Charles Spurgeon Commentary Matthew 15:17

"Perceive ye not, that whatsoever goeth into the mouth passeth into the belly, and is cast out into the draught?" — Matthew 15:17 (ASV)

After years of the Master's teaching, are we still unable to grasp an elementary truth? Can we not discern between physical and spiritual defilement?

Food does not touch the soul. It passes through the body, but it does not enter the affections or the understanding, and therefore does not defile a person. What is eaten is material substance and does not come into contact with the moral sense. This is clear enough to any unprejudiced mind.

Food passes through every part of the body—from its entrance at the mouth, its passage through the digestive system, to its ultimate expulsion. However, it bears no relation to the mental and spiritual part of our being, and it is only there that real defilement can be caused.