Sharper Iron — The Gospel in Action: The Defiled Are Cleansed in Christ

Rev. Kyle Mietzner, pastor at Zion Lutheran Church in Anchorage, AK, joins host Rev. Timothy Appel to study Mark 7:14-23.

Jesus takes the religious leaders’ challenge about unwashed hands as an opportunity to teach about true defilement and true cleanliness. Defilement does not come from without but from within a person. When His disciples fail to grasp the truth, Jesus chastises their lack of understanding and explains to them further. Food only goes into the body and then out of the body. Those things that come out of a person’s heart, however, are what bring defilement. Jesus’ description of defilement vividly pictures just how disgusting sin and evil truly are. There is no room for blaming another; each individual is responsible for his own sin. How can such defilement be cleansed? Jesus is the Holy One whose Word and touch brings forgiveness, holiness, and cleansing from sin.

“The Gospel in Action” is a mini-series on Sharper Iron that goes through the Gospel according to St. Mark. The Evangelist hits the ground running with the very first verse of his Gospel account, and he never lets up the pace. As one deed of Jesus comes right after another, always paired with His authoritative Word, St. Mark proclaims the good news that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, revealed conclusively by His death on the cross.

Sharper Iron, hosted by Rev. Timothy Appel, looks at the text of Holy Scripture both in its broad context and its narrow detail, all for the sake of proclaiming Christ crucified and risen for sinners. Two pastors engage with God’s Word to sharpen not only their own faith and knowledge, but the faith and knowledge of all who listen.

Sharper Iron is underwritten by Lutheran Church Extension Fund, where your investments help support the work of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod. Visit lcef.org.

Mark 7:14-23

What Defiles a Person

¹⁴And he called the people to him again and said to them, “Hear me, all of you, and understand: ¹⁵There 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.”^[a] ¹⁷And when he had entered the house and left the people, his disciples asked him about the parable. ¹⁸And 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, ¹⁹since it enters not his heart but his stomach, and is expelled?”^[b] (Thus he declared all foods clean.) ²⁰And he said, “What comes out of a person is what defiles him. ²¹For from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, ²²coveting, wickedness, deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride, foolishness. ²³All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person.”

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Footnotes

Mark 7:15 Some manuscripts add verse 16: If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear
Mark 7:19 Greek goes out into the latrine

English Standard Version (ESV)

Rev. Timothy Appel

Although a mathematics degree may not be incredibly helpful to (proudly born-and-raised Texan) Rev. Timothy Appel while hosting Sharper Iron, his love of CFW Walther and the season of Easter will come in handy. His Call is shepherding the flock at Faith Lutheran Church in Godfrey, Illinois, and he’s also husband to wife Kristin and dad to their growing basketball team of children. When he’s not carrying out pastoral duties, you may find him reading “The Lord of the Rings,” snacking on Reese’s peanut butter cups, playing dominoes with his boys, or studying up on Texas history (including Sam Houston, of course).