Clean and Unclean
Disregard them! They are blind guides. If a blind man leads a blind man, both will fall into a pit.” Matthew 15:14 · Berean Standard Bible
Jesus says to leave them alone. They're blind guides, and if a blind person leads a blind person, they'll both fall into a ditch.
Not every spiritual leader deserves your trust. Jesus gives you permission to walk away from those whose teaching doesn't line up with God's heart.
Jesus speaks bluntly about the Pharisees to His disciples.
Jesus cuts through the disciples' fear with clarity: stop worrying about the Pharisees. They're leading people into a ditch.
The command aphete autous ('leave them alone/disregard them') followed by the proverb of the blind leading the blind (typhlos typhlon ean hodēgē) dismisses the Pharisees as incompetent spiritual guides destined for ruin (bothynon, 'pit').
The blind guides metaphor appears in rabbinic literature (b. Bava Qamma 52a) and is used in Romans 2:19. It targets the Pharisees' claim to be authoritative interpreters of Torah.
Jesus instructs the disciples and delivers the proverb about blind guides.
Jesus tells His followers not to worry about the Pharisees but to abandon them. Their guidance leads only to destruction.
12Then the disciples came to Him and said, “Are You aware that the Pharisees were offended when they heard this?”
13But Jesus replied, “Every plant that My heavenly Father has not planted will be pulled up by its roots.
14Disregard them! They are blind guides. If a blind man leads a blind man, both will fall into a pit.”
15Peter said to Him, “Explain this parable to us.”
16“Do you still not understand?” Jesus asked.
Read all of Matthew 15 — Jesus dismantles the purity codes the Pharisees have built and shows that what defiles a person comes from within, not without.
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