What Truly Defiles Us


Matthew 15:10-20; Romans 11: 1-2, 29-32

The Pharisees are at it again elevating their rules above God’s. The one in question here is the ceremonial washing of hands before eating. The disciples who ate on the run didn’t go through this complex ritual of hand washing before eating. Today for health reasons we wash our hands before eating but this was a much more elaborate washing dictated by the Pharisaic law.

So, Jesus tells the crowd that it is not what goes into the mouth but the evils that come out of it and the sins that comes out of the heart are the things that truly defile one – not omitting the ceremonial handwashing. He calls these leaders blind leading the blind. Their focus instead should be on the truly defiling activities such as evil intensions, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, and slander. We have seen the false witness and slander of what the Pharisees do to Christ and eventually they will be behind Christ’s murder on the cross. They do these things but boast and insist upon clean hands.

The issue of allowing Gentiles into salvation comes up in Romans with folks questioning if the Jews are being overlooked. “Isn’t Jesus the Jewish Messiah?” they ask. Paul puts them straight saying God isn’t rejecting his chosen people, and Paul uses his own credentials as a Jew from the tribe of Benjamin that God has shown mercy to.

Due to the disobedience of the Jews who didn’t believe in Christ, mercy has been shown to the disobedient Gentiles who believe in Christ.

What practices or lack of practices do some churches support such as no cardplaying, dancing, or seeing movies- modern ways to keep one’s hands clean? But what are the important acts of righteousness that God asks for? They are compassion, mercy, justice, and love. These are what we should be truly focusing on and keeping our hearts free of activities that defile us.

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