Through this Gospel, Mark has given stories about Jesus and his teaching and miracles to prove that he is the Messiah. If you were a first century Jew, you might be excited about what Mark is writing … until your sensibilities are shocked by what you begin to read in Chapter 7.
Until now there has been only one mention of Jesus ministering to a Gentile, and that is the Gersene demoniac. You might find it odd that Jesus would minister to a Gentile, but there are numerous Old Testament stories where one sent from God ministered to a Gentile … so maybe you would move on in anticipation to read more about the redemption of Israel.
But soon after you would come to Mark 7. And at this point we need to review what the Gentiles represented to Israel. First, their eating regulations were not the same as those laid down in Leviticus 11. They did not follow the rites for purification of unclean women or of a leper in Leviticus 12-14, or the regulations of bodily discharges in Chapter 15. Therefore contact with these Gentiles would make them unclean, cut off from the worship of Israel. And of course there is the issue of circumcision...
But beginning in Mark 7, we see Jesus beginning to break down some of these distinctions between the Jews and the Gentiles. Mark unfolds this by telling his readers that the religious leaders became increasingly frustrated with Jesus' disciples...
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