Matthew 15:18 - Printer Friendly

ESV: But what comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart, and this defiles a person.

NIV: But the things that come out of a person's mouth come from the heart, and these defile them.

NASB: But the things that come out of the mouth come from the heart, and those things defile the person.

CSB: But what comes out of the mouth comes from the heart, and this defiles a person.

NLT: But the words you speak come from the heart — that’s what defiles you.

KJV: But those things which proceed out of the mouth come forth from the heart; and they defile the man.

NKJV: But those things which proceed out of the mouth come from the heart, and they defile a man.

Jesus did not require His disciples to perform the Pharisees' traditional, ritual handwashing before eating. The Pharisees had elevated this tradition to the level of doctrine. They thought it was necessary to avoid even accidentally putting a speck of a food declared "unclean" by the Law into one's mouth (Matthew 15:1–2).

When Christ dismissed this idea, He flatly stated that nothing going into a person's mouth defiles. The physical substance itself merely travels through the body and then exits. It's a physical process with no ability to travel to the soul and make it sinful. Even foods restricted for Israelites were just foods—they were not, in and of themselves, sinful. Jesus never violated those dietary restrictions (Matthew 5:17–19), nor did He teach people to do so. Rather, He insists that those rules do not exist because pork or other foods are evil in themselves.

Instead, sin and defilement already live in human souls. That defilement is revealed by the words a person says. Words show what is inside a person's heart. When we speak, we uncover the fact that we are defiled already. When a person eats something they know is forbidden, they uncover their uncleanness before God. The one who accidentally eats a tiny fleck of something, in ignorance, is not sinning.

Matthew quoted Jesus saying something similar during another confrontation with the Pharisees (Matthew 12:34). What fills the heart overflows and comes out in a person's words. It's not the eyes, but words that are the window to a person's sinful soul. If someone talks long enough, he will eventually show what's in his heart. Jesus lists some of the things in our hearts that defile us in the following verse.

Matthew 15:10–20 describes Jesus' expanded answer to a challenge from the Pharisees. Their concern is not about washing hands for health, but to follow religious rituals. He says these Pharisees will be uprooted and that they are blind guides. When asked, Jesus tells the disciples it's not what goes into a person's mouth that defiles him; it's the words that come out that reveal the sin in his heart. The defilement is already there, including all kinds of sin. He tells them flatly that eating with unwashed hands does not spiritually defile anyone.

Pharisees and scribes come from Jerusalem to challenge Jesus. They are offended that His disciples break the religious leaders' tradition about ritual handwashing before meals. Jesus turns that attack upside down, pointing out that His critics honor tradition above God's actual commands! He insists that nobody is defiled by what goes in the mouth—by the literal matter itself—but by the overflow of the spirit, such as the words that come out of the mouth. He and the disciples travel out of the country. Jesus casts a demon out of the daughter of a persistent Canaanite woman. They travel to the southeast side of the Sea of Galilee where Jesus feeds thousands of people from a few loaves and fishes. These last two events set up the eventual spread of the gospel beyond the people of Israel.

Matthew 15 begins with a confrontation between some Pharisees and Jesus. They ask why His disciples break the traditional practice of ritual handwashing. Pointedly, Jesus asks why they allow the obvious intent of God's commandments to be broken through their traditions. Jesus and the disciples travel out of Israel, encountering a Canaanite woman. He praises her faith and casts a demon from her daughter. They travel to the southeast side of the Sea of Galilee where Jesus heals more people and feeds thousands more from another few loaves and fishes. This sets up another confrontation with religious leaders, warnings about their teachings, and predictions of Jesus' death in the next chapter.

The Gospel of Matthew clearly shows the influence of its writer's background, and his effort to reach a specific audience. Matthew was one of Jesus' twelve disciples, a Jewish man, and a former tax collector. This profession would have required literacy, and Matthew may have transcribed some of Jesus' words as they were spoken. This book is filled with references to the Old Testament, demonstrating to Israel that Jesus is the Promised One. Matthew also includes many references to coins, likely due to his former profession. Matthew records extensive accounts of Jesus' teaching, more than the other three Gospels.