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Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Mark 7:5

Why walk not thy disciples - See on Matthew 15:2-9 ; (note). read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Mark 7:1-2

These verses, according to the Greek construction, should run thus: And there are gathered together unto the Pharisees, and certain of the scribes, which had come from Jerusalem, and had seen that some of his disciples ate their bread with defiled, that is, unwashen, hands. The word ( ἐμέμψαντο ) translated in the Authorized Version, "they found fault," does not appear in the best authorities. It seems to have been interpolated to help the construction. St. Mark explains the... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Mark 7:1-23

Ceremonialism and spirituality. The teaching of our Lord Jesus was often in opposition to that of the religious leaders of his age and nation. The Pharisees and scribes were most religious, but their religion was of a bad type. They themselves practiced, and they inculcated upon the people, the observance of religious forms and ceremonies; whilst, generally speaking, they were negligent of the weightier matters of the Law. They laid great stress upon the outward, but they were careless of... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Mark 7:1-23

Externalism versus righteousness. In Mark 7:3 , Mark 7:4 of this chapter we are furnished with an interesting piece of antiquarianism. The daily life of the devout Jew is set before us in its ceremonial aspect; not as Moses had originally ordered it, but as custom and human casuistry had gradually transformed it. The light thrown upon several questions is very searching and full of revelation, viz. the various senses in which baptism seems to have been understood by the... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Mark 7:1-23

The ritual and the reality of purification. I. THE MOST NATURAL ACT MAY BE PERVERTED INTO A RITUAL SIN . The disciples were seen eating with unholy hands, that is, unwashed! How this came about we are not told; probably it was a case of necessity: there was no water to be had. Probably it was a choice between going without food and being ritually correct, or being ritually incorrect and supplying the wants of nature. II. THE MEANING AND USE OF RITUAL IS... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Mark 7:1-23

The tradition of men in competition with the commandments of God. Pharisees and scribes of Jerusalem had detected some of the disciples of Jesus eating bread "with defiled, that is, with unwashen, hands." "Holding the tradition of the elders" with great tenacity themselves, they demand of the new Teacher a reason for his disciples' departure from the old paths. It was a favorable opportunity for exposing the error of substituting human for Divine precepts, and for placing the external in... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Mark 7:1-23

Parallel passage: Matthew 15:1-20 .— Exposure of Pharisaism: its errors and evils. I. DOCTRINE OF DEFILEMENT . 1 . Contents of this chapter. This chapter contains three principal sections. The first section treats of defilement ; the second gives an account of a demon being expelled from the daughter of a Syro-phoenician woman; and the third narrates the cure of a deaf mute. The first section, again, contains the following:—The charge of defilement which the... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Mark 7:3

Except they wash their hands oft. The Greek word here rendered "oft" is πυγμῇ : literally, with the fist , i.e. with the closed hand, rubbing one against the other. This word has caused a vast amount of criticism; and the difficulty of explaining it seems to have led to the adoption of a conjectural reading ( πυκνῷς or πυκνῇ ) rendered "oft;" crebro in the Vulgate. But the Syriac Peshito Version renders the Greek word by a word which means "diligently," and it is... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Mark 7:4

And when they come from the market ( ἀπὸ ἀγορᾶς ); literally, and from the market-place ; there is no verb in the principal manuscripts, although the Cambridge Codex has ὅταν ἔλθωσιν , and the old Latin gives redeuntes. In the market-place there would be every kind of men and things, clean and unclean, by contact with which they feared that they might be polluted; and so they considered that they had need to cleanse themselves from this impurity by a more careful and... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Mark 7:5

The Law of Moses prohibited contact with many things deemed to be unclean; and if any one had touched them he was counted unclean, so that he might not approach the temple until he had cleansed himself by the washing prescribed in the Law; the design being that by means of these ceremonial and bodily washings the Jews might be awakened to the necessity of spiritual cleansing. Hence the Jews, and especially the Pharisees, who wished to be esteemed more righteous than others, placing their whole... read more

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