[:en]SCRIPTURE: MARK 7
Bible Verses:
“Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you hypocrites; as it is written: ‘These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. They worship me in vain; their teachings are merely human rule” (Mark 7:6-7)
“What comes out of a person is what defiles them. For it is from within, out of a person’s heart, that evil thoughts come—sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance and folly. All these evils come from inside and defile a person.” (Mark 7:20-22)
CLEAN AND UNCLEAN (vs. 1-23)
The Pharisees saw Jesus’ disciples eating food without washing their hands. They accused them of not following the traditions of eating food with “clean” hands. Then Jesus asked them. “Is it right to follow the tradition of using “Corban” (gift devoted to God) as an excuse not to help their parents?” Jesus pointed out their hypocrisy and said: “What comes out of a man is what makes him “unclean”.
THE FAITH OF A SYROPHOENICIAN WOMAN (vs. 24-30)
A Greek woman had a daughter possessed by an evil spirit. She begged Jesus to drive the demon out of her daughter. Jesus tested her faith by saying: “It is not right to take the children’s bread and toss it to their dogs” (v. 27). But she replied: “Yes, Lord, but even the dogs under the table eat the children’s crumbs” (v. 29). For such a reply, Jesus drove out the demon and told her to go home.
THE HEALING OF A DEAF AND MUTE MAN (vs. 31-37)
Some people brought a deaf and mute man to Jesus and begged Jesus to heal him. Jesus put his fingers into the man’s tongue. Then he spit and touched the man’s tongue. Looking up to heaven and said “Be opened!” The man’s ears were opened, and his tongue was loosened. Then he began to speak.
THINGS TO PONDER:
- Man made tradition becomes wrong when it has more authority than the Word of God.
- When we obey the tradition with words and deeds but fail to serve God from the heart, that is hypocrisy.
- We should not let tradition control our lives. Let Jesus Christ clean the sins of our heart and make us a new creation.
- Jesus broke down the wall of separation of Gentiles and removed the spiritual distance of Gentiles and Jews. He healed the woman’s daughter at a distance and healed the deaf mute away from the crowd. Believing Gentiles and Jews are one in Christ.
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