5 The Pharisees and the scribes asked Him, "Why e do Your disciples not walk according to the tradition of the elders , but eat their bread with impure hands ?" 6 And He said to them, "Rightly did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites , as it is written : ' THIS PEOPLE HONORS ME WITH THEIR LIPS , BUT THEIR HEART IS FAR AWAY e FROM ME. 7 ' BUT IN VAIN DO THEY WORSHIP ME, TEACHING AS DOCTRINES THE PRECEPTS OF MEN .' 8 "Neglecting the commandment of God , you hold to the tradition of men ." 9 He was also saying to them, "You are experts at setting aside the commandment of God in order to keep your tradition . 10 "For Moses said , ' HONOR YOUR FATHER AND YOUR MOTHER '; and, ' HE WHO SPEAKS EVIL OF FATHER OR MOTHER , IS TO BE PUT TO DEATH '; 11 but you say , 'If a man says to his father or his mother , whatever e I have that would help you is Corban (that is to say, given to God),' 12 you no longer permit him to do anything for his father or his mother ; 13 thus invalidating the word of God by your tradition which you have handed down ; and you do many things such as that." 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 7:5-23
Commentary on Mark 7:1-13
(Read Mark 7:1-13)
One great design of Christ's coming was, to set aside the ceremonial law; and to make way for this, he rejects the ceremonies men added to the law of God's making. Those clean hands and that pure heart which Christ bestows on his disciples, and requires of them, are very different from the outward and superstitious forms of Pharisees of every age. Jesus reproves them for rejecting the commandment of God. It is clear that it is the duty of children, if their parents are poor, to relieve them as far as they are able; and if children deserve to die that curse their parents, much more those that starve them. But if a man conformed to the traditions of the Pharisees, they found a device to free him from the claim of this duty.
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.