Mark 7:14-23

Heart of the Law

Devotional 35 of 50 · Mark chapter 7

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After the Sabbath, at dawn on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to see the tomb. Suddenly there was a great earthquake, for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven, rolled away the stone, and sat on it. His appearance was like lightning, and his clothes were white as snow. The guards trembled in fear of him and became like dead men. But the angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He is not here; He has risen, just as He said! Come, see the place where He lay. Then go quickly and tell His disciples, ‘He has risen from the dead and is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see Him.’ See, I have told you.” So they hurried away from the tomb in fear and great joy, and ran to tell His disciples. Suddenly Jesus met them and said, “Greetings!” They came to Him, grasped His feet, and worshiped Him. “Do not be afraid,” said Jesus. “Go and tell My brothers to go to Galilee.

Mark 7:14-23 · BSB

¹⁴Once again Jesus called the crowd to Him and said, “All of you, listen to Me and understand: ¹⁵Nothing that enters a man from the outside can defile him; but the things that come out of a man, these are what defile him.” ¹⁷After Jesus had left the crowd and gone into the house, His disciples inquired about the parable. ¹⁸“Are you still so dull?” He asked. “Do you not understand? Nothing that enters a man from the outside can defile him, ¹⁹because it does not enter his heart, but it goes into the stomach and then is eliminated.” (Thus all foods are clean.) ²⁰He continued: “What comes out of a man, that is what defiles him. ²¹For from within the hearts of men come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, ²²greed, wickedness, deceit, debauchery, envy, slander, arrogance, and foolishness. ²³All these evils come from within, and these are what defile a man.”

Jesus

The Pharisees were not used to being challenged,let alone corrected, and certainly not convinced by the Law of God. Jesus not only interprets the law, but He cuts to the heart of it, exposing its true meaning and intent. This teaching reveals that outward practices and diets don’t make us unclean, but what comes out of a person's heart defiles them.

Just like the Pharisees, most of humanity tries to be holy through outward practices. These practices only give the illusion of holiness and promote self-righteousness. Yet our issue is more than skin-deep, making all of our efforts in vain. Jesus puts the spotlight on the real source of defilement—our own hearts. He cuts down their additions to the law and tells them they’ve been focusing on the wrong area entirely. This shows that He sees and knows the inner meaning of the law and the hearts of people.

Jesus raises the law far above daily practices and rituals, pointing to our deeper need for a heart transplant.

His Desires

Jesus wants those who follow Him to understand the real issue of what defiles a person. Out of this understanding, we shouldn’t waste time on practices that fail to address our hearts. Scripture shows that God has promised a new heart (Ezekiel 11:19–20). The Pharisees were undoubtedly familiar with this text, and it may have come to mind when Jesus spoke of their corrupt hearts causing their defilement. Jesus gives them—and all of us—an open door to look to Him for a new heart.

Follow Through

Look to Jesus for a new heart.
Be on guard for empty religious practices in our own lives that miss the heart of the matter.

Testimonies

This is where people will share how they actually obeyed this passage — and read what happened to everyone else who obeyed the same words.

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Comments

Coming soon. This is where readers will share how they obeyed this passage.