Jesus summoned the crowd again and said to them, “Hear me, all of you, and understand. Nothing that enters one from outside can defile that person; but the things that come out from within are what defile.” When he got home away from the crowd his disciples questioned him about the parable. He said to them, “Are even you likewise without understanding? Do you not realize that everything that goes into a person from outside cannot defile, since it enters not the heart but the stomach and passes out into the latrine?” (Thus he declared all foods clean.) “But what comes out of the man, that is what defiles him. From within the man, from his heart, come evil thoughts, unchastity, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit, licentiousness, envy, blasphemy, arrogance, folly. All these evils come from within and they defile.”
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The disciples can hardly believe their ears. They ask Jesus about the parable (actually, a saying) he said earlier to the crowd. In the privacy of the house, the disciples beg to be enlightened, to be sure that they heard him right. As Jews who strictly observe particular dietary laws, they distinguish between kosher (or clean) food and the unclean ones. Under no circumstance do they eat unclean food lest they become defiled. The disciples now find it strange when Jesus says that nothing that comes outside a person can defile him. Jesus quashes a relationship with God based on externalities. What pleases or displeases the Lord is not based on what one eats or refrains from eating. Jesus brings religiosity to a clear focus by emphasizing the inner realities of the heart, and not appearances.
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SOURCE: “365 Days with the Lord 2021,” ST. PAULS Philippines, 7708 St. Paul Rd., SAV, Makati City (Phils.); Tel.: 895-9701; Fax 895-7328; E-mail: books@stpauls.ph; Website: http://www.stpauls.ph.
