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Sunday 12 May 2019

Mark 7:14-17 - Hear me all of you, and understand

7:14
Jesus then speaks to the people to explain the matter. Note that the primary matter is not that the Pharisees are a bunch of baddies, but on what we really need to be concerned about, on what truly makes us unclean. It i very easy for us to get the wrong end of the stick, especially when someone else is being corrected!

7:15,16
The Jewish emphasis was on externalities, external observance of various sorts, and the teaching of the Pharisees majored on these. Jesus tells the people (and us) that nothing from the outside can defile us. It is what is on the inside that defiles us, the things that come out of us in our lives. KJV and NKJV have v16 which says “If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear”, but this is not in NIV, ESV etc.

7:17

We saw after the parable of the sower that the disciples had to ask Jesus to explain the meaning of the parable (Mark 4:10), and we see the same thing here. Note also that the disciples refer to Jesus’ teaching as a parable, even though this was not a “story” parable, indeed was quite straightforward teaching.

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