Do you not see that whatever goes into the mouth passes into the stomach and is expelled?
English Standard Version (ESV)
Jesus is highlighting that the disciples, despite their training, are still missing the point: the physical process of eating doesn't touch the core of a person. True defilement isn't about what goes in, but what comes out from the heart.
Do you not see that whatever goes into the mouth passes into the stomach and is expelled?
English Standard Version (ESV)
Jesus has just declared that true defilement comes from within, not from outward rituals like ritual handwashing, which the Pharisees emphasized. When his disciples point out that this teaching has offended the Pharisees, Jesus dismisses their concern and further clarifies his point, explaining to them (and the crowd) the physical reality of digestion. He's directly addressing their continued lack of understanding about what truly pollutes a person.
Jesus drops a bombshell on the Pharisees' traditions about 'clean' and 'unclean' foods. But what does He mean by 'defilement'?
Jesus is drawing a sharp line between physical and spiritual realities. The Pharisees were fixated on outward rituals—like washing hands and dishes—believing these actions could make them 'clean' or 'unclean' in God's eyes.
But Jesus uses simple, even a bit graphic, logic here: food goes into the body, gets processed, and the waste is expelled. It's a purely physical process that stays in the physical realm. It doesn't touch your soul or your inner being.
Therefore, what you eat (or whether you washed your hands before eating) simply cannot make you spiritually impure. The real contamination isn't about what goes in, but what comes out.
If external things don't defile us, then what does? Jesus points to a surprising, yet profound, source.
Jesus contrasts the physical journey of food with the origin of true impurity. He clarifies that defilement doesn't come from the outside world entering us, but from the inside world originating within us—specifically, from the heart.
The 'heart' here isn't just our emotions; it's the core of our being, the center of our will, intentions, and thoughts. It's from this inner core that sinful desires and actions flow out and truly pollute us.
Things like wicked thoughts, malice, lies, and harmful speech don't get into us from the outside; they of us because of the condition of our hearts. This shifts the entire focus of religious life from external observance to internal transformation.
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This teaching of Jesus is a direct response to the Pharisees' strict rules about ritual purity. He's pushing back against a system that focused on external actions rather than the internal state of the heart.
c. 28 BC - AD 41
Reign of Herod the Great
Herod the Great ruled Judea, a time of political tension and Roman influence. His reign saw significant building projects but also a complex relationship with Jewish religious leaders.
c. AD 28
John the Baptist's Ministry Begins
John began his public ministry, calling for repentance and baptizing in the Jordan River. His message of impending judgment and a coming Messiah set the stage for Jesus' ministry.
c. AD 28-30
Jesus' Galilean Ministry
Jesus preached, taught, and performed miracles throughout Galilee, gathering a large following. His teachings often challenged the traditions and authority of the Pharisees and scribes.
c. AD 30— this verse
Jesus' Confrontation with Pharisees
Jesus directly engaged with the Pharisees and scribes over their traditions, particularly concerning ritual purity and hand washing. This led to significant theological disagreements.
c. AD 30
Jesus' Ministry in Phoenicia
Following the confrontation in Galilee, Jesus withdrew to the Gentile regions of Phoenicia, demonstrating his ministry's reach beyond Jewish tradition.
This passage echoes Jesus' point about the permissibility of eating what is sold in the market, directly addressing the issue of food and external purity laws.
Romans 14:14Paul directly states 'I know and am persuaded in the Lord Jesus that nothing is unclean in itself, except when someone thinks something is unclean, then it is unclean for him.' This reinforces Jesus' teaching that the uncleanness isn't in the food itself, but in the perception and the heart.
Mark 7:15Mark's parallel account includes this crucial addition from Jesus: 'There is nothing outside a person that by going in can defile him, but the things that come out of a person are what defile him.' This directly explains the 'why' behind Jesus' statement in Matthew 15:17.
Jeremiah 17:9This verse describes the 'desperately wicked' heart, providing the theological backdrop for Jesus' emphasis that true defilement originates from within, not from external actions like eating with unwashed hands.
Proverbs 20:27The Bible refers to the 'spirit of man as the lamp of the Lord, searching all his innermost parts.' This highlights the inner being that Jesus is concerned with, the 'heart' from which true pollution springs, rather than mere physical consumption.
barnesMatthew 15:17: "Do not ye yet understand, that whatsoever entereth in at the mouth goeth into the belly, and is cast out into the draught?"
Do ye not understand ... - The meaning of this may be thus expressed: The food which is eaten does not affect the mind, and therefore cannot pollute it. The doctrine of the Pharisees, that neglect of washing and of similar observances defiles a man, cannot be true. Those things pertain to the body as much as food does, and they cannot affect the soul. That…
calvinMatthew 15:10-20: "And he called the multitude, and said unto them, Hear, and understand:"
- And having called the multitudes to him, he said to them, Hear and understand. 11. What entereth into the mouth polluteth not the man, but what goes out of the mouth polluteth the man. 12. Then his disciples approaching said to him, Knowest thou that the Pharisees were offended when they heard that saying? 13. But he answering, said, Every plant which my heavenly Father hath not planted shall be roote…
Jesus is highlighting that the disciples, despite their training, are still missing the point: the physical process of eating doesn't touch the core of a person. True defilement isn't about what goes in, but what comes out from the heart.
Jesus has just declared that true defilement comes from within, not from outward rituals like ritual handwashing, which the Pharisees emphasized. When his disciples point out that this teaching has offended the Pharisees, Jesus dismisses their concern and further clarifies his point, explaining to them (and the crowd) the physical reality of digestion. He's directly addressing their continued lack of understanding about what truly pollutes a person.
Jesus has just declared that true defilement comes from within, not from outward rituals like ritual handwashing, which the Pharisees emphasized. When his disciples point out that this teaching has offended the Pharisees, Jesus dismisses their concern and further clarifies his point, explaining to them (and the crowd) the physical reality of digestion. He's directly addressing their continued lack of understanding about what truly pollutes a person.
"Do you not see that whatever goes into the mouth passes into the stomach and is expelled?" — Jesus is highlighting that the disciples, despite their training, are still missing the point: the physical process of eating doesn't touch the core of a person. True defilement isn't about what goes…
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Last reviewed October 2026