Church Fathers Commentary Matthew 15:15-20

"And Peter answered and said unto him, Declare unto us the parable. And he said, Are ye also even yet without understanding? Perceive ye not, that whatsoever goeth into the mouth passeth into the belly, and is cast out into the draught? But the things which proceed out of the mouth come forth out of the heart; and they defile the man. For out of the heart come forth evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, railings: these are the things which defile the man; but to eat with unwashen hands defileth not the man." — Matthew 15:15-20 (ASV)

Remigius of Auxerre: The Lord was accustomed to speaking in parables, so when Peter heard, That which entereth into the mouth, defileth not a man, he thought it was a parable and asked, as it follows: Then answered Peter, and said unto him, Declare unto us this parable. And because he asked this on behalf of the rest, they are all included in the rebuke: Are ye also yet without understanding?

St. Jerome: He is reproved by the Lord because he supposed that what was spoken plainly was actually a parable. This teaches us that the hearer is to be blamed who would take obscure sayings as clear, or clear sayings as obscure.

St. John Chrysostom: Or, the Lord blames him because he did not ask this from any uncertainty, but from the offense he had taken. The crowds had not understood what had been said, but the disciples were offended by it. This is why they had initially desired to ask Him about the Pharisees but had been restrained by that mighty declaration, Every plant, etc.

But Peter, who is always zealous, is not silent despite this. Therefore, the Lord reproves him, adding a reason for His reproof: Do ye not understand, that whatsoever entereth in at the mouth goeth into the belly, and is cast out into the draught?

St. Jerome: Some object to this, arguing that the Lord is ignorant of physiology in saying that all food goes into the belly and is cast out into the latrine. They claim that as soon as food is taken, it is distributed through the limbs, the veins, the marrow, and the nerves.

But it should be known that the lighter juices and liquid food, after being reduced and digested in the veins and vessels, pass into the lower parts through those passages which the Greeks call “pores,” and thus go into the latrine.

St. Augustine of Hippo: The nourishment of the body, after first being broken down—that is, having lost its original form—is absorbed into the substance of the limbs and repairs their wear. It passes through a medium into another form and, by the spontaneous motion of the parts, is separated. Those portions adapted for the purpose are taken up into the structure of this fair, visible body, while those that are unfit are rejected through their own passages.¹

One part, consisting of feces, is restored to the earth to reappear in new forms; another part is released as perspiration; and another is taken up by the reproductive system for the continuation of the species.¹

St. John Chrysostom: In speaking this way, the Lord is answering his disciples according to their Jewish weakness. He says that the food does not remain but passes out; yet even if it did remain, it would not make a man unclean. But they could not yet hear these things. Thus Moses also pronounces them unclean for as long as the food remained in them, for he bids them wash in the evening, at which point they would be clean, calculating the time for digestion and expulsion.

St. Augustine of Hippo: And in this, the Lord includes man's two mouths: one of the body and one of the heart. For when He says, Not all that goeth into the mouth defileth a man, He clearly speaks of the body's mouth. But in what follows, He alludes to the mouth of the heart: But those things which proceed out of the mouth, come forth from the heart, and they defile a man.²

St. John Chrysostom: For the things that are of the heart remain within a man and defile him in going out of him, as well as in remaining in him—indeed, even more so in going out. Therefore He adds, Out of the heart proceed evil thoughts. He gives these the first place because this was the very fault of the Jews, who laid snares for Him.

St. Jerome: The seat of the soul, therefore, is not in the brain, according to Plato, but in the heart, according to Christ. By this passage, we may refute those who think that evil thoughts are suggestions of the Devil and do not spring from our own will.

The Devil may encourage and abet evil thoughts, but he does not originate them. If he is able, being always on the watch, to blow a small spark of thought within us into a flame, we should not conclude from this that he searches the hidden places of the heart. Rather, he judges what is passing within us from our manner and movements.

For instance, if he sees us direct frequent looks toward a beautiful woman, he understands that our heart has been wounded through the eye.

Glossa Ordinaria: And from evil thoughts proceed evil deeds and evil words, which are forbidden by the law. This is why He adds Murders, which are forbidden by the commandment of the Law, Thou shalt not kill; Adulteries, fornications, which are understood to be forbidden by the precept, Thou shalt not commit adultery; Thefts, forbidden by the command, Thou shalt not steal; False witness, by the command, Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour; and Blasphemies, by the command, Thou shalt not take the name of God in vain.³

Remigius of Auxerre: Having named the vices forbidden by the divine Law, the Lord beautifully adds, These are they that defile a man—that is, they make him unclean and impure.

Glossa Ordinaria: And because these words of the Lord were prompted by the iniquity of the Pharisees, who preferred their traditions to the commands of God, He therefore concludes that there was no necessity for the aforementioned tradition: But to eat with unwashen hands defileth not a man.⁴

St. John Chrysostom: He did not say that eating the meats forbidden in the Law does not defile a man, so that they would have nothing to say in reply. Instead, He concludes on the very topic that had been disputed.

1. de Vera Relig., 40
2. de Trin., xv, 10
3. non occ.
4. non occ.