Mark 7 – How do we become clean?
A. Traditions and the keeping of the law were very important to the Pharisees. Why does Jesus speak against the Pharisees’ emphasis on cleanliness in this passage?
2. The people in Jesus’ day seemed to feel that by washing hands, cups and the food, that a person would be “clean.” To us it may seem obvious that this does not make us clean on the inside. But can you think of ways we still practice this way of thinking that something external rather than internal can make us clean? List examples…
Discussion #2 – Mark 7:24-36
A Gentile woman’s young daughter is healed of an unclean spirit
A deaf and dumb man is healed
1. Jesus makes an interesting comment in verse 27 when he says, “First, let the children eat all they want, for it is not right to take the children’s bread and toss it to their dogs.” What does that mean and why does Jesus reward the Gentile woman’s response in verse 28 when she says, “Yes, Lord, but even the dogs under the table eat the children’s crumbs”?
2. What do you find intriguing about the story of the healing of the deaf and mute man or of the reaction of the people who watch the miracle?
