1 Then athe Pharisees and some of the scribes came together to Him, having come from Jerusalem.
2 Now1 when they saw some of His disciples eat bread with defiled, that is, with aunwashed hands, they found fault.
3 For the Pharisees and all the Jews do not eat unless they wash their hands1 in a special way, holding the atradition of the elders.
4Whentheycome from the marketplace, they do not eat unless they wash. And there are many other things which they have received and hold, like the washing of cups, pitchers, copper vessels, and couches.
5aThen the Pharisees and scribes asked Him, “Why do Your disciples not walk according to the tradition of the elders, but eat bread with unwashed hands?”
6 He answered and said to them, “Well did Isaiah prophesy of you ahypocrites, as it is written: b‘This people honors Me withtheirlips, But their heart is far from Me.
7And in vain they worship Me, Teachingasdoctrines the commandments of men.’
8For laying aside the commandment of God, you hold the tradition of men—the washing of pitchers and cups, and many other such things you do.”
9 He said to them, “All too well ayou reject the commandment of God, that you may keep your tradition.
10For Moses said, a‘Honor your father and your mother’; and, b‘He who curses father or mother, let him be put to death.’
11But you say, ‘If a man says to his father or mother, a“Whatever profit you might have received from me is Corban”—’ (that is, a gift to God),
12then you no longer let him do anything for his father or his mother,
13making the word of God of no effect through your tradition which you have handed down. And many such things you do.”
14aWhen He had called all the multitude to Himself, He said to them, “Hear Me, everyone, and bunderstand:
15There is nothing that enters a man from outside which can defile him; but the things which come out of him, those are the things that adefile a man.
This long section dealing with defilement begins with a question from the Pharisees about eating with unwashed hands (verse 7). Christ's answer never strays from this point; He is addressing ritual washings that the Jews added (verses 7-9), not unclean meats. Verse 19, however, is often cited as proof that Jesus declared all foods clean. Yet He is speaking about the human digestive system! He says that whether one washes his hands or not, the digestive tract handles, or "purifies," all food the same way. He then moves to the more serious issue of a man's conduct, which is what truly defiles him.
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