Matthew 15:1-11

That Which Defiles

1 Then some Pharisees and teachers of the law came to Jesus from Jerusalem and asked,

2 “Why do your disciples break the tradition of the elders? They don’t wash their hands before they eat!”

3 Jesus replied, “And why do you break the command of God for the sake of your tradition?

4 For God said, ‘Honor your father and mother’^[a] and ‘Anyone who curses their father or mother is to be put to death.’^[b]

5 But you say that if anyone declares that what might have been used to help their father or mother is ‘devoted to God,’

6 they are not to ‘honor their father or mother’ with it. Thus you nullify the word of God for the sake of your tradition.

7 You hypocrites! Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you:

8 “ ‘These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me.

9 They worship me in vain; their teachings are merely human rules.’^[c] ”

10 Jesus called the crowd to him and said, “Listen and understand.

11 What goes into someone’s mouth does not defile them, but what comes out of their mouth, that is what defiles them.”

Cross References

• 1. Luke 11:38
• 2. Exodus 20:12; Deuteronomy 5:16; Ephesians 6:2
• 3. Exodus 21:17; Leviticus 20:9
• 4. Colossians 2:20-22
• 5. Isaiah 29:13; Malachi 2:2
• 6. S Acts 10:14,15
• 7. ver 18

Footnotes

• [a] Exodus 20:12; Deut. 5:16
• [b] Exodus 21:17; Lev. 20:9
• [c] Isaiah 29:13