“If
anyone has ears to hear, let him hear!”
Mark 7:16
Mark 7 [8.] “For you set aside the commandment of God, and hold tightly to the tradition of men—the washing of pitchers and cups, and you do many other such things.” He said to them, “Full well do you reject the commandment of God, that you may keep your tradition. For Moses said, ‘Honor your father and your mother;’ and, ‘He who speaks evil of father or mother, let him be put to death.’ But you say, ‘If a man tells his father or his mother, “Whatever profit you might have received from me is Corban, that is to say, given to God”;’ then you no longer allow him to do anything for his father or his mother, making void the word of God by your tradition, which you have handed down. You do many things like this.”
Mark 7 [14.] He called all the multitude to himself, and said to them, “Hear me, all of you, and understand. There is nothing from outside of the man, that going into him can defile him; but the things which proceed out of the man are those that defile the man. If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear!”
Mark 7 [17.] When he had entered into a house away from the multitude, his disciples asked him about the parable. He said to them, “Are you also without understanding? Don’t you perceive that whatever goes into the man from outside can’t defile him, because it doesn’t go into his heart, but into his stomach, then into the latrine, thus purifying all foods?” He said, “That which proceeds out of the man, that defiles the man. For from within, out of the hearts of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, sexual sins, murders, thefts, covetings, wickedness, deceit, lustful desires, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, and foolishness. All these evil things come from within, and defile the man.”
Meaning:
Jesus has just spoken a short, startling saying to the whole crowd: nothing that goes into a person from outside can defile him, but what comes out of him does. He then adds this ringing call to listen. It is one of the shortest verses in the chapter, but it carries a big invitation: to hear with more than our ears, and to let a hard saying sink into the heart.
- A Note on the Manuscripts
This verse is found in the great majority of Greek manuscripts and is included in the World English Bible, but it is missing from some of the oldest copies of Mark. For that reason many modern translations place it in a footnote. Whether it was written by Mark or added early by a copyist who remembered Jesus' habit, the words are thoroughly characteristic of Jesus, who used the same call elsewhere in this Gospel. No teaching of the faith depends on the difference.
- A Familiar Call from Jesus
Mark records Jesus using this formula at the close of the parable of the sower: "Whoever has ears to hear, let him hear" (Mark 4:1-9), and again after the saying about the lamp on a stand (Mark 4:21-23). It signals that a saying contains more than appears at first, and that the listener must think, ponder and respond.
Behind the phrase lies the great confession of Israel: "Hear, Israel: Yahweh is our God. Yahweh is one" (Deuteronomy 6:4). In Hebrew thought, to "hear" God means to listen with the intention of obeying. Every devout Jew in the crowd recited those words daily, so Jesus' call would have struck a deep chord.
- Hearing Beyond the Ears
Isaiah had warned of people who "hear indeed, but don’t understand" (Isaiah 6:9-10), and Jesus applied those words to those outside who heard his parables without grasping them (Mark 4:12). Physical hearing is not enough. In the very next paragraph even the disciples have to ask privately what he meant (Mark 7:17).
The saying Jesus had just given challenged centuries of practice. The food laws and purity customs shaped every Jewish kitchen, marketplace and meal. To hear that defilement comes from the heart rather than the plate required more than ears; it required a willingness to have long-held assumptions overturned.
The Significance of Mark 7:16
- Hearing That Leads to Doing
James echoes Jesus when he writes, "Be doers of the word, and not only hearers, deluding your own selves" (James 1:22). The point of hearing is a changed life. In this context, that means taking seriously that the real battle for purity is fought in the heart, not at the dinner table.
- A Blessing for Open Ears
Hearing God's word is a gift. "Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God" (Romans 10:17). Jesus told his disciples, "blessed are your eyes, for they see; and your ears, for they hear" (Matthew 13:16-17). When we read Scripture, we can pray for attentive, teachable hearts, especially when a passage unsettles our habits.
Cross-References:
Mark 4:9: "Whoever has ears to hear, let him hear." The same call closes the parable of the sower.
Deuteronomy 6:4: "Hear, Israel: Yahweh is our God. Yahweh is one." Israel's daily confession, in which hearing means listening to obey.
Matthew 13:16: "But blessed are your eyes, for they see; and your ears, for they hear." Jesus calls true spiritual hearing a blessing.
James 1:22: "Be doers of the word, and not only hearers, deluding your own selves." Real hearing shows itself in obedience.
Conclusion: Mark 7:16 is a brief but urgent invitation. Jesus had just overturned a deeply held belief about purity, and he called the crowd to listen with understanding. The same call comes to us: to let God's word go beyond our ears into our hearts, and to respond with faith and obedience.
PIB Scriptures are derived from the World English Bible