In Chapter 6, we witnessed the exposure and condemnation of the social and political world. In this chapter, we see the condemnation of the formal religion of the flesh (1-13), the exposure of the human heart (14-23), and the revelation of God’s heart (24-37).
(Verses 1-5) The chapter opens with religious leaders approaching Jesus, not out of a sense of need or grace, but to oppose Him by criticizing His disciples for eating bread with unwashed hands. The religion of these leaders relied heavily on honoring the traditions of their ancestors through the performance of outward rituals and ceremonies that anyone could do. While these acts earned them a reputation before men, they kept their hearts far from God.
(Verses 6-13) In response, the Lord exposes the emptiness of their religion, which is built solely on outward forms. First, it leads to hypocrisy; as Isaiah stated, “This people honors Me with their lips, but their heart is far from Me.” Hypocrisy is pretending to be what one is not. Though their outward religious acts suggested piety, their true hearts were distant from God (Isa.. 29:13; Ezek. 33:31).
Second, the Lord points out that such religion is “in vain.” While it may earn followers a reputation for piety among men, it is worthless in God’s eyes. Third, it sets aside the clear word of God in favor of human traditions. The Lord exemplifies this significant flaw: God’s word instructs children to honor their parents. However, the leaders had a tradition that allowed them to declare their property as “Corban,” a gift devoted to God. This tradition enabled them to evade their duty to help needy parents while serving their greed.
It’s important to note that these Pharisees and scribes were the religious leaders of the remnant who had returned from Babylon. While there was indeed a small, faithful remnant during the Lord’s time who feared God and sought redemption in Israel, the majority had fallen into the dire condition characterized by these leaders. They were no longer idolaters; outwardly, they appeared pious and made a public profession of faith, yet their hearts remained distant from God, and they neglected God’s word in favor of human traditions.
(Verses 14-16) After exposing the hypocrisy of outward religion, the Lord addresses “all the people,” declaring that the source of defilement is not external but internal. The washing of hands, cups, and pots deals only with external cleanliness, whereas the root of moral defilement lies in the evil of the heart. This challenges all worldly religion that focuses on outward appearances while leaving the heart untouched. God works from within, addressing conscience and heart. The true source of evil is not one’s environment but oneself. While being a fallen creature means that exposure to evil can stir up lust within, even in those situations, the root of the evil still comes from within. An angel can pass through Sodom without being defiled, unlike Lot, who had an evil heart that responded to sin.
(Verses 17-23) In private with His disciples, the Lord elaborates on this theme, explaining that moral evil originates in the heart. This includes evil thoughts and actions like adultery, murder, theft, and deceit, as well as evil looks and speech, such as blasphemy, pride, and foolishness. “All these evils come from within and defile a person.”
(Verses 24-30) After exposing the evil of the human heart, the account of the Syrophoenician woman brings forth a beautiful revelation of the heart of God—a heart full of love, maintaining truth while offering grace to needy sinners. As the Lord moved through the world that had rejected Him, He sought to remain hidden, demonstrating the humility that led Him to take on no reputation. However, His perfection and the stark contrast to His surroundings meant He could not stay hidden. One commentator noted, “Goodness joined with power are too rare in the world to remain unnoticed” (J.N.D.).
The woman was Greek, meaning she was a Gentile, but her deep need led her to approach the Lord. She had faith in Jesus’ power and in His grace to use that power for the benefit of a Gentile. The Lord tested her faith by saying, “Let the children first be filled; for it is not right to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs.” This was a significant test of her faith. She could have argued, “I am just a dog and have no claim on the Lord; blessings belong only to the children.” However, her faith triumphed over this challenge. She accepted the truth about herself and relied on the grace in His heart. In essence, she expressed, “Yes, it’s true that I cannot claim the status of a child. I am but a dog, but my entire trust is in who You are rather than in who I am. I believe there is enough grace in Your heart that You would not deny even a crumb to a dog.”
This is how faith operates: it acknowledges our wretchedness, vileness, and unworthiness while resting in the perfect grace of His heart. Faith grasps hold of Christ and relies on who He is and what He has accomplished.
The faith she demonstrated was something the Lord could not deny. He could not say, “I am not as good as you think,” or “My grace is not as great as you imagine.” Blessed be His Name; His grace surpasses all our faith, and He delights in responding to even the smallest measure of faith. Thus, faith in Christ ensures that we receive His blessings, and He could confidently say to the woman, “For this saying, go your way; the devil has gone out of your daughter.”
In the concluding scene, the Lord is again found in Galilee among the people of Israel. They bring to Him a man who is deaf and has a speech impediment. This man is a fitting representation of the state to which sin has reduced the nation. While Christ is present with grace and power to meet their needs, their sin has blinded them, preventing the nation as a whole from accessing the healing power of Christ.
Nevertheless, their sin does not alter His loving heart. Just as He would not turn away a Gentile woman, He will also not refuse an appeal on behalf of a needy Jew. However, in dispensing grace, He maintains truth. So we read, “He took him aside from the multitude.” He is not indifferent to their rejection of Himself. If He works among them, it is due to their need, not because they are Jews. Sin has put both Jews and Gentiles on equal ground, and grace can bless either based on their need.
As He showed grace, the Lord looked up to heaven and sighed. He always acted in dependence on the Father and aligned with the will of heaven. While His heart was broken by the sorrows of earth, it was sustained by heaven. Similarly, when the burdens of life press upon us, we might sigh; however, too often, we sigh while looking around, which leads to discouragement. Instead, we should look up to be sustained. After healing the man, He instructed them not to tell anyone. He was here as the perfect Servant and chose not to use His mighty power and grace to glorify Himself. He intended to keep a low profile. Yet, He could not be hidden. The people were overwhelmingly astonished, saying, “He has done all things well; He makes both the deaf hear and the dumb speak.”
Chapter 7: Man Exposed and God Revealed
In Chapter 6, we witnessed the exposure and condemnation of the social and political world. In this chapter, we see the condemnation of the formal religion of the flesh (1-13), the exposure of the human heart (14-23), and the revelation of God’s heart (24-37).
(Verses 1-5) The chapter opens with religious leaders approaching Jesus, not out of a sense of need or grace, but to oppose Him by criticizing His disciples for eating bread with unwashed hands. The religion of these leaders relied heavily on honoring the traditions of their ancestors through the performance of outward rituals and ceremonies that anyone could do. While these acts earned them a reputation before men, they kept their hearts far from God.
(Verses 6-13) In response, the Lord exposes the emptiness of their religion, which is built solely on outward forms. First, it leads to hypocrisy; as Isaiah stated, “This people honors Me with their lips, but their heart is far from Me.” Hypocrisy is pretending to be what one is not. Though their outward religious acts suggested piety, their true hearts were distant from God (Isa.. 29:13; Ezek. 33:31).
Second, the Lord points out that such religion is “in vain.” While it may earn followers a reputation for piety among men, it is worthless in God’s eyes. Third, it sets aside the clear word of God in favor of human traditions. The Lord exemplifies this significant flaw: God’s word instructs children to honor their parents. However, the leaders had a tradition that allowed them to declare their property as “Corban,” a gift devoted to God. This tradition enabled them to evade their duty to help needy parents while serving their greed.
It’s important to note that these Pharisees and scribes were the religious leaders of the remnant who had returned from Babylon. While there was indeed a small, faithful remnant during the Lord’s time who feared God and sought redemption in Israel, the majority had fallen into the dire condition characterized by these leaders. They were no longer idolaters; outwardly, they appeared pious and made a public profession of faith, yet their hearts remained distant from God, and they neglected God’s word in favor of human traditions.
(Verses 14-16) After exposing the hypocrisy of outward religion, the Lord addresses “all the people,” declaring that the source of defilement is not external but internal. The washing of hands, cups, and pots deals only with external cleanliness, whereas the root of moral defilement lies in the evil of the heart. This challenges all worldly religion that focuses on outward appearances while leaving the heart untouched. God works from within, addressing conscience and heart. The true source of evil is not one’s environment but oneself. While being a fallen creature means that exposure to evil can stir up lust within, even in those situations, the root of the evil still comes from within. An angel can pass through Sodom without being defiled, unlike Lot, who had an evil heart that responded to sin.
(Verses 17-23) In private with His disciples, the Lord elaborates on this theme, explaining that moral evil originates in the heart. This includes evil thoughts and actions like adultery, murder, theft, and deceit, as well as evil looks and speech, such as blasphemy, pride, and foolishness. “All these evils come from within and defile a person.”
(Verses 24-30) After exposing the evil of the human heart, the account of the Syrophoenician woman brings forth a beautiful revelation of the heart of God—a heart full of love, maintaining truth while offering grace to needy sinners. As the Lord moved through the world that had rejected Him, He sought to remain hidden, demonstrating the humility that led Him to take on no reputation. However, His perfection and the stark contrast to His surroundings meant He could not stay hidden. One commentator noted, “Goodness joined with power are too rare in the world to remain unnoticed” (J.N.D.).
The woman was Greek, meaning she was a Gentile, but her deep need led her to approach the Lord. She had faith in Jesus’ power and in His grace to use that power for the benefit of a Gentile. The Lord tested her faith by saying, “Let the children first be filled; for it is not right to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs.” This was a significant test of her faith. She could have argued, “I am just a dog and have no claim on the Lord; blessings belong only to the children.” However, her faith triumphed over this challenge. She accepted the truth about herself and relied on the grace in His heart. In essence, she expressed, “Yes, it’s true that I cannot claim the status of a child. I am but a dog, but my entire trust is in who You are rather than in who I am. I believe there is enough grace in Your heart that You would not deny even a crumb to a dog.”
This is how faith operates: it acknowledges our wretchedness, vileness, and unworthiness while resting in the perfect grace of His heart. Faith grasps hold of Christ and relies on who He is and what He has accomplished.
The faith she demonstrated was something the Lord could not deny. He could not say, “I am not as good as you think,” or “My grace is not as great as you imagine.” Blessed be His Name; His grace surpasses all our faith, and He delights in responding to even the smallest measure of faith. Thus, faith in Christ ensures that we receive His blessings, and He could confidently say to the woman, “For this saying, go your way; the devil has gone out of your daughter.”
In the concluding scene, the Lord is again found in Galilee among the people of Israel. They bring to Him a man who is deaf and has a speech impediment. This man is a fitting representation of the state to which sin has reduced the nation. While Christ is present with grace and power to meet their needs, their sin has blinded them, preventing the nation as a whole from accessing the healing power of Christ.
Nevertheless, their sin does not alter His loving heart. Just as He would not turn away a Gentile woman, He will also not refuse an appeal on behalf of a needy Jew. However, in dispensing grace, He maintains truth. So we read, “He took him aside from the multitude.” He is not indifferent to their rejection of Himself. If He works among them, it is due to their need, not because they are Jews. Sin has put both Jews and Gentiles on equal ground, and grace can bless either based on their need.
As He showed grace, the Lord looked up to heaven and sighed. He always acted in dependence on the Father and aligned with the will of heaven. While His heart was broken by the sorrows of earth, it was sustained by heaven. Similarly, when the burdens of life press upon us, we might sigh; however, too often, we sigh while looking around, which leads to discouragement. Instead, we should look up to be sustained. After healing the man, He instructed them not to tell anyone. He was here as the perfect Servant and chose not to use His mighty power and grace to glorify Himself. He intended to keep a low profile. Yet, He could not be hidden. The people were overwhelmingly astonished, saying, “He has done all things well; He makes both the deaf hear and the dumb speak.”
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