What is the meaning of Matthew 15:11? A man is not defiled • The Lord speaks to a crowd previously schooled in ritual purity. Defilement, in their minds, meant being unfit to approach God (Leviticus 15:31). • Jesus redirects the focus from external contamination to the true seat of holiness—the heart. Scripture agrees: “Who may ascend the hill of the LORD? He who has clean hands and a pure heart” (Psalm 24:3-4). • God has always weighed the inner person above outward ritual: “The LORD does not see as man does… the LORD looks at the heart” (1 Samuel 16:7). by what enters his mouth • Under the Law, foods distinguished Israel from the nations (Leviticus 11). Yet the ceremonial pointed beyond itself. In Acts 10:14-15 Peter hears, “What God has cleansed, do not call impure.” • Paul later writes, “Therefore let no one judge you by what you eat or drink” (Colossians 2:16) and “For everything God created is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving” (1 Timothy 4:4). • The Master is not negating wisdom about diet or sobriety; He is declaring that food, in itself, cannot stain the soul. The body processes every bite and finally expels it (Matthew 15:17-18). Spiritual defilement operates on an entirely different plane. but by what comes out of it • Words expose and amplify the condition of the heart: “For out of the overflow of the heart, the mouth speaks” (Matthew 12:34). • Jesus lists the fruit of a corrupted heart—“evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander” (Matthew 15:19). • Practical stakes: – Our speech steers life’s direction (James 3:4-6). – Words can edify or decay: “Let no unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building up” (Ephesians 4:29). – A cleansed heart overflows in praise, truth, and blessing (Proverbs 4:23; Psalm 51:15). summary External substances passing through the mouth cannot taint the spirit. Sin springs from the heart and exits through words and deeds, revealing whether a person is truly clean before God. Therefore, guarding the heart and tongue—by the power of Christ’s redeeming work—is the path to genuine purity. |
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