Following the previous passage concerning the hypocrisy of the Pharisees over Jesus’ disciples and the piety of washing hands, today’s passage continues the theme into a parable. The crowds present at this encounter with the religious elite needed clarification from our LORD on what the greater spiritual point was. Just as a refresher, the Pharisees were more concerned about pious appearances than the true Spirit of the Mosaic Law. They took the concept of washing much further than God’s Law intended. Rather than cleaning the inner man, the soul, the Pharisees took the commands of cleanliness to an unintended end. Wherever they went, these ‘blind’ leaders wanted to be seen as obedient to the Mosaic Law. They washed their hands, not for sanitation, but for religious piety.
Now in verses 10-20, Jesus addresses the greater spiritual truth of the cleanliness of the soul. What is the TRUE nature of cleanliness in the gospel? What is the true aspect of cleansing the soul of sin? And how does one avoid polluting the soul? Jesus gives glorious wisdom in this passage.
