Okay, now the people who doubted Jesus and His identity and persecuted Him were His own people . . . the Jews. Some of the scribes and Pharisees from Jerusalem in Judæa, (Jews) came to do a little investigating of Jesus. When they saw some of His disciples eat bread without washing their hands, they criticized Him because the Pharisees and all the Jews don't eat unless they wash their hands thoroughly, according to the tradition of the elders. They also follow many other traditional customs like the washing of cups, pots, bowls and tables.

Let’s take a closer look at this. The Pharisees changed the Word of God from, Honor thy father and thy mother, and whoever curses them, let them die the death, to this: If a man says, The honor that my father or mother receives from me is a gift … so they may dishonor them and be guiltless. This leaves no reason for them to respect their father and mother, and by allowing this ‘tradition’ they have nullified the Word of God.

Jesus called all the people to Him and He told them this parable, Everyone listen to me and understand. There is nothing from outside a man, that entering into him can make him unclean, but the things that come out of him, those are the things that defile the man. If any man have ears to hear, let him hear.

The disciples came to Jesus and told Him that he offended the Pharisees with what He said, but Jesus replied, Every plant that my Heavenly Father has not planted, will be uprooted. Leave them alone, they are the blind leaders of the blind, and if the blind lead the blind, they'll both fall into the ditch.

When He went into the house, Peter asked Him to explain the parable. He said, Are you so without understanding too? Whatever enters into the man can't defile him because it doesn't enter into his heart, but into the belly, and is evacuated, cleansing all food. What comes out of the man is what makes him defiled, because inside, out of the heart of men, come evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lasciviousness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, and foolishness. All these evil things come from within, and defile the man.

I'm sure Jesus wasn't saying to never wash your hands before you eat, because He wouldn’t put us in harms way implying that you can’t get sick from dirty hands. Nor do I think that He was saying that abusing alcohol, drugs, or overeating won’t harm you physically, because as you know, these things can, and abusing them can, in turn, affect your soul. But the Pharisees and scribes were condemning Jesus because He wasn’t following their tradition, not because they cared about His welfare, and those same people even took the Word of God, revised it to their own liking and called it tradition. Tsk tsk tsk.