What Comes Out of a Person Defiles Them (Mark 7:1-23)

 

What Comes Out of a Person Defiles Them (Mark 7:1-23)

How do we keep the Word of God perfectly? It cannot be done through deeds. We obey through faith. That faith is believing that Jesus Christ, the Son of God, died for the sins of this world, was buried, and rose again on the third day. Furthermore, it is believing that Christ ascended into heaven and sits at the right hand of the throne of God to rule.

In Mark 7:1-23, Jesus taught what truly defiles a person. It is not the food we eat, but all kinds of evil that come from within the heart. In Christ Jesus, we love God with all our heart, strength, and mind, out of freedom and a willing spirit. Keeping the law means doing so without coercion or force.

The Traditions of the Elders (Matthew 15:1-20)

1 The Pharisees and some of the teachers of the law who had come from Jerusalem gathered around Jesus 2 and saw some of his disciples eating food with hands that were defiled, that is, unwashed. 3 (The Pharisees and all the Jews do not eat unless they give their hands a ceremonial washing, holding to the tradition of the elders. 4 When they come from the marketplace they do not eat unless they wash. And they observe many other traditions, such as the washing of cups, pitchers and kettles.) 5 So the Pharisees and teachers of the law asked Jesus, “Why don’t your disciples live according to the tradition of the elders instead of eating their food with defiled hands?” (Mark 7:1-5)

The tradition of the elders began as a means to obey God’s Law. It started with good intentions. Based on the Pentateuch of Moses, there is the Written Torah consisting of approximately 613 commandments. However, around the 2nd century BC, the Mishnah was compiled based on oral traditions, categorizing rabbinic debates, legal applications, and interpretations of the Torah.

While the Torah is considered the written Word of God, the Mishnah is a topical legal code consisting of 63 tractates covering agriculture, festivals, damages, marriage, holy offerings, and purification rites. The Torah provides general principles, while the Mishnah provides specific and practical details regarding those laws.

For example, there are 39 categories of work forbidden on the Sabbath, such as threshing, kneading, washing, hunting, writing/erasing two letters, and extinguishing/kindling a fire.

Example: On the Sabbath, if a wound is minor, one does not squeeze out the blood but gently wipes it, places ointment on it without rubbing it in, and then applies a bandage. Since one cannot turn lights on or off during the Sabbath, timers are set in advance. To prevent the internal light from turning on when opening the refrigerator, the bulb is removed beforehand or the "Sabbath mode" is set.

They washed their hands before eating, which was a ritual requirement rather than a matter of hygiene. They accused the disciples because they did not follow this regulation. "Defiled hands" meant they had not performed the ritual according to the tradition of the elders.

Honoring Me with Lips, but Hearts are Far From Me

6 He replied, “Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you hypocrites; as it is written: ‘These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. 7 They worship me in vain; their teachings are merely human rules.’ 8 You have let go of the commands of God and are holding on to human traditions.” 9 And he continued, “You have a fine way of setting aside the commands of God in order to observe your own traditions! 10 For Moses said, ‘Honor your father and mother,’ and, ‘Anyone who curses their father or mother is to be put to death.’ 11 But you say that if anyone declares that what might have been used to help their father or mother is Corban (that is, devoted to God)— 12 then you no longer let them do anything for their father or mother. 13 Thus you nullify the word of God by your tradition that you have handed down. And you do many things like that.” (Mark 7:6-13)

Jesus did not agree with their accusation; instead, He rebuked them. God does not look at the outward appearance but looks at the heart (1 Samuel 16:7). God sees the motivations deep within. Therefore, through the prophet Isaiah, God rebuked the people of Israel who revered Him only with words while their hearts were elsewhere.

They were preoccupied with fulfilling their own interests and greed. They pushed aside the commandments of God and instead risked their lives for human traditions. Instead of obeying God's command to honor parents and not insult them, they prioritized the tradition of Corban (קָרְבָּן).

Corban was a human tradition cleverly crafted to avoid providing financial help to parents. It was a wickedness that abused and deceived God’s holy name. In this way, they were blinded by seeking their own gain and tried to deceive the Holy God.

God’s Loving-kindness and Love are Everlasting

God’s hand is not too short, nor is He stingy; His loving-kindness, love, and grace are everlasting (Isaiah 59:1; Lamentations 3:22-23). However, the people of Israel greatly misunderstood this. When King David sinned against the Lord, God rebuked him through the prophet Nathan:

"I gave your master’s house to you, and your master’s wives into your arms. I gave you all Israel and Judah. And if all this had been too little, I would have given you even more." (2 Samuel 12:8)

First, God commanded, "Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land the Lord your God is giving you" (Exodus 20:12). However, "anyone who speaks evil of their father or mother must be put to death" (Matthew 15:4; Exodus 21:17).

Parents spare no effort or devotion to give birth to and raise their children. In one sense, a parent's love for their child closely resembles the love of God. God loved us so much that He did not spare even His own dear Son but gave Him up for us (John 3:16). Therefore, it is only right to be thankful for God’s grace and love. Those who do not know God’s love and grace are foolish (Jeremiah 4:22; Romans 1:21-22).

2 Hear me, heavens! Listen, earth! For the Lord has spoken: “I reared children and brought them up, but they have rebelled against me. 3 The ox knows its master, the donkey its owner’s manger, but Israel does not know, my people do not understand.” 4 Woe to the sinful nation, a people whose guilt is great, a brood of evildoers, children given to corruption! They have forsaken the Lord; they have spurned the Holy One of Israel and turned their backs on him. (Isaiah 1:2-4)

The Purpose of Giving the Law

The Jews created the Mishnah to obey the words of God's commandments. However, they strayed from the original purpose for which God gave the Law. If you keep the Law, you receive a blessing, but if you break it, you receive punishment. The problem is that there is no mortal flesh that can perfectly keep the Law from birth until death. God, who instituted the Law, could not possibly be unaware of this fact.

The purpose for which God gave the Law is to make us aware of sin (Rom 3:20). Because the Law is the written expression of God's holy character, it is holy and blameless. However, since no one can keep the Law, both Jews and Gentiles alike are found to be sinners before God (Rom 3:9-18). Therefore, they fall short of the glory of God (Rom 3:23).

Then, how does one keep the Law? This is an important question. This is because if you do not keep the Law, you will surely face death. Since we are weak and cannot keep the Law, the Lord Jesus Christ took the sins of this world upon Himself and was hung high on the cross. This is the righteousness of God that has been made known apart from the Law, to which the Law and the Prophets testify (Rom 3:21).

Therefore, whoever believes in and obeys the Lord Jesus Christ has been set free from the snare of the Law (Gal 5:1). Specifically, believing in Jesus means that we have died with Him, been buried, have risen again, and have ascended into heaven to sit at the right hand of the throne of God (Rom 6:4; Eph 2:6).

Now, in Christ, we keep God's Law perfectly through freedom and willingness (Jas 1:25; Rom 6:17). It is impossible through fearful legalism. We keep His holy Law through that very love poured out as a gift from God (John 14:15).

God commanded His people to love the LORD God with all their heart, soul, and strength (Deut 6:5). However, God first demonstrated His love by giving His beloved Son as a sacrifice while we were still sinners (Rom 5:8).

1 Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and everyone who loves the father loves his child as well. 2 This is how we know that we love the children of God: by loving God and carrying out his commands. 3 In fact, this is love for God: to keep his commands. And his commands are not burdensome. (1 John 5:1-3)

Food Does Not Defile a Person

14 Again Jesus called the crowd to him and said, "Listen to me, everyone, and understand this. 15 Nothing outside a person can defile them by going into them. Rather, it is what comes out of a person that defiles them." (16) 17 After he had left the crowd and entered the house, his disciples asked him about this parable. 18 "Are you so dull?" he asked. "Don't you see that nothing that enters a person from the outside can defile them? 19 For it doesn't go into their heart but into their stomach, and then out of the body." (In saying this, Jesus declared all foods clean.) 20 He went on: "What comes out of a person is what defiles them. 21 For it is from within, out of a person’s heart, that evil thoughts come—sexual immorality, theft, murder, 22 adultery, greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance and folly. 23 All these evils come from inside and defile a person." (Mark 7:14-23)

The food one eats cannot defile a person. Jesus declared all foods clean. In the regulations regarding food in Leviticus, it lists unclean animals/birds/insects that must not be eaten (Lev 11:7-8). However, this does not mean that certain things were unclean from the beginning. Everything God created was good in His sight. The food regulations were to teach His people what is unclean and what is clean.

The traditions of the elders can make a person neither unclean nor clean. What defiles a person is what comes from the heart, and this is what prevents a person from standing boldly before God. In Adam, humans are filled with the spreading toxin of sin. This cannot be healed by keeping traditions. There is no other salvation except through the merit of the precious blood of Jesus Christ.

Our ability to love God and keep the Law perfectly is possible because we have already received the forgiveness of sins and made new by believing in the blood of Christ. It is not that we are declared righteous after first keeping the Law. There is no flesh that can do so (Rom 3:20). God not only demands perfect obedience, but He also gives the strength and power to obey. This is faith in Christ.

We have become new people in Christ. This is because our old self has died with Christ. By the grace of God, we now love God and love our neighbors in Christ. God promised through the prophet Ezekiel to give a new spirit and a new heart.

26 I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. 27 And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws. (Ezek 36:26-27)

Amen!

March 29, 2026

Buffalo Livingstone Church ©2026, David Lee Ministries ©2026 – All Rights Reserved.

Scripture quotes are from the NIV.