Tuesday Night Group (TNG ) Notes
Stay up to date on our weekly study of the Gospel of Mark
Mark 7:10 – “For Moses said” – Moses was an Old Testament prophet. He was chosen by God to be an Israelite, raised as a member of Pharaoh’s family. He then would lead the Israelites out of their slavery in Egypt and into the wilderness. They were headed for the Promised Land.
By directly quoting the Mosaic Law of Exodus 20:12 (The law that was given to Moses by God, in order to help the Israelites become not just freed slaves, but a nation of God’s chosen people, aka the Ten Commandments.) Jesus shows that he prioritizes God’s written word over human traditions. He’s setting something up to teach his disciples, the Pharisees and all of us.
Mark 7:11-12 – “But” – Always pay attention to the buts in the Bible! Jesus is now going to bring done the hammer. He’s going to teach the Pharisees and the teachers of the law something very important. Oh, and the disciples are there to learn as well. To learn not only what Jesus is going to teach them. But also, to learn how Jesus is going to teach them.
“Corban” – Hebrew word meaning “gift or offering”. The tradition allowed a person to declare their resources as “Corban”, meaning they were consecrated to God and therefore unavailable for any other purpose. Like, honoring your father or mother.
Mark 7:13 – “You nullify the word of God” - Money used to help your parents could be deemed “Corban” and thus used to feed the institution, instead of what God originally intended the money to be used for. Following the human created Corban tradition, a child could completely disobey God’s command to honor their father and mother (Exodus 20:12) and do it while still being considered ultra-religious. That’s hypocrisy.
Mark 7:14 – “Called the crowd” – In most accounts the crowds call to Jesus. The crowds come looking for Jesus. This time Jesus calls the crowds. This signals that he’s getting ready to drop something big.
“Listen…and understand” – To listen means to give attention with the ear; attend closely for the purpose of hearing. Listening is a conscious choice. Jesus is directing the crowd, that he just called to himself, to invest some effort, to participate.
To understand means to perceive the meaning of; grasp the idea of; comprehend. Understanding can only occur through listening. Understanding isn’t necessarily agreeing. You can understand something with which you don’t agree. Jesus isn’t yet asking the crowd to make a conscious decision. He’s simply asking them to be open to understanding something very important.
Mark 7:15 – One of the most revolutionary passages in the New Testament. Up to this point in time, the Jewish world, Jesus’ world, operated under the sway of an outside-in perspective. Food could defile you. How you wash your hands could defile you. Infirmities could defile you.
Jesus now declares the actual truth of an inside-out perspective. A person isn’t defiled by what they eat or how they wash their hands or if they’re sick. A person is defiled by what’s in their hearts. In other words, your heart influences your actions, not the other way around. You don’t do what you do, in order to be someone. You are someone, thus you do what you do.
Mark 7:16 – “If anyone has ears to hear, let them hear” This verse isn’t included in all ancient manuscripts. It’s a repetition of Mark 4:23.
Mark 7:17 – “His disciples asked him about this parable” – The disciples are still wrestling with what Jesus just taught the crowd. They’re processing the difference between spiritual purity and physical purity. What Jesus spoke wasn’t really a parable, but the disciples had no other place to file such a teaching in their consciences.
Mark 7:18 – "Are you so dull?” – Jesus knows what it’s like to be frustrated by the lack of understanding in others. For Jesus didn’t give them a parable. Jesus simply restated what God has always taught and intended.
“Don’t you see…” – Jesus is still only asking his disciples to understand. To perceive the meaning of; grasp the idea; comprehend. He’s frustrated because the disciples love to hear him teach and even love to obey his orders. But they don’t understand what he’s saying, when it contradicts their pre-conceived ideas.
God gave food laws to the Israelites as a sign that they are set apart from all the other nations around them. Non-kosher food is called unclean, but those who eat it are not called unclean. People are declared unclean because of what they touch or associate with (Leviticus 5:3) or what comes out of their bodies (Leviticus 13:3; 15:18) not what goes into their bodies. The Old Testament doesn’t give any punishment for eating unclean food.
Mark 7:19 – “For it doesn’t go into their heart but into their stomach.” – Jesus is making a direct reference to kosher food laws. Food can’t defile someone because it goes into the stomach, not the heart. I guess you aren’t what you eat!
“Jesus declared all food clean” – Or it would be better said: Jesus reminds everyone that God never declared any foods unclean. God simply declared some foods to be off-limits, in order for the Israelites to be different than all the people around them. Jesus didn’t come to abolish the law. Jesus came to fulfill it (Matthew 5:17).
Mark 7:20 – “What comes out of a person is what defiles them.” - Everything that you do is dictated by who you are. You don’t do what you do, in order to be. You be, which determines what you do.
Mark 7:21-23 – “For it is from within, out of a person’s heart, that evil thoughts come” – Charles Spurgeon once wrote: “Sin is not a splash of mud upon man’s exterior, it is a filth generated within himself.” William Barclay added: “Every outward act of sin is preceded by an inward act of choice.”
Mark 7:24 – “Went to the vicinity of Tyre” – Tyre is a coastal city on the Mediterranean Sea, northwest of the Sea of Galilee. It was located in modern day Lebanon. This was a predominantly Gentile territory.
“Did not want anyone to know it.” – Jesus likely went to this area to escape the large crowds and have a period of rest with his disciples. Remember it was all the way back in 6:31 that Jesus desired to get away with the disciples to “a quiet place to get some rest”.
This verse also shows that Jesus did not obey the Jewish traditions that taught that a faithful Jew would have nothing to do with Gentiles and would never enter a Gentile’s house. Right before this verse, Jesus declares that nothing from outside of you can make you unclean (Mark 7:20). It’s no coincidence that Mark now follows Jesus into Gentile territory. Jesus, through his actions, is wiping out the difference between clean and unclean people.
“He could not keep his presence secret.” – This is a glorious principle. Anytime Jesus is present at all, he finds a way to touch lives. For Jesus cannot be hidden.
Mark 7:25 – “As soon as she heard about him” – This woman came to Jesus to interceded for her daughter. An intercessor is a person who acts as a mediator, by praying on behalf of others. Essentially an intercessor “stands in the gap” between other people and God. We can all intercede for others, but not all of us are called and gifted to be an intercessor. So, how do you know the difference?
If you’re an intercessor you’ll have a sense of burden or urgency to pray for specific people or situations that appear in your mind. You’ll feel a strong and consistent urge to consistently pray for individuals, nations or circumstances. Finally, you’ll find that yielding to the desire to intercede for others will lead to a greater awareness of events and a transformation in your life.
Mark 7:26 – “The woman was Greek” – In identifying this woman as Greek, a Gentile or non-Jew, Mark creates conflict and allows the plot of Jesus’ story to move forward. Remember, every moment of Jesus’ waking days are spent walking with and teaching the disciples and also all of us.
“She begged Jesus” – This woman is at the end of her rope. She has reached the limits of her patience, resources and energy. She can no longer cope with the difficult situation of her daughter being demon possessed. Her feelings of desperation, frustration and helplessness made her believe that all of her options had been exhausted. And then she heard that Jesus was in town. She knew that she needed to get to him.
Mark 7:27 – “It’s not right to take the children’s bread and toss it to the dogs.” Ouch! Jesus slams this woman. He tells her that the children (the Jewish people) get priority over the little dogs (Gentiles). Jesus is using shock value to teach a lesson. Jesus created a situation where this woman would need to decide – continue to intercede or give up.
In Jesus’ day, Jews often called Gentiles “dogs”. To the Gentiles the word dog meant a shameless and audacious woman, very much like we use the word “bitch” today. Yet, Jesus didn’t use the normal word for “dog”. He used the term “little dogs”. In Greek, diminutives are characteristically affectionate.
Mark 7:28 – “Even the dogs under the table eat the children’s crumbs.” Wow! Not only is this woman’s response quick witted, it demonstrates a great deal of faith. First, she accepted her low place before Jesus by not debating the “little dogs” reference. Second, she asked Jesus to deal with her on her own level. She allowed Jesus to meet her where she was.
In this exchange we see the power of coming to God, just as we are. If this woman had responded with contempt – “Who are you to call me a little dog”, she would’ve never received from Jesus what her daughter needed. Her humble, faith-filled submission to Jesus brought the victory. Nothing touches God more than faith coupled with a humble heart. Remember, it’s what comes from the inside that makes you clean or unclean. This Gentile woman was clean!
Mark 7:29 – “For such a reply” You can almost sense the smile on Jesus’ face. This woman was at the end of her rope, yet she made the choice to lower herself even more, for her daughter. She didn’t want Jesus to neglect the Jewish children. She simply pointed out that this Gentile dog was satisfied to get the crumbs. For even the crumbs are powerful enough to change everything.
Mark 7:31 – “Into the region of the Decapolis” – This is the same region where he exorcised the legion of demons from a man living in the tombs. Jesus sent the demons into a herd of pigs and the pigs ran off a cliff and drowned in the Sea of Galilee. The healed man begged to go with Jesus, but Jesus sent him home to tell everyone about what God had done.
Jesus had to travel, by foot, approximately 100 to 150 miles. If he could average walking 15 to 20 miles a day, this trip would take him 6 to 7 days. But, nothing in Mark’s gospel leads us to believe that Jesus could simply dead-head it from Tyre to the Decapolis. Without being waylaid by crowds of people wanting to hear him, see him and be healed by him.
Mark 7:32 – “There some people brought to him a man.” – These friends were interceding on his behalf. They were praying to Jesus, for this man. I guess some people, in this area, had gotten over pig-gate.
These friends see in Jesus a healer. We don’t know the deaf and mute man’s perspective of Jesus. But we do know that the friends believed. Since this is a Gentile community, they believed Jesus to be a miracle worker. And when the rubber meets the road, and you really need help, loyalty to ethnic, religious, political and economic affiliations go out the window.
“Who was deaf and could hardly talk” – Why these specific ailments? The fulfilment of the Messianic prophecy of Isaiah 35:5-6: “Then will the eyes of the blind be opened and the ears of the deaf unstopped. Then will the lame leap like a deer, and the mute tongue shout for joy.”
Jesus was using a healing of a Gentile deaf and mute man, in the Greek community of the Decapolis, to announce that he was the Messiah. This signals the fact that Jesus would save the world, not just the Jews. That God’s love and kingdom are for all people, regardless of their origin or social standing.
Mark 7:33 – “After he took him aside” – There’s no overall agreement as to why Jesus did this. So, your guess is as good as anyone’s. All we do know is that this scene proves the fact that Jesus never healed two people exactly alike. He met every one he healed right where they were. This man obviously needed to be taken aside to be healed.
“Jesus put his fingers into the man’s ears. Then he spit and touched the man’s tongue” – Maybe this is why Jesus needed to take this man aside. That’s just gross! Gross or not, this is the way that this specific man would receive his specific healing, from Jesus.
Mark 7:34 – “He looked up to heaven and with a deep sigh…” – This was an inward groan. Jesus’ compassionate response to the pain and sorrow that was so prevalent in this sin-stained world. It was also a prayer to the Father. Romans 8:26 – “In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans.” Remember, Jesus didn’t come just to save us. Jesus also came to show us what it looks like to live as someone who is saved.
“Be opened!” – Signifies being spiritually receptive to God’s will. Also, it represents the opening of spiritual ears that were previously deaf to God’s word and the releasing of tongues that have been made slaves to human vanity. The meaning of this statement is symbolic of Jesus’ entire mission to make humanity able to hear God’s voice and speak the language of love.
Mark 7:35 – “The man’s ears were opened, his tongue was loosened.” – When studying the Bible, it’s important to remember that the Bible was written during a time of oral tradition. No books, like we understand books. Everything was shared orally. Even if it was simply reading the one copy of a book that an entire community possessed.
The Greek word that Mark uses for a loosened tongue, is only repeated in the Bible one other time. You guessed it, in Isaiah 35:5. The same prophetic verse, about the Messiah, that we mentioned in verse 32. People listening to this story be told orally, would’ve recognized the oddity of this word and remembered that it was also used in Isaiah’s Messianic prophecy.
We begin chapter 8 with “The Feeding of the Four Thousand”. Which sounds a lot like “The Feeding of the Five Thousand”? Only Matthew and Mark include both of these miracle stories. “The Feeding of the Five Thousand” is included in all four gospels – Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. Why does Mark include two feeding miracles? To emphasize an aspect of Jesus ministry, which would’ve been very important to Mark’s community in Rome.
Remember that Mark’s audience was a Gentile Christian community. The Feeding of the Five Thousand was a miracle for the Jewish people. This miracle uses numbers like five loaves and twelve baskets, which have symbolic connections to Jewish tradition. The five books of Moses – Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. Along with the twelve tribes of Israel – Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Dan, Naphtali, Gad, Asher, Issachar, Zebulun, Joseph and Benjamin.
The Feeding of the Four Thousand, which takes place in the predominantly Gentile Decapolis region, involves a different number. Seven loaves of bread and seven baskets of leftovers. The number seven represents perfection or completeness. Seven also represents the seven Canaanite Nations that God instructed the Israelites to drive out of the Promised Land, as listed in Deuteronomy 7:1 – Hittites, Girgashites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites.
The point? Jesus’ ministry isn’t limited to the Jewish people. Jesus is the Savior of the world, not just the Jews.
Mark 8:1 – “During those days” – Mark’s emphasizing the location. Jesus is in the region of the Decapolis.
Mark 8:2-3 – “I have compassion for these people” – A feeling of empathizing with someone’s suffering and feeling a strong desire to help. Empathy is the feeling of suffering with and seeing yourself in their shoes. Which is different than being compassionate. For being compassionate is the action you take in response to having compassion. It’s the thoughtful, conscious response to having compassion, that leads to action. You’ll always do what you do, because of what you believe.
So, Jesus is having compassion and is going to ask his disciples to be compassionate. You figure that this would be a no-brainer for the disciples. Since they’ve already experienced The Feeding of the Five Thousand.
Mark 8:4 – “But” – Enter the questions. Enter the doubt. Enter the bureaucracy. The disciples seem to have forgotten about The Feeding of the Five Thousand. They haven’t yet connected with the truth that Jesus’ past faithfulness is a promise to meet our current needs.
Mark 8:5 – “How many loaves do you have?” – Jesus asked the disciples to give up their own food. Instead of the food that someone else provided to them. This is teaching the disciples that they’ve been given everything that they need. It’s just you and Jesus, and that’s all you need.
This also represents the fact that in order for the Gentile’s to be saved, the Jews must first meet them, walk with them, impact their lives with the good news of Jesus and watch as God transforms them.
“Seven” – Refer to the above explanation of the significance of the number seven, when it comes to the feeding of the Gentiles.
Mark 8:6-10 – Basically the same miracle as The Feeding of the Five Thousand.
“The region of Dalmanutha” – A region on the western shore of the Sea of Galilee. Its exact location is uncertain, but it’s likely the same as, or near, Magdala (also called Migdal). This area was a significant location for Jesus’ ministry because it was the hometown of Mary Magdalene.
By directly quoting the Mosaic Law of Exodus 20:12 (The law that was given to Moses by God, in order to help the Israelites become not just freed slaves, but a nation of God’s chosen people, aka the Ten Commandments.) Jesus shows that he prioritizes God’s written word over human traditions. He’s setting something up to teach his disciples, the Pharisees and all of us.
Mark 7:11-12 – “But” – Always pay attention to the buts in the Bible! Jesus is now going to bring done the hammer. He’s going to teach the Pharisees and the teachers of the law something very important. Oh, and the disciples are there to learn as well. To learn not only what Jesus is going to teach them. But also, to learn how Jesus is going to teach them.
“Corban” – Hebrew word meaning “gift or offering”. The tradition allowed a person to declare their resources as “Corban”, meaning they were consecrated to God and therefore unavailable for any other purpose. Like, honoring your father or mother.
Mark 7:13 – “You nullify the word of God” - Money used to help your parents could be deemed “Corban” and thus used to feed the institution, instead of what God originally intended the money to be used for. Following the human created Corban tradition, a child could completely disobey God’s command to honor their father and mother (Exodus 20:12) and do it while still being considered ultra-religious. That’s hypocrisy.
Mark 7:14 – “Called the crowd” – In most accounts the crowds call to Jesus. The crowds come looking for Jesus. This time Jesus calls the crowds. This signals that he’s getting ready to drop something big.
“Listen…and understand” – To listen means to give attention with the ear; attend closely for the purpose of hearing. Listening is a conscious choice. Jesus is directing the crowd, that he just called to himself, to invest some effort, to participate.
To understand means to perceive the meaning of; grasp the idea of; comprehend. Understanding can only occur through listening. Understanding isn’t necessarily agreeing. You can understand something with which you don’t agree. Jesus isn’t yet asking the crowd to make a conscious decision. He’s simply asking them to be open to understanding something very important.
Mark 7:15 – One of the most revolutionary passages in the New Testament. Up to this point in time, the Jewish world, Jesus’ world, operated under the sway of an outside-in perspective. Food could defile you. How you wash your hands could defile you. Infirmities could defile you.
Jesus now declares the actual truth of an inside-out perspective. A person isn’t defiled by what they eat or how they wash their hands or if they’re sick. A person is defiled by what’s in their hearts. In other words, your heart influences your actions, not the other way around. You don’t do what you do, in order to be someone. You are someone, thus you do what you do.
Mark 7:16 – “If anyone has ears to hear, let them hear” This verse isn’t included in all ancient manuscripts. It’s a repetition of Mark 4:23.
Mark 7:17 – “His disciples asked him about this parable” – The disciples are still wrestling with what Jesus just taught the crowd. They’re processing the difference between spiritual purity and physical purity. What Jesus spoke wasn’t really a parable, but the disciples had no other place to file such a teaching in their consciences.
Mark 7:18 – "Are you so dull?” – Jesus knows what it’s like to be frustrated by the lack of understanding in others. For Jesus didn’t give them a parable. Jesus simply restated what God has always taught and intended.
“Don’t you see…” – Jesus is still only asking his disciples to understand. To perceive the meaning of; grasp the idea; comprehend. He’s frustrated because the disciples love to hear him teach and even love to obey his orders. But they don’t understand what he’s saying, when it contradicts their pre-conceived ideas.
God gave food laws to the Israelites as a sign that they are set apart from all the other nations around them. Non-kosher food is called unclean, but those who eat it are not called unclean. People are declared unclean because of what they touch or associate with (Leviticus 5:3) or what comes out of their bodies (Leviticus 13:3; 15:18) not what goes into their bodies. The Old Testament doesn’t give any punishment for eating unclean food.
Mark 7:19 – “For it doesn’t go into their heart but into their stomach.” – Jesus is making a direct reference to kosher food laws. Food can’t defile someone because it goes into the stomach, not the heart. I guess you aren’t what you eat!
“Jesus declared all food clean” – Or it would be better said: Jesus reminds everyone that God never declared any foods unclean. God simply declared some foods to be off-limits, in order for the Israelites to be different than all the people around them. Jesus didn’t come to abolish the law. Jesus came to fulfill it (Matthew 5:17).
Mark 7:20 – “What comes out of a person is what defiles them.” - Everything that you do is dictated by who you are. You don’t do what you do, in order to be. You be, which determines what you do.
Mark 7:21-23 – “For it is from within, out of a person’s heart, that evil thoughts come” – Charles Spurgeon once wrote: “Sin is not a splash of mud upon man’s exterior, it is a filth generated within himself.” William Barclay added: “Every outward act of sin is preceded by an inward act of choice.”
Mark 7:24 – “Went to the vicinity of Tyre” – Tyre is a coastal city on the Mediterranean Sea, northwest of the Sea of Galilee. It was located in modern day Lebanon. This was a predominantly Gentile territory.
“Did not want anyone to know it.” – Jesus likely went to this area to escape the large crowds and have a period of rest with his disciples. Remember it was all the way back in 6:31 that Jesus desired to get away with the disciples to “a quiet place to get some rest”.
This verse also shows that Jesus did not obey the Jewish traditions that taught that a faithful Jew would have nothing to do with Gentiles and would never enter a Gentile’s house. Right before this verse, Jesus declares that nothing from outside of you can make you unclean (Mark 7:20). It’s no coincidence that Mark now follows Jesus into Gentile territory. Jesus, through his actions, is wiping out the difference between clean and unclean people.
“He could not keep his presence secret.” – This is a glorious principle. Anytime Jesus is present at all, he finds a way to touch lives. For Jesus cannot be hidden.
Mark 7:25 – “As soon as she heard about him” – This woman came to Jesus to interceded for her daughter. An intercessor is a person who acts as a mediator, by praying on behalf of others. Essentially an intercessor “stands in the gap” between other people and God. We can all intercede for others, but not all of us are called and gifted to be an intercessor. So, how do you know the difference?
If you’re an intercessor you’ll have a sense of burden or urgency to pray for specific people or situations that appear in your mind. You’ll feel a strong and consistent urge to consistently pray for individuals, nations or circumstances. Finally, you’ll find that yielding to the desire to intercede for others will lead to a greater awareness of events and a transformation in your life.
Mark 7:26 – “The woman was Greek” – In identifying this woman as Greek, a Gentile or non-Jew, Mark creates conflict and allows the plot of Jesus’ story to move forward. Remember, every moment of Jesus’ waking days are spent walking with and teaching the disciples and also all of us.
“She begged Jesus” – This woman is at the end of her rope. She has reached the limits of her patience, resources and energy. She can no longer cope with the difficult situation of her daughter being demon possessed. Her feelings of desperation, frustration and helplessness made her believe that all of her options had been exhausted. And then she heard that Jesus was in town. She knew that she needed to get to him.
Mark 7:27 – “It’s not right to take the children’s bread and toss it to the dogs.” Ouch! Jesus slams this woman. He tells her that the children (the Jewish people) get priority over the little dogs (Gentiles). Jesus is using shock value to teach a lesson. Jesus created a situation where this woman would need to decide – continue to intercede or give up.
In Jesus’ day, Jews often called Gentiles “dogs”. To the Gentiles the word dog meant a shameless and audacious woman, very much like we use the word “bitch” today. Yet, Jesus didn’t use the normal word for “dog”. He used the term “little dogs”. In Greek, diminutives are characteristically affectionate.
Mark 7:28 – “Even the dogs under the table eat the children’s crumbs.” Wow! Not only is this woman’s response quick witted, it demonstrates a great deal of faith. First, she accepted her low place before Jesus by not debating the “little dogs” reference. Second, she asked Jesus to deal with her on her own level. She allowed Jesus to meet her where she was.
In this exchange we see the power of coming to God, just as we are. If this woman had responded with contempt – “Who are you to call me a little dog”, she would’ve never received from Jesus what her daughter needed. Her humble, faith-filled submission to Jesus brought the victory. Nothing touches God more than faith coupled with a humble heart. Remember, it’s what comes from the inside that makes you clean or unclean. This Gentile woman was clean!
Mark 7:29 – “For such a reply” You can almost sense the smile on Jesus’ face. This woman was at the end of her rope, yet she made the choice to lower herself even more, for her daughter. She didn’t want Jesus to neglect the Jewish children. She simply pointed out that this Gentile dog was satisfied to get the crumbs. For even the crumbs are powerful enough to change everything.
Mark 7:31 – “Into the region of the Decapolis” – This is the same region where he exorcised the legion of demons from a man living in the tombs. Jesus sent the demons into a herd of pigs and the pigs ran off a cliff and drowned in the Sea of Galilee. The healed man begged to go with Jesus, but Jesus sent him home to tell everyone about what God had done.
Jesus had to travel, by foot, approximately 100 to 150 miles. If he could average walking 15 to 20 miles a day, this trip would take him 6 to 7 days. But, nothing in Mark’s gospel leads us to believe that Jesus could simply dead-head it from Tyre to the Decapolis. Without being waylaid by crowds of people wanting to hear him, see him and be healed by him.
Mark 7:32 – “There some people brought to him a man.” – These friends were interceding on his behalf. They were praying to Jesus, for this man. I guess some people, in this area, had gotten over pig-gate.
These friends see in Jesus a healer. We don’t know the deaf and mute man’s perspective of Jesus. But we do know that the friends believed. Since this is a Gentile community, they believed Jesus to be a miracle worker. And when the rubber meets the road, and you really need help, loyalty to ethnic, religious, political and economic affiliations go out the window.
“Who was deaf and could hardly talk” – Why these specific ailments? The fulfilment of the Messianic prophecy of Isaiah 35:5-6: “Then will the eyes of the blind be opened and the ears of the deaf unstopped. Then will the lame leap like a deer, and the mute tongue shout for joy.”
Jesus was using a healing of a Gentile deaf and mute man, in the Greek community of the Decapolis, to announce that he was the Messiah. This signals the fact that Jesus would save the world, not just the Jews. That God’s love and kingdom are for all people, regardless of their origin or social standing.
Mark 7:33 – “After he took him aside” – There’s no overall agreement as to why Jesus did this. So, your guess is as good as anyone’s. All we do know is that this scene proves the fact that Jesus never healed two people exactly alike. He met every one he healed right where they were. This man obviously needed to be taken aside to be healed.
“Jesus put his fingers into the man’s ears. Then he spit and touched the man’s tongue” – Maybe this is why Jesus needed to take this man aside. That’s just gross! Gross or not, this is the way that this specific man would receive his specific healing, from Jesus.
Mark 7:34 – “He looked up to heaven and with a deep sigh…” – This was an inward groan. Jesus’ compassionate response to the pain and sorrow that was so prevalent in this sin-stained world. It was also a prayer to the Father. Romans 8:26 – “In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans.” Remember, Jesus didn’t come just to save us. Jesus also came to show us what it looks like to live as someone who is saved.
“Be opened!” – Signifies being spiritually receptive to God’s will. Also, it represents the opening of spiritual ears that were previously deaf to God’s word and the releasing of tongues that have been made slaves to human vanity. The meaning of this statement is symbolic of Jesus’ entire mission to make humanity able to hear God’s voice and speak the language of love.
Mark 7:35 – “The man’s ears were opened, his tongue was loosened.” – When studying the Bible, it’s important to remember that the Bible was written during a time of oral tradition. No books, like we understand books. Everything was shared orally. Even if it was simply reading the one copy of a book that an entire community possessed.
The Greek word that Mark uses for a loosened tongue, is only repeated in the Bible one other time. You guessed it, in Isaiah 35:5. The same prophetic verse, about the Messiah, that we mentioned in verse 32. People listening to this story be told orally, would’ve recognized the oddity of this word and remembered that it was also used in Isaiah’s Messianic prophecy.
We begin chapter 8 with “The Feeding of the Four Thousand”. Which sounds a lot like “The Feeding of the Five Thousand”? Only Matthew and Mark include both of these miracle stories. “The Feeding of the Five Thousand” is included in all four gospels – Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. Why does Mark include two feeding miracles? To emphasize an aspect of Jesus ministry, which would’ve been very important to Mark’s community in Rome.
Remember that Mark’s audience was a Gentile Christian community. The Feeding of the Five Thousand was a miracle for the Jewish people. This miracle uses numbers like five loaves and twelve baskets, which have symbolic connections to Jewish tradition. The five books of Moses – Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. Along with the twelve tribes of Israel – Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Dan, Naphtali, Gad, Asher, Issachar, Zebulun, Joseph and Benjamin.
The Feeding of the Four Thousand, which takes place in the predominantly Gentile Decapolis region, involves a different number. Seven loaves of bread and seven baskets of leftovers. The number seven represents perfection or completeness. Seven also represents the seven Canaanite Nations that God instructed the Israelites to drive out of the Promised Land, as listed in Deuteronomy 7:1 – Hittites, Girgashites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites.
The point? Jesus’ ministry isn’t limited to the Jewish people. Jesus is the Savior of the world, not just the Jews.
Mark 8:1 – “During those days” – Mark’s emphasizing the location. Jesus is in the region of the Decapolis.
Mark 8:2-3 – “I have compassion for these people” – A feeling of empathizing with someone’s suffering and feeling a strong desire to help. Empathy is the feeling of suffering with and seeing yourself in their shoes. Which is different than being compassionate. For being compassionate is the action you take in response to having compassion. It’s the thoughtful, conscious response to having compassion, that leads to action. You’ll always do what you do, because of what you believe.
So, Jesus is having compassion and is going to ask his disciples to be compassionate. You figure that this would be a no-brainer for the disciples. Since they’ve already experienced The Feeding of the Five Thousand.
Mark 8:4 – “But” – Enter the questions. Enter the doubt. Enter the bureaucracy. The disciples seem to have forgotten about The Feeding of the Five Thousand. They haven’t yet connected with the truth that Jesus’ past faithfulness is a promise to meet our current needs.
Mark 8:5 – “How many loaves do you have?” – Jesus asked the disciples to give up their own food. Instead of the food that someone else provided to them. This is teaching the disciples that they’ve been given everything that they need. It’s just you and Jesus, and that’s all you need.
This also represents the fact that in order for the Gentile’s to be saved, the Jews must first meet them, walk with them, impact their lives with the good news of Jesus and watch as God transforms them.
“Seven” – Refer to the above explanation of the significance of the number seven, when it comes to the feeding of the Gentiles.
Mark 8:6-10 – Basically the same miracle as The Feeding of the Five Thousand.
“The region of Dalmanutha” – A region on the western shore of the Sea of Galilee. Its exact location is uncertain, but it’s likely the same as, or near, Magdala (also called Migdal). This area was a significant location for Jesus’ ministry because it was the hometown of Mary Magdalene.
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