They are blind leaders of the blind. And if the blind leads the blind, both will fall into a ditch

 Then the scribes and Pharisees who were from Jerusalem came to Jesus, saying, "Why do Your disciples transgress the tradition of the elders?  For they do not wash their hands when they eat bread."  He answered and said to them, "Why do you also transgress the commandment of God because of your tradition?  For God commanded, saying, 'Honor your father and your mother'; and 'He who curses father or mother, let him be put to death.'  But you say, 'Whoever says to his father or mother, "Whatever profit you might have received from me is a gift to God" -- then he need not honor his father or mother.'  Thus you have made the commandment of God of no effect by your tradition.  Hypocrites!  Well did Isaiah prophesy about you, saying:

'These people draw near to Me with their mouth,
And honor Me with their lips,
But their heart is far from Me.
And in vain they worship Me,
Teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.'"

When He had called the multitude to Himself, He said to them, "Hear and understand:  Not what goes into the mouth defiles a man; but what comes out of the mouth, this defiles a man."  Then His disciples came and said to Him, "Do You know that the Pharisees were offended when they heard this saying?"  But He answered and said, "Every plant which My heavenly Father has not planted will be uprooted.  Let them alone.  They are blind leaders of the blind.  And if the blind leads the blind, both will fall into a ditch."  Then Peter answered and said to Him, "Explain this parable to us.  So Jesus said, "Are you also still without understanding?  Do you not yet understand that whatever enters the mouth goes into the stomach and is eliminated?  But those things which proceed out of the mouth come from the heart, and they defile a man.  For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies.  These are the things which defile a man, but to eat with unwashed hands does not defile a man."

- Matthew 15:1-20

Yesterday we read that after feeding the crowd of thousands in the wilderness,  immediately Jesus made His disciples get into the boat and go before Him to the other side, while He sent the multitudes away.  And when He had sent the multitudes away, He went up on the mountain by Himself to pray.  Now when evening came, He was alone there.  But the boat was now in the middle of the sea, tossed by the waves, for the wind was contrary.  Now in the fourth watch of the night Jesus went to them, walking on the sea.  And when the disciples saw Him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, "It is a ghost!"  And they cried out for fear.  But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, "Be of good cheer!  It is I; do not be afraid."   And Peter answered Him and said, "Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water."  So He said, "Come."  And when Peter had come down out of the boat, he walked on the water to go to Jesus.  But when he saw that the wind was boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink he cried out, saying, "Lord, save me!"  And immediately Jesus stretched out His hand and caught him, and said to him, "O you of little faith, why did you doubt?"  And when they got into the boat, the wind ceased.  Then those who were in the boat came and worshiped Him, saying, "Truly You are the Son of God."   When they had crossed over, they came to the land of Gennesaret.  And when the men of that place recognized Him, they sent out into all that surrounding region, brought to Him all who were sick, and begged Him that they might only touch the hem of His garment.  And as many as touched it were made perfectly well.

 Then the scribes and Pharisees who were from Jerusalem came to Jesus, saying, "Why do Your disciples transgress the tradition of the elders?  For they do not wash their hands when they eat bread."  He answered and said to them, "Why do you also transgress the commandment of God because of your tradition?  For God commanded, saying, 'Honor your father and your mother'; and 'He who curses father or mother, let him be put to death.'  But you say, 'Whoever says to his father or mother, "Whatever profit you might have received from me is a gift to God" -- then he need not honor his father or mother.'  Thus you have made the commandment of God of no effect by your tradition.  Hypocrites!  Well did Isaiah prophesy about you, saying:  'These people draw near to Me with their mouth, and honor Me with their lips, but their heart is far from Me.  And in vain they worship Me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.'"  The tradition of the elders is a reference to the interpretations of the Law by Jewish teachers.  Jesus refutes their views, my study bible says, that ritual purity depends on outward actions alone.  In the example He gives, Christ shows that the commandment of God cannot be superseded by man's religious traditions.  Devotion to God, my study bible adds, includes both obedience to His commandments and also service to others -- the two cannot be separated (see also James 2:14-18; 1 John 4:7-21).  The example Jesus describes here is one in which a gift to the temple was made of possessions which a person might still use during their lifetime;  the gift to the temple serves as excuse for refusal to help elderly parents.  Jesus quotes from Exodus 20:12, Deuteronomy 5:16, Exodus 21:17, Isaiah 29:13. 

When He had called the multitude to Himself, He said to them, "Hear and understand:  Not what goes into the mouth defiles a man; but what comes out of the mouth, this defiles a man."  Then His disciples came and said to Him, "Do You know that the Pharisees were offended when they heard this saying?"  But He answered and said, "Every plant which My heavenly Father has not planted will be uprooted.  Let them alone.  They are blind leaders of the blind.  And if the blind leads the blind, both will fall into a ditch."  Then Peter answered and said to Him, "Explain this parable to us.  So Jesus said, "Are you also still without understanding?  Do you not yet understand that whatever enters the mouth goes into the stomach and is eliminated?  But those things which proceed out of the mouth come from the heart, and they defile a man.  For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies.  These are the things which defile a man, but to eat with unwashed hands does not defile a man."  Jesus emphasizes the state of the heart as that which determines a person's purity.  In chapter 23, Jesus will explicitly rebuke these "blind guides" as those who "outwardly appear righteous to men, but inside you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness."

In Jesus' example of the religious leaders as blind leaders of the blind, we are to understand that their blindness leads to extreme hypocrisy.  The failure to know oneself is characterized as blindness also in the Sermon on the Mount.  Jesus teaches us that while mutual correction is appropriate, we are required to have an awareness of ourselves and our own shortcomings before we could ever properly do so.   Jesus teaches, "Judge not, that you be not judged.  For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you.  And why do you look at the speck in your brother’s eye, but do not consider the plank in your own eye?  Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me remove the speck from your eye’; and look, a plank is in your own eye?  Hypocrite! First remove the plank from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye" (7:1-5).  Hypocrisy is the result of exclusive focus on outward action, the "show" being an important part of what we think of ourselves.  There is even a sense in which actions done in private to make ourselves feel good about ourselves reflect an awareness in the eyes of others and mask the heart -- unless we take good care to come to "know ourselves."  The saintly among us have always seemed to be those who are quite aware of their own shortcomings in the eyes of God and even before others as well.  To know oneself is a solemn admonition among monastics and throughout the history of monastic tradition.  Indeed, confession is not only intrinsic to self-knowledge, but its origin intended to get us to that goal.  Clearly, if we seek to come to know ourselves and what is in the heart, we will more truly be able to understand others -- and maybe even more particularly, we will know that we are unable to judge others.  What we can do, perhaps, is simply offer help where it is wanted.  St. Paul writes to the Corinthians that "with me it is a very small thing that I should be judged by you or by a human court. In fact, I do not even judge myself. For I know of nothing against myself, yet I am not justified by this; but He who judges me is the Lord. Therefore judge nothing before the time, until the Lord comes, who will both bring to light the hidden things of darkness and reveal the counsels of the hearts. Then each one’s praise will come from God."  He couples this with humility, saying of himself and his fellow apostles, "Being reviled, we bless; being persecuted, we endure; being defamed, we entreat. We have been made as the filth of the world, the offscouring of all things until now" (see the entire chapter at 1 Corinthians 4).  It takes true humility to know oneself, and to come to terms with our own inability to truly judge.  What this perspective asks of us, rather, is a focus on the journey we're on, the places Christ leads us, the work of the Spirit within us to bring to light the things we need to know and change, the ways in which we need to grow.  All of it goes hand in hand, and it teaches us to keep our focus forward.  A morbid guilt neither serves Christ nor the purposes He has in mind for us.  Rather, we take our strength for the journey in His hope and love -- and lack of focus on the perfection of appearance to others.  In that direction is true blindness.