Comments for February 11

21:28  The way in which an ox which kills a person was to be stoned draws on an earlier law that God gave just after the flood as we see in Gen 9:5

Exo 21:1-6  If a bondservant is purchased by his master serves him faithfully for 6 years then he shall go free in the 7^thyear (v.2).  However, the servant who loves his master and wants to remain in his service will voluntarily submit to his ear being bored through against a door or gatepost.

Jesus was fully familiar with all the Law the Psalms and the prophets. He “expounded” (<1327>, thoroughly explained) to “…them in all the scriptures concerning himself.” (Luke 24:26-27). 

The boring of the ear suggests that the servant ear is voluntarily open and receptive the words of his master for ever. 

So, how might we identify a messianic theme in this law?

21:20-21 The word translated surely and punished is the same word <5358>. It occurs here three times, there is only one other place in scripture where the word is repeated three times in the same setting – Nah 1:2 where it is translated Revengeth twice and vengeance once.

21:1 Israel were still at Sinai when these laws were given. The nation would have been expecting to travel direct to Canaan and so the giving of laws that related to life in a settled existence in a land would seem so logical., Little did they know at this time that entry into the land of Canaan was almost 40 years away and these laws would apply to a new generation.

21:15 It might seem terribly harsh that a child be killed if that child struck its parents. However the injunction to honour parents was clear – Exo 20:21. They stood in the place of God as far as seeing God was concerned. We cannot see God but the way we respond to others shows our attitude to God 1John 4:20 .

21:2 The principles involved in this injunction and command from God is actually seen before the giving of the Law of Moses in the way in which Jacob spoke to Laban – Gen 30:26

v8 Female slaves were not to be sold (presumably, as slave wives) to foreigners.

In Neh 5:5,8 unscrupulous Jews were selling the children of poor Jews to foreigners so that the poor Jews could survive financially. This may have involved the selling of Jewish daughters to foreigners as wives. Nehemiah, no doubt aware of Exodus 21:8, was furious with such a travesty and, along with other malpractices,  publically exposed this wrongdoing (Nehemiah 5:13). 

21:10 God is not sanctioning a man having multiple wives. The simple point that comes from this provision is this. God was instructing the man that if he had multiple wives his obligations increased. No favouritism was to be countenanced.

Exo 21:6 Note here how it is the Master who brings the servant to the door. Here we can liken God (the Master) bringing each of us (the servants) to the door (Christ), where He causes our ears to be opened, after which we will serve Him forever. 

See John 14:6 and Rom 6:15-18

This opens up a whole study about the opening of the ear; see Mark 7:14-16, as well as Rev 2, Rev 3, and in particular Rev 3:21-22, where we’re finally given a call to remembrance of how Jesus overcame His own temptations and defilements from within (Mark 7:21-22) by recalling the Word of God (Matt 4:4) and praying to His Father in the Garden of Gethsemane. 

Repeatedly throughout Revelation we have the encouragement: "To him who overcomes..." - yet we should "be of good cheer", for Jesus has overcome the world. See John 16:33, John 17, and Luke 22:42-46.

v.2 - Lots of connections here throughout the scripture. Israel were (and we now are as well) God's congregation, God's holy people, the redeemed of the Lord (Isa.51:11) - who also come to Zion - the place where we can dwell with God - Jesus. It was purchased by God - purchased of course by the blood of Jesus (Acts 20:28). Let us remind ourselves of the position of great privilege in which we find ourselves - Ps.33:12, Deut.4:20, 32:9, Jer.10:16, Isa.62:12, Tit.2:14, Rev.5:9.

v.1 (Title) - This Asaph was son of Berechiah - and was the chief (1Chr.15:17-19, 16:5) of David's musicians. Was this Psalm (and Psalm 78) written by him, or written for him? If it was for him , then that would not be the first time - 1Chr.16:7

In this Psalm the Psalmist thinks about the way that God brought Israel from Egypt. Here are some of the verbal allusions.
:1 anger smoke Deuteronomy 29:20
:2 which thou hast purchased Exodus 15:16
:11 Plucked out of thy bosom Exodus 4:7
:13 Divide the sea Exodus 14:21
:14 meat to the people Numbers 14:9

David is thinking like this because the sanctuary is desolate (:1-9). This prompts the Psalmist to question why God does not seem interested (:10)

74:23 Whilst Israel’s enemies would doubtless have thought that they were rising against the nations David clearly understood correctly when he spoke of the enemies rising against God. A recurring theme – Hezekiah saw the taunt as a challenge to God for example.

Psalm 74  This Psalm was written late in the history of Israel.(before Christ) The writer pleads with God to restore Israel to favour and destroy their enemies.

Sometimes we think that God is for us, when in reality He's not. Sometimes we think that, because He answered our prayers in some mighty way, He is with us. We think we're special. We can start to think nothing we do will be without His blessing.

This was the problem that Israel struggled with ever after their miraculous deliverance from Egypt. Through the wilderness they continually quoted the fact that they were now God's people in order to justify the way they were behaving (Num 12:2, 16:3). This continued right through till the time of Jesus and beyond (Matt 3:9) .

Why, we ask ourselves, if God is with us, is everything going wrong? (vs 1,11) Before we know it, we have strayed so far from the paths of God, that God has had to turn His hand against us and chasten us in order to bring us back. It can be the very blessings of God that have directly contributed to our going astray. It can be the visible hand of God in our lives, through miraculous answered prayer, that lifts us up in pride, and makes us forget that it is God doing the delivering, and not us. We can get too big for our boots.

In v7, Asaph calls God's people His Turtledove. Jeremiah tells us that this is only if we act like the animal itself. If we are to claim to be God's people, we should be acting like people of God. "Even the stork in the heavens knows her appointed times; And the turtledove, the swift, and the swallow observe the time of their coming. But My people do not know the judgment of the LORD." (Jer 8:7).

V.8 This is the only place where the word synagogues is used in the Old Testament.  It is derived from the Hebrew word mo'ed meaning an assembly or congregation, brought together ostensibly for celebrating set religious festivals.  The more formal structure which we relate to as a synagogue was a feature of the post-exilic age.  Solomon's temple had been destroyed and Jews could not centralise there.  And so they began to meet in their own locales. Even after Zerubbabel's temple had been completed, the meetings in the synagogues continued.

In Christ's time, although the magnificently refurbished Herod's temple shone in the brilliant Jerusalem sun, synagogue worship still flourished (Matt 4:23).

This psalm is in two parts. The first 9 verses (Psa 74:1-9) is telling God how evil people have been against Him. Then Psa 74:10-23 seems to be asking God to punish these wicked and godless people.  Of course we do not have to tell God anything. He knows it all.  But it's obviously a good thing (because the psalm is inspired), for us to list the evil deeds of people who have sinned against God.  We mustn't judge, but such an exercise, where we pray to God and tell Him all the evil we have seen today, can only do us good. At the very least, we remind ourselves of the huge difference between right and wrong.

v.1 - In asking the question 'Why doth thine anger smoke against the sheep of thy pasture?' the psalmist almost seems to be doing what so many who do not understand God do - make God into what we men think He should be, instead of giving Him the ultimate power and glory and questioning nothing that He does.  Maybe it is just the poetic language, but it comes over this way to me.  God certainly does have good reason to have anger against us, so let us throw ourselves on His mercy, which is great.

74:18   That the enemy had ‘reproached’ and ‘blasphemed’ moved the Psalmist to ask God to intervene and deliver his soul (Psa 74:19). The true servant of God will be more concerned about how his God is viewed in the world than how the world views him.

The crushing of sea monsters and Leviathan (vs.13,14) is indicative of Yahweh's defeat of Egypt. Egypt (Rahab) epitomises sin (idolatry) which Yahweh overcame (Isa 51:9,10). The Lord Jesus, likewise, overcame sin for all humankind, by crushing the head of the serpent (Gen 3:15).

74:1-2  On seeing that nation as suffering God’s anger the Psalmist calls upon God to remember the people that He had purchased. This is similar to Moses, when God would have destroyed them, asking God to remember what he had promised to the fathers. - Exo 32:10-13

As we read through this Psalm, we could not avoid noting how often the word "THOU" is repeated. As the psalmist lists the miraculous deeds that God has provided. "Why hast THOU cast us off for ever?" "Remember thy congregation, which THOU hast purchased"; " Why withdrawest THOU thy hand?" again in verses 12,14,15,16, and 17. We understand that the Hebrew word ATTENAH appears some 17 times in the Psalm. When something is continually repeated it has to have a special message. We all must be God centered in our thinking, and in our pleas to Him for help,

As we read through this Psalm, we could not avoid noting how often the word "THOU" is repeated. As the psalmist lists the miraculous deeds that God has provided. "Why hast THOU cast us off for ever?" "Remember thy congregation, which THOU hast purchased"; " Why withdrawest THOU thy hand?" again in verses 12,14,15,16, and 17. We understand that the Hebrew word ATTENAH appears some 17 times in the Psalm. When something is continually repeated it has to have a special message. We all must be God centered in our thinking, and in our pleas to Him for help,

74:8 The word translated ‘synagogues’ <04150> is only once translated such. More typically it is translated ‘set time’ – Gen 17:21 or ‘congregation’ – Exo 28:43 so we see the Psalmist is indicating a meetings of people at an appointed or set time.

V.1 The figure of smoke expresses Yahweh’s anger and displeasure. By touching the earth, in His anger, Yahweh would make the earth smoke (Psa 104:32; 144:5). Interestingly, a popular term for the most powerful tornado (Category 5) is called The Finger of God, because people have likened it to God dragging His finger across the land.

74:14 ‘Leviathan’ is used elsewhere in Scripture – Job 41:1 to speak of an animal. However here it seems that the prophet is using the word to speak of Egypt long before the prophet does so - Isa 27:1

74:10    ‘How long’ is the question of the Psalmist because his concern is that God’s name is blasphemed. He is not primarily concerned with his own position.

Are we in league with God?

Don't forget that when people criticise, or even persecute you for telling (or living) the truth, they are really criticising God first and foremost. (see v18-23)

74:1     The metaphor of people being sheep has already been used by David – Psa 44:11,22 – and David 2Sam 24:17 – spoke of Israel as sheep.

1. Psa 74:2 - God's purchased congregation (Exo 15:16,18).

2. Psa 74:3 - "sanctuary"<6944>; Psa 74:7 - "sanctuary"<4720>.

3. Psa 74:11 - perhaps an allusion to Exo 4:6-8.

4. Psa 74:12 - "in the midst of the earth <776>" (Exo 8:22 KJV).

5. Psa 74:13-14 - (KJV) "Thou didst divide the sea...(KJV) thou brakest the heads of the dragons <8577> in the waters (Exo 14:21-30;Isa 27:1;51:9-11;Eze 29:3;Eze 32:2)... (NIV) crushed the heads of Leviathan <3882> and gave him as food to the creatures of the desert" (Exo 14:30;Job 41:1-34;26:12-13) - note Michael Parry's 2006 comments.

6. Psa 74:15 - "fountain" (the smitten rock Exo 17:1-7;Psa 78:15-16), "the flood" (<5158> parting of the Red Sea?)

, "driedst up mighty rivers" (the Jordan Josh 2:10;4:23).

7. Psa 74:16,17,18,20 - Perhaps echos of the creation and conditions that led to the great flood.

8. Psa 74:19 - "soul <5315> of thy turtledove" (same "soul" as for a human being).

74:22-23          Amidst the cacophony of opposition to the things of God we can easily lose track of what really matters. David ran the same. Risk. His antidote was to ask God not to forget what is happening. We would do well to do likewise. When we might feel overwhelmed by the things going on around us we should focus on the fact things that God has said matter.

DON'T BE SURPRISED

Less than one hundred years ago history repeated itself in Europe. As the armies of Germany swept from country to country, synagogues, churches and cathedrals, and other places of worship were wrecked and burned.

Asaph described it happening in Jerusalem many years before in these words: "Your foes roared in the place where you met with us; they set up their standards as signs. They behaved like men wielding axes to cut through a thicket of trees. They smashed all the carved panelling with their axes and hatchets. They burned your sanctuary to the ground, they defiled the dwelling place of your Name ... they burned every place where God was worshipped in the land." (Psa 74:4-8)

It happened in the days of Asaph. It happened during World War Two. It happens today all over the world where believers are persecuted. And it is likely that in the last days history will repeat itself in a wide spread persecution that spreads throughout the world. Are you prepared?

How will you feel if if vandals destroy and burn the building you worship in? There probably won't be much we can do about it if it happens, other than to pray and to trust in God. But if it does, let's not let it take us by surprise so that it destroys our faith. Instead let us realise that these signs point to the fact that Jesus is about to return.

74:4   The Psalmist's concern in the enemies rearing up their ensigns is that in so doing they might be seen to be belittling the God of Israel. 

74:9-10        Notice how David laments that it is God’s name that is reproached and blasphemed. Doubtless he was being persecuted but he sees that in reality it is God who is being belittled. How often do we trouble ourselves about God’s feelings when we hear things said against His truth?

74:17     The Psalmist draws on what God had already said – Deut 32:8– which idea forms part of Paul’s preaching to gentiles in Acts 17:26

74:1    “Why hast thou cast us off forever?” is a question that a faithful servant of God should never ask, though in times of deep despair we might, The antidote to this way of thinking is to regularly reflect on what He has done for us. This is why the weekly reminder of Jesus’ death and resurrection in the breaking of bread is so valuable to us.

74:13-14              Notice how the Psalmist reflects on the way in which God delivered Israel from Egypt when he wonders how long God might remain apparently silent. We, likewise, might reflect on His actions if ever we doubt that He is involved in our lives.

74:19 Both Goliath – 1Sam 26  -and the Assyrians – 2Kin 19:4 - reproached and blasphemed God. Their behaviour meant that they would be judged, as they were.

74:1-2 notice that the Psalmist, when he sees the dismay of Israel because God no longer seems to be interested in them, appeals to God. His appeal is very specific. He reminds God of how He has delivered His people. He appeals to Yahweh’s plan.

74:2 How often do we remind our God that He has saved us? Reflecting on the evil behaviour of men the Psalmist sees their “reproach” and “blasphemy” ( 74:10,18,22). How often do we remind God of the way he has saved in the past? – for example from Egypt - (74:13)

74:5-6 Those who had been used to felling trees are now occupied in destroying the lovely carvings that had been developed and associated with God’s dwelling. The details of, for example the lampstand, have no value to God’s enemies. Further Yahweh was willing to let them be destroyed because He no longer was respected by His people.

74:10 the consequences of the problems that the Psalmist was suffering were very personal. |they impacted on him and his fellow Israelites. But not his concern. His concern is that God’s name is being blasphemed – a selfless attitude that we should match. A concern for God’s name to be recognised rather than our own problems be removed.

v.7 - This has been a problem throughout the ages. Human nature adores tradition. We feel great security in repeated ritual. It is essential, as Jesus says here, that we separate in our minds those things which are doctrine from those which are tradition and give each its true place in our hearts. From the start God was concerned that his commandments remained untouched by human thinking (Deut.12:32). So let us heed carefully the message of passages like Tit.3:9, Jas.1:26, Col.2:20-23, Rev.22:18.

v.13 That it is possible to make the word of God void and of none effect by the way that we make our own rules should really make us careful about how we make our own rules to 'make life easy' for ourselves.
v.31 When Jesus passed through Decapolis he was passing through the area where Legion, when he had been healed, went talking about Jesus Mark 5:20.
v.36 A regular feature of the gospels is that Jesus did not want those who had been healed to spread that abroad. Matthew 8:4 9:30 12:16 16:20 Mark 1:44 3:12 5:43 8:30 Luke 5:14 8:56 His desire was that people would come to him because of his word and not just for the miracles [or the bread]

:6-7 The way in which the 'people' were vain in their worship because they had replaced the things God required by their own traditions should serve as a powerful warning to us.

We must ask ourselves, with respect to all the procedures that we adopt in our lives, whether they accord with what Scripture teaches or whether the procedures are designed to enable us to avoid thinking about the will of our Father and how it should be implemented in our daily and ecclesial lives.

RULES AND TRADITIONS

Most rules and traditions have their basis in a principle or a belief. For example, the rule that says we should wear safety glasses when using power tools is based on the safety principle of "prevention is better than cure." The rule is good in its self, but if the principle is better served by wearing a face shield, then the rule of wearing safety glasses becomes obsolete.

The Pharisees had made traditions and rules around the principles given in the Law of Moses. Essentially they were a hedge around the law to prevent people from breaking the law, and in a way, it worked well. But in other ways it went too far because the people lost sight of God's laws due to all the other rules they had to watch out for. Jesus said to them, "You have let go of the commands of God and are holding on to the traditions of men." (Mark 7 v 8).

We too can be governed by a multitude of rules and traditions intended to help us serve God, but which occasionally become a burden or hindrance. Our worship music, Bible Version, dress code, times of meetings, order of services or layout of a plan are all things that are based on principles yet are often enforced by rules. So let us consider the principles behind the rules and re-evaluate our standing before God.

:24-30 It may seem puzzling that Jesus went to gentile territory and then, when the gentile woman asked Jesus to heal her daughter it might seem reasonable to ask 'why go there if he was not going to heal anyone or preach the gospel?' The way that Jesus responded was designed to enable the woman to show that she had great faith. Not for her benefit but for the benefit of those Jews that were with Jesus.

Mark 7:19 - "purging all meats" - Another translation has this, "Making all meats clean." The NKJV has "Thus purifying all foods" - This was a radical departure from 1500 years of ingrained and inbred tradition and Law. It was a total shock to the mind of the Jew, and we find Peter still grappling with the concept years later in the record of the Acts.

7:1 When the record tells us that the Pharisees and certain of the scribes had come from Jerusalem we should realise that they had travelled some 60 miles. This gives us an indication as to how concerned the religious leaders in Jerusalem were about Jesus.

Mark 7:29  For this saying go thy way  The Lord was aware of the merits of her confession. She knew that He was opening a wider door than Judaism would have allowed. She believed that Gentiles as well as Jews could partake of the Hope of Israel. Her daughter would be cured as a sign of the Hope to come.

After the healing of Legion (see my note on Mark 5), Jesus encountered the Syrophenician woman who begged him to heal her mentally ill daughter (Mark 7:25,26).  Jesus explained to her that His prime mission was to the house of Israel (Matt 15:24) but her faith showed that His mission also extended to the Gentiles.  This was the lesson that was meant to be understood.  To highlight this, Jesus travelled through the Decapolis (the ten Gentile cities of the Galilee) healing the sick (Mark 7:31-37).

v.11 - Throughout this discourse we see the importance of living by God's rules in faith.  We must resist the human tendency to place extra rules between us and God - rules which God has not enforced - the keeping of which makes us feel more righteous.  Righteousness comes only from God and only to those who are justified by faith.  We need to keep this important principle paramount in our minds, for by it, and it only, can we be saved.  Rom 3:20,28

7:17     In coming to ask Jesus about the parable his disciples are showing the true qualities of a disciple - they were learners. We should never be too proud to pretend that we know the answer when we do not. We should seek the answer from someone we think will be able to help.

The Lord Jesus was sent first of all to the Jews. The promise to Abraham was coming true in Him, and therefore all nations would be blessed in Him (Gen 12:3) – but it had to be to the house of Israel first. Therefore in today’s chapter (Mark 7:25-30), the Lord let the Gentile woman know that it wasn’t right to take the children’s food and throw it to the dogs.  It was a test. What was good for Jews was equally good for Gentiles. She passed the test, and received the miracle she was so desperate to have.

The incident of Jesus' healing the deaf man with the speech impediment seems strange (vs.32-35). The Lord could have healed the man by just saying the word, like the healing of the Gentile woman's daughter. However, the Lord put his fingers in his ears and touched his tongue. Why this demonstration? I think the Lord was drawing attention to the spiritual wantonness of the Jews. They had stopped up their ears against hearing and understanding the Truth (Zech 7:11); and had shown, by their rhetoric, pride and arrogance, a contrary attitude to the spirit of Truth (Psa 12:3,4). As the Lord could unblock physical impediments (v.34), he could also open the way to eternal life to those willing to change their ways (John 3:15).

7:6-8  There was nothing inherently wrong with the hand washing that the religious Jews did and expected everyone else to do. The problem was that their tradition replaced God’s law. A set of rules which can simply be obeyed without any thought kills spiritual growth. In the same way we can prevent ourselves from growing spiritually by thinking that our lives should be determined by a set of rules.

7:2   Now the Pharisees see the disciples eat bread with unwashed hands – That is they did not follow the ceremonial rules that the Jews introduced. So the disciples are criticised for eating. Jesus – Mark 6:42– had fed the 5,000. So Jesus fed the people. The Jewish leaders criticised the people for eating! The bread represented teaching.

7:17 so we see again – see Mark 4:10– the disciples asking for an explanation of the parables. Jesus used the parables to separate those who were interested in his message from those who were not. Those who were interested went and enquired further. Is this our attitude to Scripture?

Mark likes to record key Aramaic words that Jesus used. Of course, the common language of the region was Aramaic. In this chapter he records Corban = consecrated gift (v.11); Ephphath = Be opened (v.34). Other examples of Aramaic words and phrases are:

Boanerges = Sons of Thunder (3:17)

Talitha cumi  = girl rise (5:41)

Abba  = father (14:36)

Eloi eloi lama sabachthani?  = My God, My God why have you left me? (15:34)

CAN'T KEEP QUIET

One of the themes that runs through the gospel of Mark is that no matter how hard Jesus tried to keep things quiet, people continued to tell people about him, the crowds continued to grow, while he and the disciples were unable to get any rest.

Take, for example, his time in Tyre. "He entered a house and did not want anyone to know it; yet he could not keep his presence a secret. In fact, as soon as she heard about him, a woman whose little daughter was possessed by an evil spirit came and fell at his feet." (Mark 7:24-25)

And again, after healing the deaf and mute man, "Jesus commanded them not to tell anyone. But the more he did so, the more they kept talking about it." (v 36)

Looking around, I think the opposite is more of a problem today. Jesus, no longer wearied by crowds flocking to him, has told us to go out and spread the good news. But do we? Even when they were told not to, the people were so impressed by Jesus that they came to him and told others about him anyway. We have seen and heard so much more about Jesus in the Scriptures, through history and in our lives, yet I get the impression that many of us would have liked Jesus to tell us not to tell anyone.

Let us have the enthusiasm of those people through the gospels that had an encounter with Jesus. After our encounter with him, we should not be able to help loving him and telling others about him.

7:24 Having been rejected, so to speak, by the Jews Jesus went to the gentiles by going to Tyre.

32-33  Do the things we say and the things we listen to have the touch of the master? 

7:6      The quotation from Isa 29:13 ‘this people ... of men’ high lights the way in which the nation were so far away from God against the background of the amazement of Jesus’ lack of education – Mark 6:3.  Notice the use of ‘unlearned’ in Isa 29:12

Summary Of Chapter

7:1-13     Jesus’ disciples challenged regarding eating with unwashed hands. Jesus responds

7:14-16   Jesus tells the people a parable about bodily functions

7:17-23   Disciples, when alone in the house, ask Jesus what the parable means. Jesus explains the parable

7:24-30   Going to Tyre and Sidon incident of the Syrophoenician woman whose daughter had an unclean spirit.

7:31-37   Decapolis near the Sea of Galilee Jesus heals the deaf man with a speech impediment. The people are amazed at what they see.

INSIDE OUT

One of the things you very quickly pick up when you learn a trade is that if something looks good on the outside, the customer is much less likely to look any further. But if they are not happy with the external look, they will inspect deeper and likely find other hidden flaws in the product. With God it is different. He can see through the exterior to what is on the inside. He can see at a glance whether anything is good or bad on the inside, no matter what it is. This is especially true with ourselves.

All too often we dress ourselves up, or talk ourselves up to look better on the outside than we really are on the inside. But it is the inside that counts. If our hearts are full of wickedness, then we will be 'unclean', as Jesus puts it. "All these evils come from inside and make a man unclean." (Mark 7:23)

So in order to keep our inside clean, let's feed it with only the good stuff - prayer, the Word of God, and other uplifting things. And let's starve it of immorality, lust, sinfulness, greed, lies and evil thoughts. In doing this we can change to be people that are pleasing to God from the inside out.

7:8    The phrase “the traditions of men” is quoted by Paul – Col 2:8 –to very specifically warn the Colossians against listening to the Judaisers amongst them.

 Mark 7:34.

Only on rare occasions like this do you find the actual untranslated words of Jesus with its translation attached. "Ephphatha" = be opened, according to Mark. (This word, according to Young's concordance, is a Chaldean word.) What do these unusual situations suggest as to the language that Jesus usually spoke during his ministry?

Bear with me in the longer than normal response to this. My brother George wrote in with the following -

Young's Concordance is way out of date in its nomenclature. What was called "Chaldean", say, 100 years ago is now always called Aramaic. And there is considerable evidence, they say, for Jesus and most first-century Jews speaking Aramaic as their first language. Aramaic might almost be called a dialect of Hebrew, which I think traces back to the Jews of the Babylonian captivity developing and modifying their Hebrew language by long association with the Chaldeans or Babylonians.

I also think, based on various things read here and there, that -- while Aramaic was the primary language in first-century Judea -- most if not all Jews spoke Greek and, becausee of the Roman occupation, also some Latin. While this idea seems hard for Americans to grasp, it is fairly common in many parts of Europe, where random folks and not just students or scholars may have good use of their nation's language, plus perhaps enough English and/or French, German, Italian to get by in conversations with others. When it comes to languages, we Americans are way behind the pack in today's world!

Another point: While we have the New Testament in Greek, which seems to be the originals, some scholars postulate that various NT books may have been written in Aramaic first, and then translated into Greek because it was the primary language of many Gentile peoples to whom the gospel was being preached. While being fluent in Aramaic, Paul probably spoke Greek primarily because of his broad education, and probably wrote in Greek because he preached mainly to Gentiles. Just a guess, of course.

Did first-century Jews speak Hebrew? Reading between the lines, I think it was the language of scholars who read the OT manuscripts, but not that much known or used by ordinary Jews. However, Aramaic was probably sufficiently like Hebrew that one might make a passable attempt to understand old Hebrew simply by knowing Aramaic well. A lot like today, when some Jews and Arabs can understand a good bit of the other's langauge.

Why some Aramaic words? And why in the places they are, and not more or others? I don't know. I'm sure there are theories for that, but I haven't read anything specifically on that, or if I did I don't remember at the moment.

George

PS: Practically everything I've said is *probably* mostly correct. I'd give it a probability of about 80%. Meaning: If somebody knows more about this that I've suggested, I wouldn't mind being corrected!
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my comments - while acknowledging that a number of points made are likely correct, I think a good argument can be made that Jesus' primary language of choice during his ministry was Greek (though he obviously knew and used at times both Hebrew and Aramaic). The few times that an Aramaic word or phrase are used - such as here and Mark 14:36 - Abba, andMark 5:41 - Talitha cumi, and Mark 15:34 - Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani - seem to show that they are exceptions from Jesus' normal speech - perhaps used in a time of emotion or excitement. For if they were the norm - i.e. if Jesus, the large majority of the time, spoke in Aramaic, why would the gospel writers on those rare occasions record the Aramaic phrase and then give its actual meaning?

Another point that bro. Harry Whittaker makes in his excellent book - Bible Studies - is that if Jesus did speak primarily in Greek - the language of the Roman Empire - then a fairly significant number of puns (plays on words) can be seen in various statements of his. Here are a few examples of many given.

Mat. 21:41 - "He will miserably (kakos) destroy those wicked (kakous) men."

Mat. 24:32,33 - "Summer (theros) is nigh...it is near, even at the doors (thurais)."

Jn. 3:3 - "Except a man be born again (anothen)..." But anothen is a double-meaning word signifying not only "again" but also "from above." It is clear from the context (vv. 5,6,8) that Jesus meant the second of these, but Nicodemus' comment is relevant to the first. It would be almost obvious that Jesus and an important man of the Sanhedrin would converse in Aramaic or even Hebrew. Yet evidently this was not so.

Mat. 18:8 - "Better (kalon) for thee to enter into life halt (kullon) or maimed (cholon)..."

Mat.5:46,48 - "Do not even the publicans (telonoi) the same...Be ye therefore perfect (teleioi)..."

Also in Mark's gospel, out of 20 straight Old Testament quotations (most of them made by Jesus) all but one are exact quotations from the Greek Septuagint, which shows that this was the Bible Jesus commonly used and that it was the text which scribes and common people were alike familiar with.

So there you go. Bottom line - we don't know for sure, but a pretty fair case could be made for his speaking primarily Greek with some Aramaic and Hebrew thrown in at times.

Hypocrites

Why do the Pharisees criticise the disciples for not washing their hands in v5? Could it be because they had witnessed the feeding of the five thousand in the previous chapter? If that's the case, isn't it awful that they could not see the implications of the miracle but could only see it through critical eyes? The fact is, where were the people going to get water to wash their hands in a deserted place? (see Mark 6:35-44)

Do we sometimes criticise others when they have actually been doing well? Are we blinded to virtue because all we want to see is sin? Do we sometimes criticise before we know the practical realities of the situation?

7:16   Jesus’ call “if any man have ears let him hear” seems an obvious point but flows from the prophet – Jer 5:21 - warning that there would be people with ears who did not hear.

7:5       We have been introduced –  7:1-4       the petty way I which the Jewish leaders questioned Jesus. They measured him and his disciples against their own standards and found him wanting. How often are we trapped by our own prejudices? How often do we fail to respond to a real need because it does not fit into our comfortable life?

7:25  In saying that the child had an “unclean spirit” which Jesus cast out we are reminded of the prophecy – Zech 13:2 – of the work of Messiah – the removal of the “unclean spirits” from the land of Israel.

7:18   From the way the disciples react we learn how easy it is to copy the things we see without appreciating their significance. From the perspective of the disciples they knew the way that things were done but did not question them. We should take note and ensure that we always question why we follow rituals.

7:15 The Law of Moses taught about clean and unclean beasts and what could be eaten and what had to be avoided. These laws were not simply ceremonial. Nor were they physical health issues. If having a short sighted approach to those laws the leaders missed the lesson. The lesson was that they should learn how to make a difference between the clean and unclean Lev 10:10

Mark 7:9,13

“… Full well ye reject the commandment of God, that ye may keep your tradition.”