These are the things which defile a man: but to eat with unwashen hands defileth not a man.

MATTHEW 15:20KJV
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Matthew 15:20 (KJV)

What does Matthew 15:20 mean?

Matthew 15:20 says that what truly makes a person unclean is not eating with unwashed hands, but rather the things that come from within a person. Jesus is teaching that ritual handwashing does not affect a person's spiritual or moral state.

In this verse, Jesus is speaking to a crowd, including his disciples and some religious leaders. The situation is a debate about Jewish traditions, where the Pharisees criticized Jesus’ disciples for not following ritual handwashing. Jesus uses this moment to explain that external rituals, like washing hands before eating, do not determine a person's purity before God; instead, what matters are the things that come from a person’s heart and actions.

The Greek behind Matthew 15:20

  • "defile" (κοινοῖ, transliteration: koinoi) means to make common or unclean, often understood as making someone ritually or spiritually impure. Here, Jesus is challenging the idea that outward acts like eating with unwashed hands can truly defile a person.
  • "unwashed" (ἀνίπτοις, transliteration: aniptois) refers specifically to hands that have not been ritually washed. This highlights that Jesus is not talking about hygiene, but about a religious tradition.
  • "man" (ἄνθρωπον, transliteration: anthrōpon) is a general word for a human being, emphasizing that this teaching applies to all people, not just to a specific group.

Why Matthew 15:20 matters

  • Matthew 15:20 clears up the misunderstanding that external rituals, like handwashing, are what make a person spiritually clean or unclean.
  • This verse shifts the focus from outward religious practices to the importance of inner character and moral choices, which is a key theme in Jesus’ teaching.
  • Matthew 15:20 connects to the wider passage where Jesus lists things that truly defile a person, such as evil thoughts and actions, helping readers see the bigger picture of what God values.

Where else these words appear

“unwashen” Greek G449 · used in 3 verses

  • Mark 7:2 And when they saw some of his disciples eat bread with defiled, that is to say, with unwashen, hands, they found fault.
  • Mark 7:5 Then the Pharisees and scribes asked him, Why walk not thy disciples according to the tradition of the elders, but eat bread with unwashen hands?

“defile” Greek G2840 · used in 12 verses

  • Matthew 15:11 Not that which goeth into the mouth defileth a man; but that which cometh out of the mouth, this defileth a man.
  • Mark 7:18 And he saith unto them, Are ye so without understanding also? Do ye not perceive, that whatsoever thing from without entereth into the man, it cannot defile him;
  • Acts 11:9 But the voice answered me again from heaven, What God hath cleansed, that call not thou common.

“eat” Greek G5315 · used in 90 verses

  • Matthew 6:25 Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment?
  • Luke 7:36 And one of the Pharisees desired him that he would eat with him. And he went into the Pharisee's house, and sat down to meat.
  • John 18:28 Then led they Jesus from Caiaphas unto the hall of judgment: and it was early; and they themselves went not into the judgment hall, lest they should be defiled; but that they might eat the passover.