Matthew 15:1-9

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] ”

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

Footnotes

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