How does Mark preserve the Corban criticism and the two healing encounters?

Atlas of Saints · Chapter summary

Jesus contrasts commandments with obstructive traditions and internal evils, then answers a Syrophenician woman and restores hearing and speech without imported intent or diagnosis.

Chapter breakdown

# Mark 7

Pharisees and some scribes from Jerusalem find fault with some disciples eating bread with common, explained as unwashed, hands. Mark describes often washing hands before eating, washing after market visits, and traditions for cups, pots, brazen vessels and beds. Their question concerns the ancients’ tradition. Jesus applies Isaias’s accusation of lips honouring God while hearts remain far away and vain worship through human doctrines. He charges them with leaving God’s commandment for their traditions. Moses commanded parental honour and death for cursing parents; their Corban declaration, explained as a gift, prevents further aid to father or mother and makes God’s word void. No elderly-parent status, temple dedication mechanics or fourth-commandment numbering is supplied. The commentary only cross-refers readers to Matthew 15:9,11annotations; it does not reproduce them.

Calling the multitude to hear, Jesus says what enters from outside does not defile but what comes from a person does, and repeats the call to hear. In the house disciples ask about the parable. He asks about their lack of knowledge, explaining entry into belly rather than heart and departure into privy, “purging all meats.” That wording is retained rather than silently replaced with a differently framed declaration. From the heart come evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lasciviousness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride and foolishness. All these internal evils defile. No gentle tone, public-health instruction or wider rule rejecting all discipline is supplied.

In the coasts of Tyre and Sidon, Jesus enters a house wishing no one to know, but cannot remain hidden. A woman hears, falls at his feet and requests her daughter’s deliverance from an unclean spirit. She is described as Gentile and Syrophenician born; Chanaan occurs in the editorial heading. Jesus says first to let children be filled, since their bread should not be cast to dogs. She answers that whelps under the table also eat children’s crumbs. For this saying he sends her home, saying the devil has gone out. There she finds the girl on the bed and the devil gone. The source does not say he intended to test her, admired her cleverness, said go in peace or describe the girl’s age or quiet rest.

From Tyre he travels by Sidon to the sea of Galilee through Decapolis’s coasts. A man described as deaf and dumb is brought, with a request to lay a hand upon him. Jesus takes him apart, puts fingers in his ears and, spitting, touches his tongue. He looks heavenward, groans and says “Ephpheta,” explained “Be thou opened.” Immediately the ears open, the tongue’s string is loosed and he speaks right. No particular anatomical diagnosis, severe speech impediment or moistening-finger sequence is inferred. Jesus commands silence, but greater commands bring greater publication. People marvel and say he has done everything well, making deaf hear and dumb speak. Particular reported outcomes are not generalized to all who seek healing.

The story inside

Jerusalem visitors and purity reasoning precede Tyre and Sidon, the woman’s reply and the Decapolis encounter.

Lessons worth keeping

1
The annotation only cross-refers to Matthew 15:9,11.
2
The woman’s saying is the stated reason for his response, without a narrated test motive.
3
Purging all meats and the full list of evils retain the source’s wording.

Test your recall

Corban gift; parents; belly and heart; Syrophenician; crumbs; Sidon; Ephpheta; publicity.

Source edition and notes

Douay–Rheims, revised by Richard Challoner (1749–1752). Project Gutenberg no. 1581. Locators refer to lines in the admitted pg1581.txt edition. Source notes may include Challoner commentary.

Lines 115146–115220
7:1. And there assembled together unto him the Pharisees and some of the scribes, coming from Jerusalem. 7:2. And when they had seen some of his disciples eat bread with common, that is, with unwashed hands, they found fault. 7:3. For the Pharisees and all the Jews eat not without often washing their hands, holding the tradition of the ancients. 7:4. And when they come from the market, unless they be washed, they eat not: and many other things there are that have been delivered to them to observe, the washings of cups and of pots and of brazen vessels and of beds. 7:5. And the Pharisees and scribes asked him: Why do not thy disciples walk according to the tradition of the ancients, but they eat bread with common hands? 7:6. But he answering, said to them: Well did Isaias prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written: This people honoureth me with their lips, but their heart is far from me. 7:7. And in vain do they worship me, teaching doctrines and precepts of men. Doctrines and precepts of men.... See the annotations, Matt. 15. 9, 11. 7:8. For leaving the commandment of God, you hold the tradition of men, the washing of pots and of cups: and many other things you do like to these. 7:9. And he said to them: Well do you make void the commandment of God, that you may keep your own tradition. 7:10. For Moses said: Honour thy father and thy mother. And He that shall curse father or mother, dying let him die. 7:11. But you say: If a man shall say to his father or mother, Corban (which is a gift) whatsoever is from me shall profit thee. 7:12. And further you suffer him not to do any thing for his father or mother, 7:13. Making void the word of God by your own tradition, which you have given forth. And many other such like things you do. 7:14. And calling again the multitude unto him, he said to them: Hear ye me all and understand. 7:15. There is nothing from without a man that entering into him can defile him. But the things which come from a man, those are they that defile a man. 7:16. If any man have ears to hear, let him hear. 7:17. And when he was come into the house from the multitude, his disciples asked him the parable. 7:18. And he saith to them: So are you also without knowledge? Understand you not that every thing from without entering into a man cannot defile him: 7:19. Because it entereth not into his heart, but goeth into the belly, and goeth out into the privy, purging all meats? 7:20. But he said that the things which come out from a man, they defile a man. 7:21. For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, 7:22. Thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lasciviousness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness. 7:23. All these evil things come from within and defile a man.
Lines 115222–115263
7:24. And rising from thence he went into the coasts of Tyre and Sidon: and entering into a house, he would that no man should know it. And he could not be hid. 7:25. For a woman as soon as she heard of him, whose daughter had an unclean spirit, came in and fell down at his feet. 7:26. For the woman was a Gentile, a Syrophenician born. And she besought him that he would cast forth the devil out of her daughter. 7:27. Who said to her: suffer first the children to be filled: for it is not good to take the bread of the children and cast it to the dogs. 7:28. But she answered and said to him: Yea, Lord; for the whelps also eat under the table of the crumbs of the children. 7:29. And he said to her: For this saying, go thy way. The devil is gone out of thy daughter. 7:30. And when she was come into her house, she found the girl lying upon the bed and that the devil was gone out. 7:31. And again going out of the coasts of Tyre, he came by Sidon to the sea of Galilee, through the midst of the coasts of Decapolis. 7:32. And they bring to him one deaf and dumb: and they besought him that he would lay his hand upon him. 7:33. And taking him from the multitude apart, he put his fingers into his ears: and spitting, he touched his tongue. 7:34. And looking up to heaven, he groaned and said to him: Ephpheta, which is, Be thou opened. 7:35. And immediately his ears were opened and the string of his tongue was loosed and he spoke right. 7:36. And he charged them that they should tell no man. But the more he charged them, so much the more a great deal did they publish it. 7:37. And so much the more did they wonder, saying: He hath done all things well. He hath made both the deaf to hear and the dumb to speak.