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The Inside Story on Defilement
(Mark 7:14–23)

After He called the crowd to Him again, He began saying to them, “Listen to Me, all of you, and understand: there is nothing outside the man which can defile him if it goes into him; but the things which proceed out of the man are what defile the man. [If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear.]” When He had left the crowd and entered the house, His disciples questioned Him about the parable. And He said to them, “Are you so lacking in understanding also? Do you not understand that whatever goes into the man from outside cannot defile him, because it does not go into his heart, but into his stomach, and is eliminated?” (Thus He declared all foods clean.) And He was saying, “That which proceeds out of the man, that is what defiles the man. For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed the evil thoughts, fornications, thefts, murders, adulteries, deeds of coveting and wickedness, as well as deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride and foolishness. All these evil things proceed from within and defile the man.” (7:14–23)

The notion that human beings are basically good persists in the world in spite of constant and ubiquitous evidence to the contrary. Popular psychologists and secular anthropologists insist evil is not inherent in people. Consequently, the blame for destructive behaviors is ultimately placed on external forces and environmental factors. “Other people are bad not me” seems to be the proud excuse easily formed by the deceptive human heart. Unwilling to acknowledge their own guilt, perpetrators often claim to be victims—faulting parents, peers, or circumstances for their criminal behavior.

A biblical understanding of human nature could not be more opposite. Because all people are sinners (cf. Rom. 3:23), they are born with a nature that is already corrupt (cf. Ps. 51:5; Rom. 5:12, 19). The problem is not outside of them but within them. As Jeremiah 17:9 (KJV) explains, “The heart of man is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked.” External factors may provide people with unique opportunities to manifest their sinfulness, but the corruption already exists on the inside. All human beings are sinful, perpetrators of crimes against man and God. They are wicked not because of outside influences but because they are full of pride and lust, and “when lust has conceived, it gives birth to sin” (James 1:15).

The Jewish people of Jesus’ day were obviously not affected by the musings of modern psychologists. Yet, they similarly misunderstood the basic truth about where corruption and defilement originates. Thinking that moral contamination came from external sources, they developed an elaborate system of external rituals and ceremonies that they thought would make them pure. They wrongly assumed that if they looked good on the outside by attending the synagogue, honoring the law, and observing the traditions of the elders, God would deem them righteous on the inside (cf. Matt. 23:13–36; Phil. 3:4–6). Consequently, Judaism became a breeding ground for hypocrisy, externalism, and superficial legalism.

In this section (Mark 7:14–23), Jesus confronted that false system by articulating the difference between true and false sources of defilement. Significantly, the word defile or defiles (from the Greek verb koinoō, meaning to pollute or make unclean) appears five times in this passage (vv. 15 [twice], 18, 20, 23). Following His confrontation with the Pharisees regarding the authority of rabbinic tradition (vv. 1–13), Jesus continued by shattering the notion that moral corruption originates outside a person. In so doing, He also demonstrated that spiritual cleansing cannot be obtained through external rituals and religious ceremonies. The passage can be divided into two parts, each concentrating on the truth about defilement: the truth stated and the truth explained.

THE TRUTH STATED

After He called the crowd to Him again, He began saying to them, “Listen to Me, all of you, and understand: there is nothing outside the man which can defile him if it goes into him; but the things which proceed out of the man are what defile the man. If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear.” (7:14–16)

Even as Jesus drew His Galilean ministry to a close, huge crowds of people still accumulated around Him wherever He was (cf. Mark 6:56). His popularity drew the ire of the Jewish religious leaders, whose resentment was so strong that the only thing that would satisfy it was to kill Him (cf. 3:6). At some point shortly after the first miraculous feeding of the thousands (cf. 6:33–44), some Pharisees and scribes traveled from Jerusalem to Galilee to confront Jesus (7:1–13). Their antagonistic interchange with Him undoubtedly attracted a group of curious onlookers, who would have been amazed to hear Jesus openly defy the religious leaders’ authority to their faces (cf. 1:22; Luke 11:39–44). After the confrontation was over, Jesus called the crowd to Him again and began saying to them, “Listen to Me, all of you, and understand.” By calling the people to carefully heed His words, Jesus was doing more than just asking for their attention. He was underscoring the eternal significance of what He was about to say.

Speaking of spiritual defilement, Jesus explained that there is nothing outside the man which can defile him if it goes into him. The Lord’s point was that external things, like meals eaten with ceremonially unwashed hands (cf. 7:2), are not the source of spiritual impurity. Rather, the defilement that offends God is an internal, spiritual reality that has a corresponding internal source. Sinful pollution does not come from outside the sinner but lies within him. In the parallel passage of Matthew 15:11, Jesus explained that it is “what proceeds out of the mouth [that] defiles the man.” The Lord’s point was that moral contamination is not evidenced by what goes into a person’s mouth but what comes out from it (cf. Matt. 12:34; Luke 6:45). The mouth is not the only place where wretchedness manifests itself, but it is the most ready, immediate, and constant exit for the evil inside (cf. James 3:2–12). Proverbs 6:12 characterizes a wicked man as “one who walks with a perverse mouth.” Proverbs 15:28 adds: “The mouth of the wicked pours out evil things.” When Jesus spoke of the things which proceed out of the man, He was referring not only to a person’s speech but also the desires, thoughts, and attitudes behind his speech. Because the heart is evil, wicked lusts, words, and actions inevitably gush forth. Those are what defile the man.

Jesus’ words must have shocked His listeners, all of whom had been raised in a system that prized external morality and ceremonies (cf. Matt. 6:1–6, 16–18). In reality, the Lord was not introducing new ideas but reiterating Old Testament truths that the Jewish people should have known well. They were familiar with passages that taught that “God sees not as man sees, for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart” (1 Sam. 16:7; cf. 13:14; 1 Kings 8:39; Prov. 21:2); and that “the Lord searches all hearts, and understands every intent of the thoughts” (1 Chron. 28:9; cf. 1 Kings 8:61; 2 Kings 20:3). Yet, due to their own extrabiblical traditions, they had become preoccupied with a superficial form of purity that was inherently hypocritical because it bypassed the heart.

It is true that some of Israel’s rituals and regulations had been prescribed by God in the Mosaic law. Certain foods were forbidden (cf. Lev. 11:1–47), and certain medical issues (such as leprosy [13:11, 44–45], touching a dead body [21:1, 11], and menstruation [15:19]) rendered a person ceremonially unclean. Yet, those things were intended as symbols or illustrations of the true nature of man’s sinful heart and his desperate need for divine cleansing. That a person who was ceremonially defiled needed external cleansing to participate in public worship provided a powerful picture of the fact that every sinner requires divine forgiveness and internal cleansing before coming into God’s presence.

The fact that Old Testament rituals were only symbols is particularly emphasized throughout the book of Hebrews. Commenting on the Levitical system, the author of Hebrews explained that the priesthood was “a copy and shadow of the heavenly things” (8:5); the sacrifice of bulls and goats foreshadowed the final atoning work of Christ (cf. Heb. 9:13–14); and the Holy Place in the tabernacle was “a symbol for the present time. Accordingly both gifts and sacrifices are offered which cannot make the worshiper perfect in conscience, since they relate only to food and drink and various washings, regulations for the body imposed until … Christ appeared” (9:9–11). Even the Mosaic law was “only a shadow of the good things to come and not the very form of things,” because external conformity to it “can never, by the same sacrifices which they offer continually year by year, make perfect those who draw near” (10:1). Salvation requires internal cleansing, such that God’s people can “draw near with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having [their] hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and [their] bodies washed with pure water” (10:22).

Like the sacrificial system, circumcision was also a physical act prescribed by God to symbolize a spiritual reality. Even as Israel entered the Promised Land, the Lord reminded the people that His gaze was focused on the circumcision of their hearts:

Paul reiterated that truth in Romans 2:28–29,

After all, Abraham was justified by faith prior to being circumcised (cf. Rom. 4:1–12).

The Old Testament was clear: no attention to commanded ceremony or ritual was pleasing to God unless it came from a heart that sincerely loved Him (cf. (cf. Deut. 10:12; 11:13; 13:13; 26:16; 30:2, 6, 10; Josh. 22:5; 24:23; 1 Sam. 7:3; 12:20, 24; 1 Kings 8:23; 2 Chron. 11:16; Isa. 51:7; 57:15). The notion that external acts—like being circumcised, observing dietary laws, or performing ceremonial cleansing—could provide salvation from sin was utterly alien to God’s law. In spite of that fact, the Jewish people, clinging to their sin with corrupt love (cf. John 3:19–20), became preoccupied with external symbols to the exclusion of internal purity. Doing so allowed them to appear religious without being either repentant or righteous (cf. Isa. 1:11–17; 29:13; Amos 5:21–24). By going through the motions while still clinging to their sin, they cultivated a system that thrived on hypocrisy. That is why Jesus said to the Pharisees, “You are like whitewashed tombs which on the outside appear beautiful, but inside they are full of dead men’s bones and all uncleanness. So you, too, outwardly appear righteous to men, but inwardly you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness” (Matt. 23:27–28; cf. Titus 1:15–16). To make matters worse, they added their own man-made rules and regulations to the law—eventually eclipsing the truth of God’s Word with the traditions of men (cf. Mark 7:8, 13). Rather than leading them closer to God, their extrabiblical rituals and regulations led them away from Him. In the end, by rejecting and crucifying His Son, they proved that they loved their traditions far more than God Himself.

Jesus protested against their superficial religion by emphasizing the necessity of true internal righteousness (cf. Matt. 5:6, 20–48; Luke 18:9–14). Because the source of their defilement was spiritual and internal, it could not be removed by physical washings and external rituals. It was this very issue that Jesus explained to Nicodemus: “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit” (John 3:5–6). Being “born of water and the Spirit” was a reference not to literal washing but to spiritual cleansing (Ezek. 36:24–27; cf. Num. 19:17–19; Ps. 51:9–10; Isa. 32:15; 44:3–5; 55:1–3; Jer. 2:13; Joel 2:28–29), a reality accomplished by the Holy Spirit at the moment of conversion (cf. Titus 3:4–7). Just as physical birth cannot produce spiritual life, so only the Holy Spirit can affect the regenerating transformation necessary to enter God’s kingdom. The Pharisees and scribes were attempting to remove spiritual corruption through physical, external, and ceremonial means. The result was a whitewashed façade that thinly veiled a blackened heart. As Jesus explained to them, “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you clean the outside of the cup and of the dish, but inside they are full of robbery and self-indulgence” (Matt. 23:25; cf. Luke 16:15).

Verse 16 adds the phrase If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear. Most modern translations place that sentence in brackets because it does not occur in the earliest, most reliable manuscripts of the gospel. Though Jesus used this phrase on other occasions (Matt. 11:15; 13:9, 43; Mark 4:9, 23; Luke 8:8; 14:35; cf. Rev. 3:6, 13, 22), the evidence indicates that it was not part of the original text.

THE TRUTH EXPLAINED

When He had left the crowd and entered the house, His disciples questioned Him about the parable. And He said to them, “Are you so lacking in understanding also? Do you not understand that whatever goes into the man from outside cannot defile him, because it does not go into his heart, but into his stomach, and is eliminated?” (Thus He declared all foods clean.) And He was saying, “That which proceeds out of the man, that is what defiles the man. For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed the evil thoughts, fornications, thefts, murders, adulteries, deeds of coveting and wickedness, as well as deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride and foolishness. All these evil things proceed from within and defile the man.” (7:17–23)

Sometime later that day when He had left the crowd, Jesus and His disciples entered the house where He was presumably staying, possibly the home of Peter and Andrew in Capernaum (cf. 1:29). Away from the crowds, the Lord was able to communicate privately with His disciples, who questioned Him about the parable. According to Matthew 15:12–14:

That the Pharisees and scribes were offended by Jesus’ words was no surprise. He intentionally struck devastating blows at the heart of their hypocritical form of self-righteous externalism. Though they considered themselves spiritual authorities who represented God, in reality they were blind guides leading people on the road to hell (cf. Matt. 23:15). As false shepherds, they could not aid people in escaping judgment, because they would one day face divine wrath themselves (cf. Ezek. 34:2–10), being uprooted like weeds and cast into the fire (cf. Matt. 13:40–42). Israel’s apostate leaders were so far from salvation that Jesus told His disciples to “let them alone.” Because they had finally and willfully rejected their Messiah, they had been abandoned to judgment (cf. Mark 3:28–29) and were thus to be ignored.

According to Matthew 15:15, “Peter said to Him, ‘Explain the parable to us.’” It is at this point that Mark’s narrative picks up the story. Jesus responded and said to them, “Are you so lacking in understanding also?” The Lord’s question served as a mild rebuke to His disciples. It was less than a year until the cross, and they were still struggling with basic truths like the priority of inner righteousness over external ritual. It is likely that the disciples comprehended some aspects of the truth of what Jesus was disclosing. However, His teaching was so contrary to what they had been taught that they initially found it difficult to accept.

Recognizing their struggle, Jesus patiently explained the truth behind the metaphor: “Do you not understand that whatever goes into the man from outside cannot defile him, because it does not go into his heart, but into his stomach, and is eliminated?” As is often the case in Scripture (e.g., Deut. 6:5; Prov. 6:18; 22:15; Jer. 17:10; Rom. 1:21; 1 Cor. 4:5; Eph. 1:18), the heart refers not to the physical organ but to the inner person—the seat of one’s mental, emotional, and spiritual being. It encompasses one’s attitudes, affections, priorities, ambitions, and desires. The Lord’s point was that something physical and external, like food eaten with unwashed hands, cannot defile the inner person because it is physical, not spiritual. The condition of one’s heart before God is not determined by what one eats.

Mark’s parenthetical note explains that in making this statement Jesus in a moment obliterated the dietary laws of Judaism and declared all foods clean. The issue is not a person’s culinary choices but the spiritual condition of his inner person. Given Mark’s close association with the apostle Peter (see Introduction: Authorship), Mark’s comment was likely influenced by Peter’s own experience in Joppa (Acts 10:15; cf. 1 Tim. 4:3).

In verses 17–23, Jesus transitioned from the physical analogy to clearly express the spiritual reality. And He was saying, “That which proceeds out of the man, that is what defiles the man.” Spiritual defilement does not come from the outside but from the evil that resides in every human. The source of all wickedness is from within, so that out of the heart proceed evil thoughts. The word thoughts (from the Greek term dialogismos) is a general term referring to a person’s inward reasoning or perception. Because the heart is evil, man’s intentions, designs, ideas, motives, and musings are also depraved (cf. Gen. 6:5; Eph. 2:1–3). Out of the cesspool of the corrupt heart flow evil words, evil actions, and evil attitudes; the Lord enumerated six of each. The Pharisees and scribes loved to produce legalistic lists of external things either to do or to avoid. In response, Jesus articulated His own list defining the true nature of spiritual defilement by delineating the kinds of wickedness that live in and proceed from corrupt hearts.

Jesus’ list of six representative evil actions began with fornications (a form of the Greek word porneia, from which the English word “pornography” is derived), a general reference to sexual sin. Next, He identified thefts (a form of klopē; the related verb, kleptō, provides the basis for the English word “kleptomaniac”); murders (a form of phonos), denoting the illicit taking of another person’s life; adulteries (a form of moicheia), meaning sexual sin that violates the marriage covenant; and deeds of coveting (a form of pleonexia), a reference to desires and behaviors motivated by greed and avarice. All four of those actions are included in the second half of the Ten Commandments (cf. Ex. 20:13–17; cf. Rom. 13:9), and the disciples would have immediately recognized them as flagrant transgressions. (According to Matt. 15:19, Jesus also mentioned bearing false witness in this context.) Completing this category of evil, Jesus added wickedness (a form of ponēria), a general reference to iniquity that encompassed everything else that violates God’s law and holy will.

The Lord continued by denouncing six representative evil attitudes that lie behind those wicked actions (cf. Matt. 5:21–37). These include deceit (from the Greek word dolos), meaning craftiness, lying, and deception; and sensuality (a form of aselgeia), a reference to the unbridled lust of a dirty mind. The word envy translates two Greek words (forms of ophthalmos, meaning “eye,” and ponēros, meaning “evil”) and could be literally rendered as “evil eye.” Jesus used it here to describe eyes full of jealousy and hatred. Slander (a form of blasphēmia) refers to abusive and injurious speech toward others; pride (from the Greek word huperēphania) describes feelings of superiority, arrogance, and self-promotion. In the same way that the word “wickedness” summarized the evil actions in Jesus’ list, foolishness (a form of aphrosunē) encompassed the previous attitudes that He had articulated. It is a general term for moral folly and senselessness (cf. Prov. 13:16; 18:2; Eccl. 10:1–3). Ensuring that the disciples did not miss the point, Jesus reiterated the truth that all these things proceed from within and defile the man. It is not unwashed hands that defile a person but an unwashed soul.

No physical act of ceremonial cleansing or external ritual can purify a depraved heart, out of which flows all wicked actions and evil attitudes. Sinners need to be given a new nature, a new heart. Only the Spirit of God can create that (cf. Jer. 31:33; John 3:3–8). Speaking of the new covenant, the Lord God promised the Israelites:

As Ezekiel’s prophecy indicates, salvation requires inner transformation, a new heart. The New Testament identifies that reality as the miracle of regeneration and the new birth (cf. John 1:12–13; 3:3; Eph. 2:4–5; 5:26–27; Col. 2:13; James 1:18; 1 Peter 1:3, 23–25; 1 John 2:29; 3:9; 4:7). The apostle Paul described regeneration in these words:

Salvation is not predicated “on the basis of deeds,” including moral works, religious ceremonies, and external rituals. Rather it requires an internal miracle by the Holy Spirit who, according to His sovereign will and power, creates and cleanses the souls of all who embrace Jesus Christ in faith (Acts 15:8–9; cf. Rom. 8:2).

The Pharisees and scribes failed to understand that their corruption was on the inside. Though they appeared fastidiously religious, their superficial self-righteousness was infinitely inadequate (cf. Isa. 64:6; Luke 18:9–14; Phil. 3:4–9). Like all sinners, they needed new hearts that were regenerated by the Spirit of God. Yet, when Jesus confronted their hypocrisy, they spurned Him in angry unbelief, plotted His murder (cf. Matt. 12:24; 26:4; John 11:47–53), and committed spiritual suicide, not unlike Judas Iscariot.

Those who harden their hearts to the good news of the gospel, like the Pharisees and scribes did, will face eternal judgment (cf. Rom. 1:21; 2:5; Heb. 3:15). But those whose hearts have been made new by the power of God (2 Cor. 4:6; cf. Acts 16:14) have become new creatures in Christ (2 Cor. 5:17; cf. Col. 3:10). As those who “hunger and thirst for righteousness” (Matt. 5:6), they delight in hiding God’s Word in their hearts (Ps. 119:11; cf. Deut. 6:6; Prov. 3:3; 22:17–18; Jer. 17:1) so that they might serve the Lord in loving obedience (John 14:15; cf. Rom. 6:17; Eph. 6:6; 1 John 5:3) and “fervently love one another from the heart” (1 Peter 1:22; cf. John 13:34; Rom 12:10; Heb. 13:1; 1 Peter 2:17; 3:8). Though their hearts were once characterized by all sorts of wicked actions and attitudes (cf. 1 Cor. 6:9–11), they are now divinely empowered to live in a way that pleases God (cf. Rom. 6:17–18, 22; 13:11–14), as they “flee from youthful lusts and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart” (2 Tim. 2:22).