THE ADVENT TRUTH
People love to quote, “It’s not what goes into a man’s mouth that defiles him, but what comes out,” as if Jesus abolished the dietary laws. But that’s not what He said, nor what the passage means. Let’s look closer.
In Matthew 15:1-20, Jesus was addressing Pharisees who accused His disciples of eating with unwashed hands—a man-made tradition, not God’s law about clean and unclean animals. Verse 2 literally says, “Why do your disciples transgress the tradition of the elders?” It wasn’t about pork, shellfish, or any forbidden food—it was about ceremonial handwashing!
When Jesus said it’s not what goes into the mouth that defiles, He meant that moral defilement doesn’t come from dirt or germs, but from the heart—evil thoughts, pride, envy, and hatred (v. 19). That’s why He ended with, “These are the things which defile a man: but to eat with unwashen hands defileth not a man.” He never said, “Go ahead and eat unclean meat.”
The context is moral purity, not diet. God had already declared in Leviticus 11 and Isaiah 66:15-17 that unclean flesh is an abomination—even in the last days. Peter, long after the resurrection, still said, “I have never eaten anything common or unclean” (Acts 10:14)—showing that the apostles didn’t understand Jesus to be canceling God’s health laws.
Jesus didn’t die to make pigs clean. He died to make us clean.
God’s Word doesn’t change because culture does. The stomach processes food, but sin flows from the heart—and disobedience to God’s Word is still sin. If God called something unclean, no verse gives us the authority to declare it clean again.
The real issue is love of sin vs obedience. A pure heart obeys God’s Word because it loves Him (John 14:15).
People love to quote, “It’s not what goes into a man’s mouth that defiles him, but what comes out,” as if Jesus abolished the dietary laws. But that’s not what He said, nor what the passage means. Let’s look closer.
In Matthew 15:1-20, Jesus was addressing Pharisees who accused His disciples of eating with unwashed hands—a man-made tradition, not God’s law about clean and unclean animals. Verse 2 literally says, “Why do your disciples transgress the tradition of the elders?” It wasn’t about pork, shellfish, or any forbidden food—it was about ceremonial handwashing!
When Jesus said it’s not what goes into the mouth that defiles, He meant that moral defilement doesn’t come from dirt or germs, but from the heart—evil thoughts, pride, envy, and hatred (v. 19). That’s why He ended with, “These are the things which defile a man: but to eat with unwashen hands defileth not a man.” He never said, “Go ahead and eat unclean meat.”
The context is moral purity, not diet. God had already declared in Leviticus 11 and Isaiah 66:15-17 that unclean flesh is an abomination—even in the last days. Peter, long after the resurrection, still said, “I have never eaten anything common or unclean” (Acts 10:14)—showing that the apostles didn’t understand Jesus to be canceling God’s health laws.
Jesus didn’t die to make pigs clean. He died to make us clean.
God’s Word doesn’t change because culture does. The stomach processes food, but sin flows from the heart—and disobedience to God’s Word is still sin. If God called something unclean, no verse gives us the authority to declare it clean again.
The real issue is love of sin vs obedience. A pure heart obeys God’s Word because it loves Him (John 14:15).
THE ADVENT TRUTH
People love to quote, “It’s not what goes into a man’s mouth that defiles him, but what comes out,” as if Jesus abolished the dietary laws. But that’s not what He said, nor what the passage means. Let’s look closer.
In Matthew 15:1-20, Jesus was addressing Pharisees who accused His disciples of eating with unwashed hands—a man-made tradition, not God’s law about clean and unclean animals. Verse 2 literally says, “Why do your disciples transgress the tradition of the elders?” It wasn’t about pork, shellfish, or any forbidden food—it was about ceremonial handwashing!
When Jesus said it’s not what goes into the mouth that defiles, He meant that moral defilement doesn’t come from dirt or germs, but from the heart—evil thoughts, pride, envy, and hatred (v. 19). That’s why He ended with, “These are the things which defile a man: but to eat with unwashen hands defileth not a man.” He never said, “Go ahead and eat unclean meat.”
The context is moral purity, not diet. God had already declared in Leviticus 11 and Isaiah 66:15-17 that unclean flesh is an abomination—even in the last days. Peter, long after the resurrection, still said, “I have never eaten anything common or unclean” (Acts 10:14)—showing that the apostles didn’t understand Jesus to be canceling God’s health laws.
Jesus didn’t die to make pigs clean. He died to make us clean.
God’s Word doesn’t change because culture does. The stomach processes food, but sin flows from the heart—and disobedience to God’s Word is still sin. If God called something unclean, no verse gives us the authority to declare it clean again.
The real issue is love of sin vs obedience. A pure heart obeys God’s Word because it loves Him (John 14:15).
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