Matthew 15:20
in Matthew 15These are what defile a man, but eating with unwashed hands does not defile him.”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
these are the things which defile the man; but to eat with unwashen hands defileth not the man.
KJV
These are the things which defile a man: but to eat with unwashen hands defileth not a man.
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This verse in Matthew 15
Commentary
13 notes on this verseThese things are what "defiles the person" when they come out from the heart and, after they have gone out from it, go through the mouth. Thus if they did not occur outside of the heart but were held by the person somewhere around the heart, not being allowed to be spoken through the mouth, they would very quickly disappear and the person would not be defiled any longer. Therefore the source and beginning of every sin is "evil reasonings."
This site's exposition
Declare unto us this parable
on Matthew 15:15-20
Peter's request shows the disciples had not fully grasped verse 11 either, and Jesus' mild rebuke, are ye also yet without understanding, opens into the fullest explanation the Gospel gives of this teaching. Food passes through the body and out again, but the heart is the source of the list Jesus names, evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies, a catalogue that runs largely along the second table of the Decalogue. Gill notes that the chapter closes this exchange exactly where it opened, on unwashen hands, but the ground has shifted entirely from ritual purity to moral origin.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers3 voices
Having named the vices which are forbidden by the divine Law, the Lord beautifully adds, These are they that defile a man, that is, make him unclean and impure.
(Verse 19, 20.) For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false testimonies, blasphemies: these are the things that defile a person. But to eat with unwashed hands does not defile a person. 'For out of the heart,' he says, 'come evil thoughts.' Therefore, according to Christ and not according to Plato, the soul's principal place is in the heart, not in the brain. Those who believe that evil thoughts are instilled by the devil and not born out of one's own will can be argued against based on this statement. The devil can be a helper and instigator of evil thoughts, but he cannot be the author. However, if he is always lying in wait, he may ignite the slightest spark of our thoughts with his fuel, but we should not assume that he can explore the secrets of our hearts. Rather, we should judge what we have within us by our physical appearance and actions. For example, if he sees us frequently admiring a beautiful woman, he understands that our hearts have been wounded by Cupid's arrow.
A commentator
John ChrysostomHomily on the Gospel of Matthew 51 · Written in the 5th century.
proposed
What then saith Peter? He saith not, "What can this be which Thou hast said?" but as though it were full of obscurity, he puts his question. And he saith not, "Why hast thou spoken contrary to the law?" for he was afraid, lest he should be thought to have taken offense, but asserts it to be obscure. However, that it was not obscure, but that he was offended, is manifest, for it had nothing of obscurity. Wherefore also He rebukes him, saying, "Are ye also yet without understanding?" For as to the multitude, they did not perhaps so much as understand the saying; but themselves were the persons offended. Wherefore, whereas at first, as though asking in behalf of the Pharisees, they were desirous to be told; when they heard Him denouncing a great threat, and saying, "Every plant, which my heavenly Father hath not planted, shall be rooted up," and, "They are blind leaders of the blind," they were silenced. But he, always ardent, not even so endures to hold his peace, but saith, "Declare unto us this parable." What then saith Christ? With a sharp rebuke He answers, "Are ye also yet without understanding? Do ye not yet understand?" But these things He said, and reproved them, in order to cast out their prejudice; He stopped not however at this, but adds other things also, saying, "That whatsoever entereth in at the mouth goeth into the belly, and is cast out into the draught; but those things which proceed out of the mouth come forth from the heart, and they defile the man. For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, blasphemies, false-witnessings: and these are the things that defile the man: but to eat with unwashen hands defileth not the man." Seest thou how sharply He deals with them, and in the way of rebuke? Then He establishes His saying by our common nature, and with a view to their cure. […]
The Medieval Church2 voices
(non occ.) And because these words of the Lord had been occasioned by the iniquity of the Pharisees, who preferred their traditions to the commands of God, He hence concludes that there was no necessity for the foregoing tradition, But to eat with unwashen hands defileth not a man.
Hence these are the things that defile a man, because these proceed from the mind. But to eat with unwashed hands does not defile a man. Here he concludes, and presents this conclusion so as to respond to the principal point. Likewise, because the disciples …
6 more voices on this verse
The Medieval Church1 voice
The Saviour rebukes the disciples and censures their lack of sense, either because they took offense or because they did not understand the obvious. For He says, "That which is understood and is apparent to all, you do not understand; that food does not remain …
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
These are the things which defile a man,....
The Nineteenth Century4 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
These are the things which defile a man: but to eat with unwashen hands defileth not a man--Thus does our Lord sum up this whole searching discourse. THE WOMAN OF CANAAN AND HER DAUGHTER.
quarantine:scripture (2026-07-29) — verbatim-run:18w-of-35
There are two striking sayings of the Lord Jesus in this passage. One respects false doctrine: the other respects the human heart. Both of them deserve the closest attention. Respecting false doctrine, our Lord declares that it is a duty to oppose it, that its final destruction is sure, and that its teachers ought to be forsaken. He says, “Every plant that my heavenly Father has not planted shall be rooted up. Let them alone.” It is clear, from examination of the passage, that the disciples were surprised at our Lord’s strong language about the Pharisees and their traditions.
There are two striking sayings of the Lord Jesus in this passage. One respects false doctrine: the other respects the human heart. Both of them deserve the closest attention. Respecting false doctrine, our Lord declares that it is a duty to oppose it, that its final destruction is sure, and that its teachers ought to be forsaken. He says, “Every plant that my heavenly Father has not planted shall be rooted up. Let them alone.” It is clear, from examination of the passage, that the disciples were surprised at our Lord’s strong language about the Pharisees and their traditions. They had probably been accustomed from their youth to regard the Pharisees as the wisest and best of men. They were startled to hear their Master denouncing them as hypocrites, and charging them with transgressing the commandment of God. “Knowest thou,” they said, “that the Pharisees were offended?” To this question we are indebted for our Lord’s explanatory declaration, a declaration which perhaps has never received the notice it deserves. The plain meaning of our Lord’s words is that false doctrine like that of the Pharisees was a plant to which no mercy should be shown. It was a “plant which his heavenly Father had not planted,” and a plant which it was a duty to “root up,” whatever offense it might cause. To spare it was no charity, because it was injurious to the souls of men. It mattered nothing that those who planted it were high in office, or learned: if it contradicted the Word of God it ought to be opposed, refuted and rejected. His disciples must therefore understand that it was right to resist all teaching that was unscriptural, and to “let alone” and forsake all instructors who persisted in it. Sooner or later they would find that all false doctrine will be completely overthrown and put to shame, and that nothing shall stand but that which is built on the Word of God.
These - defile a man - Our Lord’s argument is very plain. What goes into the mouth descends into the stomach and other intestines; - part is retained for the nourishment of the body, and part is ejected, as being improper to afford nourishment. Nothing of this kind defiles the soul, because it does not enter into it; but the evil principles that are in it, producing evil thoughts, murders, etc., these defile the soul, because they have their seat and operation in it.
How the passage was read
On Matthew 15:1-20On Matthew 15:1-20
Handwashing, korban, and which tradition weighs more
“Why do thy disciples transgress the tradition of the elders? for they wash not their hands when they eat bread.” The washing in question is netilat yadayim, a ritual pouring of water over the hands before eating bread. It was never about hygiene: it extends to the ordinary table the purity washing the Torah requires of priests before they eat holy food, one more piece of the Pharisaic program to make every table an altar. The Mishnah devotes a whole tractate to it (Yadayim 1:1 opens with the required quantity of water), and observant homes keep the practice before bread to this day.
Jesus answers with a harder case from the same tradition: korban. Property declared korban (“an offering”) was barred from ordinary use as if dedicated to God, and the vow formula could be used to lock a son's goods away from his own parents; the Mishnah records the substitute formulas people spoke (Nedarim 1:2). Jesus weighs that vow against the commandment “honor thy father and mother” and rules that no vow can cancel it. The tradition itself wrestled with the same tension: its vow-release discussions include a debated question about opening a release by appeal to the parents' honor (Nedarim 9:1 records the rabbis divided over exactly that move). Jesus' ruling cuts where the tradition circled.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Sources: Mishnah Yadayim 1:1 (the handwashing rite) · Mishnah Nedarim 1:2 (the korban formulas) · Mishnah Nedarim 9:1 (release of vows and the parents' honor, a recorded dispute)
The words behind it
15 Greek wordsEvery Greek word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Greek | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ταῦτά | tauta | These | G3778 → | 1381 times |
| ἐστιν | estin | are | G1510 → | 2333 times |
| τὰ | ta | those | G3588 → | 19766 times |
| κοινοῦντα | koinounta | defiling | G2840 → | 14 times |
| τὸν | ton | the | G3588 → | 19766 times |
| ἄνθρωπον· | anthropon | man; | G444 → | 549 times |
| τὸ | to | that which | G3588 → | 19766 times |
| δὲ | de | but | G1161 → | 2765 times |
| ἀνίπτοις | aniptois | with unwashed | G449 → | |
| χερσὶν | chersin | hands | G5495 → | 175 times |
| φαγεῖν | phagein | to eat | G5315 → | 93 times |
| οὐ | ou | not | G3756 → | 1664 times |
| κοινοῖ | koinoi | it defiles | G2840 → | 14 times |
| τὸν | ton | the | G3588 → | 19766 times |
| ἄνθρωπον.¶ | anthropon | man. | G444 → | 549 times |
ταῦτάThese
tautaG3778 →1381 times
ἐστινare
estinG1510 →2333 times
τὰthose
taG3588 →19766 times
κοινοῦνταdefiling
koinountaG2840 →14 times
τὸνthe
tonG3588 →19766 times
ἄνθρωπον·man;
anthroponG444 →549 times
τὸthat which
toG3588 →19766 times
δὲbut
deG1161 →2765 times
ἀνίπτοιςwith unwashed
aniptoisG449 →
χερσὶνhands
chersinG5495 →175 times
φαγεῖνto eat
phageinG5315 →93 times
οὐnot
ouG3756 →1664 times
κοινοῖit defiles
koinoiG2840 →14 times
τὸνthe
tonG3588 →19766 times
ἄνθρωπον.¶man.
anthroponG444 →549 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Revelation 21:8But to the cowardly and unbelieving and abominable and murderers and sexually immoral and sorcerers and idolaters and all liars, their place will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur. This…
it leads to
- 1 Corinthians 6:9–10
Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who submit to or perform homosexual…
- Revelation 2:11
He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. The one who overcomes will not be harmed by the second death.
- Ephesians 5:5–6
For of this you can be sure: No immoral, impure, or greedy person (that is, an idolater), has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God.
- Revelation 22:15
But outside are the dogs, the sorcerers, the sexually immoral, the murderers, the idolaters, and everyone who loves and practices falsehood.
- Revelation 20:14–15
Then Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death—the lake of fire.
- 1 Corinthians 6:9–10
Through
Revelation 21:27But nothing unclean will ever enter it, nor anyone who practices an abomination or a lie, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s Book of Life.
it leads to
- Revelation 22:14–15
Blessed are those who wash their robes, so that they may have the right to the tree of life and may enter the city by its gates.
- Isaiah 52:1
Awake, awake, clothe yourself with strength, O Zion! Put on your garments of splendor, O Jerusalem, holy city! For the uncircumcised and unclean will no longer enter you.
- Revelation 20:15
And if anyone was found whose name was not written in the Book of Life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.
- Revelation 22:14–15
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Matthew
This page draws on 13 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Glossa Ordinaria, Catena Aurea by Aquinas; J.C. Ryle, Expository Thoughts on the Gospels: Matthew; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jerome, Commentary on Matthew; John Chrysostom, Homily on the Gospel of Matthew 51; John Gill, Exposition of the New Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the New Testament (1746-1748); Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible; Origen of Alexandria, COMMENTARY ON MATTHEW 11.14-15; Remigius of Rheims, Catena Aurea by Aquinas; Theophylact of Ohrid, Commentary on Matthew and Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on Matthew.