Mark 7:17

"If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear!”"

Key Reflection

In first-century Jewish culture, when a rabbi spoke directly to his students, he often used parables and wordplays that required keen listening and insight. The phrase "If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear!" underscores the importance of active engagement and understanding in Jesus' teachings. This exhortation challenges listeners to not only hear the words but also comprehend their deeper meaning, reflecting a call for discernment and spiritual awareness within the community of faith.

From the Scholars: Barnes' Notes

Verse 17. The parable. The obscure and difficult remarks which he had made in Mr 7:15. The word parable, here, means obscure and difficult saying. They could not understand it. They had probably imbibed many of the popular notions of the Pharisees, and they could not understand why a man was not defiled by external things. It was, moreover, a doctrine of the law, that men were ceremonially polluted by contact with dead bodies, etc., and they could not understand how it could be otherwise. {v} "And when" Mt 15:15 __________________________________________________________________

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