In Mark 7:18-19, Jesus challenges his disciples’ understanding by stating that external food cannot defile a person because it enters the stomach rather than the heart, ultimately exiting the body.
Key elements of the passage include:
The Argument: Jesus explains that physical intake passes through the digestive system and does not spiritually contaminate a person, contrasting it with internal moral corruption.
The Declaration: The phrase "thus he declared all foods clean" (or similar variations like "purging all meats") appears in most modern translations (NIV, NLT, ESV) and some ancient manuscripts, signifying the end of ceremonial dietary laws.