Bible Commentaries
Mark 7

Verses 1-37

In strong and clear language the Master denounced tradition as contrary to the commandment of God.

1. Things from without do not defile, and therefore are not sin. Temptation is not sin.

2. Only that is sin which comes from within, which is the deliberate outcome of the determining will of man.

3. Such determinings are the sources of defilement.

4. The list of evil things which the Master gives includes every possible form of evil, and these defile a man when they proceed from him in acts.

5. Such acts are committed only by the will of man.

The story of this woman is full of beauty. Hers was the faith that recognized the importance of Jesus' dictum that the children should first be fed, and consented to abide in His household as only a dog if she might have the crumbs of His table. His was the giving which recognized that her submission to divine arrangement and faith in the love of God raised her at once into the true sphere of blessing. She was spiritually, and therefore most truly, a daughter of the covenant.

The story of the healing of the deaf man is an instance of our Lord's freedom from any stereotyped method. Could we but understand all the facts of the man's condition, and all that the Master wished to do for him, we would see the necessity for every step in the process.