Chapter # 7 Paragraph # 1 Study # 7
May 17, 2022
Moss Bluff, Louisiana
(308)
1901 ASV
7:14 And he called to him the multitude again, and said unto them, Hear me all of you, and understand:
7:15 there is nothing from without the man, that going into him can defile him; but the things which proceed out of the man are those that defile the man.
7:16 [If any man hath ears to hear, let him hear.]
7:17 And when he was entered into the house from the multitude, his disciples asked of him the parable.
7:18 And he saith unto them, Are ye so without understanding also? Perceive ye not, that whatsoever from without goeth into the man, [it] cannot defile him;
7:19 because it goeth not into his heart, but into his belly, and goeth out into the draught? [This he said], making all meats clean.
7:20 And he said, That which proceedeth out of the man, that defileth the man.
7:21 For from within, out of the heart of men, evil thoughts proceed, fornications, thefts, murders, adulteries,
7:22 covetings, wickednesses, deceit, lasciviousness, an evil eye, railing, pride, foolishness:
7:23 all these evil things proceed from within, and defile the man.
- I. The "Again" Summons Of The Crowd.
- A. Mark's use of "again" in this place.
- 1. "Again" clearly refers to a repeated action; it is an adverb and it is used in 26 places by Mark, and typically means "a subsequent time". If He went to Capernaum, left, and returned, the "return" was an "again" event.
- 2. "Again" is not generally of great significance. However, whether "highly" significant, or not, it does point us backward to a previously taken action of the same kind so that we will be able to see that the "events" are related.
- 3. The "problem" is that Mark had no prior statement about Jesus "calling" the crowd to Himself.
- a. This means that Mark had no particular time in mind when Jesus "summoned" the crowd. A particular time would have been a previous event that Mark wanted to tie to this current one in a direct linkage.
- b. Thus, we have to conclude that Mark had no particular prior event with which he wished to link this event: he must, then, have used "again" to indicate that Jesus had, at least once, "summoned the crowd" so that His "summons" was more significant than it would have been without the "again". In other words, that Jesus "summoned" the crowd "again" makes the "summoning" more significant than it would have been had he left the "again" out of it.
- c. Mark's use of "again" in respect to "the crowd" in this text, then, means that he wanted his readers to think in terms of Jesus "significantly desiring" for the crowd to be told the things He told them in this text/context.
- B. The "summons".
- 1. This "summons" is rooted in a compound verb: "kaleo" plus the prefix "pros". This compound verb is, in this text, an Aorist Participle. Taken together, the prefix serves as an intensifier and gives "direction" (to Himself), and the Aorist Tense means that it preceded the action of "saying" (lego). The "saying" is an Imperfect Indicative, laying emphasis upon the content of what He said to them.
- 2. Thus, this "summons" means that Jesus fully intended to spread the words of His "saying" out to a large audience so that it would become an integral part of His message. This "integral part" is that The Pharisees and some of the Scribes had significantly perverted the words of God so that they did not take on the meaning He intended. This was going to stir the pot of the hostility of those Pharisees and scribes as they would be embarrassed by Jesus' revelation of their dishonesty as "hypocrites".
- C. The "crowd".
- 1. Mark used the word translated "crowd" in 35 texts of his Gospel: this makes the presence of a "crowd" an important element in his message.
- 2. A repeated theme in Mark's use of this word is the "crowding" by the crowd. This concept is of a little importance outside of the times Mark specifically used "crowding" as a thesis; the greater importance is the gathering of a large number of people in one place as it is associated with the influence that such a large number of people has on the thinking of those who are witnesses to the gathering.
- a. One of those "influences" is the reality of a large number of people as a testament to the popularity of the person/event that has attracted them. If such a large number of people are coming together, there must be a significance to the person/event. Perhaps the greatest of these "influences" is the notion that there is "power" by reason of the number. Mark 12:12 tells us that the leaders of the people were afraid to do what they wished to do because there was a "crowd" that did not lend their "power" to them, but, rather, opposed their intentions. We have a modern illustration in our political realm today because there are those who compare the sparse smattering of people in attendance of one politician's "rally" to the massive turn out of people of the rally of his/her opponent. It is the presence of a great crowd of those seeking the same objective that lies at the root of the Great Conflict of The Ages, and is also one of the reasons armies are formed for conflict. Satan has bought into this nonsense of the greatness of the number having significance because he thinks to overcome by reason of that number. Jesus, by Himself, will prove the foolishness of this thought when He destroys the entire assembly of earth's wicked by the sword that proceeds out of His mouth (Revelation 19:21) and leaves no place for His own army to destroy the adversaries (Revelation 19:19). It is because of man's commitment to the notion that "numbers" create "successful might" that God will refuse to allow it to be successful.
- b. Another of those "influences" is the assumption that the opinions of a "crowd" are of more significance than the opinions of a small group. This is a totally corrupt assumption, but it exists and a great deal of wickedness is accomplished according to the goal of the "crowd". This is most apparent at the trial of Jesus where the presence of the "crowd" calling for His crucifixion influenced Pilate to go against "Justice" and give in to the agenda of the "crowd" (15:11). But, in the wisdom of the God Whose "foolishness" is greater than all of the combined wisdom of men, God will fulfill His words Himself.