These are the things which defile a man: but to eat with unwashen hands defileth not a man.
The Greek word means to make common, not merely to soil. The Jews had been set apart by God to separate themselves from Gentile pollutions, so anything inconsistent with that holiness was called common, or profane. It is a Hebrew way of speaking.
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Christ turns from the proud Pharisees, who thought themselves too good to hear Him, and welcomes the multitude instead. The humble, though weak, are teachable; the proud are willfully blind. He teaches the common people what the learned men despise.
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Commenting on Matthew 15:10-20
Murder, adultery, theft, and the rest genuinely defile the soul and expose a man to God's judgment. Unwashed hands at a meal are trifling and merit no regard; they break no law of God and incur no guilt. Only Christ's blood can cleanse us from real pollution.
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