Church Fathers Commentary Mark 7:14-23

"And he called to him the multitude again, and said unto 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. [If any man hath ears to hear, let him hear.] And when he was entered into the house from the multitude, his disciples asked of him the parable. And he saith unto them, Are ye so without understanding also? Perceive ye not, that whatsoever from without goeth into the man, [it] cannot defile him; because it goeth not into his heart, but into his belly, and goeth out into the draught? [This he said], making all meats clean. And he said, That which proceedeth out of the man, that defileth the man. For from within, 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." — Mark 7:14-23 (ASV)

Pseudo-Chrysostom: The Jews focus on and complain about only the bodily purification of the law; our Lord wishes to introduce the opposite.¹

For this reason it is said, And when He had called all the people to Him, He said to them, Listen to Me, everyone, and understand: there is nothing from outside a person that, by entering him, can defile him. But the things that come out of a person—those are what defile a person. This means, what makes him unclean.

The things of Christ relate to the inner person, while those of the law are visible and external. As these are bodily, the cross of Christ was soon to put an end to them.

Theophylact of Ohrid: But the Lord’s intention in saying this was to teach people that the observance of food laws, which the law commands, should not be taken in a carnal sense. From this, He began to unfold to them the purpose of the law.

Pseudo-Chrysostom: He adds, If any man have ears to hear, let him hear. For He had not clearly shown them what things proceed out of a person and defile him. Because of this saying, the Apostles thought the Lord’s previous discourse implied some other deep meaning.²

Therefore, it follows: And when He was entered into the house from the people, His disciples asked Him concerning the parable. They called it a parable because it was not clear.

Theophylact of Ohrid: The Lord begins by rebuking them, and so it follows, Are you so without understanding also?

The Venerable Bede: For a person is a faulty hearer who considers an obscure statement to be clear, or a clear statement to be obscurely spoken.

Theophylact of Ohrid: Then the Lord shows them what was hidden, saying, Do you not perceive, that whatever from outside enters a man, it cannot make him common?

The Venerable Bede: For the Jews, boasting that they are God’s portion, call those meals “common” which all people use, such as shellfish, hares, and animals of that sort. However, not even what is offered to idols is unclean, insofar as it is food and God's creature; it is the invocation of demons that makes it unclean. And He adds the reason for this, saying, Because it does not enter his heart.

According to Plato, the principal seat of the soul is the brain, but according to Christ, it is in the heart.

Glossa OrdinariaⁱIt says, therefore, “into his heart”—that is, into his mind, which is the principal part of his soul on which his whole life depends. For this reason, a person must be called clean or unclean according to the state of his heart. Thus, whatever does not reach the soul cannot bring pollution to the person.

Foods, therefore, since they do not reach the soul, cannot in their own nature defile a person. Rather, an inordinate use of foods, which proceeds from a disordered mind, makes people unclean.

He shows that foods cannot reach the mind by what He adds, saying, But into the belly, and goes out into the sewer, purging all meats. He says this, however, without referring to what remains from the food in the body, for what is necessary for the body’s nourishment and growth remains. But what is superfluous goes out, and in this way, as it were, purges the nourishment that remains.

St. Augustine of Hippo: For some things are joined to others in such a way that they both change and are changed. For example, food loses its former appearance and is turned into our body, and we are also changed as our strength is refreshed by it.

ⁱFurthermore, a very fine liquid, after the food has been prepared and digested in our veins and other vessels, passes through us by hidden channels (called pores, from a Greek word) and is expelled as waste.

The Venerable Bede: Thus, it is not food that makes people unclean, but wickedness, which produces in us the passions that come from within. Therefore, it continues: And He said, That which comes out of a man, that defiles a man.

Glossa Ordinaria: He points out the meaning of this when He adds, for from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts. And so it appears that evil thoughts belong to the mind, which is here called the heart, and according to which a person is called good or bad, clean or unclean.

The Venerable Bede: This passage condemns those who suppose that thoughts are put into them by the devil and do not arise from their own evil will. The devil may stir up and encourage evil thoughts, but he cannot be their author.

Glossa Ordinaria: From evil thoughts, however, evil actions proceed further. Concerning this, it adds: adulteries, that is, acts that consist in violating another’s marriage bed; fornications, which are unlawful unions between people not bound by marriage; murders, by which harm is inflicted on one’s neighbor; thefts, by which a neighbor’s goods are taken; covetousness, by which things are unjustly kept; wickedness, which consists in slandering others; deceit, in taking advantage of them; and lasciviousness, which includes any corruption of mind or body.

Theophylact of Ohrid: An evil eye, that is, hatred and flattery; for he who hates turns an evil and envious eye on the one he hates, and a flatterer, by looking sideways at his neighbor’s goods, leads him into evil. Blasphemy means offenses committed against God. Pride is contempt of God, when a person ascribes the good that he does not to God, but to his own virtue. Foolishness is an offense against one’s neighbor.

Glossa Ordinaria.ⁱ: Or, foolishness consists in wrong thoughts concerning God, for it is opposed to wisdom, which is the knowledge of divine things. It continues: All these evil things come from within, and defile the man. For whatever is in a person’s power is counted against him as a fault, because all such things proceed from the inner will, by which a person is master of his own actions.

1. Vict. Ant. e Cat. in Marc.
2. Vict. Ant. e Cat. in Marc.