Traditions Condemned

Some Pharisees and scribes from Jerusalem came and gathered around Jesus. While there, they saw some of His disciples eating with hands that were defiled—that is, unwashed. 

Now, in holding to the tradition of the elders, the Pharisees and all the Jews did not eat until they washed their hands ceremonially. And on returning from the market, they did not eat unless they washed. And there were many other traditions for them to observe, including the washing of cups, pitchers, kettles, and couches for dining.

So, the Pharisees and scribes questioned Jesus: “Why do Your disciples not walk according to the tradition of the elders? They do not wash their hands before they eat. Instead, they eat with defiled hands.”

Jesus replied, “And why do you break the command of God for the sake of your own tradition? For God said, ‘Honor your father and mother’ and ‘Anyone who curses his father or mother must be put to death.’ But you say that if anyone says to his father or mother, ‘Whatever you would have received from me is Corban' (that is, a gift devoted to God), they need not honor their father or mother with it. Thus you nullify the word of God for the sake of the tradition you have handed down. And you do so in many such matters. You hypocrites! Isaiah prophesied correctly about you, as it is written:

‘These people honor Me with their lips, but their hearts are far from Me. They worship Me in vain; they teach as doctrine the precepts of people.’

"You have disregarded the commandment of God to keep the tradition of people.”

See Matthew 15:1-9; Mark 7:1-13; Isaiah 29:13; Exodus 20:12; Deuteronomy 5:16

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