Font Size
Matthew 15:9-11
New Catholic Bible
Matthew 15:9-11
New Catholic Bible
9 in vain do they worship me,
teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’ ”
10 Clean and Unclean.[a] Then he called the people to him and said to them, “Listen and understand. 11 It is not what goes into one’s mouth that defiles a person; what comes out of the mouth is what defiles him.”
Read full chapterFootnotes
- Matthew 15:10 Every ancient religion attempted to distinguish clearly the two notions of clean and unclean as regards objects and affairs of life. The Book of Leviticus proposes a developed code of ritual purity, which was above all a way of expressing the grandeur of God and of establishing laws of respect in the behavior of human beings. However, as time went on, this great inspiration was lost in a soulless formalism. In the tightly regulated life of the Jews of the first century A.D., the dispositions of the heart held such a small place that even the apostles have trouble understanding the teaching of Jesus. He unmasks hypocrisy. How can one not be shocked by his words, which overturn even the religious assurance of humans!
