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Mark
7:1-23
 | Reading the Text:
|
| Historical References, Commentary and
Comparative Texts:
 | The
Five Gospels Parallels, John W. Marshall, University of Toronto. |
| Comparative World Scriptures from United
Communities of Spirit:
Hypocrisy. |
| Comparative texts about
Pharisees
& Sadducees from Joephus, Tosefta, Mishnah & Babylonian Talmud and comparative
primary texts about Purity and Social Relations, from
Philo, Josephus, Lucian, Pseudepigrapha, Babylonian Talmud, Midrash, Philostratus. At
Mahlon H. Smith's (Rutgers University)
Into His Own: Perspective on the World
of Jesus. |
|
"What Goes In," The Jesus Database, an online annotated inventory of
the traditions concerning the life and teachings of Jesus. Dr. Gregory C.
Jenks, FaithFutures Foundation. |
| (Mark 7:6)
Chapter XV of
The
First Epistle to the Corinthians,
Clement of Rome (ca.
96). |
|
XX.17-21, 23-28,
32-34, 38-40, 42-44; Tatian's
Diatessaron
(c. 150-160). |
|
II.14,
Stromata,
Clement of Alexandria (c 200) |
|
XI.11,
XI.12,
Commentary
on the Gospel of Matthew,
Origen. (c.247) |
|
Epistle XXXIX
-- Cyprian of Carthage (c.
250) |
|
On the
Unity of the Church,
Cyprian
of Carthage (c. 250) |
|
On the
Lord's Prayer --
Cyprian
of Carthage (c. 252) |
|
Epistle LXII
-- Cyprian of Carthage (c.
253) |
|
Epistle LXXIII
-- Cyprian of Carthage (c.
256) |
|
Epistle LXVII
-- Cyprian of Carthage (c.
257) |
| From the
Catena
Aurea, Patristic Commentary by St Thomas Aquinas. |
| From the
Geneva Notes.
 | "The more earnest the
superstitious are, the more mad they are in promising themselves
God's favour because of their deeds." |
|
| From
Matthew
Henry's Commentary.
| "Those clean hands and that
pure heart which Christ bestows on his disciples, and requires of
them, are very different from the outward and superstitious forms of
Pharisees of every age." |
|
| From
Wesley's Notes.
| "Washing of cups and pots and
brazen vessels and couches - The Greek word (baptisms) means
indifferently either washing or sprinkling. The cups, pots, and
vessels were washed; the couches sprinkled." |
|
| From the
Commentary on the Whole Bible
(Jamieson, Fausset and Brown, 1871). |
| From
The People's
New Testament, B.W. Johnson, 1891.
| "The duty of washing before
meat is not inculcated in the law, but only in the tradition of the
scribes. So rigidly did the Jews observe it, that Rabbi Akiba, being
imprisoned, and having water scarcely sufficient to sustain life
given him, preferred dying of thirst to eating without washing his
hands." |
|
|
| Contemporary Commentary, Studies, and Exegesis:
|
Comments
(commentary) and
Clippings
(technical notes for in-depth study), Chris Haslam, Anglican
Diocese of Montreal. |
|
A Brief Commentary on the
Gospel of Mark, Chapter 6:7 - 8:26, Carl W. Conrad. (Click superscript numbers
for commentary.) |
|
"Pharisees Criticize Jesus for Eating with Unwashed Hands," Michael A.
Turton's Historical Commentary on the Gospel of Mark, "a
complete verse-by-verse commentary on the Gospel of Mark, focusing on the
historicity of people, places, events, and sayings in the world of the
Gospel of Mark." |
|
"First
Thoughts on Year B Gospel Passages in the Lectionary: Pentecost 13,"
William Loader, Murdoch University, Uniting Church in Australia.
| "The way of the Spirit says
that, to God, people matter most." |
|
|
Exegesis,
Proper 17B, by Richard Donovan at lectionary.org. |
|
"Traditions,"
Gospel Analysis, Sermons from
Seattle, Pastor Edward F. Markquart, Grace Lutheran Church, Seattle,
Washington. Detailed background and exegesis. |
|
"Diversionary Tactics," Ordinary 22B, Fr. Gerry Pierse, C.Ss.R., from
Sundays Into
Silence: Reflections on the Sunday Gospels in the Light of Christian
Meditation. Claretian Publications.
| "The precise difference between Jesus and the Pharisees
was that they looked at the external activity whereas Jesus looked at the
heart, the source of activity. They looked to the fulfillment of law and
tradition while he looked to love and commitment. They looked at the
letter of the law while he looked at it's spirit." |
|
|
Wellspring of
the Gospel, Ordinary 22B, Catherine McElhinney and Kathryn
Turner, Weekly Wellsprings. |
|
Marginally Mark, by Brian McGowan, Anglican priest in Western
Australia. |
|
"Ways to Enter the Sacred Meal,"
Ordinary 22B, Larry Broding's Word-Sunday.Com:
A Catholic Resource for This Sunday's Gospel. Adult Study, Children's
Story, Family Activity, Support Materials.
| "How do you prepare for a special
dinner? What rituals or habits do you have to ready your mind and heart
for that unique meal?" |
|
|
"Matters of the Heart," commentary by Heidi Husted,
The Christian
Century, 2000. At Religion Online.
| "It’s never too late to experience the
ongoing transforming presence of God in our lives. We’re never too old for
God to work on us from the inside out." |
|
|
Exegetical
Notes by Brian Stoffregen at CrossMarks
Christian Resources.
| "...it can be difficult to
understand sin as our common ("koinos"), human, natural
state. It comes from within. It is part of our nature. It is not
just "doing bad things."" |
|
|
"The
Issue of Purity," Rev. Bryan Findlayson, Lectionary Bible
Studies and Sermons, Pumpkin Cottage Ministry Resources. Includes detailed
textual notes. |
|
"A
Precarious Righteousness," Ronald Goetz, The
Christian Century, 1997.
| "Could it be that the lofty
idealism and freedom entailed in Jesus’ instructions drive us, his
would-be followers, to the legalism that Jesus rejects?" |
|
|
"Jesus for the
Outsiders," analysis and reflections by Ed Schroeder, at Sabbatheology
by The Crossings Community of St Louis, Missouri.
| ""Listen to me" (v.14)
signals the source of Good News for all the rejects, even and especially those whom God
rejects." |
|
|
| Articles & Background:
|
"Mark 7:
Clean and Unclean,"
"Ritual Cleanliness," wikipedia. |
|
"No
Outcasts Cast Out: From the Politics of Purity to the Call for Compassion,"
The Journey with Jesus: Notes to Myself, Daniel B. Clendenin, Journey with
Jesus Foundation.
| "How do we embrace both
holiness and compassion, instead of choosing one or the other?" |
|
|
"Jesus and
Purity," Daniel P. Schrock, Windows to the World of Jesus: Studies
of Mark's Gospel. (Continue to click on "next" at bottom of the page
for Class 9 to work through the material.) |
| "A Symbolic
Approach to Mark 7." Jerome H. Neyrey, Forum 4,3 (1988):63-91.
| "Since the purpose of God's law
was not to separate covenant from non-covenant members but to gather all peoples in God's
mysterious election, the particularistic kosher laws are judged abrogated. And so the
issue of clean/unclean in Mark 7 may be focused on the question of washing hands and
vessels, but these are but symbols of the larger discussion of purity and
pollution." |
|
|
"Jesus' Eating Transgressions and Social Impropriety in the Gospel of
Mark: A Social Scientific Approach," Dietmar Neufeld, Biblical
Theology Bulletin, 2000.
| "Eating and food are occasions for
Mark to present Jesus, not only as popular hero, but also as subversive
sage." |
|
|
"Rhetoric, Purity, and Play Aspects of Mark 7:1-23," Gregory Salyer,
Semeia 64:
The Rhetoric of Pronouncement, 1993. |
|
"Purity beyond the Temple in the Second Temple Era,"
John C. Poirier, Journal of Biblical Literature,
2003. (This URL links entire journal in one .pdf file. Slow connections will
require long download times.)
| "In the present
study, I ... argue that, in Second Temple times, there was no necessary
connection between purity and the temple." |
|
|
"Anti-Judaism in Process Christologies?" Clark M. Williamson,
Process
Studies, 1980.
| "That Jesus declared all foods clean -- Mark 7:19 -- is
not so clear, particularly when one considers that the Jerusalem church
apparently never understood this to be the case and that Peter only got
the point much later. It is at least possible that Mark’s gospel
attributes to Jesus’ authority the practices of a later Gentile church." |
|
| "Meals, Food and
Tablefellowship." Jerome H. Neyrey, in The Social Sciences and New Testament
Interpretation, 159-82. R. L. Rohrbaugh, ed. Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson, 1996.
| "How
can readers understand the particular ceremony of meals and table fellowship? Why are
meals so important as symbols of broader social relationships? How can we peer below the
surface and grasp the social dynamics encoded in meals and commensality, what
anthropologists call "the language of meals"?" |
|
| "Questions,
Chreai, and Challenges to Honor. The Interface of Rhetoric and Culture in Mark's
Gospel." Jerome H. Neyrey, Catholic Biblical Quarterly
60 (1998):657-81.
| "In
terms of rhetorical background, our survey of "questions" indicates that how
they function more often than not as competitive, even hostile weapons intended to inflict
major damage. Questions score points, draw blood, and shame opponents. The same
interpretation applies equally to the phenomenon of answering a question with a
counter-question, which also is an aggressive weapon. And by observing who is reduced to
silence, we have narrative clues about who triumphed in the question game and who
lost." |
|
|
"Mark
7:1-23 and the Historical Jesus," Dr. William R.G. Loader, Colloquium,
1998.
| "There is little doubt, in my mind, that much of the authentic Jesus
material reflects what one might broadly call the wisdom or popular philosophical
tradition. The difficulty appears to me to come when this is used too sharply as a
criterion of coherence to exclude, for instance, the apocalyptic/eschatological tradition
or even a conservative stance on some matters of Law." |
|
|
|
Articles in
ATLAS Journals. (Direct link when you are
subscribed and logged in to
ATLASerials online collection of Religion and Theology Journals.):
| Blomberg, Craig L.,
"The New Testament Definition of Heresy (or When Do Jesus and the Apostles
Really Get Mad?)," Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society,
2002. |
|
Cook, Donald E.,
"A Gospel Portrait of the Pharisees,"
Review and Expositor,
1987. |
|
Crossley, James G.,
"Halakah and Mark 7.4: '...and beds,'" Journal for the Study
of the New Testament, 2003. |
|
McEleney, Neil J.,
"Authenticating Criteria and Mark 7:1-23,"
The Catholic Biblical Quarterly,
1972. |
|
Ortberg, John,
"Pharisees Are Us," The
Christian Century, 2003. |
|
Passakos, Demetrios C.,
"Clean and Unclean in the New Testament: Implications for Contemporary
Liturgical Practices," Greek Orthodox Theological Review,
2002. |
|
Poirier, John C.,
"Purity beyond the Temple in the Second Temple Era,"
Journal of Biblical Literature,
2003. |
|
Räisänen, Heikki,
"Jesus and the Food Laws: Reflections on Mark 7.15,"
Journal for the Study of the New
Testament, 1982. |
|
Reynolds, Stephen M.,
"PYGME
(Mark 7.3) as 'Cupped Hand',"
Journal of Biblical Literature,
1966. |
| Salyer, Gregory,
"Rhetoric, Purity and Play: Aspects of Mark 7:1-23," Semeia,
1993. |
| Thiering, B.E.,
"'Breaking of Bread' and 'Harvest' in Mark's Gospel," Novum
Testamentum, 1970. |
| Tomson, Peter J.,
"Jewish Food Laws in Early Christian Community Discourse," Semeia,
1999. |
| Wahlen, Clinton,
"The Temple in mark and Contested Authority," Biblical Interpretation,
2007.
Image Browse -
PDF |
|
| Reviews:
|
Reviews: Jesper Svartvik,
Mark and Mission: Mk 7:1-23 in its
Narrative and Historical Contexts. Almqvist & Wiksell International,
2000. Reviews by Craig A Evans and Paula Fredriksen
in SBL's Review of Biblical Literature. |
|
| Sermons:
|
"Tradition: Fiddler on the Roof,"
Pastor Edward F. Markquart, Grace Lutheran Church, Seattle,
Washington. |
|
"Whose
Bible Is It Anyway?" the Rev. Richard E. Spalding, 2004.
Covenant Network of
Presbyterians. |
|
"What Matters to God,"
the Rev. Dr. Francis H. Wade,
Day 1, 2003. |
|
"Why Don't You Wash
Your Hands?" the Very Rev. Samuel G. Candler,
Day 1, 2000. |
|
"Have a Heart
(for God),"
John Jewell, 2000. |
|
Father
Andrew M. Greeley, "Priest, Author, Sociologist,"
Commentary and Homily:
|
| When Rite is Wrong: Mark 6:53 - 7:30, by Ray C. Stedman.
Text or
Real Audio. |
|
| With Children:
|
"True Worship,"
Charles Kirkpatrick, Sermons4kids.com. |
|
"Linda and
Jerry Fight Over Table Traditions,"
children's story by Larry Broding, word-sunday.com. |
|
"Jesus' Disciples
Eat without Washing their Hands,"
"What
Is Clean in the Site of God?" Sunday School
Lessons: Family Bible Study, art projects, music, stories, etc. |
|
"Mark 7 & 8 Word
Search," Don Crownover's Bible Puzzles. |
|
| Drama:
|
"With Dirty Hands," from
A Certain Jesus by
Jose Ignacio and Maria Lopez Vigil. Ideal for catechetical and liturgical
dramatization of today's gospel. Claretian Publications. |
|
"A Taxing Question,"
James Jack, dramatix. |
|
| Graphics & Bulletin Materials:
| Clip Art Images:
Mark 7:1-23, Misioneros Del Sagrado Corazón en el Perú. |
|
Mark 7:1-23 at
Cerezo Barredo's weekly gospel illustration.
Liberation emphasis. |
|
Mark 7:1-23, Liturgical Drawing,
Maria d.c. Zamora,
Claretian Resources, Philippines. ("Download and use
these for free.") |
|
Commercial Site:
"What's Inside? (Mark 7:1-8)," graphics/films/worship ideas from
Lumicon. |
|
| Hymns and Music:
|
| Fine Arts Images Linked at The Text This Week's
Art Index: |
| Movies scenes with the following themes,
listed at The Text This Week's Movie Concordance:
|
| Study Links and Resources for the
Book of Mark |
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