14 After He called the crowd to Him again , He began saying to them, "Listen to Me, all of you, and understand : 15 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 . 16 ["If anyone has ears to hear , let him hear ."] 17 When he had left the crowd and entered the house , His disciples questioned Him about the parable . 18 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 e defile him, 19 because it does not go into his heart , but into his stomach , and is eliminated e e ?" (Thus He declared all foods clean .) 20 And He was saying , " That which proceeds out of the man , that is what defiles the man . 21 "For from within , out of the heart of men , proceed the evil thoughts , fornications , thefts , murders , adulteries , 22 d deeds of coveting and wickedness , as well as deceit , sensuality , envy e , slander , pride and foolishness . 23 "All these evil things proceed from within and defile the man ."
Matthew Henry's Commentary on Mark 7:14-23
Commentary on Mark 7:14-23
(Read Mark 7:14-23)
Our wicked thoughts and affections, words and actions, defile us, and these only. As a corrupt fountain sends forth corrupt streams, so does a corrupt heart send forth corrupt reasonings, corrupt appetites and passions, and all the wicked words and actions that come from them. A spiritual understanding of the law of God, and a sense of the evil of sin, will cause a man to seek for the grace of the Holy Spirit, to keep down the evil thoughts and affections that work within.