Mark 7: Group Study Handout

How to use: read Mark 7 aloud together, then take the questions in order. One page is enough for an evening.

Overview

The Pharisees and scribes from Jerusalem criticize Jesus' disciples for eating with unwashed hands (vv. 1-5). Jesus replies by quoting Isaiah, calling them hypocrites.

Key verse

“He answered them, “Well did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written, ‘This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me.”
Mark 7:6 (WEB)

Outline

Mark 7:1–5 Criticism of Disciples' Practices
Mark 7:6–13 Jesus Rebukes Tradition
Mark 7:14–23 True Defilement Explained
Mark 7:24–30 Healing the Syrophoenician Woman's Daughter
Mark 7:31–37 Healing the Deaf-Mute Man

Discussion questions

In v2, what specific act do the Pharisees criticize Jesus' disciples for?
In v25, what condition does the woman’s daughter have that prompts her to seek Jesus?
Jesus' response in v27 includes 'children’s bread' and 'dogs': what does this imply about His initial audience?
In vv. 21-23, what do the listed evils suggest about the nature of defilement according to Jesus?
When has a tradition you valued been challenged by a deeper understanding of faith, like in v8?

Go deeper

Passages that echo Mark 7: Proverbs 4, Matthew 15, Isaiah 29.

Before next time: read Mark 8.