Mark 7:21

These verses list 13 things that truly make a person unclean (morally impure). These actions and wrong desires come from the heart (a person’s inner thoughts and intentions).

The second argument of Jesus against the Pharisees was a proverb he told the crowd. Later, in a private setting, Jesus explained it to his disciples (7:17–23). It concerns moral distinctions about eating (rules about what is right or wrong to eat). Eating affects the system that processes food, but moral issues involve the heart. The heart is a metaphor for where a person makes moral decisions.

How a person eats (with ceremonially clean or unclean hands) or what a person eats (ceremonially clean or unclean food) only affects the system that processes food. So it does not impact the moral issues of the human soul or inner being. To help his later audience understand the meaning of this teaching, Mark adds this comment Thus all foods are clean.

In the early church, Peter and Paul helped make this meaning clear (see Acts 10:1–11:18; Romans 14:14; 1 Corinthians 8:8; Galatians 2:11–21).

This account does not connect directly to what comes before it. It simply fits a general setting, such as "At one point in the ministry of Jesus."

After Mark sets the scene (7:1–4), he introduces the Pharisees' question (7:5). Then Jesus responds to the question (6–23).

The first part of the response focuses on two Old Testament passages (7:6–13). It also includes a two-part critique (strong criticism) of the Pharisees’ traditions (7:6–8, 9–13).

In the second part, Jesus explains what truly defiles a person (what makes someone unclean before God; 7:14–23).