TRADITIONS AND COMMANDMENTS

Series: Expositions in Mark

Text: Mark 7:1-13

Theme: What Defiles A Person?

Topic: God’s Word Is Above All.

Mark 7:1–13 (ESV)

Now when the Pharisees gathered to him, with some of the scribes who had come from Jerusalem, they saw that some of his disciples ate with hands that were defiled, that is, unwashed. (For the Pharisees and all the Jews do not eat unless they wash their hands properly, holding to the tradition of the elders, and when they come from the marketplace, they do not eat unless they wash. And there are many other traditions that they observe, such as the washing of cups and pots and copper vessels and dining couches.) And the Pharisees and the scribes asked him, “Why do your disciples not walk according to the tradition of the elders, but eat with defiled hands?” And he said to them, “Well did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written,

“ ‘This people honors me with their lips,

but their heart is far from me;

in vain do they worship me,

teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’

You leave the commandment of God and hold to the tradition of men.”

And he said to them, “You have a fine way of rejecting the commandment of God in order to establish your tradition! For Moses said, ‘Honor your father and your mother’; and, ‘Whoever reviles father or mother must surely die.’ But you say, ‘If a man tells his father or his mother, “Whatever you would have gained from me is Corban” ’ (that is, given to God)— then you no longer permit him to do anything for his father or mother, thus making void the word of God by your tradition that you have handed down. And many such things you do.”

Observing the Text

Verse 1-3 - The Pharisees noticed that the Disciples were eating without washing Hands

What Kind of washing is in the picture mentioned in this context?

Mark explains in the brackets [From Verse 3-4]

Mark 7:3–4 (ESV)

(For the Pharisees and all the Jews do not eat unless they wash their hands properly, holding to the tradition of the elders, and when they come from the marketplace, they do not eat unless they wash. And there are many other traditions that they observe, such as the washing of cups and pots and copper vessels and dining couches.)

The traditions of the Elders

The Grace New Testament Commentary, Revised Edition Says that,

In Jesus’ day the oral teachings of the religious leaders were passed from generation to generation

That is what Jesus was referring to when he said the traditions of men

These traditions of Men included the washing of Cups, Pots, copper Vessels and Couches

The Pharisees and the Scribes

The Grace New Testament Commentary

The Pharisees team up with the Herodians in a plot to kill Jesus (3:6) and here they join with the scribes who previously accused Jesus of being possessed by Beelzebub (3:22).

These leaders have learned that Jesus does not agree with their views (cf. 2:1–3:6) so they come from Jerusalem on another faultfinding mission, another step in their strategy to destroy Him.

Lexham Research Lexicon of the Greek New Testament (γραμματεύς)

scribe — a learned person who was able to read and write; probably with a focus also on teaching the meaning of written documents

The Pharisees And Scribes asked a Question

Mark 7:5 (ESV)

And the Pharisees and the scribes asked him, “Why do your disciples not walk according to the tradition of the elders, but eat with defiled hands?”

Instead of answering the Question, Jesus says the following

Mark 7:6 (ESV)

And he said to them, “Well did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written,

“ ‘This people honors me with their lips,

but their heart is far from me;

Jesus is Quoting from the OT

And He Calls Both the Pharisees and the Scribes as, “Hypocrites.”

The Grace New Testament Commentary, Revised Edition (2. Jesus Unmasks the Leaders (7:6–13))

A hypocrite was literally a play actor who wore a mask in a theater to portray someone other than himself.

The adverb well (lit., “beautifully, splendidly”) adds sarcasm to His argument as it refers to how skillfully they “reject the commandment of God” in order to keep their own tradition. Jesus is firm in pointing out that they are rejecting the commandment of God.

Corban (Which Means; God has given).

Faithlife Study Bible (Chapter 7)

7:10 Jesus quotes Exod 20:12 and Exod 21:17 respectively, applying these laws to situations when the parents of an adult are in need.