Text

10 He summoned the crowd and said to them, “Listen and understand: 11 Nothing that goes into the mouth profanes a person. Rather it is what comes out of the mouth that profanes a person.”

12 Later his disciples came to him and said, “Do you know that the Pharisees were scandalized by what you said?” 13 He answered, “Every plant not planted by my Heavenly Father will be uprooted. 14 Do not worry about them. They are blind guides leading the blind. If a blind person leads a blind person, they will both fall into a ditch.” 

15 Peter replied and said to him, “Explain this comparison to us.” 16 He said, “Are even you still so slow to understand? 17 Do you not see that anything that enters into the mouth goes into the stomach and passes out into the latrine? 18 Rather, it is the things that come out of the mouth and out of the heart that profane a person. 19 For from the heart comes evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, and blasphemy. 20 It is these things that profane a person, not eating with unwashed hands.

Comments

Jesus expands on his critique of the Pharisees’ legalism by teaching that nothing a person eats can morally defile them. This idea calls into question the dietary regulations in Lev 11, which is so shocking that it scandalizes the Pharisees. Jesus, however, remains firmed: A person’s holiness is not determined by what they passively receive, but by what they actively do based on their internal character. This teaching looks forward to the Council of Jerusalem in Acts 15, when the Apostles will decide that Gentiles can join the Church without following Jewish regulations around diet and ritual purity. (See also the comment on Mt 5.17-19.)

The overall theme of chapters 14-17 is the revelation of Jesus’ identity, and the individual chapters focus on different facets of that identity. Chapter 14 reveals Jesus as the Son of God through his feeding of five thousand and his walking on water. Chapter 15 reveals Jesus as a savior who has come not just for the Jewish people, but for all people. One of the great symbolic dividing lines between Jews and Gentiles were the Jewish dietary regulations. By setting them aside, Jesus has lowered one of the boundaries between the two. This sets the stage for him to venture into Gentile territory in the next passage.