10 After Jesus called the crowd to Him, He said to them, "Hear and understand . 11 " It is not what enters into the mouth that defiles the man , but what proceeds out of the mouth , this defiles the man ." 12 Then the disciples came and said to Him, "Do You know that the Pharisees were offended when they heard this statement ?" 13 But He answered and said , " Every plant which My heavenly Father did not plant shall be uprooted . 14 "Let them alone ; they are blind guides of the blind . And if a blind man guides a blind man , both will fall into a pit ." 15 Peter said to Him, " Explain the parable to us." 16 Jesus said , "Are you still lacking in understanding also ? 17 "Do you not understand that everything that goes into the mouth passes into the stomach , and is eliminated e ? 18 "But the things that proceed out of the mouth come from the heart , and those defile the man . 19 " For out of the heart come evil thoughts , murders , adulteries , fornications , thefts , false witness , slanders . 20 "These are the things which defile the man ; but to eat with unwashed hands does not defile the man ."
Matthew Henry's Commentary on Matthew 15:10-20
Commentary on Matthew 15:10-20
(Read Matthew 15:10-20)
Christ shows that the defilement they ought to fear, was not from what entered their mouths as food, but from what came out of their mouths, which showed the wickedness of their hearts. Nothing will last in the soul but the regenerating graces of the Holy Spirit; and nothing should be admitted into the church but what is from above; therefore, whoever is offended by a plain, seasonable declaration of the truth, we should not be troubled at it. The disciples ask to be better taught as to this matter. Where a weak head doubts concerning any word of Christ, an upright heart and a willing mind seek for instruction. It is the heart that is desperately wicked, Jeremiah 17:9, for there is no sin in word or deed, which was not first in the heart. They all come out of the man, and are fruits of that wickedness which is in the heart, and is wrought there. When Christ teaches, he will show men the deceitfulness and wickedness of their own hearts; he will teach them to humble themselves, and to seek to be cleansed in the Fountain opened for sin and uncleanness.