Invulnerable Ingestion?

There is nothing outside a person that by going into him can defile him, but the things that come out of a person are what defile him.
(Mark 7:15 – ESV)

Is Jesus saying that those things that we think are bad are not actually bad, and that it doesn’t matter what we put into our bodies and our minds? No, what He is saying is that it is the heart that makes us want bad things in the first place. The sin within, the heart is the start. Some of that stuff is bad, but it isn’t as bad as the heart, it is already corrupt, wanting that stuff only shows what is on the inside already.

Jesus is talking about our heart, our spiritual health, not our physical wellness. He is saying not to worry so much about the customs and traditions and all that but to be concerned instead about what is going on inside you. Food and drink are not what spiritually defiles you (Romans 14:17). Yes bad food can defile your health but that isn’t what Jesus is talking about here, He is saying that those physical things have no power to defile you spiritually.

Now Jesus isn’t telling you that you can play with fire and not be burned. Can a man take fire in his bosom, and his clothes not be burned? Can one go upon hot coals, and his feet not be burned (Proverbs 6:27-28)? Do not be deceived: "Bad company ruins good morals" (1 Corinthians 15:33 – ESV). It matters very much what we put into our bodies, and into our spirits. Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God (1 Corinthians 6:19 – ESV)?

Watch what you eat, physically and most important, spiritually. For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life (Galatians 6:8 – ESV). What He is telling you is to work on your inside first. First clean the inside of the cup and the plate, that the outside also may be clean (Matthew 23:26 – ESV).