Saturday 25 October 2025
"It is not what goes into the mouth that defiles a person, but it is what comes out of the mouth that defiles.” (v. 11)
Background
Jesus makes speaking to the crowd his first priority(v. 10) This is typical of his priorities and it's one that disciples with power today need to continually check they are following. He follows on from the attempt we saw yesterday to tear him down with the question about washing your hands before eating (Matthew 15:1-9) to make a wider point (which Peter wants him to expand on).
The point he makes is one we still often miss. In our society, judgements and assumptions are made based on our background, including where you are from, your ethnicity, your class and your accent. So many times in the last seven years I saw reactions to people from my community such as "You are from Wythenshawe, so you must be poor/lazy/criminal/uneducated/...".
Expanding on what Jesus says here, I love that Paul flips both from the focus 'on what comes out rather than what goes in' to the positive (see Galatians 5:16-26), especially to say look for the fruits of the Holy Spirit.
Today many of the arguments against the ordination of women or the freedom of same-sex couples to marry are based on the idea of being defiled by people's biology (their gender) rather than looking at what comes out (their words and actions). When we switch our focus and look at what comes out of the mouth (in the words of Jesus) or out as fruits of the Holy Spirit (in the words of Paul) then we see that it is the norm for ordained women and LGBTQIA+ couples to be a blessing with visible fruits of the Holy Spirit rather than defiling anyone. God shows us what is good by the fruits.
In verses 12-14 we see the disciples struggling with the way Jesus responds to power and authority. They might be concerned that he didn't realise that he had offended the Pharisees, they might be concerned with the consequences of offending them, they might be stuck in the model of automatic respect for and deference to those with authority. Jesus doesn't accept it at all. It seems he is saying that we are judged for ourselves, for our choices. We should stop going by people's rank, status and power and look at what comes out of them, their words and actions. Jesus seems to be telling them and us that we need to grow up and take responsibility for our own choices, words and actions, rather than being sheep.
It should be a big wake up call for our society where we still give such deference to those with titles, wealth and power, even when they are proven to be corrupt, lying or manipulative. It isn't enough for us to use excuses such as 'but this celebrity/politician said that migrants are taking our healthcare', or 'trans men are dangerous'. We are responsible for what we say and do, and we cannot blame those who are feeding us hate and lies. What comes out of us is what matters, not what others feed us.
In the teaching of Jesus, we are not what we eat, and we are not what others tell us. We are what we choose to say, we are how we choose to respond to others, we are how we act. I find this incredibly freeing but a huge responsibility. It's big relief too because I am not judged by the fact that I live in a society which tells me to hate, to be greedy, to be violent, to be fearful of difference. Instead, I am responsible for how I respond to the person outside the supermarket, how I respond to the new neighbour, and how I speak of others.
To Ponder:
- How do we ensure that what comes out of us is not the result of what others try to put in us?
- Where are our opportunities to see people differently based on what comes out rather than what has gone in?
Prayer
Loving God, you sent your son to challenge authority and injustice with your love that is for all people – thank you! You send your Holy Spirit with amazing gifts to grow fruit in our lives – thank you! We pray that you will help us to see each other as Jesus does and live as his faithful disciples while your kingdom comes. Amen.
Bible notes author: The Revd Dave Warnock
Dave is now a Methodist minister without an appointment. He and his wife Jane are finishing a very extensive refit of a 1977 sailing boat so they can sail around the world for five years as sustainably as possible. The intention is to model sustainable living and help encourage connections between sustainability and faith. He wants to move from negative to positive impacts of sailing on vulnerable coastal communities. See their blog and YouTube channel