“Matthew 15–17; Mark 7–9,” Scripture Helps: New Testament (2024)
Scripture Helps
Matthew 15–17; Mark 7–9
Some scribes and Pharisees criticized Jesus’s disciples for eating bread without washing their hands. The Savior healed a Gentile woman’s daughter and fed four thousand people. The Pharisees wanted a sign from Jesus. He healed a blind man. Peter testified of Christ. The Savior promised to give Peter the keys of the kingdom of heaven. Jesus foretold of His death and Resurrection. He taught followers to take up their crosses and devote their lives to His cause. Peter, James, and John saw Jesus transfigured on a mount. Moses and Elijah appeared to them. Jesus healed a boy suffering from seizures. The Savior worked a miracle to pay a tax.
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Background and Context
How did the Pharisees misuse the practice of corban?
(Compare to Mark 7:9–13.)
The practice of corban was part of the tradition of the elders, also called the oral law because these traditions were passed on orally. The tradition of the elders included rules intended to help Jews live the law of Moses.
The word corban means “given to God.” The word describes anything dedicated to God and therefore not available for ordinary uses.” In this instance, the Pharisees declared their possessions as corban, or dedicated to God, so they did not have to use them to care for their parents. Thus, they broke the law of Moses, which stated, “Honour thy father and thy mother.” Jesus rebuked the Pharisees for allowing the tradition of the elders to take precedence over the word of God.
Why did Jesus compare Gentiles to dogs?
(Compare to Mark 7:25–30.)
When a Canaanite (non-Israelite, or Gentile) woman asked for Jesus’s help to heal her daughter, He did not respond to her initial plea. His mission was to go first to the covenant people of the house of Israel. Nevertheless, she worshipped Jesus and begged for His help. As the woman persisted, Jesus responded with an analogy that compared Israel to children and Gentiles to dogs: “It is not meet to take the children’s bread [the blessings of the covenant], and to cast it to dogs.” Comparing Gentiles to dogs may sound harsh to modern readers. The Greek word translated as “dogs” refers to small dogs that were often household pets. Jesus used this analogy to teach the woman that His mission was to Israel first.
Yet this Gentile woman apparently understood the analogy and distinction between Israel and Gentiles. She showed both humility and great faith in Jesus when she responded, “Truth, Lord: yet the dogs eat of the crumbs which fall from their masters’ table.” Jesus acknowledged her remarkable faith and healed her daughter. This event foreshadowed the gospel being brought to the Gentiles.
What is the connection between the name Peter and “this rock”?
Jesus gave Simon the additional name of Cephas. The Joseph Smith Translation explains that Cephas means “a seer, or a stone.” Simon later received the name Peter. This is a transliteration of the Greek word petros, a form of petra, which also means “stone” or “rock.” After Simon bore the testimony he received by revelation, Jesus declared, “Thou art Peter [Petros], and upon this rock [petra] I will build my church.” In this way, Jesus taught that He would build His Church on the rock of revelation.
Why did the Savior call Peter Satan?
(Compare to Mark 8:31–33.)
When Jesus testified that He would suffer many things and be killed, Peter tried to dissuade Him. Jesus rebuked Peter and called him Satan. Jesus was not implying that Peter was Lucifer. The Hebrew word satan means “adversary” or “accuser.” Peter had placed himself in opposition to the Savior’s ultimate saving mission. In Matthew’s account, Jesus stated that Peter’s words were an offense, or a “stumbling block,” to Him.
If Jesus had followed Peter’s advice and not fulfilled His Atonement, there would have been no redemption for humankind. Peter’s moment of impulsive protest unwittingly sided him with the adversary.
What happened on the Mount of Transfiguration?
(Compare to Mark 9:2–13.)
The Savior had previously promised Peter that He would give him “the keys of the kingdom of heaven.” The Prophet Joseph Smith taught that “the Savior, Moses, and Elias [Elijah], gave the keys to Peter, James, and John, on the mount, when they were transfigured before him.”
In the latter days, the Savior, Moses, and Elijah appeared to Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery in the Kirtland Temple to give them these same keys. From this experience, we learn what the keys of the kingdom of heaven are. Moses holds the keys of the gathering of Israel, which allows for the organizing of missionary efforts throughout the world. Elijah holds the keys of the sealing power. This power allows ordinances performed on earth to be bound in heaven. These keys are held by the members of the First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of the Church of Jesus Christ and enable them to direct and oversee the Savior’s work of salvation and exaltation.
The Joseph Smith Translation indicates that John the Baptist also appeared on the Mount of Transfiguration. John the Baptist’s appearance foreshadowed his role in the latter days when he would come to restore the Aaronic Priesthood. The scriptures allude to additional experiences on the Mount of Transfiguration.
What does it mean to be transfigured?
The Guide to the Scriptures defines transfiguration as “the condition of persons who are temporarily changed in appearance and nature—that is, lifted to a higher spiritual level—so that they can endure the presence and glory of heavenly beings.”
Why did some scribes and Pharisees criticize the Savior’s disciples for not washing their hands?
(Compare to Matthew 15:1–3.)
The law of Moses included rules to maintain ritual purity, which was required for priests to serve in the temple. Contact with some diseases, certain animals, bodily fluids, or dead bodies made a priest unclean. To become clean again, a priest had to go through a process of ritual washing.
The Pharisees asserted that all Jews, not just priests, had to be ritually clean. They believed that being ritually clean would allow them to “bring the purity and holiness of the temple into their homes.” To remain clean, Jews followed the tradition of the elders, or the oral law, which included rules for washing hands, cups, pots, pitchers, and kettles.
Jesus taught the Pharisees that they should be more concerned with being spiritually clean rather than ritually clean. He said, “There is nothing from without a man, that entering into him can defile him: but the things which come out of him, those are they that defile the man. … For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts.”
How did Jesus feeding four thousand people prepare the way for the gospel to go to the Gentiles?
(Compare to Matthew 15:29–38.)
According to Mark 7:31, Jesus fed four thousand people in the largely Gentile Decapolis region. This is the same place where Jesus cast out a legion of devils into a herd of swine. The number of believers in this area had grown to a “very great” multitude, and this miracle foreshadowed the gospel going to the Gentiles.
What does it mean to take up one’s cross?
(Compare to Matthew 16:24; Luke 9:23.)
Jesus taught His disciples, “Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.”
Jesus’s disciples would have been familiar with the imagery of taking up one’s cross. Romans used crucifixion to execute criminals. It caused unbearable suffering and could last for a long time. It was a form of public humiliation. Often, the condemned had to carry their own crossbeam to the place of execution.
In the phrase “let him deny himself,” Matthew and Mark used the Greek word aparneomai. This word “suggests that discipleship entails the breaking of every link that ties a person even to themselves. It is about being able, like the Savior, to submit our will to the will of the Father.” Luke used a similar Greek verb, arneomai, and added that we must “take up [our] cross daily.”
The Joseph Smith Translation provides added insight: “And now for a man to take up his cross, is to deny himself all ungodliness, and every worldly lust, and keep my commandments.”
Who was the man casting out devils in the Savior’s name?
(Compare to Luke 9:49–50.)
John expressed concern about a man who was casting out devils in Jesus’s name but who was not following them. Luke’s wording, “he followeth not with us,” may leave room for the possibility that the man was a follower of Jesus, just not one of the disciples who traveled with Him.
John’s concern seems to be about authority. Jesus explicitly gave the Twelve Apostles power to perform miracles. Jesus responded to John’s concern by saying, “Forbid him not: … for he that is not against us is on our part.” From the Savior’s response, it seems that the man casting out devils in Jesus’s name was a righteous man acting under proper priesthood authority. Jesus seemed more concerned with sharing His power than restricting it.
Other scripture accounts make it clear that not everyone who uses the name of Christ to cast out evil spirits is successful.
How did the Savior feel about those who offend His “little ones”?
(Compare to Matthew 18:1–10.)
In these verses, the phrase “little ones” refers to believers. The word “offend” comes from the Greek word skandalizō, meaning to “cause to stumble.” The Joseph Smith Translation provides the following clarification: “Therefore, if thy hand offend thee, cut it off; or if thy brother offend thee and confess not and forsake not, he shall be cut off.”
Jesus used the imagery of a millstone around the neck and cutting off body parts to indicate how serious it is to cause His believers to stumble in their faith. This imagery is an example of hyperbole—exaggerated statements not to be taken literally.
A millstone was a large stone used to grind grain into flour.
What is the significance of salt and fire?
In ancient Israel, sacrifices involved salt and fire. Salt is a symbol of the covenant between the Lord and Israel. Fire is a symbol of purification, trials, and complete dedication to God. Anyone who desires to enter the kingdom of God must be willing to sacrifice by making covenants and dedicating everything to God.
Learn More
Priesthood Keys
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Russell M. Nelson, “Keys of the Priesthood,” Ensign, Oct. 2005, 40–44
Discipleship
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Ulisses Soares, “Take Up Our Cross,” Ensign or Liahona, Nov. 2019, 113–16
Media
Video
“Thou Art the Christ” (1:34)
Images
The Miracle of the Loaves and Fishes, by James Tissot
Mount of Transfiguration, by Robert T. Barrett
The Transfiguration of Christ, by Greg K. Olsen