Did Jesus pronounce those harsh words, in that context? A Pharisee invites Him for lunch, a unique place for dialogue. The ground for the discussion is to know that we keep the Law as long as it is grounded on charity; if it is not, there will be no need to suppress it because it will fall by itself. Only sin makes you morally unclean. The objects you touch in the street do not defile you. You may wash your hands before meals for the sake of physical health, but not to free yourself from legal impurity, because in the new Law only sin defiles you. And, if you are defiled, only a conversion of heart not a ritual washing will clean you. Jesus washed Judas' feet, but this symbolic ritual did not clean him. That night Peter denied the Lord but knew well enough that washing feet, hands and head would be of no use, without his tears of repentance. When the priest washes his hands he knows this gesture has no automatic effect, so he accompanies it with a prayer of repentance: