SUMMARY
Three different stories continue Mark’s focus on table customs and their significance for Jesus’ teachings.
ANALYSIS
Table customs of the Pharisees (7:1-8) continue the theme of eating. JesusJesus is the Messiah whose life, death, and resurrection are God's saving act for humanity. recalls the words of IsaiahIsaiah, son of Amoz, who prophesied in Jerusalem, is included among the prophets of the eighth century BCE (along with Amos, Hosea, and Micah)--preachers who boldly proclaimed God's word of judgment against the economic, social, and religious disorders of their time., pointing to the hypocrisy of the Pharisees’ tradition (7:6-7, citing Isaiah 29:13). Keeping one tradition to violate an obligation to parents illustrates the hypocrisy of tradition (7:9-13). Jesus states that the issue is not about clean or uncleanIn Hebrew law many regulations warned against impurity. Unclean things were numerous and included leprosy, menstruating women, dead bodies, shell fish, and pigs. foods, but it is what comes out of a person that defiles (7:14-23).
Once again in contrast to the Pharisaic concerns for purity, Jesus goes north to the GentileA gentile is anyone who is not Jewish. The term, which is derived from words that the Bible uses to denote the "nations" of the world, reflects beliefs that God had designated Israel as a nation that would be distinct from others, and a blessing... region of Tyre and Sidon, where a woman falls at his feet and begs him to cast a demonA demon is an evil spirit often depicted in human or animal form. Sometimes frightening, sometimes alluring, the unclean spirit represents destructive power. out of her daughter. Jesus answers by indicating that his ministry is first to his own people. She replies that even the crumbs that fallThe Fall refers specifically to the disobedience of Adam and Eve when they listened to Satan rather than adhering to God's command not to eat the fruit from the tree. When people act contrary to God's will, they are said to fall from from grace... from the children’s (Jewish) table would be sufficient. Jesus commends her faith and responds by healing her daughter (7:24-30). Jesus continues to travel in Gentile territory to the Decapolis, where he is met by a deaf and mute man. With the word Ephphatha, Jesus opens his ears and releases his tongue. The secrecy of Jesus’ healing is broken by the proclamation of the people who are “astounded beyond measure” (7:31-37)
