Our Heart's Desires Defile Us

Verses

• “18 But the things that come out of a person’s mouth come from the heart, and these defile them. 19 For out of the heart come evil thoughts—murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander. 20 These are what defile a person; but eating with unwashed hands does not defile them.” Matt 15: 17-20
• "Nothing outside a man can make him 'unclean' by going into him. Rather, it is what comes out of a man that makes him unclean." Mark 7:15
• "The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For out of the overflow of his heart his mouth speaks." Luke 6:45
• 11"It is not what goes into the mouth of a man that makes him unclean and defiled, but what comes out of the mouth; this makes a man unclean and defiles [him]." Matt 15: 2 & 11
• The Pharisee was surprised when he saw that Jesus did not wash his hands first before the meal. Luke 11:38
• Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it. Proverbs 4:23

Theme
Jews were concerned about being defiled and unclean. They had laws and ceremonies for what to eat. When to wash. Who they could eat with. Jesus makes it clear (as well as Proverbs) that defilement comes from our hearts. What desires we have in our hearts will flow out of us in the form of actions, attitudes, and words. Jesus brought the attention of the Jewish people to this idea on several occasions by openly violating the cleansing ceremonies. Once shocked and focused on him, Jesus would explain this principle to them.