MARK LESSON 14
We will begin this lesson in Mark 7:1.
Mark 7:1 "Then came together unto him the Pharisees, and certain
of the scribes, which came from Jerusalem."
These scribes and Pharisees were actually spies sent from
Jerusalem to find fault with whatever Jesus was doing. They were
jealous of Jesus, because He had power in His ministry; and they were
afraid that the people would follow Him, instead of coming to the
temple. Verse 2, here, shows that they were just trying to pick up any
little thing they could, and make a big issue of it.
Mark 7:2 "And when they saw some of his disciples eat bread with
defiled, that is to say, with unwashen, hands, they found fault."
This had to do with all the ceremonial washings of the Hebrews.
This really had nothing to do with physical cleanliness.
Mark 7:3 "For the Pharisees, and all the Jews, except they wash
[their] hands oft, eat not, holding the tradition of the elders."
It seems that these teachings of washing or rubbing hands
together was a tradition and not a law, even though it was included in
the Talmud. The "Talmud" is a body of Hebrew civil and canon laws based
on the Torah of Moses. The Torah is the first five books of the Old
Testament.
Mark 7:4 "And [when they come] from the market, except they wash,
they eat not. And many other things there be, which they have received
to hold, [as] the washing of cups, and pots, brasen vessels, and of
tables."
These Jews were so class conscious, that they felt they needed to
wash off the uncleanness of the lower class people they had touched.
They were over-concerned about washing the physical and not aware at
all of the need to clean up inside.
Mark 7:5 "Then the Pharisees and scribes asked him, Why walk not
thy disciples according to the tradition of the elders, but eat bread
with unwashen hands?"
Notice, here, that they said tradition. It reminds me so much of
doctrine. Really, what I call knit-picking. They were majoring on
things that were not even God's teachings: not sin in their lives, but
formality.
Mark 7:6 "He answered and said unto them, Well hath Esaias
prophesied of you hypocrites, as it is written, This people honoureth
me with [their] lips, but their heart is far from me." Mark 7:7
"Howbeit in vain do they worship me, teaching [for] doctrines the
commandments of men."
In Isaiah 29:13, you can read what Jesus was quoting here.
Hypocrites is a strong word. It means they were pretending to be
following the Lord, when they were really doing what pleased their
flesh. This is a real good description of what many Christians are
doing today. On the one hand they claim to be Christians, but they are
living to please the flesh. This sort of Christianity is surface. It
is not from the heart. He told them that their doctrines were what
served their own desires and really had nothing to do with the wishes
of God. Even church doctrines should not be based on one or two
Scriptures, but should be taken from Jesus' own Words (written in red
in the Bible) and from a balanced look at the entire Bible.
Mark 7:8 "For laying aside the commandment of God, ye hold the
tradition of men, [as] the washing of pots and cups: and many other
such like things ye do."
Here, we see a direct reprimand from Jesus toward these believers
in name only. Tradition has nothing to do with real worship.
Mark 7:9 "And he said unto them, Full well ye reject the
commandment of God, that ye may keep your own tradition."
The tradition of men and the commandments of God are two
different things.
Mark 7:10 "For Moses said, Honour thy father and thy mother; and,
Whoso curseth father or mother, let him die the death:" Mark 7:11
"But ye say, If a man shall say to his father or mother, [It is]
Corban, that is to say, a gift, by whatsoever thou mightest be
profited by me; [he shall be free]." Mark 7:12 "And ye suffer him no
more to do ought for his father or his mother;" Mark 7:13 "Making the
word of God of none effect through your tradition, which ye have
delivered: and many such like things do ye."
Jesus gave one specific Commandment that Moses gave the people
from God that they had twisted around for their own convenience. This
was not the only thing they had changed, but it was just an example of
the many things they had changed to suit themselves. We see in our
day people getting away from the teachings in the Bible by saying,
"That was for a long time ago, not our day." Jesus is the same
yesterday, today, and forever. The truth never changes. One of the
worst things happening today is the tearing down of the home and
marriage. With God, there are no alternate lifestyles. He ordained
one woman for one man, marrying and building a family. Anything else
is not God's will. I, too, just gave one example of a society on a
down hill run to hell. There are many compromises God will not
tolerate. Just because everyone else (tradition) is doing something,
doesn't make it right.
Mark 7:14 "And when he had called all the people [unto him], he
said unto them, Hearken unto me every one [of you], and understand:"
It is God's will that we all hear and understand. Some people
reject the message that Jesus has for us. That is why it says,
"Hearing, they will not hear". They must receive the message inside of
them for them to truly understand and receive Jesus and His teachings.
Mark 7:15 "There is nothing from without a man, that entering
into him can defile him: but the things which come out of him, those
are they that defile the man."
Jesus was speaking, here, of eating and drinking really not defiling
you. This whole statement was to tell them that the things that were in
a man's heart which bring words out of his mouth is really what
tells what he really is. Nasty words stemming from an evil heart
defile a man. The mouth is an instrument of life or death. In Romans
10:9-10, you can easily see that what you say is terribly important to
salvation.
Mark 7:16 "If any man have ears to hear, let him hear."
This is that ear of understanding. Everyone has ears that hang
on the side of their head, but the ears Jesus was speaking of are ears
to the heart.
Mark 7:17 "And when he was entered into the house from the
people, his disciples asked him concerning the parable."
You see, Jesus spoke in parables, so that the lost world who had
no love for God could not understand. The Holy Spirit has to open our
understanding for us to truly understand. Jesus would teach the
disciples while He was with them.
Mark 7:18 "And he saith unto them, Are ye so without
understanding also? Do ye not perceive, that whatsoever thing from
without entereth into the man, [it] cannot defile him;" Mark 7:19
"Because it entereth not into his heart, but into the belly, and goeth
out into the draught, purging all meats?"
Jesus almost scoldingly says, "Don't you understand this very
simple thing". Jesus had already taught them that no food was unclean,
if prayer was said before they ate it. Food just passes through the
body and goes out in the draught, so that could not possibly hurt
anyone. The bitter thoughts that originate in the heart and are
spoken out the mouth destroy people.
Mark 7:20 "And he said, That which cometh out of the man, that
defileth the man." Mark 7:21 "For from within, out of the heart of
men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders,"
Mark 7:22 "Thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lasciviousness,
an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness:" Mark 7:23 "All these evil
things come from within, and defile the man."
The heart of man is what he really is. We will find as these
Bible studies go on, that the heart is either desperately wicked or
pure. There are no other ways. In a heart that is wicked, all of
these sins that Jesus mentioned stem from this wicked heart. We have
said throughout all of these Bible studies that man is a spirit. He
lives in a body, and he has a soul. The spirit of man wants him to
live for God, and his flesh lusts after the evils of the world. Man, or
mankind, is a free moral agent and can choose to be evil, or choose to
follow God. The will of man will follow either the spirit or the
flesh. It will not, and cannot do both. The sins mentioned in verse
21 and 22, above, are the call of the flesh. A person who has turned
himself over to the lusts of the flesh will do these sins. The
heart of the evil man obeys the flesh. This was what Jesus was saying
here.
Notes
Mark 14 Questions
1. Where had the scribes and Pharisees of verse 1 come from?
2. Who were they really?
3. What picky little thing did they say the disciples did that was
wrong?
4. Washing the hands over and over done by the Jews was not a law, but
______________________________________ of the ______________
5. Where is this included?
6. What besides hands did they wash as part of the ceremony?
7. What question did these scribes and Pharisees ask Jesus about the
disciples?
8. They were majoring on things that were not even God's teachings.
They were ________________________.
9. What had Esaias said about these hypocrites?
10. Where in Isaiah is this found?
11. Jesus was really telling them that their doctrines were to serve
what?
12. What should church doctrines be based upon?
13. Jesus said laying aside the commandments of God that hold the
________ of ________________________.
14. What had Moses taught them to do?
15. How had they twisted this to satisfy their own needs?
16. What is Corban?
17. How do people of our day get away from the teaching of the Bible?
18. What is God's plan for man and woman?
19. In verse 14, what plea was Jesus making to the people?
20. What defiles a man?
21. What did He mean by "If any man have ears to hear, let him
hear..."?
22. What did the disciples ask Jesus?
23. In verse 18, Jesus scolded them for what?
24. What destroys people?
25. Name five or more sins which proceed from the heart?
26. What two opposite ways can the heart be?
27. What part of man wants to live for God?
28. What part of man wants to live in sin?
29. What controls which way the man goes?
30. The heart of an evil man obeys what?
Notes
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