MARK 07:14-23
WHAT DEFILES A PERSON
Text – Mark 7:14–23
14 He summoned the crowd again and said to them, “Hear me, all of you, and understand.
15 Nothing that enters one from outside can defile that person; but the things that come out from within are what defile.”
17 When he got home away from the crowd his disciples questioned him about the parable.
18 He said to them, “Are even you likewise without understanding? Do you not realize that everything that goes into a person from outside cannot defile,
19 since it enters not the heart but the stomach and passes out into the latrine?” (Thus he declared all foods clean.)
20 “But what comes out of a person, that is what defiles.
21 From within people, from their hearts, come evil thoughts, unchastity, theft, murder,
22 adultery, greed, malice, deceit, licentiousness, envy, blasphemy, arrogance, folly.
23 All these evils come from within and they defile.”
Historical and Jewish Context
In the Jewish religious system, ritual purity was central to worship and daily life. Foods were categorized as clean or unclean according to Levitical laws (Leviticus 11), and contact with certain objects or people could cause defilement. These laws originally aimed to remind Israel of its holiness as God’s chosen people. However, by Jesus’ time, external observance had overshadowed the moral and spiritual meaning behind the law.
By declaring that what enters from outside does not defile a person, Jesus challenges centuries of ritual purity laws. His teaching marked a profound shift: true impurity is not physical but moral and spiritual, arising from the heart. Mark’s parenthetical note—“Thus he declared all foods clean”—reflects the early Christian understanding that the dietary restrictions of the Old Covenant no longer apply in the New Covenant. This teaching prepared the way for the inclusion of Gentiles in the Church without the burden of Mosaic ritual law (see Acts 10:9–16).
Catholic Theological Perspective
In Catholic theology, this passage reveals that sin originates in the heart—the center of human decision and desire. Jesus reorients holiness from external conformity to inner conversion. True purity is not achieved through ritual observance but through sanctification by grace. The “heart” represents the inner person, where intentions, choices, and love reside. When the heart turns away from God through sinful desires, defilement occurs.
By distinguishing between external actions and interior dispositions, Jesus teaches the primacy of conscience and moral integrity. The list of sins He gives—lust, greed, pride, envy, and others—reflects the interior roots of moral evil. The Church continues this teaching by emphasizing examination of conscience, contrition, and confession as means of purification. Christ’s declaration that all foods are clean also foreshadows the universality of the Gospel—God’s holiness is now accessible to all who believe and live by grace, not limited by ritual boundaries.
Parallels in Scripture
Isaiah 29:13 – “Their hearts are far from me.”
Proverbs 4:23 – “Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life.”
Matthew 5:8 – “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.”
Acts 10:15 – “What God has made clean, you must not call profane.”
James 1:14–15 – Desire gives birth to sin, and sin brings forth death.
Key Terms
Defile: To make impure or unfit for relationship with God.
Heart: The inner core of the person—source of thought, will, and moral choice.
Clean/unclean: Categories of ritual purity redefined by Jesus in moral and spiritual terms.
Evil thoughts: The root of sin that corrupts the soul before it manifests in action.
Catholic Liturgical Significance
This passage is proclaimed during Ordinary Time and in penitential contexts, inviting the faithful to interior conversion. It reinforces the meaning of Lent and the Sacrament of Reconciliation, reminding believers that holiness begins in the heart. In the liturgy, the call to purify one’s heart is echoed in the Penitential Act and in prayers for inner cleansing before receiving the Eucharist. The teaching also underlines the Church’s universality—God’s grace purifies all who come to Him in faith, regardless of background or ritual status.
Conclusion
Jesus shifts the focus of purity from the external to the internal, teaching that sin and holiness arise from the heart. True defilement comes not from what enters the body but from what proceeds from within—the choices, intentions, and desires that oppose God’s will. Christ calls His followers to an interior holiness that transforms thought, word, and action through divine grace.
Reflection
Is my heart truly pure before God? Do I focus more on outward appearance than on interior conversion? The Lord calls me to guard my heart, allowing His Spirit to cleanse and renew it daily.
Prayer
Lord Jesus, You teach that true purity comes from a heart transformed by love. Cleanse me from all that defiles and give me a humble, contrite spirit. Create in me a pure heart, O God, that I may live in holiness and truth. Amen.