Matthew 15:10 Jesus called the crowd to him and said, "Listen and understand. 11 What goes into someone's mouth does not defile them, but what comes out of their mouth, that is what defiles them."
I actually used this verse one time in the past when my wife was trying to make me wash my hands before a meal! I know that you guys have never even thought about such nonsense. Right?
What was Jesus saying here? That us guys really don't have to wash our hands before we eat? Not quite.
The religious leaders, the Pharisees, had a lot of "extra laws" that they had instituted. Initially their goal was a noble one. They wanted to protect God's law from abuse. What they ended up doing was creating an even more complicated system that didn't let the people breathe without fear of sinning.
Some examples will suffice to show the absurdity of their rules. If one moved a chair and left a furrow in the dirt floor it was considered plowing. Sweep the floor? Forget it. Picking a little corn to eat? Nope. Some even thought that swallowing was against the rules! Yes, swallowing! Remember this one? Jesus was going to heal a man on the sabbath and the Pharisees asked if it was right to heal on the sabbath? Jesus reprimanded them and asked if they would remove one of their sheep if it fell into a pit on the sabbath? It was a rhetorical question with an expected positive answer.
So back to the hand washing. Jesus' emphasis was on the heart issues and not necessarily on the outward act of hand washing. He accused the Pharisees of being whitewashed tombs. Beautiful on the outside but rotten on the inside. His point was that the heart needs washing more than the hands.
For this type of cleaning one needs the blood of Christ. His blood was shed on this day 2000 years ago at 3:00 PM. His death was necessary to wash our sin. His resurrection conquered death. Our complete cleansing will only come when we step into his presence.
This fact doesn't excuse us from washing our bodies, it just lets us focus on the real problem. So guys, don't try to use Jesus' words to get out of washing your hands. It won't work. True story.
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