The Gospel of Mark, Chapter 7
You can listen to Mark 7 with us below. You can also read the passage in the New Living Translation here.
“Then Jesus called to the crowd to come and hear. “All of you listen,” he said, “and try to understand. It’s not what goes into your body that defiles you; you are defiled by what comes from your heart.”
Then Jesus went into a house to get away from the crowd, and his disciples asked him what he meant by the parable he had just used. “Don’t you understand either?” he asked. “Can’t you see that the food you put into your body cannot defile you? Food doesn’t go into your heart, but only passes through the stomach and then goes into the sewer.” (By saying this, he declared that every kind of food is acceptable in God’s eyes.)
And then he added, “It is what comes from inside that defiles you. For from within, out of a person’s heart, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, wickedness, deceit, lustful desires, envy, slander, pride, and foolishness. All these vile things come from within; they are what defile you.”
Then Jesus left Galilee and went north to the region of Tyre. He didn’t want anyone to know which house he was staying in, but he couldn’t keep it a secret. Right away a woman who had heard about him came and fell at his feet. Her little girl was possessed by an evil spirit, and she begged him to cast out the demon from her daughter.
Since she was a Gentile, born in Syrian Phoenicia, Jesus told her, “First I should feed the children—my own family, the Jews. It isn’t right to take food from the children and throw it to the dogs.”
She replied, “That’s true, Lord, but even the dogs under the table are allowed to eat the scraps from the children’s plates.”
“Good answer!” he said. “Now go home, for the demon has left your daughter.” And when she arrived home, she found her little girl lying quietly in bed, and the demon was gone.”
Thank you for joining us in listening to Mark 7! You can also find a written copy of Mark 7 in the NLT here.
Below are some questions that made us think. Feel free to journal your answers to one or all of them!
Discussion Questions
1. In this passage, Jesus' disciples were criticized by some religious leaders from Jerusalem because they did not practice the Jewish religious tradition of ceremonial hand washing. Jesus called the religious teachers hypocrites— their worship was an act. They ignored God's law and substituted their own tradition.
- Which person/group in this passage do you think you are most like—why?
- How should we think about religious traditions? How should we think about God's commands?
- Jesus said the religious leaders' hearts were, as Isaiah prophesied, far from God...even though they were honoring God with their words. How might God be calling you to draw near to Him with your whole heart? Why is it sometimes difficult to be honest with others about what is really going on in our personal relationship with God?
2. After talking to the leaders, Jesus turns to the crowd and his disciples. Jesus explains that it is not what goes into your body that makes you defiled (unclean, dirty) but what comes from your heart.
- Either imagine or draw a picture of your heart—ask God to help you see what is inside your heart (the good and bad). Jesus lists some of the bad things that can be in our hearts: evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, wickedness, deceit, lustful desires, envy, slander, pride, and foolishness.
If you have accepted Christ, God doesn't remove your old heart. But your sinful nature is offset because Christ also lives in your heart! And, the Holy Spirit enables you to be filled with all of the good things of God listed in Galatians 5:22-23: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. These can never be destroyed!
- Spend some time sitting with God. What might God want to do in your heart today?
3. A non-Jewish woman comes to Jesus in Tyre and begs Jesus to heal her daughter, who is possessed by an evil spirit. She has great faith that Jesus can heal her daughter, even though she is not Jewish—and Jesus does!
- Do you believe Jesus can heal you or those you love? Why or why not?
4. When Jesus goes to Sidon, a man who is deaf and has a speech impediment is brought to Jesus for healing. The people in this man's community seem to care for him deeply. Like the Gentile woman begged for her daughter's healing, they beg Jesus for this man's healing!
- Tell about a time someone loved you through prayer.
- How can you love people through prayer? Tell about a time God answered your prayers!
5. Jesus led the man away from the crowd and then healed him in a way that was sensitive to the man's needs.
- How might God want to lead you "away from the crowd" in order to heal you? Has He ever done that before? What was that like?
4. When they saw the man is healed, the crowd was amazed and said, "Everything he does is wonderful. He even makes the deaf to hear and gives speech to those who cannot speak."
- What do you think about what Jesus has done in your life or the lives of those you love?
- What do you say about Jesus to others—what do you want people in your community to know about Jesus?
