Matthew 15:1–20

The Tradition of the Elders

15Then ^cPharisees and scribes came from Jerusalem to Jesus and asked, ^d2“Why do Your disciples ^ebreak the tradition of the elders? For they don’t wash their hands when they eat!” ^fg

³He answered them, “And why do you break God’s commandment because of your tradition? ⁴For God said: ^h

Honor your father and your mother; ^ij and,

The one who speaks evil of father or mother

must be put to death. ^kl

⁵But you say, ‘Whoever tells his father or mother, “Whatever benefit you might have received from me is a gift committed to the temple”— ⁶he does not have to honor his father.’ ^mIn this way, you have revoked God’s word ⁿbecause of your tradition. ⁷Hypocrites! Isaiah prophesied correctly about you when he said:

⁸These people ^ohonor Me with their lips,

but their heart is far from Me.

⁹They worship Me in vain,

teaching as doctrines the commands of men.” ^pq

Defilement Is from Within

¹⁰Summoning the crowd, He told them, “Listen and understand: ¹¹It’s not what goes into the mouth that defiles ^ra man, but what comes out of the mouth, this defiles a man.” ^s

¹²Then the disciples came up and told Him, “Do You know that the Pharisees took offense when they heard this statement?”

¹³He replied, “Every plant that My heavenly Father didn’t plant will be uprooted. ^t14Leave them alone! They are blind guides. ^uAnd if the blind guide the blind, both will fall into a pit.” ^v

¹⁵Then Peter replied to Him, “Explain this parable to us.” ^w

¹⁶“Are even you still lacking in understanding?” He ^xasked. ¹⁷“Don’t you realize ^ythat whatever goes into the mouth passes into the stomach and is eliminated? ^z18But what comes out of the mouth comes from the heart, and this defiles a man. ^a19For from the heart come evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, sexual immoralities, thefts, false testimonies, ^bblasphemies. ^c20These are the things that defile a man, but eating with unwashed hands does not defile a man.” ^d