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.