Matthew 15:17 Meaning and Explanation
“Do not ye yet understand, that whatsoever entereth in at the mouth goeth into the belly, and is cast out into the draught?”
King James Version (KJV)
Read this verse in context with translation switching:
Read Full Chapter →Jesus explains that food merely passes through the body and is expelled, touching nothing of the inner person.
What Does Matthew 15:17 Mean?
Jesus begins His explanation with plain reasoning. Whatever enters the mouth passes into the stomach and is then expelled; it travels through the body and out again. Food touches the digestive process but never reaches the moral center of a person. By tracing this simple path, Jesus shows why eating with unwashed hands cannot truly defile the soul.
The point, though earthy, is profound. The things that pass through us physically do not shape who we are before God. Real defilement lies elsewhere, in the heart, as the next verses will say. Jesus grounds spiritual truth in everyday observation, teaching us not to mistake the outward and bodily for the inward and lasting. What enters the stomach is not what stains the soul.
Matthew 15:17 in the Original Language
aphedron (ἀφεδρών), 'draught' -- a latrine or privy, the place where bodily waste is expelled, making vivid that food merely passes through.
Frequently Asked Questions About Matthew 15:17
What does Matthew 15:17 mean?
Jesus explains that food merely passes through the body and is expelled, touching nothing of the inner person.