The Pharisee was quite shocked because Jesus had not first washed His hands before eating. Most probably, Jesus, in the ordinary course of events, would have had no problem about performing this ritual but it is likely that here He is deliberately making a point. It allows Him to draw attention to what He sees as false religion. A person's virtue is not to be judged by his performance or non-performance of an external rite.

As Jesus tells this man in a graphic image, the Pharisees concentrate on making sure that the outside of the cup is clean while inside it is full of all kinds of depravity and corruption. While externally perfect, the minds of the Pharisees were full of vicious hatred for Jesus.

Instead, Jesus suggests that they give alms to the poor and, when the inside is clean, there is no need to worry about the outside. Giving alms is a positive act of kindness to another person; it is an act of love and compassion. Such actions bring one much closer to God than the observance of any ritual. And that applies to Catholics just as much as to Pharisees. What Jesus is really emphasising here is the inner spirit and motivation. Not so much what we do but why we do it. For Jesus the only thing that counts is faith working through love.