This is a continuation of yesterday’s notes.
Mark 7:14-23 (NKJV) When He had called all the multitude to Himself, He said to them, “Hear Me, everyone, and understand: 15 There is nothing that enters a man from outside which can defile him; but the things which come out of him, those are the things that defile a man. 16 If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear!”
17 When He had entered a house away from the crowd, His disciples asked Him concerning the parable. 18 So He said to them, “Are you thus without understanding also? Do you not perceive that whatever enters a man from outside cannot defile him, 19 because it does not enter his heart but his stomach, and is eliminated, thus purifying all foods?” 20 And He said, “What comes out of a man, that defiles a man. 21 For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, 22 thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lewdness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness. 23 All these evil things come from within and defile a man.”
V14 “When He had called all the multitude to Himself, He said to them, “Hear Me, everyone, and understand…” The Lord Jesus gathered the crowd to listen to something very important. He wanted them to listen and understand what He was going to say, for it was important. Compare Matthew 17:5 and James 1:19.
V15 “There is nothing that enters a man from outside which can defile him; but the things which come out of him, those are the things that defile a man.” Defilement can mean loss of fellowship with God. Defilement is contamination from various things: 1) physical defilement from body discharges, touching a dead body, etc., 2) soul defilement is unjustified anger, covetousness, thinking blasphemies, etc., and/or 3) spiritual defilement is worshipping anything other than the God of the Bible, seeking guidance by occultic means, etc.
Summary Table see from Brave AI in pages
The flesh is already defiled (Romans 7:18, Romans 13:14, and Ephesians 2:3). The heart is the real person, the soul and spirit, the personality, the will, the mind, etc. Food cannot defile the heart, because it is already defiled by sin. Our heart/soul is defiled by a sin nature. The sin nature was inherited from Adam and passed down through the generations. The sin nature is evil. It is the source of all evil. What comes out of the heart/soul is found in verses 20-22.
V16 “If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear!” This is important, so listen closely and apply it.
V17 “When He had entered a house away from the crowd, His disciples asked Him concerning the parable.” It was a good idea to ask Jesus, the giver of true interpretation. He expects His words to be taken in their plain, normal sense.
V18 “So He said to them, “Are you thus without understanding also? Do you not perceive that whatever enters a man from outside cannot defile him…” He is not scolding them, yelling at them, or belittling them. They should have learned from the time with Jesus and all His teaching what this meant. Food does not defile the heart/soul.
V19 “…because it does not enter his heart but his stomach, and is eliminated, thus purifying all foods?” Jesus gives the reason. Purifying all foods:
Wuest Word Studies: “Vincent and Robertson say that the words, “purging all meats” are not our Lord’s, but Mark’s comment and interpretation of His words. Expositors mildly suggests the same thing, and explains the words as follows: “This He said, purging all meats; making all meats clean, abolishing the ceremonial distinctions of the Levitical law.” This ties up with the fact that Peter reported our Lord’s words to Mark and had the house-top experience of the vision teaching the same thing, as the background of his thinking. Peter never forgot the “What God hath cleansed, that call thou not common” (Acts 11:1-10).”
V20 “And He said, “What comes out of a man, that defiles a man.” Jesus does not refer “what comes out” to the colon but from the heart/soul of a person.
V21 “For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders…”
Evangelical Heritage Version of V21-22: “Mark 7:21-23 (EHV) In fact, from within, out of people’s hearts, come evil thoughts, sexual sins, theft, murder, [22] adultery, greed, wickedness, deceit, unrestrained immorality, envy, slander, arrogance, and foolishness. [23] All these evil things proceed from within and make a person unclean.”
V22 “…thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lewdness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness.”
V23 “All these evil things come from within and defile a man.” It is not the environment or socio-economic status that influences us to sin. We sin because we want to, which actions originate in the heart.
We learn:
- Where real defilement comes from.
- Ritual washings do not cleanse the defilement of the heart/soul.
- Some examples of what God considers defilement.
Questions:
- Are we trusting in our rituals/sacraments to cleanse our defilement?
- Do we acknowledge our defilement of heart?