Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Mark 7:23
All these evil things come from within, and defile the man.
All these evil things come from within,…. All evil thoughts, words, and actions, take their rise from the inward parts of man; from his heart; which is sadly corrupted, and is the fountain from whence all these impure streams flow. And if these come from within, then not from without; they are not by imitation or are the mere effects of example in others: example may indeed, and often does, draw out the evil that is within; but it does not produce it there; if it was not there before, it could not draw it out from thence: and if all these evils come from within, then the inward part of man must be sinful and polluted, previous to the commission of these evil things; and from whence springs then that inward pollution? It is the fruit of original sin, of Adam’s transgression; the consequence of which is, a corrupt nature, which is derived to all his posterity: for his nature being corrupted by sinning, and he having all human nature in him, the individuals of it could not be propagated by ordinary generation, without the pollution of sin cleaving to them; “who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean? not one”, Job 14:4. Nor has there ever been any instance to the contrary, but the man Christ Jesus; whose human nature was holy, it not descending from Adam by ordinary generation; otherwise, all men, as David was, are “shapen in iniquity, and conceived in sin”, Ps 51:5, and this is the source and spring of all sinful action, internal and external.
And defile the man; both soul and body; all the powers and faculties of the soul, and all the members of the body; or “make a man common”: these show him to be one of the common people, a very sinful man; as such were reckoned, and therefore are called emphatically, “sinners”: and are joined with “publicans”, who were esteemed the worst of sinners: from all which it appears, that sin in thought, word, and deed, is the defiling thing, and is what ought to be carefully avoided; and not meats, and the manner of eating them, provided moderation is used.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
1) “All these evil things,” (panta tauta ta ponera) “All these wicked things,” these twelve kind of wicked things, deeds, dispositions and attitudes, Gen 6:5. These things, being wicked, are the fruit of moral character.
2) “Come from within,” (esothen ekporeuetai) “They come forth from within,” from the totally depraved. degenerated heart and nature of every man from birth, Psa 51:1; Psa 58:3; Jer 17:9; Mat 12:34-35; Eph 2:3.
3) “And defile a man.” (kai koinoi ton anthropon) ”And they defile a man,” cause him to be unclean by choice, of thought, intent, purpose and deed of immoral and unethical kind, in the light of the Word of God, Man is first defiled by natural, inherent nature, and second, by voluntary choice to disobey God and His holy Word relating to moral, ethical, and spiritual standards of right and wrong, good and evil, Rom 3:19; Rom 3:23. This is in strong contrast with mere physical uncleanness with which the elders of Israel were so concerned, Mar 7:3; Mar 7:5-9.
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
Jesus Ministers in Gentile Territory – the Syro-phoenician Woman – the Feeding of Four Thousand Men (7:23-8:26).
Having made His point strongly Jesus now moved to Gentile territory and seemingly remained there until Mar 8:10, where after a brief visit to Galilee He again returned to Decapolis. But first he moved to the borders of Tyre and Sidon. Then from the borders of Tyre He travelled through Sidon down to the Sea of Galilee ‘through the midst of the borders of Decapolis’. All this was Gentile territory. There would seem to have been a specific intention of avoiding Galilee.
Various reasons have been suggested for this. Firstly that He was avoiding Herod’s threatening, secondly that He was removing Himself from the attacks of the Rabbis, thirdly that He was seeking privacy, possibly so that He could concentrate on teaching His disciples, and fourthly that He wanted to move on into other regions with His message. The first is never even hinted at and is unlikely as a main reason because Jesus’ only reference to Herod’s later intentions against Him were answered with quiet defiance (Luk 13:32). At this stage Herod still thought of Him as John the Baptiser returned from the dead and probably wanted to keep well clear of Him. The second is also unlikely as a main reason as nothing is suggested of further intentions to kill Him and He was not afraid of their criticisms. The third, seeking privacy, is one stated reason (Mar 7:24), although there is no specific indication that at that point He was concentrating on teaching His disciples. The fourth is very possible, although interestingly His preaching there is not mentioned but assumed (Mar 8:1). All four factors may have contributed to His decision with the last probably being finally the main factor, especially after the incident with the Syro-phoenician woman.
But we must also bear in mind that it may be Mark himself who is intending to bring this out. That what we have here was rather an impression that Mark was seeking to convey as he illustrates the expansion of Jesus’ ministry, that Jesus’ words and logic had now opened the way to His ministry in Gentile territory, rather than that He was avoiding Galilee.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
23 All these evil things come from within, and defile the man.
Ver. 23. All these evil things ] Should God but break open that sink of sin that is within us, we should never endure the stench, but rid ourselves out of the world, as Judas, Ahithophel, &c.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Mar 7:23 . Concluding reflection: all these bad things come out from within and defile the man. Commonplace now, what a startling originality then!
Fuente: The Expositors Greek Testament by Robertson
come = issue. A Divine supplement, here.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
Mar 7:23. , all things) O how impure is the fountain of our heart!
Fuente: Gnomon of the New Testament
defile: Mar 7:15, Mar 7:18, 1Co 3:17, Tit 1:15, Jud 1:8
Reciprocal: Isa 55:7 – his thoughts
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
EVIL FROM WITHIN
And He said, That which cometh out of the man, that defileth the man. All these evil things come from within, and defile the man.
Mar 7:20; Mar 7:23
It is a notable characteristic of our Lords teaching that He fixes our attention not on outward results, but on inward motives.
I. The nature of the evil.What are the evil thoughts which we must guard against? Out of the terrible list which our Lord gives us in our text we may select three types.
(a) Pride, foolishness. How easy it is, especially in our leisure moments, to dwell with self-complacency on our own excellencies. At the worst the pride and foolishness which proceed from the heart may so exalt the miserable idol of self as to expel God from His rightful throne; in any case they destroy the most characteristic virtue of the Christian hearthumility.
(b) Thoughts of bitterness, ill-temper, and jealousy. The gossip of some idle tongue is accepted and believed; suspicion passes into ill-tempered resentment, and resentment turns into dislike verging upon hatred. There is no end to the mischief which arises from bad-tempered thoughts and perverse imaginations. Out of the heart proceed murders.
(c) Lasciviousness. It is not always easy for a man to keep his mind clean. But you can hardly exaggerate the disaster of a habit of unclean thinking, and a pure heart is worth any effort to those who remember what is promised to its possessor.
II. The remedy for the evil.What is the remedy for the evil?
(a) It is necessary to recognise the mischief, and to call things by their right names. There is still a great deal of unconscious Pharisaism in the world; not, indeed, the Pharisaism which makes a show of religious profession (that is no longer the fashion), but the Pharisaism which is almost blatantly satisfied with a miserably poor moral standard.
(b) Let us learn the necessity of a disciplined will, and recognise that it is possible, by vigilant determination, to keep the rein on our thoughts and imaginations. After all, we are members of Christ, and the Spirit of God dwells within us.
(c) Let us remember that in the spiritual as well as the material world, nature abhors a vacuum. The best way to keep out what is evil and unwholesome is to occupy the mind with good and wholesome subjects. A man who gives a few minutes every morning to meditation on some feature of the character of our Lord, or some incident in that wonderful life, is not likely to be a victim of bitter, or self-conceited, or gross imaginations.
III. The conclusion of the whole matter.Happy is that man who by consistent watchfulness against the first beginnings of evil, and willingness to dwell on what is best and healthiest, prepares himselfor lets Christ prepare himto be a worthy temple of the Holy Ghost. There is no limit to the possibilities of Christian character, and of lasting usefulness for those whose minds are free to hear Gods call.
Rev. Canon Kempthorne.
Illustration
There was an outbreak of typhoid fever in a country village. The inhabitants, in their panic, made every sort of effort to arrest the mischief. They examined their drains, they scrutinised their supplies of food and drink, they deluged their houses and yards with disinfectants. The fever still went on. At last they called in an expert, who commended the efforts that they had made, but asked some questions which were new to them. Where did their water come from? Was it polluted somewhere up stream? Had they traced it to the source! He answered these questions for himself, and found the cause of pollution near the source of the stream which supplied the village. The mischief was removed, and health returned. When our moral health is suffering, let us look to the source of the mischief.
Fuente: Church Pulpit Commentary
Chapter 6.
The Things That Defile
“And when they had passed over, they came into the land of Gennesaret, and drew to the shore. And when they were come out of the ship, straightway they knew Him, And ran through that whole region round about, and began to carry about in beds those that were sick, where they heard He was. And whithersoever He entered, into villages, or cities, or country, they laid the sick in the streets, and besought Him that they might touch if it were but the border of His garment: and as many as touched Him were made whole. Then came together unto Him the Pharisees, and certain of the scribes, which came from Jerusalem. And when they saw some of His disciples eat bread with defiled, that is to say, with unwashen, hands, they found fault. For the Pharisees, and all the Jews, except they wash their hands oft, eat not, holding the tradition of the elders. And when they come from the market, except they wash, they eat not. And many other things there be, which they have received to hold, as the washing of cups, and pots, brasen vessels, and of tables. Then the Pharisees and scribes asked Him, Why walk not Thy disciples according to the tradition of the elders, but eat bread with unwashen hands? He answered and said unto them, Well hath Esaias prophesied of you hypocrites, as it is written, This people honoureth Me with their lips, but their heart is far from Me. Howbeit in vain do they worship Me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men. For laying aside the commandment of God, ye hold the tradition of men, as the washing of pots and cups: and many other such like things ye do. And He said unto them, Full well ye reject the commandment of God, that ye may keep your own tradition. For Moses said, Honour thy father and thy mother; and, Whoso curseth father or mother, let him die the death: But ye say, If a man shall say to his father or mother, It is Corban, that is to say, a gift, by whatsoever thou mightest be profited by me; he shall be free. And ye suffer Him no more to do ought for his father or his mother; Making the word of God of none effect through your tradition, which ye have delivered: and many such like things do ye. And when He had called all the people unto Him, He said unto them, Hearken unto Me every one of you, and understand: 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. If any man have ears to hear, let him hear. And when He was entered into the house from the people, His disciples asked Him concerning the parable. And He saith unto them, Are ye so without understanding also? Do ye not perceive, that whatsoever thing from without entereth into the man, it cannot defile him; Because it entereth not into his heart, but into the belly, and goeth out into the draught, purging all meats? And He said, That which cometh out of the man, that defileth the man. For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lasciviousness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness: All these evil things come from within, and defile the man.”-Mar 6:53 to Mar 7:23.
The Lapsed Multitude.
The brief verses at the close of chapter vi. form a connecting link between the wonderful story of the walking upon the sea and that of our Lord’s controversy with the Pharisees about the washing of hands. We know as a matter of fact that this incident did not follow immediately upon the miracle. For John tells us that on the day following the night of storm Jesus preached the wonderful sermon in which He announced Himself to be the Bread of life, and said that only by eating His flesh and drinking His blood could men gain eternal life. The result of that sermon was that Christ’s popularity was shattered, and the multitudes who up to this point had been enthusiastic in His cause “went back, and walked no more with Him” (Joh 6:66). Indeed, Christ found Himself practically reduced to His twelve disciples as the only followers in whose devotion He could trust, and upon whose loyalty He could rely. After the crisis He appears to have left Capernaum, and visited Gennesaret.
-And their Eagerness for Material Benefits.
But though the people had turned their backs on His teaching, they had by no means lost faith in His power. So His coming to Gennesaret converted the place into a kind of field hospital; for the people “ran round about that whole region, and began to carry about on their beds those that were sick, where they heard He was. And wheresoever He entered into villages, or into cities, or into the country, they laid the sick in the market-places, and besought Him that they might touch if it were but the border of His garment: and as many as touched Him were made whole” (Mar 6:55-56). You notice that, if these people were not prepared to accept the spiritual truths Christ taught, they were only too eager to profit by the material blessings He bestowed. If they were not ready to take upon their necks His easy yoke, they were quite ready to fly to Him to get healing for their sicknesses and cure for their diseases. It is a curious phenomenon, this repudiation of Christ’s authority, combined with willingness to make a convenience of Him. But it is by no means a rare phenomenon. There are plenty of people who refuse to obey Christ, and still fly to Him to help them in their troubles. There are plenty of people who turn their backs on Him when He speaks to them about eating His flesh and drinking His blood, who yet appeal to Him when they are in distress. This making a convenience of Christ-wanting His gifts, but not wanting Him-is a pitiful business.
The Breadth of Christ’s Love.
But the marvel is that Christ responds to the cry even of those who have refused to obey Him. “He is kind unto the unthankful and to the evil” (Luk 6:35). For see what happened in this case. These people were amongst those who “went back, and walked no more with Him.” And yet, when they came seeking Christ’s help, this is what I read, “As many as touched Him were made whole” (Mar 6:56). He did not withhold His help because they had refused their obedience. “As many as touched Him were made whole.” And He is the same compassionate and loving Christ still. We are often unthankful and disobedient. But when trouble drives us to Him, He does not cast our unthankfulness and disobedience in our teeth. He hurries to us with help and succour.
“Unwearied in forgiveness still,
His heart can only love.”
Hostility at Work.
Now it was about Passover time, as John tells us, that the miracle of the feeding of the 5000, and the incident of the storm, and the subsequent crisis amongst Christ’s followers took place. Perhaps, as Mr. David Smith suggests, the rulers had expected that He would come up to Jerusalem for the feast, and that they would be able to compass His overthrow. Disappointed in this, they seem to have sent down from Jerusalem a deputation of Scribes and Pharisees, to co-operate with the local authorities of Capernaum in scrutinising the actions of Christ-lying in wait for opportunities of bringing Him to book.
The Charge against Jesus.
It was not very long before they found ground for complaint. As in their previous accusation against Him with reference to the Sabbath, it was apparently the conduct of the disciples, rather than that of Jesus Himself, that was at fault. But probably they argued-and they were perfectly right in so arguing-that the conduct of the disciples in a measure reflected the teaching of their Master, and that, if they neglected a certain ritual observance, it was because Jesus had made them feel that the observance in question was trivial and unimportant. Now the particular thing that scandalised these spying Pharisees and Scribes was the fact that the disciples ate bread with defiled-i.e. unwashen hands. And then Mark proceeds to explain to the Gentile readers how it was that a trumpery omission of this kind could be construed into a mortal offence. “For,” he says, “the Pharisees, and all the Jews, except they wash their hands diligently, eat not, holding the tradition of the elders: and when they come from the market-place, except they wash themselves, they eat not: and many other things there be, which they have received to hold, washings of cups, and pots, and brasen vessels” (Mar 6:3-4).
The Law and Tradition.
Moses had, as Dr. Glover says, very freely commanded washing. Partly for sanitary reasons, and partly also to emphasize the separateness of the chosen race, the Law required ablution on certain occasions. But these occasions, the “tradition of the elders” had indefinitely multiplied. They not only washed in cases of actual defilement, as Moses commanded; but they washed, for fear of possible and unconscious defilement. And so, for instance, as Mark here mentions, when they came home from market they washed, lest in the market they should have contracted defilement by unconscious contact with a Gentile. And a multitude of similar puerile rules tradition formulated, until life became a veritable slavery. And any breach of these rules was counted a heinous sin, to be punished by excommunication. This was the charge these Scribes and Pharisees brought against the disciples. “Why walk not Thy disciples according to the tradition of the elders, but eat their bread with defiled hands?” (Mar 6:5). They had committed the monstrous crime of breaking one of the multitudinous trumpery rules with which Rabbinism had burdened and encumbered human life.
The Charge Met.
What had Jesus Christ to say in answer to this charge? If it would be right to use the epithet “scornful” of Jesus, I believe it would be right to use it of Him here. There is a kind of splendid scorn of the blind folly that could exalt the washing of the hands into an article of religion. His answer to the charge is to brand those who made it as hypocrites. “Well did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites.” And what is a hypocrite? Well, literally, he is a man who plays a part on the stage. That was what these Scribes and Pharisees, with their insistence upon petty and trumpery rules, were-mere play-actors, men who wore a mask of religion. They paid outward deference to God, but their heart was far from Him. What they had was not really a religion, but a ritual; and, as Isaiah reminded the Jews long before, you may have the ritual without the religion. “To what purpose is the multitude of your sacrifices unto Me? saith the Lord…. Your new moons and your appointed feasts My soul hateth;… I am weary to bear them” (Isa 1:11, Isa 1:14). It was a case of ritual without religion. It was the publican, and not the Pharisee who boasted of his punctiliousness in the observance of religious duties, who went down to his house justified. God had no pleasure in the Pharisee and his prayers. They meant ritual without religion.
Ritual without Religion.
It was so in the case of these Scribes and Pharisees in our paragraph. They were scrupulous about ablutions, they held up their hands in pious horror at the bare thought of eating bread with unwashen hands, but they were careless about mercy and love and truth. Jesus calls them “hypocrites”-mummers, play-actors. Their punctiliousness was but ritual without religion. And I may go further, for not only may ritual exist without religion, but emphasized ritual is a dangerous enemy to religion. Laying undue importance upon the outward forms, you obscure the importance of the inner spirit. Once you exaggerate the importance of external rules, you minimise the importance of faith and love. Once ceremonialism comes in by the door, genuine religion has a way of flying out by the window.
An Example of its Working.
Palestine in our Lord’s day is an illustration of the truth of this. Religion had been smothered beneath ritual. Washing the hands counted for more than the devotion of the heart. They were careful of petty rules, and careless of the great commands of God. Take the glaring and monstrous case which Jesus cast up against them. The fifth commandment in the Decalogue was this: “Honour thy father and thy mother.” And by honouring them is meant not simply outward deference, but obedience in youth, and assistance, if required, in age. This filial duty is not only commanded by God, but it is ratified by the instinct of universal human nature. But Jewish casuistry had invented a way by which greedy and selfish men could evade that plain and obvious duty, and do so in the name of religion. Whatever was vowed to God was sacred to the uses of religion. It was corban-an offering-and must pass into the hands of the priests. It need not, and often was not paid at once; the money so dedicated was often employed by the owner during life, and only actually passed into the Temple treasury at his death. But the fact that it was corban placed it beyond the reach of ordinary claims; for they held it sacrilegious to apply to other uses what had once been dedicated to God. Now wicked and shameless men used this tradition about corban to evade some of their plain and primary responsibilities. Selfish sons, for instance, played this trick upon needy parents, and answered their piteous appeals for help by this very formula which our Lord here quotes, “That wherewith thou mightest have been profited by me is corban” (Mar 6:11). The peculiar odiousness of it lay in the circumstance that it was done in the name of God. Religion was used to justify selfishness and greed; or rather, devotion to ritual was allowed to stifle and destroy religion; “making void,” said Jesus, “the word of God by your tradition, which ye have delivered” (Mar 6:13).
A Modern Peril.
Now, has all this any message for us? Has it any pertinency to our time? I am persuaded that it has. These are days of developed ritualism. But let us never forget that ritual is not religion. The one can never take the place of the other. Religion is not a posture of the body; it is an attitude of the heart. God is a Spirit, and they that worship Him must worship Him in spirit and truth. In so far as ritual tends to emphasize the external rather than the internal, the form rather than the spirit, it is to be jealously guarded against, rather than fostered and encouraged. For you cannot magnify the little external things of religion, without thereby minimising the great and vital things.
Defilement-External and Vital.
All this talk about externalism had arisen from the complaint made by the Scribes and Pharisees about the “unwashen” hands of the disciples. It was only outward defilement that they seemed to have any notion of. Christ proceeds now to show what the true sources of defilement are. It was a lesson that not only these spying enemies of His, but the whole body of people, needed to be taught. So He called to Him the multitude, and said to them, “Hear Me all of you, and understand: there is nothing from without the man, that going into him can defile him: but the things which proceed out of the man are those that defile the man” (Mar 6:15). It was one of those great sweeping truths that Christ delighted to utter. It went right beyond ceremonial conditions to moral verities-beyond the outward to the inward. By this one word He swept away all those multitudes of regulations that tradition had accumulated, and indeed struck at the artificial distinction which the Mosaic law made between things clean and unclean-a regulation which had perhaps been useful in its day, but had served its time.
The Distinction and Difference.
The disciples realised that it was a broad and sweeping statement, whose bearings they did not all at once take in. And so when they were alone in the house they asked Him as to the parable. He, with some words implying rebuke, condescends patiently to explain it to them. And the gist of His explanation comes to this that, as Dr. Glover puts it, defilement arises not from food, but from faults. The centre of pollution is the evil heart. “Out of the heart of men, evil thoughts proceed, fornications, thefts, murders, adulteries, covetings, wickednesses, deceit, lasciviousness, an evil eye, railing, pride, foolishness: all these evil things proceed from within, and defile the man” (Mar 6:21, Mar 6:23). “This He said,” remarks the Evangelist, “making all meats clean” (Mar 6:19). Yes, He did that; but He did much more. He revolutionised the whole notion of defilement. In the deepest sense there is no defilement, save moral and spiritual defilement. The only thing that really pollutes a man is an unclean heart.
A Personal Application.
Have we learned the lesson? I wonder whether even in Christian England there are not a great many people who are far more troubled about dirty hands than they are about a dirty soul! I wonder whether even to this day Society at large does not lay a great deal more stress upon correct behaviour than it does upon a clean heart! But, at any rate, let us be under no delusion. Our Lord “looketh upon the heart.” He tests and measures everything by what He sees there. A man is clean or defiled according as his heart is clean or defiled; and what defiles the heart is the evil thought. Go through this list, and examine yourself by it. Perhaps we can honestly say that some of the things that are in this terrible list are not in our hearts-fornication, thefts, murders, adulteries. But what about covetings? And what about deceit? And what about the evil and envious eye? And what about pride? Are none of them there? And none of them enter the heart without leaving a black and ugly smudge upon it. When I think of it all, I am tempted to cry out, like the leper, “Unclean! unclean!” For, like John Bunyan, I feel that sin and corruption do as naturally bubble out of my heart as water bubbles out of a fountain, until, like him, at the sight of my own vileness I fall deeply into despair. But there is One who can make my defiled heart clean again. No external cleansing can wash away the stains that evil thoughts make. “Though thou wash thee with lye, and take thee much soap, yet thine iniquity is marked before Me, saith the Lord God” (Jer 2:22). “And the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanseth us from all sin” (1Jn 1:7). And so I turn to Him with the prayer, “Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me.”
Fuente: The Gospel According to St. Mark: A Devotional Commentary
3
These things defile a man because they corrupt his heart and then his life through the manner of conduct they induce him to practice.
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
Verse 23
The whole passage is a very clear and striking exposure of the ignorance, or the hypocrisy, implied in ascribing spiritual importance and efficacy to external forms.