Mark 7:20 (AV)
And he said,
That which cometh out of the man¹,
that defileth² the man
¹) A human being, whether male or female.
²) To make common; to make (Levitically) unclean, render unhallowed, defile, profane.
Other translations
And He said, What comes out of a man is what makes a man unclean and renders [him] unhallowed. [AMP] And he said, "What comes out of a person is what defiles him. [ESV] And he said, That which cometh out of the man, that defileth the man. [KJV] He went on: "What comes out of a man is what makes him 'unclean.' [NIV] And then he added, "It is the thought-life that defiles you. [NLT] And He said, "What comes out of a man, that defiles a man. [NKJV]
Some further information
What we eat and drink cannot defile us, so as to call for any religious washing; it goes into the stomach, and passes the several digestions and secretions,and what there may be in it that is defiling is voided and gone.
But it is that which comes out from the heart, the corrupted heart, that defiles us.
As by the ceremonial law, whatsoever (almost) comes out of a man, defiles him (Leviticus 15:2; Deuteronomy 23:13), so what comes out from the mind of a man is that which defiles him before God, and calls for a religious washing (Mark 7:21).
From within, from out of the heart, exactly from that heart, of which people boast that it is good, and of which people think it is the best part of them, that is what defiles, and from where defilement proceeds, and from there comes all the mischief.
As a corrupt fountain it sends forth corrupt streams, so a corrupt heart send forth corrupt reasonings, corrupt appetites and passions, and all those wicked words and actions which are produced by them.
Divers particulars are specified, as in Matthew. In Matthew is one which is not here, and that is, false witness-bearing; but seven are mentioned here, to be added to those we had there.
Now let us reflect on this
People often tend to brush up on the outside, so that through appearances people will accept them as good and righteous.
After all, we only see what is on the outside, what is in view,
but the Lord looks at the heart!
And that is what the Savior wants to teach us here.
The Pharisees have so many precepts and statutes that they observe, but they only affect the outside. However, it should go about the heart. What lives in that heart and what comes out of that heart is not very beautiful.
The Lord Jesus even lists: dirty thoughts, adultery, fornications, murders, and thefts.
The heart needs to be cleansed. And the Savior has come to cleanse filthy hearts, to cleanse sinful hearts from all sin, to renew stony hearts, that other people may come forth, new people who walk in the ways of the Lord, who love the Lord with all their hearts.
Have you also learned that at the school of grace, that we all need a new heart?
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