Matthew 15:18
in Matthew 15But the things that come out of the mouth come from the heart, and these things defile a man.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
But the things which proceed out of the mouth come forth out of the heart; and they defile the man.
KJV
But those things which proceed out of the mouth come forth from the heart; and they defile the man.
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This verse in Matthew 15
Commentary
11 notes on this verseBut what proceeds out of the mouth: it has already been said that by the mouth is understood the mind. Come forth from the heart, and those things defile a man: because the sins of the heart are thoughts and affections; Isa. 1:16: take away …
This site's exposition
Declare unto us this parable
on Matthew 15:15-20
Peter's request shows the disciples had not fully grasped verse 11 either, and Jesus' mild rebuke, are ye also yet without understanding, opens into the fullest explanation the Gospel gives of this teaching. Food passes through the body and out again, but the heart is the source of the list Jesus names, evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies, a catalogue that runs largely along the second table of the Decalogue. Gill notes that the chapter closes this exchange exactly where it opened, on unwashen hands, but the ground has shifted entirely from ritual purity to moral origin.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers4 voices
And the Lord includes herein man's two mouths, one of the body, one of the heart. For when He says, Not all that goeth into the mouth defileth a man, He clearly speaks of the body's mouth; but in that which follows, He alludes to the mouth of the heart, But those things which proceed out of the mouth, come forth from the heart, and they defile a man.
Some cavil at this, that the Lord is ignorant of physical disputation in saying that all food goes into the belly, and is cast out into the draught; for that the food, as soon as it is taken, is distributed through the limbs, the veins, the marrow, and the nerves. But it should be known, that the lighter juices, and liquid food after it has been reduced and digested in the veins and vessels, passes into the lower parts through those passages which the Greeks call 'pores,' and so goes into the draught.
A commentator
John ChrysostomHomily on the Gospel of Matthew 51 · Written in the 5th century.
proposed
What then saith Peter? He saith not, "What can this be which Thou hast said?" but as though it were full of obscurity, he puts his question. And he saith not, "Why hast thou spoken contrary to the law?" for he was afraid, lest he should be thought to have taken offense, but asserts it to be obscure. However, that it was not obscure, but that he was offended, is manifest, for it had nothing of obscurity. Wherefore also He rebukes him, saying, "Are ye also yet without understanding?" For as to the multitude, they did not perhaps so much as understand the saying; but themselves were the persons offended. Wherefore, whereas at first, as though asking in behalf of the Pharisees, they were desirous to be told; when they heard Him denouncing a great threat, and saying, "Every plant, which my heavenly Father hath not planted, shall be rooted up," and, "They are blind leaders of the blind," they were silenced. But he, always ardent, not even so endures to hold his peace, but saith, "Declare unto us this parable." What then saith Christ? With a sharp rebuke He answers, "Are ye also yet without understanding? Do ye not yet understand?" But these things He said, and reproved them, in order to cast out their prejudice; He stopped not however at this, but adds other things also, saying, "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, blasphemies, false-witnessings: and these are the things that defile the man: but to eat with unwashen hands defileth not the man." Seest thou how sharply He deals with them, and in the way of rebuke? Then He establishes His saying by our common nature, and with a view to their cure. […]
(Ver. 17, 18.) Do you not understand that everything that enters the mouth goes into the stomach and is expelled into the sewer? But the things that come out of the mouth come from the heart, and those defile a person. All the passages of the Gospels among heretics and evil-doers are full of scandals.
The Medieval Church1 voice
The Saviour rebukes the disciples and censures their lack of sense, either because they took offense or because they did not understand the obvious. For He says, "That which is understood and is apparent to all, you do not understand; that food does not remain …
4 more voices on this verse
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
Now here we have, [1.] The corrupt fountain of that which proceeds out of the mouth; it comes from the heart; that is the spring and source of all sin, Jer. viii. It is the heart that is so desperately wicked ( Jer. xvii. 9 ); for there is no sin in a word or deed, which was not first in the heart.
But those things which proceed out of the mouth,....
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
There are two striking sayings of the Lord Jesus in this passage. One respects false doctrine: the other respects the human heart. Both of them deserve the closest attention. Respecting false doctrine, our Lord declares that it is a duty to oppose it, that its final destruction is sure, and that its teachers ought to be forsaken. He says, “Every plant that my heavenly Father has not planted shall be rooted up. Let them alone.” It is clear, from examination of the passage, that the disciples were surprised at our Lord’s strong language about the Pharisees and their traditions.
There are two striking sayings of the Lord Jesus in this passage. One respects false doctrine: the other respects the human heart. Both of them deserve the closest attention. Respecting false doctrine, our Lord declares that it is a duty to oppose it, that its final destruction is sure, and that its teachers ought to be forsaken. He says, “Every plant that my heavenly Father has not planted shall be rooted up. Let them alone.” It is clear, from examination of the passage, that the disciples were surprised at our Lord’s strong language about the Pharisees and their traditions. They had probably been accustomed from their youth to regard the Pharisees as the wisest and best of men. They were startled to hear their Master denouncing them as hypocrites, and charging them with transgressing the commandment of God. “Knowest thou,” they said, “that the Pharisees were offended?” To this question we are indebted for our Lord’s explanatory declaration, a declaration which perhaps has never received the notice it deserves. The plain meaning of our Lord’s words is that false doctrine like that of the Pharisees was a plant to which no mercy should be shown. It was a “plant which his heavenly Father had not planted,” and a plant which it was a duty to “root up,” whatever offense it might cause. To spare it was no charity, because it was injurious to the souls of men. It mattered nothing that those who planted it were high in office, or learned: if it contradicted the Word of God it ought to be opposed, refuted and rejected. His disciples must therefore understand that it was right to resist all teaching that was unscriptural, and to “let alone” and forsake all instructors who persisted in it. Sooner or later they would find that all false doctrine will be completely overthrown and put to shame, and that nothing shall stand but that which is built on the Word of God.
How the passage was read
On Matthew 15:1-20On Matthew 15:1-20
Handwashing, korban, and which tradition weighs more
“Why do thy disciples transgress the tradition of the elders? for they wash not their hands when they eat bread.” The washing in question is netilat yadayim, a ritual pouring of water over the hands before eating bread. It was never about hygiene: it extends to the ordinary table the purity washing the Torah requires of priests before they eat holy food, one more piece of the Pharisaic program to make every table an altar. The Mishnah devotes a whole tractate to it (Yadayim 1:1 opens with the required quantity of water), and observant homes keep the practice before bread to this day.
Jesus answers with a harder case from the same tradition: korban. Property declared korban (“an offering”) was barred from ordinary use as if dedicated to God, and the vow formula could be used to lock a son's goods away from his own parents; the Mishnah records the substitute formulas people spoke (Nedarim 1:2). Jesus weighs that vow against the commandment “honor thy father and mother” and rules that no vow can cancel it. The tradition itself wrestled with the same tension: its vow-release discussions include a debated question about opening a release by appeal to the parents' honor (Nedarim 9:1 records the rabbis divided over exactly that move). Jesus' ruling cuts where the tradition circled.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Sources: Mishnah Yadayim 1:1 (the handwashing rite) · Mishnah Nedarim 1:2 (the korban formulas) · Mishnah Nedarim 9:1 (release of vows and the parents' honor, a recorded dispute)
The words behind it
14 Greek wordsEvery Greek word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Greek | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| τὰ | ta | Things | G3588 → | 19766 times |
| δὲ | de | however | G1161 → | 2765 times |
| ἐκπορευόμενα | ekporeuomena | going forth | G1607 → | 33 times |
| ἐκ | ek | out of | G1537 → | 911 times |
| τοῦ | tou | the | G3588 → | 19766 times |
| στόματος | stomatos | mouth | G4750 → | 78 times |
| ἐκ | ek | out of | G1537 → | 911 times |
| τῆς | tes | the | G3588 → | 19766 times |
| καρδίας | kardias | heart | G2588 → | 156 times |
| ἐξέρχεται, | exerchetai | come forth, | G1831 → | 216 times |
| κἀκεῖνα | kakeina | and these | G2532 →G1565 → | 260 times |
| κοινοῖ | koinoi | defile | G2840 → | 14 times |
| τὸν | ton | the | G3588 → | 19766 times |
| ἄνθρωπον. | anthropon | man. | G444 → | 549 times |
τὰThings
taG3588 →19766 times
δὲhowever
deG1161 →2765 times
ἐκπορευόμεναgoing forth
ekporeuomenaG1607 →33 times
ἐκout of
ekG1537 →911 times
τοῦthe
touG3588 →19766 times
στόματοςmouth
stomatosG4750 →78 times
ἐκout of
ekG1537 →911 times
τῆςthe
tesG3588 →19766 times
καρδίαςheart
kardiasG2588 →156 times
ἐξέρχεται,come forth,
exerchetaiG1831 →216 times
κἀκεῖναand these
κοινοῖdefile
koinoiG2840 →14 times
τὸνthe
tonG3588 →19766 times
ἄνθρωπον.man.
anthroponG444 →549 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Matthew 12:34You brood of vipers, how can you who are evil say anything good? For out of the overflow of the heart, the mouth speaks.
it leads to
- Luke 6:45
The good man brings good things out of the good treasure of his heart, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil treasure of his heart. For out of the overflow…
- Ephesians 4:29
Let no unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building up the one in need and bringing grace to those who listen.
- 1 Samuel 24:13
As the old proverb says, ‘Wickedness proceeds from the wicked.’ But my hand will never be against you.
- Luke 6:45
Through
Matthew 15:11A man is not defiled by what enters his mouth, but by what comes out of it.”
it leads to
- James 3:5–8
In the same way, the tongue is a small part of the body, but it boasts of great things. Consider how small a spark sets a great forest ablaze.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Mark 7:15
Nothing that enters a man from the outside can defile him; but the things that come out of a man, these are what defile him.”
- Matthew 15:18–20
But the things that come out of the mouth come from the heart, and these things defile a man.
- 1 Timothy 4:4–5
For every creation of God is good, and nothing that is received with thanksgiving should be rejected,
- Matthew 12:34–37
You brood of vipers, how can you who are evil say anything good? For out of the overflow of the heart, the mouth speaks.
- James 3:5–8
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Matthew
This page draws on 10 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Augustine of Hippo, Catena Aurea by Aquinas; J.C. Ryle, Expository Thoughts on the Gospels: Matthew; Jerome, Catena Aurea by Aquinas; Jerome, Commentary on Matthew; John Chrysostom, Homily on the Gospel of Matthew 51; John Gill, Exposition of the New Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the New Testament (1746-1748); Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible; Theophylact of Ohrid, Commentary on Matthew and Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on Matthew.