Why is it that what comes out of the mouth is what defiles (Matthew 15:11)?

Accordingly, the Lord called the crowds together again and communicated to them the truth on this subject in simple and concise language such as they might "hear and understand." He spoke to the multitudes direct without an intermediary, so that these simple peasants of Galilee were able to drink from the well-spring of truth itself. Everyone was called to give heed to Him, and to seek to lay hold upon His words. Hearken unto me every one of you, He said, and understand: "there is nothing from without the man, that going into him can defile him: but the things which proceed out of the man are those that defile the man."

The Lord's subject in this saying is not the means of cleansing, but the cause of defilement. He does not here speak of the futility of ceremonial purification, and of the use of water to remove immoral stains (Job 9:30-31). Of this He had already spoken to the Pharisees, but He now instructs those uninstructed in the law with regard to the true source of defilement. Cleansing pre-supposes defilement. How then does man become unclean? Is it by the polluting influences of external things entering his physical organization? The Lord declared that the inner motives from which man's words and actions spring are the cause of his uncleanness, none being able to bring a clean thing out of an unclean.

The disciples did not altogether relish what the Lord had been saying. They came and said unto Him, "Knowest Thou that the Pharisees were offended after they heard this saying?" They might not be offended themselves, but were disposed to sympathize with the people who were. But our Lord answers still more sternly, "Every plant which My heavenly Father hath not planted shall be rooted up." There needs a new life from God, not an improving of the old one. A plant of heavenly origin must be planted, then, and the heavenly Father must do it. Every other plant shall be rooted up. "Let them alone: they be blind leaders of the blind." Reasoning with these Pharisees is altogether vain. They require first principles, and the work of God in their souls. All discussion therefore is useless. "Let them alone: they be blind leaders of the blind." He did not apply this to the multitude, but to the leaders that were stumbled by the doctrine of man's total corruption. Such are best left to their own devices. "Let them alone … And if the blind lead the blind, both shall fall into the ditch."

But the Lord does not leave the disciples where they were. Peter answers and says unto Him, "Declare unto us this parable." What did he mean by calling it a parable? He did not understand it himself. Here was one, the very chief of the twelve apostles, and he cannot understand our Lord when He tells them that man is altogether wrong — his heart most of all; making that which comes out of him evil — not that which goes in. And this is a parable! The difficulty of Scripture arises less from difficult language than from unpalatable truth. Truth is contrary to people's wishes; they cannot see it, because they do not like to receive it. A man may not be always conscious of this himself, but it is the real secret that God sees. The obstacle consists in man's dislike of the truth. Jesus answered, "Are ye also yet without understanding? Do ye not yet understand, that whatsoever entereth in at the mouth goeth into the belly, and is cast out into the draught? But those things which proceed out of the mouth come forth from the heart, and they defile the man. For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies." The source of man's evil is from within. And, therefore, until there is a new life brought in — till man is born again, of water and of the Spirit — all is useless. "These are the things which defile a man: but to eat with unwashen hands defileth not a man."

Peter however thinks of verse 11 as a parable, and asks for an explanation. This is painful ignorance, as the Lord tells him, but he is not alone, for there are many Christians who consider only externals, and forget that the real index of what is defiling is that which one allows to proceed out of his mouth. For these come from the heart., which is the source of evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies. It may not be that every one of these is always expressed from the mouth before the act takes place; but every one proceeds from the heart, which commonly expresses itself in the words of the mouth. If the mouth expresses hatred, this is the principle of murder (1Jn.3:15). One who is adulterous will usually betray it by corrupt language. A thief will likely express himself covetously. Wisely indeed does Proverbs 4:23 tell us, "Keep thy heart more then anything that is guarded, for out of it are the issues of life" (J.N.D.trans). The Lord then closes the subject with the declaration that to eat with unwashed hands does not defile a man.

Accordingly He pointed out that all that enters into the mouth goes into the belly, and then becomes purged by nature, so that the man is not defiled. But that which comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart; and the human heart being hopelessly evil all that issues from it is defiling indeed. An awful exposure of the heart follows: "evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies." This is what both your heart and mine contains, beloved reader. If the grossest of these evils have not broken forth, it is due to the mercy of God in the environment in which He has been pleased to set us, but the evils are most assuredly within us, only awaiting opportunity to show themselves in all their hideousness. What stronger proof could we have that it is not reformation men need, but a new creation! What proof, too, that mere external observances can never of themselves suffice, because they cannot reach to that which is within! If men but realized their own innate corruption, as thus set forth by the Lord Jesus in answer to Peter's inquiry, surely they would palter no more with priests and their doings, but hasten at once to the Saviour's feet, where alone blessing can be found for eternity.

Yet not only the Pharisees, but the crowd is in need of the word that He now declares. Calling them to Him, He urges them to hear and understand that it is not what goes into a man's mouth that defiles him, but what proceeds out of his mouth. By eating material things, no-one is defiled spiritually. If something is not good for one's physical health, that is a different matter. But the things that come from one's mouth indicate what is actually in the heart: if things morally corrupt come from the mouth, these certainly defile the man.

"And Peter answering to Him said, Expound to us this parable. But He said, Are ye also without intelligence? Do ye not apprehend that everything that enters into the mouth finds its way into the belly, and is cast forth into the draught? but the things which go forth out of the mouth come out of the heart and these defile men. For out of the heart come forth evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witnessings, blasphemies; these are the things which defile man, but the eating with unwashed hands does not defile man" (v. 15-20). How slow they were to understand the full meaning of what He wanted to convey to their hearts. Our Lord shows the true source of all defilement. It is within. The Pharisees did not believe in the utter corruption of the heart. "I the Lord search the heart" (Jer. 17:10). And this searcher of hearts is present here on the scene and throws His own light upon the source of evil, of which He had said through Jeremiah, "The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked." Blessed is he who bows before this verdict.

"And He called the multitude, and said unto them, Hear, and understand: Not that which goeth into the mouth defileth a man; but that which cometh out of the mouth, this defileth a man." (vv. 10, 11.) There is deep instruction here. One might have begun and have argued with a man about Jerusalem until the end of time, he using the most specious arguments, such as that it was God that had established Jerusalem, it was God that had set up the sacrifices (for the sacrifices were in themselves, as to form, true), and the like; and. there we might have stood. The Lord sets all this aside. He calls up the "multitude" - no matter who or what they might be (we find it stated, Matt. 9:36, that they were "as sheep having no shepherd"); and He addresses Himself directly and completely to what is within. He passes by all that which Satan had known how to use to the blinding of the conscience, and He goes at once to the root of the matter, to this fact - 'You know that what comes out of the heart is not of God, and that is you.' This exposes the whole question. 'Talk not of washing the hands; it may have been the tradition of the elders, but it is your religion; that which comes out of the heart is evil, and what a man's nature is he is.' The Lord addresses Himself to the conscience: if the conscience had been before God, they could not have concealed this truth from themselves. They did not want Pharisees for that; they did not want scribes for that; their own hearts could answer it. The conscience of the simplest man, though hitherto led by ten thousand evil Pharisees, when it is before God, can understand that it is that which cometh out of a man, that which is himself, that defileth a man. "Then came His disciples, and said unto Him, Knowest thou that the Pharisees were offended, after they heard this saying?" (v. 12.) No wonder! all man's system of Pharisaism is good for nothing, when it comes to be a simple question about why all this evil goes out of the heart of man. No wonder, therefore, they were offended. Man has persuaded himself into the belief that he is not so really lost to what is good as God says he is, and that all this attention to ceremonial observances and the externals of religion is very holy and excellent. But, as it is explained here by our blessed Lord, both leaders and led are "blind" a simple thing; as the prophet expresses it. "The leaders of this people cause them to err; and they that are led of them are destroyed." (Isa. 9:16.) "But He answered and said, Every plant, which my heavenly Father hath not planted, shall be rooted up." (v. 13.) There may be the "form of godliness," but if it is not of the Father, if not planted of God, it will be rooted up. God must have realities for eternity; and therefore nothing is eternal that God has not planted. "Let them alone" - a terrible saying, a terrible thing to hear the Lord of love uttering such a word as that, and I do not know that it is ever said about any but religious people. We never hear that lip of love saying, "Let them alone," or words of the kind, to any but hypocrites; He does not say so to the poor Gentile woman mentioned in the after part of the chapter, though her circumstances were those of the greatest evil. If He must put the heart of such an one to trial, He will do it, but He does not so speak. "Let them alone: they be blind leaders of the blind. And if the blind lead the blind, both shall fall into the ditch." (v. 14.) Jesus must be occupied with "the poor of the flock," so He turns and feeds the multitude.

"Then answered Peter and said unto Him, Declare unto us this parable. And Jesus said, Are ye also yet without understanding?" (vv. 15, 16.) We see here a hankering after hearing something new, instead of the conscience before God - a step lower down, so to speak, of Pharisaism. He is their "Rabbi." They are looking at Him in this character, and therefore, their conscience not being in the presence of God, they cannot understand such a simple thing - the simplest thing that can be - that it is not that which goeth into the mouth, but that which cometh out of the mouth that defileth a man. They have something between the conscience and God. And mark where the "understanding," in God's estimate, is - always in the conscience. He is not making learned men (though He does speak wisdom to them that are perfect), but He is bringing sinners to heaven. His dealings are with the heart and conscience; and no matter what it be, a parable or whatever else, I have no "understanding" of it until my conscience is at work, and before God by faith; because, until then, God has not His place, and I have not mine. There is no understanding a single thing between me and God, if He has not His place. I might suppose that I knew a good deal about God, and might reason wonderfully, and explain Him as a lecturer would his subject; but would that be God? Where would be the respect due to Him as God? Would He be acting as Light to me, making manifest my darkness? Not at all. If He had His real place, as God to my soul, I should not be lecturing about Him, I should feel what I am in His presence. No man ever lectured about God in the presence of God. He might seek to explain fully what God is when He was not there; but let His presence be felt, and it would stop the lecture at the moment. That is wherein these disciples failed; they were quick to learn "parables," as no question of conscience. Therefore Christ puts it in the simplest manner; He says, "Do not ye yet understand, that whatsoever entereth in at the mouth goeth into the belly, and is cast out into the draught? But these things which proceed out of the mouth come forth from the heart; and they defile the man." (They are part of himself.) "For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts: … these are the things that defile a man: but to eat with unwashen hands defileth not a man." (vv. 17-20.)

(Vv. 14-16). Having exposed the hypocrisy of the outward religion of the flesh, the Lord, in the hearing of "all the people," shows that the source of defilement is not from without, but from within. The washing of hands and cups and pots, simply deals with defilement from without, but the source of moral defilement springs from the inward evil of the heart. This cuts at the root of all worldly religion of the flesh which simply deals with externals and leaves the heart untouched. God works from within and deals with the conscience and heart. The real source of defilement is not a man's environment but himself. It is true that man being such as he is — a fallen creature — if he goes into scenes of evil and temptation, his surroundings will stir up his lusts within. But even so the source of the evil is from within. An Angel can pass through Sodom and not be defiled, but not so Lot. There was no evil heart in the Angel to answer to sin; there was in Lot.

(Vv. 17-23). Alone with His disciples the Lord enlarges upon this theme, and interprets His illustration. Moral evil has its root in the heart whatever form the evil may take, whether it be evil thinking, evil acts, such as adulteries, murder, thefts or deceit, evil looking, or evil speaking in blasphemy, pride and foolishness. "All these evils come from within, and defile the man."

Not only the Pharisees are included in the Lord's ministry that begins in verse 14. He called all the people to Him, to press upon them a matter of deepest importance, urging them to listen and to understand. Nothing from outside, entering into a man, can defile him. Spiritual defilement is not contracted in this way. Of course a man may eat food that is physically harmful to him: he may even take poison, but this in itself is not spiritually defiling. But the things that come out of a man (not physically of course) are those that defile him. The Lord does not further explain this to the crowd, but seeks to stir them with the words, "If any man have ears to hear, let him hear."

The mouth both takes in and gives out. It is the avenue to the stomach and the outlet for the heart. The wise man has said: "All the labour of man is for his mouth" (Ecc. 6:7). In this he spake truly. The Pharisees of our Lord's time were more fastidious concerning that which goes into the mouth than that which comes out of it. Hence their contention with the Lord in Matt. 15 because His disciples ate bread with unwashed hands. In His reply He said: "Not that which goes into the mouth defiles a man; but that which comes out of the mouth, this defiles a man." Then, after sternly denouncing the hypocrisy of these religious folk, He added an awful description of what the human heart contains. "Out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries," etc.

It is not my intention on this occasion to run through all the Scripture passages which speak of the mouth. I propose to confine myself to the four passages in the epistle to the Romans in which it is mentioned. These all regard it from the moral side — as the outlet for the heart. In Rom. 3 we have the divine indictment of man, presented in a string of quotations from the Prophets and the Psalms. Amongst them we find these terrible words from Psalm 10: "Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness." If the heart did not contain these evils the mouth could never give them forth. Here then we have an insight into the human heart. Let it be noted also that this awful quotation occurs in the apostle's description of religious Jews, not in his account of heathen Gentiles. We are reminded of James' exposure of the inconsistency of the tongue: "Therewith bless we God, even the Father; and therewith curse we men, which are made after the similitude of God." It is possible therefore to sing the praises of God on Sunday and be guilty of cursing and bitterness towards men on Monday. Oh, the appalling corruption of the human heart! Well might the Saviour say: "How can ye, being evil, speak good things? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks" (Matt. 12:34). Yet it is one of the hardest of all lessons to learn that the heart of every man is incurably wicked.