WHAT DEFILETH A MAN?
What defileth a man according to the bible?
The topic of food is a controversial issue when it comes to the Bible, even though the commands as to what should be and what should not be eaten were given in Leviticus 11.
However, most people, including much of the 2.5 billion Christians worldwide, believe that there are verses, such as Matthew 15:11, that support doing away with the food laws, making it acceptable to now eat anything we desire.
MEANING OF MATTHEW 15:11?
So since there two radically polarized views as to what defileth a man, it is our task to get to the true meaning of Matthew 15:11. But first let us get the context of the conversation.
Matthew 15:1-2
[1]Then came to Yahusha scribes and Pharisees, which were of Jerusalem, saying,
[2]Why do thy disciples transgress the tradition of the elders? for they wash not their hands when they eat bread.
Now there are two main contexts here, as the conversation is based on these two main things:
1. The tradition of the elders
2. Eating with hands unwashed
TRANSGRESSING THE COMMANDMENTS BY THE TRADITIONS OF THE ELDERS
And consequently, the very next thing we realize is that their traditions were making them transgress the commandments of the Most High!
That was the problem HaMashiach had with them, and was the reason for his constant battle with them. They added traditions to the law, making the law a burden to the people and also nullifying the law in the process.
Matthew 15:3-6
[3]But he answered and said unto them, Why do ye also transgress the commandment of Aluah by your tradition?[4]For Aluah commanded, saying, Honour thy father and mother: and, He that curseth father or mother, let him die the death.
[5]But ye say, Whosoever shall say to his father or his mother, It is a gift, by whatsoever thou mightest be profited by me;
[6]And honour not his father or his mother, he shall be free. Thus have ye made the commandment of Aluah of none effect by your tradition.
YAHUSHA WAS NOT SUPPORTING BREAKING THE COMMANDMENTS!
Hence, to the person reading this with eyes to see, ears to hear and a heart to understand, it could not mean that HaMashiach was advocating breaking the law!
Indeed, he rebuked them for making the law of none effect through their traditions.
So how could Matthew 15:11 be taken as a permit to break the commandments by eating everything? Do now we have to seriously figure out the true meaning of Matthew 15:11 to see what defileth a man.
WHEN OUR WORSHIP IS IN VAIN
Sadly, the Messiah went on to tell us that our worship is in vain if we use our traditions to nullify the commandments!
Matthew 15:7-9
[7]Ye hypocrites, well did Esaias prophesy of you, saying,
[8]This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me.
[9]But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.
Hence the Christians saying the commandment is nullified do not realize that they fall into this group! Eating unclean meats is not in the commandments and hence it must be a tradition of men.
That (eating unclean meats), and several other Christian traditions that are not commanded by the Most High in his word, are the traditions of men and hence their worship is in vain.
NOT THAT WHICH GOETH INTO THE MOUTH DEFILETH A MAN
So now we come to our core verse.
Matthew 15:10-11
[10]And he called the multitude, and said unto them, Hear, and understand:
[11]Not that which goeth into the mouth defileth a man; but that which cometh out of the mouth, this defileth a man.
So the Christian says this means no meat that goes into your mouth defiles you!
Now bear in mind that that would mean he was saying it is now lawful to eat insects, faeces, poisonous plants and animals, even human flesh, and anything else our heart desires.
But the lawless soul, bent on consuming pork, lobster, crabs and so on, does not stop to think about this!
LAW AGAINST A LAWLESS SON
Indeed, if HaMashiach was advocating breaking the commandments, then he would be a wayward son of the Most High that deserved stoning.
Deuteronomy 21:18-21
[18]If a man have a stubborn and rebellious son, which will not obey the voice of his father, or the voice of his mother, and that, when they have chastened him, will not hearken unto them:[19]Then shall his father and his mother lay hold on him, and bring him out unto the elders of his city, and unto the gate of his place;
[20]And they shall say unto the elders of his city, This our son is stubborn and rebellious, he will not obey our voice; he is a glutton, and a drunkard.
[21]And all the men of his city shall stone him with stones, that he die: so shalt thou put evil away from among you; and all Israel shall hear, and fear.
Remember, if the Messiah was teaching us to break the law, then he would be a sinner and hence not blameless before the Most High.
THE LAW IS FOR THE CHILDREN OF YASHARAL FOREVER
Deu 29:29 The secret things belong unto YAHUAH our Aluah: but those things which are revealed belong unto us and to our children for ever, that we may do all the words of this law.
Moses told us that the law was given to the descendants of Yasharal forever. Consequently, breaking the commandments makes us sinners (1 John 3:4), hence HaMashiach himself would have been doing the same thing he warned us not to do in this verse:
Mat 5:19 Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.
It is impossible for Yahusha then to be telling us to eat unclean meats and hence break the commandments!
So with all that then, we must ask ourselves, what did Yahusha HaMashiach mean in Matthew 15:11? What defileth a man?
WHAT DEFILETH A MAN? MEANING OF MATTHEW 15:11 LINE UPON LINE
So whenever we have what seems like a discrepancy, we have to use the formula given in Isaiah 28:9-10 for us to receive knowledge and understand doctrine.
Isa 28:9 Whom shall he teach knowledge? and whom shall he make to understand doctrine? them that are weaned from the milk, and drawn from the breasts.
Isa 28:10 For precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, and there a little:
PURGING ALL MEATS?
So we only have to look at the same account in the book of Mark and we will see what Yahusha was really saying.
Mar 7:18 And he saith unto them, Are ye so without understanding also? Do ye not perceive, that whatsoever thing from without entereth into the man, it cannot defile him;
Mar 7:19 Because it entereth not into his heart, but into the belly, and goeth out into the draught, purging all meats?
The simple term: “purging all meats” sums up everything.
But how?
MEANING OF “MEATS”
We simply need to look at the meaning of a single word: “meats.” What does the verse mean by meats? Is it every flesh as the English language uses it to mean? Let’s see:
meats
G1033
βρῶμα
brōma
bro’-mah
From the base of G977; food (literally or figuratively), especially (ceremonial) articles allowed or forbiden by the Jewish law: – meat, victuals.
Total KJV occurrences: 17
As you can see, broma, the Greek word for meats actually means food!
Hence HaMashiach was not speaking about any “meat” in the sense that the English language translation portrays, but he was speaking of FOOD!
So the next thing to ask is, what did HaMashiach consider food?
Answer? That which is sanctified by the word of Aluah (his commandments):
Lev 11:1 And YAHUAH spake unto Moses and to Aaron, saying unto them,
Lev 11:2 Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, These are the beasts which ye shall eat among all the beasts that are on the earth.
There it is.
If you need to know what “meats” (broma) that Yahusha HaMashiach was referring to, all you need to do is go to Leviticus 11.
SANCTIFIED BY THE WORD OF ALUAH AND PRAYER?
It is the same error being made in interpreting when the Apostle Sha’ul spoke of every creature being good.
Most Christians take it to mean we can now eat anything. Again, it would mean that we can now be cannibals and eat human flesh (as man is also a creature).
1Ti 4:4 For every creature of Aluah is good, and nothing to be refused, if it be received with thanksgiving:
But Sha’ul went on to tell us what actually sanctifies the creature that we can eat:
1Ti 4:5 For it is sanctified by the word of Aluah and prayer.
It is the word that sanctifies it! So where does the word sanctify the meat?
Lev 11:1 And YAHUAH spake unto Moses and to Aaron, saying unto them,
Lev 11:2 Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, These are the beasts which ye shall eat among all the beasts that are on the earth.
WHAT DEFILES A MAN ACCORDING TO THE BIBLE? THE REAL MEANING OF MATTHEW 15:11
What defileth a man according to scripture?
Now we can get to exactly what Yahusha HaMashiach was saying in Matthew 15:11. by looking at his conclusion in the book of Matthew and matching up all the clues we have uncovered.
Mat 15:19 For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies:
Mat 15:20 These are the things which defile a man: but to eat with unwashen hands defileth not a man.
Now let us Match it up with the first verse to see what defiles a man according to the bible:
Mat 15:1 Then came to Yahusha scribes and Pharisees, which were of Jerusalem, saying,
Mat 15:2 Why do thy disciples transgress the tradition of the elders? for they wash not their hands when they eat bread.
The whole conversation is not about whether or not they can eat all meats!
It is about them eating with their hands unwashed!
Now match it up with the account in Mark:
Mar 7:19 Because it entereth not into his heart, but into the belly, and goeth out into the draught, purging all meats?
Hence, we can now summarize. HaMashiach was speaking about the Pharisees claim of eating with unwashed hands, which is their tradition which they have added to the law. That is why he told them this in Mattew 15:9:
Mat 15:9 But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.
HaMashiach was telling them that the body will purge all the food we eat (Mark 7:19), so our bodies are not defiled if our hands are not washed before eating (Mat 15:20). The word translated as “meats” is actually food and food is defined by Torah in Leviticus 11.
WHAT DEFILES A MAN COMES FROM WITHIN
What defileth a man? As a member of our group said, our understanding of this depends on our hearts: it comes from within. If we are lawless, we are going to take it to mean we can eat anything (transgressing the law).
However, the lawful person will stop to examine the meaning, as if we take meats to mean all flesh, then it would include all sorts of abominable flesh.
The followers of the lawful Messiah Yahusha would examine it and know that something is wrong. However, the lawless followers of the lawless Messiah Jesus Christ will be gullible and choose the lawless route, taking it to mean they can eat their unlawful pork, shrimp, crabs, octopus, squid, catfish and so on.
Which one are you? lawless or lawful.
Now why is this important?
Mat 7:22 On that day many will say to me, ‘Master, Master, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’
Mat 7:23 And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’
Depart from me, you workers of lawlessness. This is the last thing we all want to hear.