Mark 7
Explanation and Bible story for toddlers and preschoolers (ages 3-6)
The Explanation
It was warm. Jesus sat with His friends. There was bread on the table.
The friends were hungry. They broke the bread. They ate.
But some men stood watching. They watched with cross faces.
"Look!" said the men. "Their hands are dirty. They did not wash them. That is not allowed!"
Jesus looked at the men. He was quiet for a moment.
Then He said something they did not expect.
"Dirty hands do not make you dirty inside," said Jesus. "Bread goes into your tummy. Not into your heart."
The men did not understand. Later, Jesus' friends did not understand either.
So Jesus said it again, very simply. "Something else can make you dirty. Not sand on your hands. But mean things inside you. Mean thoughts. Ugly words. Wanting to take what is not yours. That comes from inside. From your heart."
What Does This Mean?
Washing hands is good. You do it before dinner. Water and soap, rub, rub, rub.
But water cannot reach your heart. Soap cannot wash away a mean word.
Only God can make a heart clean again.
The Common Thread
Jesus walked on. He came to another town, far away.
A mother heard He was there. She ran. She fell down at His feet.
"Please," she said. "My little girl is very sick. Please help her."
And Jesus helped. He said, "Go home. She is better now."
The mother ran all the way home. And there lay her little girl on the bed. Quiet. Better. All better.
Then Jesus walked further, by the water.
People came with a man who could not hear. Not one sound. And he could hardly talk.
Jesus took the man away from the crowd. Just the two of them. Jesus put His fingers in the man's ears. He touched his tongue.
Then Jesus looked up. Up to heaven, to His Father. He sighed.
And He said one word. "Ephphatha!" That means: be opened!
And then… then the man heard something. Birds! Wind! Voices!
He opened his mouth. And he could talk. Clearly, out loud.
The people could hardly believe it. "He does everything well," they said. "Deaf ears hear. Quiet mouths talk!"
For You
Jesus makes things open again.
He opened ears that were closed. He made a sick girl well.
And He can open your heart too, when it feels closed and cross.
Sometimes something ugly comes out of you. A hit. A grabbed toy. A word that hurts.
You do not have to hide that.
You may say it to Jesus. Just like the mother who fell down at His feet. She said, "Please help." And Jesus helped.
You may say, "Jesus, my heart is not nice today. Please make it clean."
He hears you. His ears are always open.
Talk About It
When do you wash your hands? Can water wash the inside of you too?
What do you think the deaf man heard first, when his ears were opened?
Praying Together
Lord Jesus, thank You that You hear me.
Sometimes I am mean. I am sorry.
Please make my heart clean.
Amen.
Questions about Mark 7
Short answers for anyone reading about this for the first time.
What is Mark 7 about?
What does Mark 7 say?
What does Mark 7 teach us about God?
What can toddlers learn from Mark 7?
Why is Mark 7 an important Bible story?
What others discovered
For this saying, go your way. The demon has gone out of your daughter."
Jesus had just called her people dogs, and she agreed. She didn't argue her worth; she took the crumbs. And that faith moved Him.
What would happen if you stopped defending yourself before God and simply asked, empty-handed, for mercy?
From there he arose, and went away into the borders of Tyre and Sidon. He entered into a house, and didn't want anyone to know it; but he couldn't escape notice."
Jesus, tired, crosses into Gentile territory looking for a quiet room. He wants to hide. Yet he cannot be hidden. There's something achingly human about this scene, and something wonderful too. Even when he seeks silence, hungry hearts still find him. Yours can, right now.
Looking for something for slightly older children?
We also have dedicated versions for elementary age (7-12) and teens (12 and up).
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