And he saith unto them, Are ye so without understanding also? Do ye not perceive, that whatsoever thing from without entereth into the man, it cannot defile him;
And he said to them, 'Are you really not getting this either? Don't you see that whatever goes into someone from the outside can't actually make them unclean?'
Jesus is saying it's not what goes in your mouth that matters, it's what comes out of your heart.
📚 Historical Context
In the first century AD, during Jesus' ministry in Galilee, the Pharisees were questioning His disciples for not following the traditional hand-washing rituals before meals, which were part of Jewish oral traditions aimed at maintaining ceremonial purity. Jesus used this confrontation to challenge the overemphasis on external rituals, teaching that true defilement comes from within a person's heart rather than from outside sources. This incident highlights the tension between human traditions and the deeper spiritual truths Jesus proclaimed.
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