Clean and Unclean
“Do you still not understand?” Jesus asked. Matthew 15:16 · Berean Standard Bible
Jesus seems a little surprised: 'Don't you understand yet?' He's been with them all this time, and they're still thinking too literally.
Growth in understanding takes time. Jesus is patient even when He's surprised by how slowly we learn. He keeps teaching.
Jesus gently challenges the disciples to think more deeply.
Even Jesus' closest followers needed repeated explanations. Spiritual understanding doesn't come all at once.
Jesus' response akmēn kai humeis asynetoi este ('are you also still without understanding') expresses mild exasperation. The adverb akmēn ('still') suggests the disciples should have progressed further in comprehension by this point.
This rebuke is gentler in Matthew than in Mark's parallel (7:18). It addresses the ongoing struggle of the disciples to move from physical to spiritual understanding.
Jesus questions the disciples about their lack of understanding.
Jesus is surprised that His closest followers still think in purely physical terms. He's about to break it down in the simplest way possible.
14Disregard them! They are blind guides. If a blind man leads a blind man, both will fall into a pit.”
15Peter said to Him, “Explain this parable to us.”
16“Do you still not understand?” Jesus asked.
17“Do you not yet realize that whatever enters the mouth goes into the stomach and then is eliminated?
18But the things that come out of the mouth come from the heart, and these things defile a man.
Read all of Matthew 15 — Jesus dismantles the purity codes the Pharisees have built and shows that what defiles a person comes from within, not without.
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