Matthew 15:1-20
What Defiles a Person
Read the passage
1Then some Pharisees and scribes came to Jesus from Jerusalem and asked,
2“Why do Your disciples break the tradition of the elders? They do not wash their hands before they eat.”
3Jesus replied, “And why do you break the command of God for the sake of your tradition?
4For God said, ‘Honor your father and mother’ and ‘Anyone who curses his father or mother must be put to death.’
5But you say that if anyone says to his father or mother, ‘Whatever you would have received from me is a gift devoted to God,’
6he need not honor his father or mother with it. Thus you nullify the word of God for the sake of your tradition.
7You hypocrites! Isaiah prophesied correctly about you:
8‘These people honor Me with their lips, but their hearts are far from Me.
9They worship Me in vain; they teach as doctrine the precepts of men.’”
10Jesus called the crowd to Him and said, “Listen and understand.
11A man is not defiled by what enters his mouth, but by what comes out of it.”
12Then the disciples came to Him and said, “Are You aware that the Pharisees were offended when they heard this?”
13But Jesus replied, “Every plant that My heavenly Father has not planted will be pulled up by its roots.
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.
19For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, and slander.
20These are what defile a man, but eating with unwashed hands does not defile him.”
Berean Standard Bible
Read aloud
Pharisees and scribes ask Jesus why his disciples break the tradition of the elders by eating with unwashed hands. Jesus answers with a sharper question: why do they break God's command for the sake of their tradition? He points to the command to honor father and mother and exposes the practice of declaring resources “given to God” so that a person can avoid helping a parent.
Jesus is not dismissing every act of washing or every inherited practice. He is confronting a tradition that lets people sound devoted while setting aside a clear duty of love. Outward religion cannot make disobedience honorable. Jesus quotes Isaiah’s description of people who honor God with their lips while their hearts are far away, teaching human rules as doctrine.
The disciples report that the Pharisees are offended. Jesus calls them blind guides and says every plant His Father has not planted will be uprooted. When Peter asks for clarification, Jesus explains that food entering the mouth does not defile a person; words and actions flow from the heart. He names evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, and slander. The list turns the conversation inward. The danger is not merely what can be seen at a table, but what the heart is willing to produce.
That inward focus should not become an excuse for ignoring harm. Words and actions matter because they reveal the heart and injure real people. A family can examine both its religious habits and its treatment of parents, children, neighbors, and anyone whose needs are inconvenient.
Jesus is challenging hypocrisy and the evil that comes from within; he is not giving permission to shame someone over food, illness, disability, or hygiene, or to ignore public-health wisdom.
How We Know
Isaiah describes people honoring the Lord with words while their hearts remain far from Him and their worship follows human rules. Jesus quotes that accusation against a tradition that excuses neglect of parents. The prophetic words explain why respectable religious language cannot make disobedience acceptable.
Questions
1 What does Jesus expose about outward religion and obedience?
AnswerJesus exposes the difference between honoring God outwardly and obeying him in the way we treat people, especially when religious tradition is used to avoid responsibility.
2 How could declaring a gift devoted to God hide a failure to honor parents?
AnswerA person could declare resources devoted to God and then withhold the help a parent should have received. That tradition set aside God’s command while sounding religious.
3 Why does Jesus locate defilement in the heart?
AnswerJesus says defilement comes from the heart and comes out through the mouth. Evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, and slander come from within and make a person unclean.
4 Which responsibility or hidden motive needs an honest response?
AnswerThe family can name one responsibility it has been avoiding and take a truthful, practical step toward it, while also asking whether any harsh words or hidden motives need confession.
What This Means for Us
Jesus will not let impressive religious language cover a failure to love. If a tradition, promise, budget, or personal preference is being used to avoid a duty of care, we need to tell the truth about that. Love may require practical support, an honest apology, or help from others.
The list of sins also keeps us from locating evil only outside our own household. We should take seriously the words we speak, the stories we repeat, the desires we entertain, and the ways we handle power. Repentance is more than feeling bad; it turns toward repair.
Ask, “Where might our habits look religious while keeping us from loving someone well?” Choose one act of obedience that serves a real person, and one harmful word or practice to put away.
Prayer
Father, search our hearts and make our worship truthful. Keep us from using tradition or religious language to avoid love, and help our words and actions bring healing rather than harm. Amen.