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Time after Pentecost · Proper 17 · Year B

Mark 7:14-23

What Defiles a Person

August 29, 2027

The Seven Deadly Sins and the Four Last Things, Hieronymus Bosch
The Seven Deadly Sins and the Four Last Things, Hieronymus Bosch, c. 1505–1510Museo Nacional del Prado, Madrid (PD-Art)
A tabletop, meant to be looked down on. The sins form a wheel around a central eye with Christ inside it, and the inscription reads: beware, beware, God sees.The word of God is living and active, piercing until it divides soul from spirit, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.Hieronymus BoschA Netherlandish painter of demons, hybrids and exact human cruelty, whose work was collected by Philip II and has never been fully explained.Museo Nacional del Prado, Madrid (PD-Art)Built on the Spanish royal collection, which is why it is unrivalled in Titian, Velázquez, Rubens and Goya and thinner elsewhere.Museo Nacional del Prado, Madrid (PD-Art)
LSB Three-Year Lectionary
GospelMark 7:14-23Mk 7:14-23
EpistleEph. 6:10-20Eph 6:10-20
Old TestamentDeut. 4:1-2, 6-9Dt 4:1-2, 6-9
PsalterPs. 119:129-136Ps 119:129-136

Overview & Insights

"This people honors me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me." (Mark 7:6)

When Pharisees fault the disciples for eating with unwashed hands, Jesus rebukes human traditions that displace God's commandment and teaches that defilement comes not from outside but from the evil that arises within the heart.

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Commentary

Working Preacher: Commentary on Mark 7:1-8, 14-15, 21-23Working Preacher: Commentary on Mk 7:1-8, 14-15, 21-23 Working Preacher

Lutheran lectionary commentary on what truly defiles for Year B.

Enduring Word: Mark 7Enduring Word: Mk 7 Enduring Word · David Guzik

David Guzik's verse-by-verse evangelical notes on the whole chapter.

Precept Austin: Mark 7 CommentaryPrecept Austin: Mk 7 Commentary Precept Austin

Study page gathering many conservative commentators on Mark 7.

BibleHub: Commentaries on Mark 7:14BibleHub: Commentaries on Mk 7:14 BibleHub

Parallel classic commentaries keyed to the teaching on defilement.

StudyLight: Mark 7 CommentariesStudyLight: Mk 7 Commentaries StudyLight

Many complete commentaries on Mark 7 gathered on one passage page.

Background & Word Study

BibleProject: Gospel of Mark OverviewBibleProject: Gospel of Mk Overview BibleProject

Animated overview of the whole Gospel of Mark's design and message.

BibleHub: Mark 7 InterlinearBibleHub: Mk 7 Interlinear BibleHub

Greek-English interlinear for word-level study of Mark 7.

The Church Fathers

Catena: Mark 7Catena: Mk 7 Catena

Patristic comments gathered verse by verse on Mark 7.

Worship & Prayers

The Lectionary Page: Proper 17B The Lectionary Page

Collect and full set of appointed readings for the day.

Podcast

Working Preacher: Sermon Brainwave Podcast Working Preacher

Weekly lectionary podcast where scholars discuss the appointed texts.

Art & Music

Vanderbilt: Revised Common Lectionary Art Index Vanderbilt

Lectionary art index for visual reflection on the day's readings.

Study Hub

The Text This Week: Proper 17B Textweek

Curated study, art, and preaching hub for these readings in Year B.

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