because it does not enter his heart, but it goes into the stomach and then is eliminated.” (Thus all foods are clean.)
Parallel translations
- WEB because it doesn’t go into his heart, but into his stomach, then into the latrine, thus purifying all foods?”
- KJV Because it entereth not into his heart, but into the belly, and goeth out into the draught, purging all meats?
- NKJV because it does not enter his heart but his stomach, and is eliminated, thus purifying all foods?”
- NASB because it does not go into his heart, but into his stomach, and is eliminated?” (Thereby He declared all foods clean.)
- NLT Food doesn’t go into your heart, but only passes through the stomach and then goes into the sewer.” (By saying this, he declared that every kind of food is acceptable in God’s eyes.)
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Food passes through the body without touching the heart, so Jesus thereby declared all foods clean. It signals the end of ceremonial dietary distinctions.
Overview
Jesus explained that food affects only the digestive system, not the moral heart, and Mark adds that this declared all foods clean. This anticipates the new covenant reality later confirmed to Peter in Acts 10 and taught by Paul. The ceremonial food laws, having served their purpose, find their fulfillment and end in Christ, who cleanses the heart itself.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 8
- Matt 15:17“Do you not yet realize that whatever enters the mouth goes into the stomach and then is eliminated?
- 1 Cor 6:13“Food for the stomach and the stomach for food,” but God will destroy them both. The body is not intended for sexual immorality, but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body.
- Col 2:21–22“Do not handle, do not taste, do not touch!”?
- Luke 11:41But give as alms the things that are within you, and you will see that everything is clean for you.
- Col 2:16Therefore let no one judge you by what you eat or drink, or with regard to a feast, a New Moon, or a Sabbath.
- Rom 14:1–12Accept him whose faith is weak, without passing judgment on his opinions.
- Acts 10:15The voice spoke to him a second time: “Do not call anything impure that God has made clean.”
- Acts 11:9But the voice spoke from heaven a second time, ‘Do not call anything impure that God has made clean.’
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Christ at the center
Mark drives urgently to the cross, showing Jesus the Son of God as the suffering Servant who 'came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.'
How Mark 7:19 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Greek word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.