Not that which goes into the mouth defiles a man; but that which
comes out of the mouth, this defiles a man.
All Commentaries on Matthew 15:11 Go To Matthew 15
John Chrysostom
AD 407
And He did not say, The observance of meats is nothing, neither that Moses had given wrong injunctions, nor that of condescension He did so; but in the way of admonition and counsel, and taking His testimony from the nature of the things, He says: Not the things that go into the mouth, defile the man, but the things that go out of the mouth; Matthew 15:11 resorting to nature herself both in His enactment and in His demonstration. Yet they hearing all this, made no reply, neither did they say, What sayest Thou? When God has given charges without number concerning the observance of meats, do you make such laws? But since He had utterly stopped their mouths, not by refuting them only, but also by publishing their craft, and exposing what was done by them in secret, and revealing the secrets of their mind; their mouths were stopped, and so they went away.
But mark, I pray you, how He does not yet venture distinctly to set Himself with boldness against the meats. Therefore neither did He say the meats, but, the things that enter in defile not the man; which it was natural for them to suspect concerning the unwashen hands also. For He indeed was speaking of meats, but it would be understood of these matters too.
Why, so strong was the feeling of scruple about the meats, that even after the resurrection Peter said, Not so, Lord, for I have never eaten anything common or unclean. Acts 10:14 For although it was for the sake of others that He said this, and in order to leave Himself a justification against his censurers, by pointing out that he actually remonstrated, and not even so was excused, nevertheless it implies the depth of their impression on that point.
Wherefore you see He Himself also at the beginning spoke not openly concerning meats, but, The things that go into the mouth; and again, when He had seemed afterwards to speak more plainly, He veiled it by His conclusion, saying, But to eat with unwashen hands defiles not the man: Matthew 15:20 that He might seem to have had His occasion from thence, and to be still discoursing of the same. Therefore He said not, To eat meats defiles not a man, but is as though He were speaking on that other topic; that they may have nothing to say against it.
