[CYM] 40.0 Do Not Defile Yourself

Yeshua taught that true purity is a matter of the heart and moral conduct, not merely adherence to external rituals or religious traditions. He challenged the prevailing views of ritual cleanliness by emphasizing the importance of inner holiness.

In Matthew 15:10–11, Yeshua says:

And He called the multitude, and said unto them, Hear, and understand: Not that which goeth into the mouth defileth a man; but that which cometh out of the mouth, this defileth a man.

This teaching is prompted by a confrontation with Pharisees who criticized His disciples for eating without ceremonial handwashing. Yeshua responds that evil thoughts, words, and actions, not dietary or ritual violations, are what truly corrupt a person.

He continues in Matthew 15:18–20:

But those things which proceed out of the mouth come forth from the heart; and they defile the man. For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies: These are the things which defile a man: but to eat with unwashen hands defileth not a man.

A parallel account in Mark 7:14–23 emphasizes the same point, with the added note in Mark 7:19:

Because it entereth not into his heart, but into the belly, and goeth out into the draught, purging all meats?

This radical reinterpretation shifts the focus from ritual laws to moral transformation.

In Luke 11:39–41, Yeshua rebukes Pharisees:

And the Lord said unto him, Now do ye Pharisees make clean the outside of the cup and the platter; but your inward part is full of ravening and wickedness. Ye fools, did not he that made that which is without make that which is within also? But rather give alms of such things as ye have; and, behold, all things are clean unto you.

While John doesn’t use the same vocabulary, it emphasizes spiritual rebirth and inward truth, such as in John 3:3–6 and John 4:23–24.

Across the scripture, Yeshua commands His followers to seek inner purity, urging a life marked by truth, integrity, and holiness—not empty religious performance.