Mark 7:16Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

The Pharisees were not only dissatisfied with the exposure of their traditions as conflicting with God's law, but they were also troubled by the Lord's direct characterization of their religious pretense as hypocrisy. His recent statement could be understood as a generalized critique of the food laws, providing further ground for their discontent. However, the Lord chose not to elaborate further on the topic and departed from the crowd.

They brought the news of the Pharisees’ offense, probably hoping to seek clarity on His earlier statement (v. 11. λόγον v. 12 = παραβολην ταυτην v. 15). The matter in v. 11 had led the Pharisees to be misled; they were so accustomed to the requirement of ritual handwashing for spiritual cleanliness that they interpreted Christ's words as dismissing this law.

Moreover, the Pharisees may have taken offense because Christ had spoken directly to the people, undermining their authority with His teachings. In response to this news about the Pharisees' entrapment, Christ either referred to the Pharisaical doctrine, which was not divinely instituted but was a human invention set to be dismantled, or He directly addressed the Pharisees themselves, suggesting they were misled. Though they served as leaders and teachers, they were not genuine plants of God, acting according to His will and therefore lacking His special care; they were destined for destruction (έκριζόω cf. 13:29-30). Thus, He instructed the people to disregard them. In this context, the warning was twofold: do not follow their teachings, lest you fall into the same pit, and leave the concerns of those individuals to their own devices.

After this, the Apostle Peter, representing all the disciples, requested clarification from the Lord regarding the perplexing statement about the defilement from what enters the mouth versus what comes out of it. Jesus explained clearly that what enters the mouth refers to food, while what comes out of the mouth pertains to all sinful thoughts, desires, and intentions that originate from the heart. These latter elements reveal the impurity of the human soul, highlighting its condition, whereas food, after entering the body, exits without affecting the spirit.

Thus, Christ chose to leave the scribes to their ineffective malice and addressed the crowd with a commanding voice, exclaiming, “Hear and understand!” He subsequently instructed both the assembled throngs and His disciples, imparting the profound truth that within the Kingdom of Heaven, the purity of the heart is far more significant than that of the hands, “for out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witnesses, blasphemies.” Indeed, these are the things that “defile a man; and eating with unwashed hands does not defile a man,” as this teaching stems merely from a standard practice of ritualism, lacking any intrinsic moral authority as suggested by the Pharisees, who are referred to as “blind leaders of the blind.”

The disciples asked Him, "Do you think the Pharisees were offended by this teaching?" In response, the Lord, using the imagery of plants, illustrated that any doctrine failing to align with God's revealed truth will inevitably lose its effectiveness and worth, much like the teachings of the Pharisees, who were spiritually blind guides for the people. He stated, "Every plant that My Father in heaven has not planted will be uprooted; let them be, for they are blind guides; and if a blind man leads a blind man, both will fall into a pit."