The Pharisees and some of the teachers of the law who had come from Jerusalem gathered around Jesus 2 and saw some of his disciples eating food with hands that were defiled, that is, unwashed. 3 (The Pharisees and all the Jews do not eat unless they give their hands a ceremonial washing, holding to the tradition of the elders. 4 When they come from the marketplace they do not eat unless they wash. And they observe many other traditions, such as the washing of cups, pitchers and kettles.)
5 So the Pharisees and teachers of the law asked Jesus, “Why don’t your disciples live according to the tradition of the elders instead of eating their food with defiled hands?”
6 He replied, “Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you hypocrites; as it is written:
“‘These people honor me with their lips,
but their hearts are far from me.
7 They worship me in vain;
their teachings are merely human rules.’
but their hearts are far from me.
7 They worship me in vain;
their teachings are merely human rules.’
8 You have let go of the commands of God and are holding on to human traditions.”
9 And he continued, “You have a fine way of setting aside the commands of God in order to observe your own traditions! 10 For Moses said, ‘Honor your father and mother,’ and, ‘Anyone who curses their father or mother is to be put to death.’ 11 But you say that if anyone declares that what might have been used to help their father or mother is Corban (that is, devoted to God)— 12 then you no longer let them do anything for their father or mother.13 Thus you nullify the word of God by your tradition that you have handed down. And you do many things like that.”
14 Again Jesus called the crowd to him and said, “Listen to me, everyone, and understand this. 15 Nothing outside a person can defile them by going into them. Rather, it is what comes out of a person that defiles them.” [16]
17 After he had left the crowd and entered the house, his disciples asked him about this parable. 18 “Are you so dull?”he asked. “Don’t you see that nothing that enters a person from the outside can defile them? 19 For it doesn’t go into their heart but into their stomach, and then out of the body.” (In saying this, Jesus declared all foods clean.)
20 He went on: “What comes out of a person is what defiles them. 21 For it is from within, out of a person’s heart, that evil thoughts come—sexual immorality, theft, murder, 22 adultery, greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance and folly. 23 All these evils come from inside and defile a person.”
The gospel of Mark turns again in Chapter 7 to the critics of Jesus. Once again, they are not only the local religious leaders, but those from Jerusalem. These agents from the home office remind the readers that Jesus may have friends and followers, but those in authority are strongly against him. They "gathered around" Jesus just as students would, but their purpose is anything but learning.
They watch and record the "offenses" of Jesus and his disciples. On this occasion, they have seen Jesus' followers eat without washing their hands prior. This was of course not the washing for hygiene that our Mothers required, but a ritual act that was to spiritually cleanse the hands to ensure that impurity did not enter the body. Impurity could be picked up in any number of ways--touching unclean animals, touching unclean people (any gentile for example), or touching unclean items.
This ritual cleansing is not required in the scripture, but was an additional layer of protection added by tradition. The thought was that by keeping the stricter traditions that were added to the law, the law was kept safe. In addition to the rules regarding ritual washing of the hands there were a large number of others including those mentioned by Mark of washing cups, pitchers and kettles.
The Pharisees and the teachers of the law directly challenge Jesus about his disciples failure to keep the tradition of the elders. But rather than engage them in a rabbinic argument from tradition, Jesus instead goes straight to the authoritative prophet (Isaiah). He calls those who challenge him hypocrites, which is the Greek word for "stage actors." In their challenge and actions they are merely playing a role for the world to see rather than demonstrating their true nature. As the prophet has described they say the right things with the wrong hearts. Their worship is invalid and they teach human rules rather than God's rules.
This seems to always be an issue for religious authorities and churches. It is easy to turn God into yet another rationale for requiring behavior that benefits those in power. Jesus refuses to allow this misappropriation of God's authority.
He further continues to turn the tables by pointing out the way that the Jewish officials have allowed exceptions to God's law while refusing to bend their own traditions. He refers particularly to one of the ten commandments. God requires that children honor their parents. This was more than an instruction to young children to eat their vegetables. It was in the time before welfare a commandment to ensure that aging parents who could no longer work were provided for--a sort of social security.
But the religious types had figured a way around this seemingly straightforward command. By declaring their wealth korban--or set aside for God--the children were able to live on their resources even as they denied the responsibilities of their parents because their estate was dedicated to a higher purpose.
Jesus points out that not only have the authorities accused his disciples not of breaking God's law but human tradition. They themselves erected traditions that broke God's law.
He then turns the focus back to the question of being defiled or impure. The traditions teach that what comes into a person from the outside makes a person unclean on the inside. But Jesus reminds them that everything that comes into the body goes from the mouth to the stomach and then is excreted, not to the heart. Mark feels the need to emphasize that when Jesus said this he was declaring all foods clean. Making this assertion seems to be directed towards Jews who read the gospel and practiced strict food guidelines. It may have seemed ironic to those who read because here Jesus clearly institutes a new teaching that modifies not tradition, but the teaching of the Torah.
Jesus has an entirely definition of impurity. Defilement is what comes out of your mouth not what goes in it. A person's heart is revealed by their actions and words. The Pharisees and teachers of the law reveal the corruption of their hearts as they act as if they are committed to God, but their words reveal that their commitments are really towards their own benefit.
The gospel of Mark turns again in Chapter 7 to the critics of Jesus. Once again, they are not only the local religious leaders, but those from Jerusalem. These agents from the home office remind the readers that Jesus may have friends and followers, but those in authority are strongly against him. They "gathered around" Jesus just as students would, but their purpose is anything but learning.
They watch and record the "offenses" of Jesus and his disciples. On this occasion, they have seen Jesus' followers eat without washing their hands prior. This was of course not the washing for hygiene that our Mothers required, but a ritual act that was to spiritually cleanse the hands to ensure that impurity did not enter the body. Impurity could be picked up in any number of ways--touching unclean animals, touching unclean people (any gentile for example), or touching unclean items.
This ritual cleansing is not required in the scripture, but was an additional layer of protection added by tradition. The thought was that by keeping the stricter traditions that were added to the law, the law was kept safe. In addition to the rules regarding ritual washing of the hands there were a large number of others including those mentioned by Mark of washing cups, pitchers and kettles.
The Pharisees and the teachers of the law directly challenge Jesus about his disciples failure to keep the tradition of the elders. But rather than engage them in a rabbinic argument from tradition, Jesus instead goes straight to the authoritative prophet (Isaiah). He calls those who challenge him hypocrites, which is the Greek word for "stage actors." In their challenge and actions they are merely playing a role for the world to see rather than demonstrating their true nature. As the prophet has described they say the right things with the wrong hearts. Their worship is invalid and they teach human rules rather than God's rules.
This seems to always be an issue for religious authorities and churches. It is easy to turn God into yet another rationale for requiring behavior that benefits those in power. Jesus refuses to allow this misappropriation of God's authority.
He further continues to turn the tables by pointing out the way that the Jewish officials have allowed exceptions to God's law while refusing to bend their own traditions. He refers particularly to one of the ten commandments. God requires that children honor their parents. This was more than an instruction to young children to eat their vegetables. It was in the time before welfare a commandment to ensure that aging parents who could no longer work were provided for--a sort of social security.But the religious types had figured a way around this seemingly straightforward command. By declaring their wealth korban--or set aside for God--the children were able to live on their resources even as they denied the responsibilities of their parents because their estate was dedicated to a higher purpose.
Jesus points out that not only have the authorities accused his disciples not of breaking God's law but human tradition. They themselves erected traditions that broke God's law.
He then turns the focus back to the question of being defiled or impure. The traditions teach that what comes into a person from the outside makes a person unclean on the inside. But Jesus reminds them that everything that comes into the body goes from the mouth to the stomach and then is excreted, not to the heart. Mark feels the need to emphasize that when Jesus said this he was declaring all foods clean. Making this assertion seems to be directed towards Jews who read the gospel and practiced strict food guidelines. It may have seemed ironic to those who read because here Jesus clearly institutes a new teaching that modifies not tradition, but the teaching of the Torah.
Jesus has an entirely definition of impurity. Defilement is what comes out of your mouth not what goes in it. A person's heart is revealed by their actions and words. The Pharisees and teachers of the law reveal the corruption of their hearts as they act as if they are committed to God, but their words reveal that their commitments are really towards their own benefit.
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