How does Mark 7:23 challenge the belief in inherent human goodness? Canonical Text (Mark 7:23) “All these evils come from within, and these are what defile a man.” Immediate Context: Jesus’ Diagnostic List (Mark 7:20–22) Jesus has just enumerated “evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, wickedness, deceit, debauchery, envy, slander, arrogance, and foolishness” (vv. 21-22). He locates every item not in environmental pressures, educational deficits, or purely demonic intrusion but “from within.” The Greek phrase ἔσωθεν ἐκπορεύεται (“proceed out of the inside”) underscores a continual, endogenous source. Biblical-Theological Trajectory: Human Nature After the Fall 1. Genesis 6:5—“every inclination of the thoughts of his heart was altogether evil all the time.” 2. Psalm 51:5—“Surely I was brought forth in iniquity.” 3. Jeremiah 17:9—“The heart is deceitful above all things.” 4. Romans 3:10-12—“There is no one righteous, not even one.” Mark 7:23 harmonizes with, rather than innovates upon, this unified testimony: humanity, post-Eden, is not innately good but radically corrupt. Systematic Anthropology: Total Depravity, not Absolute Depravity Total depravity asserts that every aspect of human nature is tainted by sin; it does not deny relative civil virtue. Jesus’ catalogue affirms inner motivational disorder, not merely external misconduct, thereby dismantling any doctrine that humans are born morally neutral or positive. Contrast With Secular Humanism Enlightenment thinkers (e.g., Rousseau’s “noble savage”) claim society corrupts an otherwise pure self. Yet modern behavioral science corroborates Mark 7:23: • Developmental psychology documents early emergence of possessiveness and deceit in toddlers absent modeled behavior. • Longitudinal prison studies reveal recidivism linked to ingrained antisocial cognition, not solely environment. • Cross-cultural data from anthropology indicate universal moral transgression patterns despite divergent social norms. Empirical evidence, therefore, parallels Scripture: the problem is internal. Historical Theology: Patristic and Reformation Voices • Augustine, Contra Julianum 4.3: “Man’s heart…is a fountain of polluted waters.” • Luther, Bondage of the Will, cites Mark 7 to argue that the will is “curved in on itself.” • Calvin, Institutes 2.1.8: “The seed of sin is inborn.” The church has consistently read Mark 7:23 as decisive against inherent goodness. Intertextual Echoes in Second Temple Judaism Dead Sea Scroll 1QHa 9.21-23 laments the human “spirit of perversion within.” This contemporary literature shows Jesus’ diagnosis was not idiosyncratic but reflected broader Jewish awareness of internal sin propensity. Archaeological Corroboration of Ritual Purity Background Excavations at Qumran and Jerusalem’s Pool of Siloam reveal extensive mikveh installations. These illustrate first-century obsession with external washings, heightening the impact of Jesus’ internalized defilement theme. Philosophical Implications: Moral Realism and the Need for Redemption If evil originates within, self-reform cannot suffice. Moral realism recognizes objective wrong; Mark 7:23 locates its axis in the heart. Only external rescue—substitutionary atonement by the resurrected Christ—addresses intrinsic corruption. Practical Pastoral Application • Evangelism: Begin with the heart’s condition; present Christ as the sole purifier (Acts 15:9). • Counseling: Behavioral change must include regeneration (Titus 3:5). • Worship: Confession is not optional liturgy but response to persistent inner sin. Gospel Summation Because “all these evils come from within,” the cure must come from without: “the blood of Jesus His Son purifies us from all sin” (1 John 1:7). The verse dismantles self-righteous optimism and drives humanity to the cross, glorifying God as sole Redeemer. |
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