We need to be cleansed by God. Yet, the argument that Jesus has with the Pharisees is not about God. Instead, Jesus argues against the traditions of the elders, man-made rules that label a person acceptable or not acceptable. The issue of ritual defilement is ultimately about unworthiness before God, and questions of meal-time acceptability lead away from what really matters. Recall the pictures used in the New Testament to describe good news.
Some images use the language of accounting.
We realize that we can never pay the enormous debt that we owe. However, it is paid by Christ, who balances the scales so we are free of our debts. Some images use the language of a court room. We walk out of the court room free because we're forgiven our sins. Still other images use the language of adoption.