Matthew 15:1-20

Then some Pharisees and religious teachers from Jerusalem came to Jesus and asked him, “Why do your disciples break the tradition of our forefathers by not washing their hands before they eat a meal?” “Why do you break God's commandment because of your tradition?” Jesus replied. “For God said, ‘Honor your father and mother,’ and ‘Those who curse their father or mother should be put to death.’ But you say that if someone tells their father or mother, ‘Whatever you might have expected to get from me is now a gift to God,’ then they don't have to honor their father. In this way you've annulled God's word for the sake of your tradition. You hypocrites! How well Isaiah described you when he prophesied: ‘These people say they honor me but in their minds they don't care about me. Their worship of me is pointless. What they teach are just man-made requirements.’” He called the crowd over and told them, “Listen, and understand this: it's not what goes into you through your mouth that defiles you. It's what comes out of your mouth that defiles you.” Then Jesus' disciples came to him and said, “You do realize that the Pharisees were offended by what you said.” “Every plant my heavenly Father didn't plant will be uprooted,” Jesus replied. “Forget about them—they are blind guides. If a blind man leads another blind man, then they'll both fall into a ditch.” Then Peter asked, “Please tell us what you mean by this illustration.” “Haven't you understood this yet?” replied Jesus. “Don't you see that whatever goes in through the mouth then passes through the stomach, and then leaves the body as waste? But what comes out through the mouth comes from the mind, and that's what defiles you. For what comes from the mind are evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, and blasphemy and those are what defile you. Eating with unwashed hands doesn't defile you.”