From the Heart

Then Pharisees and scribes came to Jesus from Jerusalem and said, ²“Why do your disciples break the tradition of the elders? For they do not wash their hands before they eat.” ³He answered them, “And why do you break the commandment of God for the sake of your tradition?

¹⁰Then he called the crowd to him and said to them, “Listen and understand: ¹¹it is not what goes into the mouth that defiles a person, but it is what comes out of the mouth that defiles.” ¹²Then the disciples approached and said to him, “Do you know that the Pharisees took offense when they heard what you said?” ¹³He answered, “Every plant that my heavenly Father has not planted will be uprooted. ¹⁴Let them alone; they are blind guides of the blind. And if one blind person guides another, both will fall into a pit.” ¹⁷Do you not see that whatever goes into the mouth enters the stomach, and goes out into the sewer? ¹⁸But what comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart, and this is what defiles. ¹⁹For out of the heart come evil intentions, murder, adultery, fornication, theft, false witness, slander. ²⁰These are what defile a person, but to eat with unwashed hands does not defile.” Matthew 15:1-3;10-14;17-20

The question about clean or unclean was of utmost importance to the Jewish faith. Any behavior or practice that was considered unclean would defile a person which required steps to make someone ritually clean again. In this story, the Pharisees take offense when Jesus' disciples are not following the handwashing practices of the elders before eating. Now while it is true that washing one's hands before eating is a good idea, Jesus challenges the legalistic and narrow minded interpretations of the law. Jesus is much more concerned with what comes out of the mouth than what goes into the mouth. The words we speak reveal our heart which is of far higher importance than person hygiene practices.


The real issue Jesus seeks to address in this story is hypocrisy. He calls the Pharisees as "blind guides" because they cannot see the truth for what it is, but instead lead people away from God. The Pharisees elevated their own traditions and interpretation of the letter of the law above what was originally intended by the Spirit. The laws of the bible were not created in a vacuum, but were given for particular reasons for a particular time. Washing your hands before you eat is good practical advice to avoid illness, but is not on the same level as not murdering or stealing.


Jesus continually challenges the Pharisees because they focus on small things and miss the big picture, and because they are respected leaders, they lead others astray in the process. Jesus' approach is to examine the heart of a person and to address what is inside of them. He is not focused on behavior modification or adherence to rules and customs. Rather, he is focused on the transformation
of lives. It is not enough to blindly follow religious customs or traditions. In fact, following rules and customs can create the illusion of righteousness before God, when in reality God cares so much more about what is within us. Jesus wants our whole hearts and nothing less. When we humbly seek to follow the way of Jesus and give our whole heart to God, we will be transformed by God's grace and love. The way of Jesus is so much more than rule following but open for us a beautiful and life-giving path for our lives.


Prayer: Lord, help me to focus on you and following your ways. Keep me humble and open to the ways you are working in my life, in Jesus' name, AMEN.