Mark 7:15-19
“There is nothing from outside of the man, that going into him can defile him; but the things which proceed out of him, those are what defile the man. If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear.” When he had entered into a house away from the multitude, his disciples asked him about the parable. He said to them, “Are you thus without understanding also? Don’t you perceive that whatever goes into the man from outside can’t defile him, because it doesn’t go into his heart, but into his stomach, and goes out into the drain, thus purifying all foods?””
This passage is from the Gospel of Mark, written probably in Rome around 60-70 CE. Here, Jesus is speaking to his disciples about the true source of defilement, directly challenging the traditional understanding of external purity laws observed by many Jewish people of his time.
What in your life do you treat as a source of defilement that might actually be external, rather than internal?