Jesus had been invited to dinner by a Pharisee. The Pharisee was quite shocked because Jesus had not first washed His hands before eating. Of course, we strongly recommend that people should wash their hands before sitting down to eat. But here we are not dealing with a question of hygiene but of ritual observance. Jesus had omitted (deliberately?) to perform a religious ritual which was laid down by stricter Jews. It allows Him to draw attention to what He sees as false religion. People's real goodness is not to be judged by their performance or non-performance of an external rite.

God is much more concerned about the inside than the outside. To emphasise this, Jesus suggests that they share some of their goods with the poor.That is a much better measure of where their heart lies. It is not, like the washing of hands, a purely empty ritual which says little and is almost totally self-directed. Elsewhere, Jesus has told us not to judge because it is very difficult for us to know what is going on within the person. But what Jesus is really emphasising here is the inner spirit and motivation. Once that is right, everything else will be taken care of.