Mark 7:21

For from within, out of the heart of evil men, evil thoughts proceed, fornications, thefts, murders, adulteries, covetings, wickedness, deceit, lasciviousness, an evil eye, railing, pride, foolishness: all these evil things proceed from within, and defile the man.

Here Jesus named a round dozen actions and vices which are the source of actual human defilement and contrasting sharply with the ceremonial defilement so important to the Pharisees. Sanner pointed out that in the Received Greek text the first six of these terms are plural and the last six are singular. "The former possibly refers to evil acts, the latter to moral defects, or vices."[8] This list is somewhat like similar lists in the Pauline writings, but Cranfield was doubtless correct in his repudiation of the idea that they were derived from that source. He stated that there are "no adequate grounds for thinking that this list cannot go back to Jesus."[9]

Fornication and adultery ... These words apply to every kind of traffic in sexual vice, whether of the married or the unmarried, whether of the homosexual or the heterosexual.

Thefts ... Scholars tell us that there are two words in the Greek text for theft, [@kleptes] and [@lestes], the first meaning "pilferer" and the other "a brigand." Barabbas was the latter, Judas the former. [@Kleptes] is the word here and thus includes the most petty and the tiniest acts of thievery without excluding the more audacious robbery practiced by a brigand. All such conduct defiles.

Murders ... All violent deeds under this heading are proscribed; but, as is clear from the Sermon on the Mount, anger and insulting language against a fellow-mortal are equally blameworthy, being in fact murder, according to Jesus' own definition (Matthew 5:21,22).

Covetings ... This, like most of the other sins in this list, was forbidden in the Decalogue. In the New Testament, covetousness is not merely forbidden but classified as "idolatry" (Colossians 3:5). It must be supposed that this kind of idolatry motivates an inordinate amount of human behavior. How many are there whose sole passion in life would appear to be gaining and getting?

Wickednesses ... Every form of unspiritual and ungodly conduct is meant by this; and the reference is not so much to specific acts as to a pattern of behavior. "Evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse" (2 Timothy 3:13), and the same is true of wickedness itself. The course of evil is downward and away from God.

Deceit ... This word comes from [@dolos] also translated "guile" and has reference to the cunning, craft, and ingenuity of deception. It is at the opposite pole from Christian sincerity. It was through this vice that the ancient Greeks introduced the Trojan horse into Troy and overwhelmed the city. Many a soul has been lost through the cunning deception of evil men as well as by yielding to the temptation to use such stratagems against others.

Lasciviousness ... From the Greek word [@aselgeia], this word refers to the undisciplined soul, one who acknowledges no restraint, dares to perform any act of shame or lawlessness, and who lives in arrogant insolence without regard to considerations of decency or honor.

An evil eye ... Sanner described this as envy, or a jealous grudge, the attitude that looks upon the good fortunes of others with envious hatred and which would cast an evil spell upon them if it had the power.

Railing ... This word comes from [@blasfemia], which means "speaking against." If against men, it is slander; if against God, it is blasphemy.

Pride ... This is the principal characteristic of unregenerated man. It is the glorification of self. It is the first of seven deadly sins; and, when the Lord named seven things which are an abomination in his sight, a proud look headed the list (Proverbs 6:16). It is the absence from the heart of the awareness of God. Consciousness of the existence, presence, and power of God produces humility in the heart, inevitably convicting men of their own sin and unworthiness. Pride is the opposite of such consciousness of God.

Foolishness ... As Barclay said, "This describes, not the man who is a brainless fool, but the man who, as we say, is playing the fool."[10] The foolishness meant here is the kind of living that is not guided by moral principle nor related to any sacred standards.

The conduct described by this awesome catalogue of sinful acts defiles man, the source of the defilement being the unregenerated heart which produces such actions. When one considers his own heart and the pride of life which blooms so readily in every conscience, remembering the moral defilement that inevitably accompanies every indulgence of such deeds, he must be suddenly aware of how helpless man is apart from the love and mercy of the Lord Jesus Christ. When it is considered that the unregenerated heart, the carnal nature, leads inevitably to all of the sins mentioned here, and that they come naturally to all men, it appears that man's plight is desperate. Merely forgiving such conduct is not enough. What is required in this area of human need is "the washing of regeneration and the renewing of the Holy Spirit" (Titus 3:5). When one is baptized into Christ, he is raised to walk in newness of life; and nothing short of a "new creation" is the solution of the problem of carnality.

THE HEALING OF THE DAUGHTER OF THE SYRO-PHOENICIAN WOMAN

This incident (Mark 7:24-30) has added significance because of its occurrence immediately after Christ's teaching regarding meats. The Gentiles were considered unclean and inferior by the Jews; but by his extension of mercy to the daughter of this woman of another race, Jesus gave his disciples a glimpse of the gospel for all people, and not merely for the chosen people alone. See under Mark 7:19, above.

[8] A. Elwood Sanner, op. cit., Vol. VI, p. 332.

[9] C. E. B. Cranfield, op. cit., p. 243.

[10] William Barclay, op. cit., p. 178.