Mark 7:18-20 provides Jesus' own explanation: food cannot defile, but evil from within does.

Mark 7:20-23 elaborates on what comes out — evil thoughts — as the true source of defilement, directly explaining the principle.

Mark 7:23 lists the evil things from within that defile a person, elaborating on the principle stated in Mark 7:15.

Hebrews 13:9 warns against dietary teachings, urging grace instead — consistent with Jesus' rejection of food-based defilement.

Leviticus 11:42-47 defines clean/unclean foods — the very system Jesus declares invalid here.

Proverbs 4:23 emphasizes guarding the heart, which aligns with Jesus' focus on inner character as the source of defilement.

Matthew 12:34 states the mouth speaks from the heart's overflow — illustrating Jesus' point that inner evil defiles, not food.

Titus 1:15 extends the logic: to the pure all things are pure; defilement comes from within, not from food.

Acts 10:14-16 shows Peter's vision where God declares all foods clean, confirming Jesus' teaching on defilement.

Acts 10:28 extends the principle: God shows Peter not to call any person unclean — the same logic applied to people.

Acts 11:8-10 retells Peter's vision, reinforcing that God has cleansed what was once considered unclean.

1 Timothy 4:3-5 reinforces this: God's creation is good, forbidding foods is false teaching, echoing that nothing external defiles.

Romans 14:14 echoes Jesus' teaching: 'nothing is unclean in itself' — a direct affirmation of this principle.

1 Corinthians 10:25 applies Jesus' principle: eat without conscience questions, since external foods don't defile.

Leviticus 11:8 defines unclean animals; Jesus here overturns that external defilement, teaching that true defilement comes from within.

Matthew 15:11 records the same saying about what defiles a person, providing a synoptic parallel to Mark's account.

Leviticus 11 defines clean/unclean animals — the very laws Jesus contradicts, teaching that no food defiles.

Acts 15:20 applies Jesus' principle by requiring only basic prohibitions for Gentiles — a practical outworking.

Hebrews 9:10 describes OT external food and washings as temporary — an earlier stage that Jesus' teaching fulfills and supersedes.

James 3:6 describes the tongue's power to defile the whole body, echoing the idea that what comes out of a person defiles them.