of a person that makes him unclean. 21Evil thoughts, sexual sins, stealing, murder, 22adultery, greed, wickedness, cheating, shameless lust, envy, cursing, arrogance, and foolishness come from within a person. 23All these evils come from within and make a person unclean.”

The Faith of a Greek Woman

(Matthew 15:21–31)

24Jesus left that place and went to the territory of Tyre. He didn’t want anyone to know that he was staying in a house there. However, it couldn’t be kept a secret.

25A woman whose little daughter had an evil spirit heard about Jesus. She went to him and bowed down. 26The woman happened to be Greek, born in Phoenicia in Syria. She asked him to force the demon out of her daughter.

27Jesus said to her, “First, let the children eat all they want. It’s not right to take the children’s food and throw it to the dogs.”

28She answered him, “Lord, even the dogs under the table eat some of the children’s scraps.”

29Jesus said to her, “Because you have said this, go! The demon has left your daughter.”

30The woman went home and found the little child lying on her bed, and the demon was gone.

Jesus Cures a Deaf Man

31Jesus then left the neighborhood of Tyre. He went through Sidon and the territory of the Ten Cities #7:31 A federation of ten Greek city states east and west of the Jordan River. to the Sea of Galilee.

32Some people brought to him a man who was deaf and who also had a speech defect. They begged Jesus to lay his hand on him. 33Jesus took him away from the crowd to be alone with him. He put his fingers into the man’s ears, and after spitting, he touched the man’s tongue. 34Then he looked up to heaven, sighed, and said to the man, “Ephphatha!” which means, “Be opened!” 35At once the man could hear and talk normally.

36Jesus ordered the people not to tell anyone. But the more he ordered them, the more they spread the news. 37Jesus completely amazed the people. They said, “He has done everything well. He makes the deaf hear and the mute talk.”

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