What is the meaning of Mark 7:6? Jesus answered them • Jesus’ response in Mark 7 comes after the Pharisees question why His disciples eat without the ceremonial hand-washing required by tradition (Mark 7:1-5). • By answering instead of appeasing, the Lord asserts divine authority, echoing earlier moments when He refuted human traditions that nullified God’s command (Matthew 15:3). • His readiness to speak truth parallels passages such as John 8:45-46, where He challenges religious leaders to examine their hearts rather than their rituals. Isaiah prophesied correctly • Jesus anchors His rebuke in Scripture, quoting Isaiah 29:13 verbatim: “These people draw near to Me with their mouths and honor Me with their lips, but their hearts are far from Me.” • That Isaiah’s words, spoken centuries earlier, still “fit” shows the timeless reliability of prophecy (2 Peter 1:21; 2 Timothy 3:16). • The Lord highlights not merely similarity but fulfillment: Isaiah’s warning now lands squarely on His contemporaries. About you hypocrites • Hypocrisy (pretending loyalty while harboring rebellion) is the very sin Jesus names. Luke 12:1 warns, “Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy.” • Other woes—“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites!” (Matthew 23:27)—confirm that outward religion without inward reality offends God far more than obvious sin. • James 1:22 echoes the thought: “Be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.” As it is written • Jesus appeals to the settled authority of Scripture: “Scripture cannot be broken” (John 10:35). • By saying “as it is written,” He reminds His audience that God’s Word stands above every human tradition (Psalm 119:89). • The phrase silences debate; once God has spoken, the matter is closed. “These people honor Me with their lips” • Lip service is easy; true worship costs obedience. 1 Samuel 15:22 asks, “Does the LORD delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obedience to His voice?” • Proverbs 26:23 pictures pretty words covering a corrupt heart “like glaze covering an earthen vessel.” • Even songs and prayers become empty when they serve as masks for self-righteousness. “But their hearts are far from Me” • Distance of heart, not of geography, is the problem. Jeremiah 17:9 warns that the heart is “deceitful above all things.” • Ezekiel 33:31 paints the same scene: “Their mouths speak love, but their hearts pursue their unjust gain.” • The remedy is inner transformation: “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God” (Matthew 5:8). Proverbs 4:23 urges us to “Guard your heart with all diligence, for from it flow springs of life.” summary Mark 7:6 exposes the gap between religious appearance and genuine devotion. Jesus cites Isaiah to declare that saying the right words means nothing when the heart stays distant. God’s Word, unbreakable and timeless, condemns hypocrisy and calls for heartfelt obedience. True worshipers align lips and lives, letting Scripture shape both outward practice and inward affection. |
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