June 6, 2026
Key Verses 19–20: “For out of the heart come evil thoughts—murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, and slander. These are the things that make a person unclean, but eating with unwashed hands does not make him unclean.”
From time to time, we wash our hands before eating. Today, I would like to tell a story about hand-washing.
There are various religions in the world. Each religion offers a different explanation as to how we can be freed from our mistakes and our guilt. Despite these differences, most religions teach that people can please God and attain eternal life by following religious rules.
The Pharisees were the dominant religious group in Judaism. They washed their hands before eating because they believed that by doing so, they could cleanse themselves of the world's sin and please God. When these Pharisees saw that Jesus’ disciples did not wash their hands, they criticized Jesus. They believed that unclean people could neither possess eternal life nor enter the Kingdom of Heaven.
How can we be acknowledged by God as clean people and receive eternal life? I hope that today we will find a clear answer to this question.
1. Clean and Unclean (1–9)
During Jesus’ ministry in Israel, there was a religious group known as the Pharisees. This group placed great importance on the observance of religious regulations.
At that time, Jesus was ministering in Galilee. Pharisees and teachers of the law came from Jerusalem and asked him, “Why do your disciples break the traditions of the elders?”
They criticized him because his disciples did not wash their hands before eating.
Were they criticizing him for reasons of hygiene? That would have been considerate of them. But their criticism had nothing to do with hygiene. They criticized him because his disciples did not follow the rules for ritual washing. For the Pharisees and their scribes believed that only those who had purified themselves through such ritual washing could be blessed by God. That is why they washed their hands before every meal.
The Old Testament contains a requirement that priests must wash themselves before their service in the Temple (Exodus 30:17 ff.). The Pharisees extended this requirement to everyone. It is certainly a beautiful thought that a person's entire life constitutes an act of worship. The question, however, is: Can one truly be cleansed of sin by washing one's hands?
The Pharisees and scribes appealed to the tradition of the elders. Since their return from the Babylonian exile—that is, since the time of Ezra and Nehemiah—the Jews had developed an oral tradition. The custom of hand-washing had been introduced shortly before the time of Jesus by the respected teachers of the law Hillel[1] and Shammai[2], and the Pharisees accorded this tradition the same authority as the Law of the Old Testament itself.
The Pharisees held the view that if Jesus were the Messiah, he would have to follow the tradition of the elders without question and without exception.
How did Jesus answer them? Jesus said to them, “Why do you break God’s commandment for the sake of your own traditions? For God commanded, <Honor your father and mother; but whoever curses father or mother shall be put to death.>
But you teach, <<Whoever says to his father or mother, who are in need, <I am sorry that I cannot help you financially, for I have dedicated my assets to God by a vow>—he has not violated God’s commandment.>>
By doing so, you have nullified God’s commandment for the sake of your traditions” (3–6).
Jesus ruthlessly exposed the perversion of Pharisaic teaching. The Pharisaic rabbis had indeed enacted the very regulations Jesus describes here.
To understand this, let us consider the Jewish vow known as “Korban”.
In the fourth of the Ten Commandments, God said: "Honor your father and your mother" (Exodus 20:12; Deuteronomy 5:16). With this commandment, God teaches that we should honor our parents and—if necessary—support them financially.
Suppose someone has parents living in poverty and need. The parents come and ask their son for support, but he does not want to help them. He can evade his duty by saying ‘Korban’ and formally dedicating his entire fortune to God and the Temple. The Jewish word ‘Korban’ means, "Let it be a gift (for God)." By using this word, he dedicates his assets to God as an offering. However, this wealth only passes into the Temple treasury after his death. Thus, as long as he lives, the son retains ownership of his wealth and continues to enjoy the income generated by it. Yet, the ‘Korban’ rule forbids him from giving even a portion of this income to his parents.
In this way, the son can misuse the ‘Korban’ rule to shirk his duty to support his parents. The rule effectively made it possible to simply disregard one of the Ten Commandments.
Jesus rebuked their hypocrisy with these words: "You hypocrites! How aptly Isaiah prophesied about you when he said: 'This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me; in vain do they worship me, for they teach doctrines that are nothing but human commandments.'"
This raises the question of whether the Old Testament law remains valid for us Christians today. The laws of the Old Testament can be broadly categorized into ceremonial laws and moral laws. Ceremonial laws include, for instance, regulations regarding sacrifices, dietary laws, and the like. Examples of moral laws are found in the second part of the Ten Commandments: "You shall not steal," "You shall not commit adultery," and so on.
A significant change occurred under the New Covenant through the sacrificial death of Christ. We are no longer required to observe ceremonial laws—such as circumcision, sacrificial regulations, dietary laws, or purity codes—because these "ceremonial laws" were fulfilled once and for all by Christ’s death on the cross. However, the "moral law" (for example, the "second table" of the Ten Commandments) remains the unchanging ethical standard for us Christians[3]. Moreover, the indwelling Holy Spirit helps us to fulfill the moral law better than was possible in Old Testament times. We therefore need the help of the Holy Spirit to live a life that pleases God. To experience the help of the Holy Spirit more deeply, we should read the Bible, pray, and cultivate fellowship with other believers.
Jesus rebukes the Pharisees and scribes: "You hypocrites! Isaiah prophesied aptly about you when he said: 'This people honors me with their lips, yet their heart is far from me; in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men'" (7–9).
Here, Jesus teaches us that the divine moral laws of the Old Testament must not be set aside by any other rule.
For the Pharisees and scribes, religion consists of observing specific external regulations, statutes, and ceremonies—such as rules regarding ritual washings, fasting, and the like. For Jesus, however, religion consists of loving and honoring God, as well as showing compassion, kindness, and mercy toward others.
What is worship? Many people today believe that worship means following a specific order and liturgy under the leadership of a pastor or priest. Jesus, on the other hand, teaches that a life lived out of love for God and for people constitutes true worship (cf. Rom 12:1).
Of course, Jesus does not mean by this that we do not need to attend worship services. Rather, He wants us to understand the true meaning of worship and to practice it correctly.
Worship means "serving God."
We should ask ourselves daily whether we are truly serving God—by loving Him with all our heart and loving our fellow human beings as ourselves. We should ask ourselves this question again and again. When we serve God in this way, we worship Him truly.
2. What Truly Makes Us Unclean (10-20)
Jesus calls the people to Him and says to them: “Listen and understand: It is not what we eat that defiles us, but what comes out of our mouths that defiles us” (10-11).
Jesus explains to His disciples: “Everything a person eats that goes into their stomach and is then emptied into the gutter does not defile them… But what comes out of their mouth comes from their heart, and this defiles them. For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander, and so on. These things defile a person. But eating with unwashed hands—this does not defile a person” (17-20).
Jesus says that it is not the observance of a religious ritual that matters, but the heart of the person. With these words, Jesus not only condemns the scribes' rules but also abolishes all the dietary laws of the Old Testament.
No wonder the Pharisees and scribes are horrified, as if the ground has suddenly been pulled out from under their feet. Jesus' statement here is revolutionary.
The Pharisees and scribes taught that people would please God by obeying the rules and regulations. But Jesus explains that true worship consists of loving God and people with a pure heart. Pharisees are blind leaders who lead others into the pit.
A religion with external rules like Pharisaism is superficial. It is much easier to abstain from certain foods and ceremonially wash one's hands than to love unlovable people or to help the needy at our own pace, convenience, and expense.
Going to church, offering sacrifices, and participating in Bible study groups are all externals or tools meant to lead us to faith. But these are not faith itself. Measuring faith by such outward appearances leads us astray. There are people who regularly attend church services, participate in Bible study, and outwardly lead an impeccable life of faith, yet bitter and evil thoughts reign in their hearts.
Jesus says that our pride, bitterness, and evil thoughts truly defile us. God sees our hearts. Therefore, we should allow ourselves to be cleansed of such things.
Jesus teaches us that what matters is the human heart, for He said in the Sermon on the Mount, “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God” (Matthew 5:8). God doesn't just see our actions. He sees our hearts above all. People can only see the deeds of others or hear their words. But God also sees our hearts. Therefore, God knows our intentions and our desires. That is why we should continually allow our hearts to be cleansed of false motives and desires. When we have a pure heart, we can do good for God and for others.
We must confess, however, that despite such efforts, we are still sinners. For it is impossible for us to completely cleanse our hearts of such selfish or sinful thoughts. Often we stand before an insurmountable wall. We must ultimately confess that we are sinners. Who can free us from our falsehood and sin? Thank God that He sacrificed Jesus Christ for our sins, so that Christ took all our guilt upon Himself and died on the cross.
Jesus Christ shed His blood on the cross and died. Thus, He received the divine punishment for our sins. With this, Jesus fulfilled the ceremonial law in the Old Testament once and for all. Therefore, we no longer need animal sacrifices.
Through the death of Christ, our sin is atoned for once and for all, and our salvation from damnation to hell is assured. Christ has truly redeemed us. What a redeeming message Jesus' shedding of blood and His sacrificial death is!
We no longer need to fear. Rather, we should thank God and love God and other people with grateful hearts. We should never forget that God has cleansed us through the blood of Jesus and adopted us as His children. We should thank Him for this and forgive others their sins.
[1] um 110 v. Chr.- um 9 n. Chr.
[2] Mitte 1. Jh. v. Chr. - um 30 n. Chr.
[3] www.die-voegte.de/zehnter.html