Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Mark 7:6
He answered and said unto them, Well hath Isaiah prophesied of you hypocrites, as it is written, This people honoreth me with [their] lips, but their heart is far from me.
6. Well hath Esaias ] Rather, Well, or full well did Esaias prophesy of you. “ Well ” is said in irony. This expression recurs in Mar 7:9, “full well ye reject” = “ finely do ye set at naught and obliterate.”
This people honoureth me ] The words are found in Isa 29:13.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Verse 6. Honoureth me] – but the Codex Bezae, and three copies of the Itala, have , loveth me: – the AEthiopic has both readings.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
He answered and said unto them,…. Matthew postpones the following citation and application of the prophecy of Isaiah, to the account of the command of God being broken by the tradition of Corban; which Mark makes the answer of Christ to begin with:
well hath Esaias prophesied of you hypocrites; which in Matthew is read, “ye hypocrites, well did Esaias prophesy of you”, Mt 15:7; to the same sense as here: for the prophecy of Isaiah not only described the hypocrites of his time, but had respect chiefly to the Jews in succeeding ages, in the times of Christ, and both before and after; when they would, as they did, greatly degenerate, and lost the power and spirituality of religion, and had only the form of it; left the word of God for the traditions of men, and were given up to great stupidity, and to judicial blindness: hence the Apostle Paul refers to a passage in the same chapter, Isa 29:10, and applies it to the Jews in his time, Ro 11:8;
[See comments on Mt 15:7], saying,
as it is written in Isa 29:13,
this people honoureth me with their lips, but their heart is far from me. In the Prophet Isaiah more is said than is here cited; and so in Matthew more is produced, and the whole is there expressed thus: “this people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips, but their heart is far from me”,
Mt 15:8: they presented their bodies before the Lord in the synagogues, or in the temple, and prayed to him with an air of devotion and fervency, and offered up their praises to him, for their external privileges and blessings; but, alas! this was all lip labour; there was no lifting up their hearts, with their hands, unto God; these were not united to fear his name, but were distracted in his worship, and carried away from him to other objects; [See comments on Mt 15:8].
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
Well (). Appositely here, but ironical sarcasm in verse 9. Note here “you hypocrites” ( ).
Fuente: Robertson’s Word Pictures in the New Testament
Well [] . Finely, beautifully. Ironical.
Fuente: Vincent’s Word Studies in the New Testament
1) “He answered and said unto them,” (ho de eipen autois) “And He (Jesus) replied to them,” to their inquiry regarding His disciples who ate at times with ceremonially unclean hands.
2) “Well hath Esaias prophesied of you hypocrites,” (kalos epropheteusen Esaias pen humon ton hupokriton) “Isaiah prophesied well concerning you all (as) hypocrites;- And one of their own prophets should be a greater authority than oral reports handed down by their elders, Isa 29:13.
3) “As it is written,” (hos gegraptai hoti) “As it is written,” quoted as follows:
4) “This people honoureth me with their lips,” (houtos ho laos tois cheilesin me tima) “This (race of) people honors me with the lips,” with their talk, also Eze 33:31.
5) “But their heart is far from me.” (he de kardia auton porro apechei ap’ emou) “Yet the heart or affection of them is far from me.” In essence Jesus asserted that if He and His disciples regarded tradition lightly, the Pharisees and scribes regarded the word lightly, setting it aside, perverting or distorting it, for the arbitrary tradition of their backsliden elders, 1Sa 16:7; Pro 23:26; Jos 1:7-8.
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
(6) Well hath Esaias prophesied.Strictly, well did Esaias prophesy.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
6. Esaias prophesied Matthew (Mat 15:6-8) gives these words in a different and more appropriate order. The quotation from the prophet naturally follows as a confirmation of the description which our Lord himself gives to the Pharisees to their face. It may be added that Mark shows himself not the mere copyist of Matthew, from the fact that he does not here, as sometimes, simply add some heightening expressions; but he adds words spoken by Jesus, and with all the divine style of the Great Teacher, which are given by no other evangelist.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
‘And he said to them, “Well did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written, ‘This people honour me with their lips, but their heart is far from me. But in vain do they worship me, teaching as their doctrines the precepts of men.’ You desert the commandment of God and hold fast the tradition of men.” ’
Jesus then cited the words of Isaiah which indicated how hypocritical men were. With their lips they gave great honour to God, but in their hearts they were far from Him. For rather than assiduously following His genuine requirements, they only did so in terms of their own interpretations, many of which were simply the teachings of men. Thus they were ignoring the commandment of God, and were holding fast to man’s traditions.
So Jesus’ reply was that they were asking for observances that were not required by Scripture, rather than looking to what would please God most. By concentrating on trivia which they had themselves invented they were missing the main point. He was never in any doubt about their attitude and opposition. And while He was willing to conform to their practises Himself He was grieved that they cared more about ritual activity than about the things that mattered most, justice, compassion and mercy. As He declared here, they were exactly the type that Isaiah had prophesied about (Isa 29:13). They spoke in a hushed voice about God and gave a great show of being concerned about His Law, but they then altered it to suit themselves, and laid great emphasis on those interpretations of their own, while ignoring its most basic demands. They deserted God’s commandment, which was pure and simple, (and yet demanding, and speaking to many occasions at the same time, as He Himself in His teaching was revealing), and instead expanded it and changed it to fit in with their own preconceptions, giving it their own limited significance and emphasis, and as a result ignoring the greater matters because they were too busy with minor details (Mat 23:23-26). We can see more of what He means by studying Matthew 5, where He takes what was said by ‘men of old’, and demonstrates what they should have said.
The decisions of the Rabbis, growing in complication and often subtly twisting words and meanings, had come to mean more to them than the word of God. Thus He pointed out to them that with all their show of piety their worship was in vain. For in many of them their hearts were so tied up with rules and regulations of their own devising, that they left no room for open-heartedness and compassion. Paul had described it exactly in Romans 7. He too had been so taken up with keeping the Law that he had failed to recognise the covetousness of his own heart. And when it had suddenly come home to him he had been appalled, especially when he had recognised that he could not get rid of it.
Then Jesus went on to illustrate it by example. This issue was of vital importance. The vital question was, what was to be the authority that man recognised as totally binding? Both would agree that the Law of God as contained in the Bible was binding as being from God. There was no argument about that. The question then was, was the interpretation of that Law which was made by the Rabbis, which not only explained but also reinterpreted and thus altered that Law, equally binding? The Pharisees said ‘yes’, although they even disagreed among themselves whose interpretation was the most binding, thus demonstrating that they did not see all as binding, for there were different schools of thought. But Jesus said ‘no’, that they were the traditions of men not of God, and had to be judged accordingly. What mattered more was to love God and obey the inner heart of the Law.
‘Hypocrites.’ Those whose lives are an outward show, a play-acting, making out that they are what they are not, whether consciously or unconsciously. (The word was used of play-actors).
The quotation from Isaiah is very similar to LXX apart from the last section. But that is an interpretation of the Hebrew text. Assuming Jesus was speaking in Aramaic this might be Mark’s way of translating, based on his knowledge of the LXX text (the text being used by his readers) but deliberately altering it to take into account the Hebrew rendering where he felt it necessary in order to give the true sense of Jesus’ words. Or it may have been quoted from a text of which we are at present unaware. The discoveries at Qumran have revealed that there were then Hebrew texts more in line with the LXX than with the Massoretic text. Either way he was satisfied that it brought home the true significance of what the Scripture was saying.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
The Lord’s answer:
v. 6. He answered and said unto them, Well hath Esaias prophesied of you hypocrites, as it is written, This people honoreth Me with their lips, but their heart is far from Me.
v. 7. Howbeit in vain do they worship Me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.
v. 8. For laying aside the commandments of God, ye hold the tradition of men, as the washing of pots and cups; and many other such like things ye do. In cases of weakness and lack of understanding the Lord was always willing to employ a great deal of patience, but in the case of the Pharisees, where utter hardness of heart was united with supercilious haughtiness and unwillingness to be taught, Jesus used the weapons of invective and sarcasm, and sometimes of bitter denunciation. He applies a double prophecy of Isaiah to them. With their lips they honored the Lord, endless prayers with babbling repetition were their strong suit, but their heart was altogether away, at a great distance from Him. They were proud of their outward observance of the precepts of both the Law and of the tradition of the elders, believing that this was true service of God. But vain is such worship, the Lord informs them, since they teach and insist upon the doctrines of men. In accordance with this prophecy, Jesus fitly calls them hypocrites, actors of a kind, that go through the routine of their part, say their prayers, and make the appropriate gestures by rote, but who seldom or never can reach the spontaneous expression of one that speaks and acts out of the fullness of his heart. Like them, all people that place the commandments of men on the same level with God’s holy Law and for the sake of their precepts change and even set aside the eternal Word of God, are hypocrites, whose heart is far from God, who do not give the Lord their heart, for otherwise they would have the proper relevance for the same. The rebuke of Jesus exactly strikes the sore spot: they put aside the command of God and cling to the tradition of men.
Fuente: The Popular Commentary on the Bible by Kretzmann
6 He answered and said unto them, Well hath Esaias prophesied of you hypocrites, as it is written, This people honoureth me with their lips, but their heart is far from me.
Ver. 6. See Trapp on “ Mat 15:2 “ See Trapp on “ Mat 15:3 “
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Mar 7:6-13 . The reply of Jesus . It consists of a prophetic citation and a countercharge, given by Mt. in an inverted order. Commentators, according to their bias, differ as to which of the two versions is secondary.
Fuente: The Expositors Greek Testament by Robertson
Mar 7:6 . : twice used in Mk. (Mar 7:9 ), here = appositely, in Mar 7:9 ironically = bravely, finely. The citation from Isaiah is given in identical terms in the two accounts.
Fuente: The Expositors Greek Testament by Robertson
Esaias = Isaiah. See App-79.
of = concerning. Greek peri. App-104.,
hypocrites. The definition of the word follows.
it is written = it standeth written.
This People, &c. Quoted from Isa 29:13. See App-107.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
Mar 7:6. , hypocrites) Indeed, we may derive from this passage a definition of hypocrisy. These Pharisees were a sample of hypocrites in general.
Fuente: Gnomon of the New Testament
Well: Isa 29:13, Mat 15:7-9, Act 28:25
hypocrites: Mat 23:13-15, Luk 11:39-44
honoureth: Eze 33:31, Hos 8:2, Hos 8:3, Joh 5:42, Joh 8:41, Joh 8:42, Joh 8:54, Joh 8:55, Joh 15:24, 2Ti 3:5, Tit 1:16, Jam 2:14-17
Reciprocal: Pro 19:27 – General Jer 12:2 – near Mat 6:2 – as Mat 15:3 – Why
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
6
Jesus directly called those people hypocrites and said that Esaias (Isaiah) had prophesied about them. They spoke one way and their heart was interested in another.
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
Mar 7:6-7. This citation is placed in a different position by Matthew, but the sense is precisely the same.
Fuente: A Popular Commentary on the New Testament
7:6 {2} He answered and said unto them, Well hath Esaias prophesied of you hypocrites, as it is written, This people honoureth me with [their] lips, but their heart is far from me.
(2) Hypocrisy is always joined with superstition.
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes
Jesus’ teaching about the source of authority 7:6-13
In replying, Jesus did not explain or justify His disciples’ conduct. Instead He addressed the issue of the source of religious authority (Mar 7:6-13) and the nature of defilement (Mar 7:14-23).
Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)
Jesus boldly called His critics hypocrites. They professed to honor God with their behavior, but they really did not honor Him in their hearts. What Isaiah said about the hypocrites in his day fit these critics exactly. They stressed precepts to the exclusion of principles.
"Jesus calls the opponents ’hypocrites’ (hupokriton), a word in classical Greek that means ’to play a part,’ an ’actor.’ It does not carry the moral overtone of fraud that our English word does today. Rather it refers to the discrepancy in the behavior of one who unconsciously has alienated oneself from God, an ’ungodly’ person . . , by one’s actions . . ." [Note: Guelich, p. 366.]