The Meaning of Matthew 15:10 Explained

Matthew 15:10

KJV: And he called the multitude, and said unto them, Hear, and understand:

YLT: And having called near the multitude, he said to them, 'Hear and understand:

Darby: And having called to him the crowd, he said to them, Hear and understand:

ASV: And he called to him the multitude, and said unto them, Hear, and understand:

KJV Reverse Interlinear

And  he called  the multitude,  and said  unto them,  Hear,  and  understand: 

What does Matthew 15:10 Mean?

Context Summary

Matthew 15:10-20 - What Really Defiles
It is good to study our Lord's list of the sources of soul-pollution. Evil thoughts come first. We cannot prevent an evil suggestion being presented to our minds, but we can refuse to dwell on it. To resist the inclination to dwell on it strengthens us in the opposite direction; to yield to it is to commit the sin in our heart, which, in God's sight, is equivalent to the outward act. Notice that railing, that is, unkind and uncharitable speech, is in this black-list.
The heart, rather than the body, is the source of sin. Out of the heart! The body is the dial-plate on which the soul registers its improvement or deterioration. Do not find fault with your members: look to your heart and keep it beyond keeping, for out of it are the issues of life. Ask God to create in you a clean heart. See that you distinguish between the first Adam and the second. Deny what you inherit of human weakness and sin, and affirm all that is of Christ's imparting. The cross of Calvary and the uprising of the living Christ are facts of perpetual experience. [source]

Chapter Summary: Matthew 15

1  Jesus reproves the Scribes and Pharisees
7  for transgressing God's commandments through their own traditions;
10  teaches how that which goes into the mouth does not defile a man
21  He heals the daughter of the woman of Canaan,
29  and other great multitudes;
32  and with seven loaves and a few small fish feeds four thousand men

What do the individual words in Matthew 15:10 mean?

And having called to [Him] the crowd He said to them Hear understand
Καὶ προσκαλεσάμενος τὸν ὄχλον εἶπεν αὐτοῖς Ἀκούετε συνίετε

προσκαλεσάμενος  having  called  to  [Him] 
Parse: Verb, Aorist Participle Middle, Nominative Masculine Singular
Root: προσκαλέω  
Sense: to call to.
ὄχλον  crowd 
Parse: Noun, Accusative Masculine Singular
Root: ὄχλος  
Sense: a crowd.
εἶπεν  He  said 
Parse: Verb, Aorist Indicative Active, 3rd Person Singular
Root: λέγω  
Sense: to speak, say.
αὐτοῖς  to  them 
Parse: Personal / Possessive Pronoun, Dative Masculine 3rd Person Plural
Root: αὐτός  
Sense: himself, herself, themselves, itself.
Ἀκούετε  Hear 
Parse: Verb, Present Imperative Active, 2nd Person Plural
Root: ἀκουστός 
Sense: to be endowed with the faculty of hearing, not deaf.
συνίετε  understand 
Parse: Verb, Present Imperative Active, 2nd Person Plural
Root: συνίημι 
Sense: to set or bring together.