Now when the Pharisees with some scribes who had come from Jerusalem gathered around him, 2 they observed that some of his disciples ate their meals with unclean, that is, unwashed, hands. 3 (For the Pharisees and, in fact, all Jews, do not eat without carefully washing their hands, keeping the tradition of the elders. 4 And on coming from the marketplace they do not eat without purifying themselves. And there are many other things that they have traditionally observed, the purification of cups and jugs and kettles [and beds].) 5 So the Pharisees and scribes questioned him, “Why do your disciples not follow the tradition of the elders but instead eat a meal with unclean hands?” 6 He responded, “Well did Isaiah prophesy about you hypocrites, as it is written: ‘This people honors me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me; 7 In vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines human precepts.’ 8 You disregard God’s commandment but cling to human tradition.” 9 He went on to say, “How well you have set aside the commandment of God in order to uphold your tradition! 10 For Moses said, ‘Honor your father and your mother,’ and ‘Whoever curses father or mother shall die.’ 11 Yet you say, ‘If a person says to father or mother, “Any support you might have had from me is qorban”’ (meaning, dedicated to God), 12 you allow him to do nothing more for his father or mother. 13 You nullify the word of God in favor of your tradition that you have handed on. And you do many such things.” 14 He summoned the crowd again and said to them, “Hear me, all of you, and understand. 15 Nothing that enters one from outside can defile that person; but the things that come out from within are what defile.”
The Pharisees and Scribes continued to observe Jesus in an effort to catch him violating the Mosaic Law in a way that is punishable by death such as breaking the Sabbath or blasphemy. The issue was not one of hygiene but that the disciples failed to follow the traditional Jewish practices of ritual purification. The explanation in verses three and four was for the benefit of Mark’s non-Jewish readers. The Mosaic Law originally defined the moral purity expected of people when they approached God (Ex. 30:17; Lev. 11; Deut. 14). After the 70-year Babylonian Exile (c. 608 B.C. - c. 538 B.C.), the Rabbis had developed many traditions that extended the rules to other areas to make clear how the Law should be applied to everyday life, and the traditions were just as binding as the Law itself. The Babylonian Captivity was a time when the Southern Kingdom of Judah was conquered, and the Jews were deported to Babylonia in captivity.
The Jews had so many rules that the original intent of the Law was almost obscured. Some of the rules appeared to be pious but allowed for the avoidance of religious obligations. The Pharisees and Scribes held Jesus responsible for the actions of his disciples (v. 5). Jesus accused the Pharisees and Scribes of hypocrisy, of paying lip service to God and substituting human traditions as divine commandments (vv. 6-9). Jesus gave an example of how strictly following rabbinical tradition nullified God’s Law (vv. 9-13). Honoring your mother and father includes providing for them when they are in need (Dt. 5:16; Lv. 20:9; v. 10). The rabbinical tradition allowed the Pharisees to dedicate to God whatever they would give to their parents thus relieving them of the obligation under the Law to support their parents (vv. 11-13). The source of all defilement is in the human heart and not because of external influences; ‘Nothing that enters one from outside can defile that person (v. 15),’ Jesus positions himself as the authoritative interpreter of the Mosaic Law.
Almighty God, you sent your Son to be the fulfillment of the Law and to show us how to live your commandments. Grant us the grace to honor you with our hearts and the understanding to discern between your precepts and the traditions of man so that we may worship you in spirit and truth. This we pray through Christ our Lord. Amen!
Chiu, José Enrique Aguilar, et al. The Paulist Biblical Commentary. Paulist Press, 2018.
Brown, Raymond Edward, et al. The New Jerome Biblical Commentary. Upper Saddle River, NJ, United States, Prentice Hall, 1990.
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