A man is not defiled by what enters his mouthThis phrase challenges the traditional Jewish dietary laws that were central to the religious practices of the time. In the context of first-century Judaism, dietary laws were seen as a means of maintaining ritual purity.
Leviticus 11 outlines these laws, which were strictly observed by the Pharisees and other Jewish groups. Jesus' statement here shifts the focus from external observance to internal purity, emphasizing the heart's condition over ritual compliance. This teaching aligns with the prophetic tradition found in passages like
Isaiah 29:13, where God criticizes those who honor Him with their lips while their hearts are far from Him.
but by what comes out of it.
This part of the verse highlights the importance of one's words and actions as true indicators of spiritual purity. InMatthew 12:34, Jesus similarly teaches that "out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks," indicating that words reflect the inner moral and spiritual state. This teaching is consistent with the wisdom literature of the Old Testament, such asProverbs 4:23, which advises guarding one's heart as the wellspring of life. The emphasis on internal purity over external ritual is a recurring theme in Jesus' ministry, pointing to the new covenant's focus on transformation from within, as prophesied inJeremiah 31:33, where God promises to write His law on the hearts of His people.
Persons / Places / Events
1.
Jesus ChristThe central figure in this passage, Jesus is teaching His disciples and the crowd about the true nature of defilement.
2.
Pharisees and ScribesReligious leaders who challenged Jesus, concerned with ritual purity and dietary laws.
3.
DisciplesFollowers of Jesus who are learning from His teachings and observing His interactions with the Pharisees.
4.
CrowdThe general public who were present during Jesus' teaching, representing a broader audience for His message.
5.
GennesaretThe region where this teaching takes place, following Jesus' healing of many people.
Teaching Points
True DefilementJesus redefines purity, focusing on the heart and words rather than external rituals.
Believers should prioritize internal transformation over mere outward compliance.
Guarding the HeartThe heart is the wellspring of life; what we harbor within will eventually manifest outwardly.
Regular self-examination and repentance are crucial for maintaining spiritual purity.
Power of WordsOur words reflect our inner state and can either build up or tear down.
Christians are called to speak life, truth, and encouragement, aligning their speech with the character of Christ.
Challenge of TraditionJesus challenges the Pharisees' adherence to tradition over God's commandments.
Believers must discern between human traditions and biblical truth, ensuring their practices honor God.
Holistic RighteousnessRighteousness involves both heart and action, requiring a holistic approach to faith.
Spiritual disciplines, such as prayer and scripture meditation, help align the heart with God's will.
Bible Study Questions and Answers
1.What is the meaning of Matthew 15:11?
2.How does Matthew 15:11 redefine the source of spiritual defilement?
3.What practical steps can guard our hearts from defiling words?
4.How does Matthew 15:11 connect with Proverbs 4:23 about guarding the heart?
5.In what ways can we ensure our speech aligns with biblical teachings?
6.How can Matthew 15:11 guide our interactions in daily conversations?
7.How does Matthew 15:11 redefine the concept of purity in Christian theology?
8.Why does Jesus emphasize words over dietary laws in Matthew 15:11?
9.How does Matthew 15:11 challenge traditional Jewish dietary restrictions?
10.What are the top 10 Lessons from Matthew 15?
11.How do words defile a person?
12.How do words defile a person?
13.Why do Christians often ignore biblical dietary laws but still condemn sexual sins?
14.Is Jesus contradicting established Jewish laws by declaring that eating with unwashed hands does not defile a person (Matthew 15:1–11)?What Does Matthew 15:11 Mean
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. InActs 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).
summaryExternal 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.
(11)
Not that which goeth into the mouth.--Up to this time the question had been debated indirectly. The scribes had been convicted of unfitness to speak with authority on moral questions. Now a great broad principle is asserted, which not only cut at the root of Pharisaism, but, in its ultimate tendency. swept away the whole Levitical system of ceremonial purity--the distinction between clean and unclean meats and the like. It went, as the amazement of the disciples showed, far beyond their grasp as yet. Even after the day of Pentecost, Peter still prided himself on the observance of the Law which was thus annulled, and boasted that he had never "eaten anything common or unclean" (
Acts 10:14). So slow were even those who had sat at the feet of Jesus to take in the thought that purity was inward and not outward, a spiritual and not a physical quality.
Verse 11. -
Not that which goeth into the mouth defileth a man. The word rendered "defileth" (
κοινοῖ) means "renders common," in opposition to
ἁγιάζειν, "to separate" for God's use; hence the verb, ethically applied, signifies "to contract guilt." The rabbis taught that certain meats of themselves polluted the soul, made it abominable in God's sight. This was a perversion of the law respecting clean and unclean food. The pollution or guilt arose, not from the nature of the meat, but from the eating of it in contravention of a positive command. It was the disobedience, not the food, which affected the soul. It is remarkable that these distinctions of meats still obtain among half the civilized inhabitants of the world - Buddhists, Hindoos, Mohammedans - and that one of the hardest tasks of Christian missionaries is to make men understand the non-importance of these differences. We do not see that Christ here abrogated the Levitical Law, but he certainly prepared the way for its supersession and transformation. But he made no sudden and violent change in the constituted order of things. Indeed, some distinctions were maintained in apostolical times, as we read in
Acts 10:14;
Acts 15:20, 29; and it was only gradually, and as circumstances made their observation impossible, that such ceremonial obligations were regarded as obsolete. It is, perhaps, with the view of not shocking inveterate prejudice, that he does not say, "No food whatever defileth," but "That which goeth into the mouth" defileth not, referring especially to the notion above reprehended, that eating with unwashen hands polluted the food taken and the soul of the person who consumed it. Our Lord says nothing of excess,
e.g. gluttony and drunkenness, which, of course, has a polluting and deteriorating effect on the moral nature (see
Luke 21:34).
But that which cometh out of the mouth. In the former sentence the mouth is regarded simply as the instrument for receiving food and preparing it for digestion; in this sentence it is considered as the organ of the heart, that which gives outward expression to inward thoughts and conceptions. Fillion distinguishes them as "la bouche physique, et la bouche morale." Philo has well said, "The mouth is that by which, as Plato puts it, mortal things enter, and whence immortal things issue. For therein pass meat and drink, the perishable food of a perishable body; but from it proceed words, immortal laws of an immortal soul, by which the rational life is directed and governed" ('De Mundi Opif.,' § 40).
Defileth a man. Pollutes his soul, not with merely ceremonial defilement, but intrinsically and morally. Of course, our Lord is referring to evil words, etc., as he explains in ver. 19. For the mouth may give utterance to God's praise, words of love, sympathy, edification. But the evil in a man's heart will show itself in his mouth; and the open expression will react on the wicked thought, and make it more substantial, deadly, and operative.
Parallel Commentaries ...
Greek
Aτὸν(ton)Article - Accusative Masculine Singular
Strong's 3588:The, the definite article. Including the feminine he, and the neuter to in all their inflections; the definite article; the.manἄνθρωπον(anthrōpon)Noun - Accusative Masculine Singular
Strong's 444:A man, one of the human race. From aner and ops; man-faced, i.e. A human being.is not defiledκοινοῖ(koinoi)Verb - Present Indicative Active - 3rd Person Singular
Strong's 2840:To make unclean, pollute, desecrate, mid: I regard (treat) as unclean. From koinos; to make profane.by whatτὸ(to)Article - Nominative Neuter Singular
Strong's 3588:The, the definite article. Including the feminine he, and the neuter to in all their inflections; the definite article; the.entersεἰσερχόμενον(eiserchomenon)Verb - Present Participle Middle or Passive - Nominative Neuter Singular
Strong's 1525:To go in, come in, enter. From eis and erchomai; to enter.[his]τὸ(to)Article - Accusative Neuter Singular
Strong's 3588:The, the definite article. Including the feminine he, and the neuter to in all their inflections; the definite article; the.mouth,στόμα(stoma)Noun - Accusative Neuter Singular
Strong's 4750:The mouth, speech, eloquence in speech, the point of a sword.butἀλλὰ(alla)Conjunction
Strong's 235:But, except, however. Neuter plural of allos; properly, other things, i.e. contrariwise.by whatτὸ(to)Article - Nominative Neuter Singular
Strong's 3588:The, the definite article. Including the feminine he, and the neuter to in all their inflections; the definite article; the.comesἐκπορευόμενον(ekporeuomenon)Verb - Present Participle Middle or Passive - Nominative Neuter Singular
Strong's 1607:From ek and poreuomai; to depart, be discharged, proceed, project.out ofἐκ(ek)Preposition
Strong's 1537:From out, out from among, from, suggesting from the interior outwards. A primary preposition denoting origin, from, out.[it].”στόματος(stomatos)Noun - Genitive Neuter Singular
Strong's 4750:The mouth, speech, eloquence in speech, the point of a sword.
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NT Gospels: Matthew 15:11 That which enters into the mouth doesn't (Matt. Mat Mt) 
