Jesus’ statement—“There is nothing from without a man, that entering into him can defile him”—is not a clever slogan. It is a doorway into the Bible’s whole doctrine of sin, purity, and the only real cleansing. And Scripture backs the logic at every turn.
Defilement is not mainly external contamination but internal corruption
Jesus says it plainly:
Mark 7:15 — “There is nothing from without a man, that entering into him can defile him… the things which come out of him, those are they that defile the man.”
Mark 7:20–23 — “That which cometh out of the man, that defileth the man… out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts… All these evil things come from within, and defile the man.”
The problem is not the food. The problem is the fountain.
Scripture has always said the same thing:
Jeremiah 17:9 — “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked.”
Genesis 6:5 — “Every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.”
Proverbs 4:23 — “Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life.”
We prefer external scapegoats because they spare the conscience
People have always tried to make evil something “out there.” Scripture exposes that evasion.
Isaiah 29:13 — “This people draw near me with their mouth… but have removed their heart far from me.”
Matthew 23:25–28 — “Ye make clean the outside of the cup… but within… ye are full of hypocrisy and iniquity.”
External religion can be spotless and still be a mask.
This doesn’t abolish holiness—it makes holiness real
Jesus is not teaching indifference. He is teaching priority: the heart first.
Matthew 5:8 — “Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God.”
1 Samuel 16:7 — “Man looketh on the outward appearance, but the LORD looketh on the heart.”
Romans 14:17 — “The kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost.”
So obedience matters—but it must be the fruit of inward truth, not the paint on a corpse.
If the defilement is within, then no outward washing can reach it
That is why Scripture mocks the idea that ceremonies can cleanse the conscience by themselves.
Jeremiah 2:22 — “Though thou wash thee with nitre… yet thine iniquity is marked before me.”
Proverbs 20:9 — “Who can say, I have made my heart clean, I am pure from my sin?”
Micah 6:6–7 — “Will the LORD be pleased with thousands of rams…?”
Outward things cannot fix an inward plague.
The cure is not better management—it is new birth and cleansing in Christ
The solution must reach the heart. That is exactly what God promises and what Christ accomplishes.
Ezekiel 36:25–27 — “Then will I sprinkle clean water upon you… A new heart also will I give you… and I will put my spirit within you.”
John 3:3 — “Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.”
Titus 3:5 — “Not by works of righteousness… but… by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost.”
And the cleansing is anchored in Christ’s work:
1 John 1:7 — “The blood of Jesus Christ… cleanseth us from all sin.”
Hebrews 9:14 — “The blood of Christ… purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God.”
Hebrews 10:22 — “Having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience.”
And the Spirit must enable us to understand this
Here is the decisive addition: even when these words are placed plainly before our eyes, we do not naturally receive them as they are meant. The human heart is not only unclean; it is resistant. We can read Christ’s sentence and still dodge its point—turning it into a debate about food, or a slogan about “not being judgmental,” or a permission slip for worldliness. That is why Scripture insists that the Spirit of God must open the understanding, not by adding new revelation, but by making us perceive, embrace, and tremble at what is written.
1 Corinthians 2:14 — “The natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God… neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.”
John 16:13 — “When he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth.”
Luke 24:45 — “Then opened he their understanding, that they might understand the scriptures.”
2 Corinthians 3:14–16 — “The veil is upon their heart… nevertheless when it shall turn to the Lord, the veil shall be taken away.”
Psalm 119:18 — “Open thou mine eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of thy law.”
So when Christ says defilement comes from within, the Spirit makes that truth personal—no longer about “them,” but about me. When Christ exposes the heart, the Spirit teaches the heart to stop bargaining and to confess. And when Christ points us to cleansing, the Spirit causes the soul to look to Christ not as an idea, but as the only hope of purity.
The comfort: a dirty world can’t ultimately own a cleansed man
If defilement were mainly “out there,” you’d live in endless fear of contamination. But God keeps His own in a corrupt world.
John 17:15–17 — “Keep them from the evil… Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.”
Romans 12:2 — “Be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind.”
The final aim: Christ’s words strip excuses and drive sinners to mercy
Jesus exposes the heart so we stop defending ourselves and start seeking grace.
Luke 5:31–32 — “I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.”
Psalm 51:10 — “Create in me a clean heart, O God.”
Isaiah 55:6–7 — “Let the wicked forsake his way… and he will have mercy.”
So the Bible’s logic is consistent:
Defilement proceeds from within (Mark 7; Jer 17).
External religion can mask inward filth (Matt 23; Isa 29).
Therefore, the cure must be inward—new heart, new birth (Ezek 36; John 3).
That cleansing comes in Christ (1 John 1; Heb 9–10).
And the Spirit must open the eyes and heart to receive it (1 Cor 2; Luke 24; Ps 119).
Not what enters a man defiles him—but what comes out of an unclean heart. And the only lasting answer is the heart-cleansing mercy of God in Jesus Christ, made known and felt by the illumination of the Holy Spirit.
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