Matthew 15:20 Meaning and Explanation
“These are the things which defile a man: but to eat with unwashen hands defileth not a man.”
King James Version (KJV)
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Read Full Chapter →Jesus concludes that these inward evils are what defile, while eating with unwashed hands does not.
What Does Matthew 15:20 Mean?
Jesus draws His teaching to its conclusion. These things, the evils that rise from the heart, are what truly defile a person; but to eat with unwashed hands does not. He returns to the very charge the leaders had raised in the beginning and answers it fully. The ritual they prized as essential is shown to touch nothing of real purity, while the heart they neglected is everything.
The whole passage comes full circle. Defilement is moral, not ceremonial; it is a matter of the heart, not the hands. Jesus frees His hearers from a false anxiety about externals and presses on them the one thing needful, a clean heart before God. The verse leaves us with a clear and searching standard: tend the inner life, for that is where we are made clean or unclean.
Frequently Asked Questions About Matthew 15:20
What does Matthew 15:20 mean?
Jesus concludes that these inward evils are what defile, while eating with unwashed hands does not.