The True Doctor the Soul
Mark 7:14-23
3/22
14 And he called the people to him again and said to them, “Hear me, all of you, and understand: 15 There is nothing outside a person that by going into him can defile him, but the things that come out of a person are what defile him.” 17 And when he had entered the house and left the people, his disciples asked him about the parable. 18 And he said to them, “Then are you also without understanding? Do you not see that whatever goes into a person from outside cannot defile him, 19 since it enters not his heart but his stomach, and is expelled?” (Thus he declared all foods clean.) 20 And he said, “What comes out of a person is what defiles him. 21 For from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, 22 coveting, wickedness, deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride, foolishness. 23 All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person.”
Introduction
Do you ever ask yourself questions like, “Why am I the way I am?” or perhaps, “What’s wrong with me? Why do i keep doing …” Or an even bigger question, “How do I change?”
We live in a time when there has never been more attention given to the inner life. Walk into any bookstore, scroll through social media, or listen to a podcast, and you will find an endless stream of voices helping you understand your thoughts, your emotions, your patterns, your past. Modern psychology has taught us that what is happening inside of us matters.
Much of the talk on this comes from the psychology industry, psychology literally means “the study of the soul.” Philosophers have wrestled with these questions, but for more than a century its psychologists that have tried to understand why people think the way they think, why they struggle with fear, anger, addiction, and certain behaviors.
And many psychologists have made helpful observations about human behavior. Influential psychologist Carl Jung once said, “Until you make the unconscious conscious, it will direct your life and you will call it fate.” In other words, if you don’t understand what’s going on inside you, it will quietly shape everything about how you live. This is why many psychologist want to know what happened to you and how you think about it. These events reveal how you think and who you are.
And yet, for all the insight psychology gives, much of their work is done from a secular perspective and there is a limitation to studying the soul while ignoring the One who created the soul.
Modern Psychology often stops short of asking the most important question: not just why we think the way we do—but what is fundamentally wrong within us? Is the problem simply that we are wounded? Miswired? Products of our environment? Or is there something deeper?
Because if we’re honest,
- the issue isn’t just confusion inside of us—it’s corruption.
- It’s not just that we struggle; it’s that we sin.
- We don’t just need clarity—we need cleansing.
In this passage Jesus speaks with startling clarity about the problems that people face, and many of our problems flow from within us.
In Gospel of Mark 7:14–20, Jesus says the real problem is not outside of you. The real problem is what comes out of you.
In one statement, Jesus goes deeper than any psychological theory ever has—not just diagnosing behavior, but exposing the condition of the human heart.
And what He shows us is both unsettling and hopeful. Unsettling, because it means the problem is closer than we think. Hopeful, because if the problem is within, then the solution must come from beyond us.
In previous passages we saw how Jesus came to save us from evil, evil spirits or the evil of political oppression, but in this chapter we see that Jesus also came to save us– from ourselves. We all have evil hearts and that means we need a new one.
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The Problem that is Discussed
15 There is nothing outside a person that by going into him can defile him, but the things that come out of a person are what defile him.”
William Barclay calls this “well-nigh the most revolutionary passage in the New Testament.”
At the beginning of this chapter Jesus’ disciples are engaged with the Pharisees, religious leaders, about washing their hands. The Pharisees would not eat without a ceremonial washing of the hands. This isn’t just about germs, but spiritual cleanness/approval before God.
If they had been out in the marketplace touching money, shaking hands, picking up things that outsiders, gentiles, heathens had touched, so then how could you possibly eat without ceremonially washing.
Some of this was based on Old Testament teaching. Priests had to wash before touching holy things in the temple and so they shouldn’t they do the same. but most was based on tradition.
A person who was ritually unclean would be excluded from the temple, excluded from the community, excluded temporarily, but the essence of being unclean is one is not right with God.
Jesus changes the whole conversation. These people are debating the washing of hands and being clean. Jesus brings up adultery, murder, theft, greed. You have a bunch of teachers that are in a community where there is no doubt adultery, murder, theft, wickedness, greed, etc. We know it's there because some of these men are going to try to kill Jesus.
People often focus on secondary issues rather than the most important one. Jesus is going to take people deeper than they care to go.
There was a psychologist who once noted, “People will do anything, no matter how absurd, to avoid facing their own souls.”
TAlk about hand washing. Avoid church altogether. Hide their problems in a bottle.
Husband experiencing loss of child.
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The Problem at the Root.
18 And he said to them, “Then are you also without understanding? Do you not see that whatever goes into a person from outside cannot defile him, 19 since it enters not his heart but his stomach, and is expelled?” (Thus he declared all foods clean.)
This is one of the most critically important spiritual lessons in the whole Word of God. Jesus explains that corruption is not external but internal. Impurity is not a matter of the washing and eating but of the heart.
As an aside. This is not just for eating food that has fallen on the floor. Some people use the pagan five second rule. Wait five seconds and it is ok. Biblically you recognize that it is not what goes into you that makes you unclean. That is all that matters. That doesn’t mean you won’t get sick and die from the germs you ate, it just means that you can still be clean in the presence of the Lord.
The basic problem of fallen humanity is not what we do but who we are! They were worried about exterior things corrupting them. That is not the issue.
20 And he said, “What comes out of a person is what defiles him. 21 For from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, 22 coveting, wickedness, deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride, foolishness. 23 All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person.”
Christianity is inescapably a religion of the heart. It is not about rules but relationship. Its not about external washings but inner renewal. It is about knowing and walking with God.
It’s not what goes in. It is what comes out.
Sponge: Have you ever taken a sponge and squeezed it? When you squeeze it the liquid comes out. Maybe you have a sponge and it is wet and when you squeeze it water comes out, or perhaps your son spilled lemonade and when you squeeze it the lemonade comes out. You find out what was in the sponge by squeezing it. In the same way we often don't know what is in our hearts until we get squeezed.
- Pressure at work exposes impatience.
- Conflict exposes anger
- Marriage exposes selfishness
- Parenting exposes pride
- Finance exposes your self sufficiency.
Look at what comes out:
- Evil thoughts. Murder, theft, all things taht we should not do.
- Sexual sins. Sexual immorality is a general term for any kind of sexual relationship outside of marriage, whereas sexual relationships between two persons at least one of whom is married to someone else, is “adultery.” Jesus said even to look at another is adultery
- Murder is obviously to kill someone but Jesus said to be angry is to commit murder in your heart. Matt 5:21
- “Greed” is translated “coveting” in the. We are told not to covet. Could be another persons spouse. The old Testament spoke about not coveting your neighbors ass/donkey. Greed is the constant desire for more. NEver satisfied and always wanting something else.
- Envy or coveting. What you worship is an issue of the heart. All Ten Commandments are deeply connected. The first commandment to not worship other God’s is very connected to the tenth commandment to not covet. When you covet, you long for, and you long for because that thing is great, and it is great because it being life, meaningful, fulfillment to you.
Inevitably, sin’s root will produce sin’s fruit.
What we desire, long for often reveals what truly rules our life. The god of the self. The god of money is what we serve. The god of others praising us.
John Calvin wrote much on the nature of sin, and he “argued that sin is not just what we do, but what we desire—and even the intensity of those desires. It’s not only that we want the wrong things; it’s that we want even good things more than we want God.” He said our hearts are a perpetual factory of idols (Institutes 1.11.8)
This means our primary objective is not simply putting up a outward show, but it is having our hearts changed.
Apple tree. Massive apple tree in back yard. Visions of apple pies, and caramel coated apple pies, we might have so many apples will start selling to others. We spring came and apples form. Pretty flowers, and then the bud of fruit, and then the little buds started to change colors to ripe, but they never got much bigger than a golf ball. Lots of spots on them. It was so disappointing. A couple years later I had to cut the tree down. What we found was the inside of the tree was rotten. The heart of the tree was the problem and the fruit showed what was inside.
Pharisaical religion tells to fix the outside. But God wants to fix our hearts.
This passage teachers what theologians call human depravity. We are totally depraved. Sin touches every aspect of who we are. It does not mean we are absolutely depraved, as though we are depraved with no capacity to do good or that we are the absolutely worst form of who we are. But it does mean our sinful hearts affect all that we do. And this helps us see why we need a Savior.
We do not simply need saving from outside of ourselves. We need our inner thoughts and desires to be changed. We need God in our lives.
Here is a powerful lesson: Jesus didn’t come just to save you from evil. He didn't come just to save you from the devil. He didn't come just to save you from political oppression. He came to save you from yourself!
This teaching will change your life. 1) it shows us in church we are not merely after behavior modificaiton. Lets just get people tithing! Get to chruch. Those things are true, but the way it happens is not by outward pressure, but rather inner renewal. We want to worship and serve God from our hearts.
What does your behavior say about what you truly worship? It is easy to stay on the top and talk about washing hands. But here Jesus says we need to look into our hearts.
My dealing with fear of man. Thought it was issue of not wanting to go to Bible study. Someone aske me why? That gets a motivation. I started to see I was worried about what others thought of me. Why didnt I want to be seen with some of my friends from church? I didnt want certain people to see me with them. I started to see there were parts of my life that I was ashamed of Christ.
Psychology is infamous for sit on the couch and tell me what happened when you were five. There is a place for talking through those things to know and understand who you are. What are the fears, longings, desires, that were crushed, that were delayed, that you still try to protect yourself from. But go deeper. What do you worship?
The deepest change people need to experience is their heart being changed by God, and you can't lead people into that if you are not experiencing it yourself.
First Samuel 16:7 says, “Man does not see what the Lord sees, for man sees what is visible, but the Lord sees the heart.”
7:6 And he said to them, “Well did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written,
“ ‘This people honors me with their lips,
but their heart is far from me;
God does not want external tokens. Let me make sure I do this ceremonial washing. And then go and commit adulter. Let me make sure I go to church. And then go to the office and defraud people. People will throw token to god. He wants the heart.
“Heal the root and you get good fruit.
Ignore the root and lose the fruit.”
What is God doing in your life right now? I don't know, but I know part of it is he is after your heart. And he wants you to love him with all your heart, soul, strength, and mind. Why is this happening? It is revealing something of yourself and how or where you need to make God number 1. Lord of all.
This will change your marriage. Amanda what is going on. Why? I’m fine.
Following God with your heart is what Christianity is all about. Its contrary to the cultural Christianity. I remember growing up, and we went to a family members house one Sunday afternoon. While there some other family members showed up and they were all dressed up and were coming from church. My family didn't go to church. We stayed there for a bit and when we left my dad made a comment about so and so making him sick. I said why. He said, “They didn't go to church. They just came in dressed up and looking like they had been so grandma and grandpa would think they had been.” I remember thinking that if that is what church and Christianity are about I don't want anything to do with it. Well guess what. It isnt what they are about. That attitude is exactly what Jesus is challenging here. People who clean the outside but not the inside have nothing to do with him!
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The Solution of a New Heart
It may not be encouraging to hear the Christian doctrine of sin and the sinful human nature. But let me say this, once you know the problem then you can understand the solution, and God provides a solution for the human problem. He gives us new hearts. He renews us in the core of our being. He changes our desire and who we are. He gives us a Savior and that is something secular psychology and medicine cannot give to us.
Jesus comes to heal our souls.
How do we go to God? 1) Could be like going to the doctor and thinking, let me say all the right things so that he will tell me I have good health. 2) The other says let me be laid bare so I can see what is not right in me and I can then be healed. That is what Christianity is about. I know God and the more I know him the more I want to be with him, to be like him, to honor him, to walk with him.
You cannot be healed from what you refuse to admit.
King david, after committing adulter with Bathsheba, prayed
Create in me a clean heart, O God,
and renew a right spirit within me.
Psalm 51:10
Make the root clean and the whole thing clean.
26 And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. Ezekiel 36:26
This is the great promise of the Old Testament and it is realized in Jesus. The New Testament calls it being born again. It is when we come to surrender our whole hearts to God.
A New Path Forward/How we change:
This points to repentance. Repentance isnt ok, people dont like what I said so let me hide that from them. Repentance says, what I did was not honoring to God so I want to change my ways, my thoughts, my desires so that I come into conformity with who God is.
- Know Sin.
We see sin for what it is. Turning from God. Worship of idols. Pursuit of life in things that lead to death.sin is pursue life from things that cannot give it, and the consequence of sin is death. It not just less than ideal option.
And I know this isnt the catchy feel good message someone want to hear, but this is how real change happens. If I have cancer dont tell me its a cold. I want to deal with. I want to get it out of my system. I want to pull up the roots. This is what Jesus teaches. He tells us out to purify ourselves. The same truth that exposes your sin also reveals your Savior.
What are the issues you are dealing with? Define them biblically. Greed. Anger. Impatience. Pride.
When you know this then you can determine what you need to change. I need to be more patient. Let me study that. Understand how God has been patient with me. Determine the heart hurt and you can apply the right balm.
- Know the Love of God.
The goodness of God and his ways. His ways lead to life.
The gospel: Jesus took the punishment that I deserve. You see the weight of sin. You see the love of God. Why would I turn from someone who loved me like that.
God desires a relationship with him. To make him most important.
We know he has our best. We know life is in him. Its not about how much I can get away with. Its about a desire for every part of me to be in his ways and will. That is my chief desire.
We set forth to know him more and more. We grow in knowing him. Our sin becomes greater. His grace become more and more amazing. That changes my heart, my attitude, my hope in life.
We can call our sin sin. We can call grace grace. Unashamed. Not covering up. Confident in his love to us.
“To be loved but not known is comforting but superficial. To be known and not loved is our greatest fear. But to be fully known and truly loved is, well, a lot like being loved by God. It is what we need more than anything. It liberates us from pretense, humbles us out of our self-righteousness, and fortifies us for any difficulty life can throw at us.” Tim Keller.
Know these More and More. This is what life is about. It is about knowing God more and more deeply. Its not about vacation.
As you grow in your walk with the Lord, you come to know sin more sinfully. And not just your big sins. How your pride can cause your anger to well up and talk to your kids in ways that are not right. Or how your fears and anxiety can overwhelm you and consume you. Or your stinginess keeps you from blessing others with your time and resources.
When our heart is the source of the problem it means more knowledge through education is not our greatest need, it means more money for surgery is not the solution, and its not about getting more people to affirm us. It is about having a Savior, who knows us, loves us, and is changing us from the inside out.
Jesus shows us how we can change. He gives the diagnosis. He gives new direction. And he provides the right motivation.
Will you build your life around this.
Discussion Questions
- Where do you see people today (or yourself) focusing more on “external fixes” (image, behavior, success, approval) instead of addressing what’s going on in the heart?
- Think about a recent situation where you felt “squeezed” (stress, conflict, pressure). What came out of you, and what might that reveal about what’s going on in your heart?
- Which of the heart-level issues Jesus names (like pride, envy, anger, greed, etc.) do you most recognize in your own life right now? What do those desires reveal about what you may be trusting in or valuing more than God?
- What does it practically look like for you this week to move beyond “managing behavior” and instead pursue real heart change through repentance and trusting Jesus?
