New Testament · Gospel

Matthew 15:20

Clean and Unclean

These are what defile a man, but eating with unwashed hands does not defile him.” Matthew 15:20 · Berean Standard Bible
What It Means

Matthew 15:20, in plain English

Jesus wraps it up: these heart issues are what defile you, not eating with unwashed hands. The Pharisees had it exactly backwards.

Why it's here

Don't get caught up in religious appearances while neglecting your inner life. Jesus cares far more about who you are than what you look like.

Who's speaking

Jesus concludes His teaching, directly answering the Pharisees' original accusation.

Where it sits in the story

Jesus brings it all back to where it started: the Pharisees' complaint about hand-washing. He's shown that purity is a matter of the heart.

A Closer Look

The scholarly reading

Jesus returns to the original dispute with a definitive conclusion: heart-generated sins defile (koinoi), while eating with unwashed hands (aniptois chersin) does not. The inclusio with verse 2 completes the argument.

Language and setting

This concluding statement directly answers the Pharisees' original accusation and represents a fundamental reorientation of the purity concept from external ritual to internal morality.

Voice

Jesus delivers His summary verdict on the defilement debate.

Significance

The argument comes full circle. The Pharisees asked about unwashed hands; Jesus has shown that the real contamination comes from unwashed hearts.

In context

Matthew 15:18–22

18But the things that come out of the mouth come from the heart, and these things defile a man.

19For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, and slander.

20These are what defile a man, but eating with unwashed hands does not defile him.”

21Leaving that place, Jesus withdrew to the district of Tyre and Sidon.

22And a Canaanite woman from that region came to Him, crying out, “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on me! My daughter is miserably possessed by a demon.”

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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