24

Scripture-Twisting Tradition
(Mark 7:1–13)

The Pharisees and some of the scribes gathered around Him when they had come from Jerusalem, and had seen that some of His disciples were eating their bread with impure hands, that is, unwashed. (For the Pharisees and all the Jews do not eat unless they carefully wash their hands, thus observing the traditions of the elders; and when they come from the market place, they do not eat unless they cleanse themselves; and there are many other things which they have received in order to observe, such as the washing of cups and pitchers and copper pots.) The Pharisees and the scribes asked Him, “Why do Your disciples not walk according to the tradition of the elders, but eat their bread with impure hands?” And He said to them, “Rightly did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written: ‘This people honors Me with their lips, but their heart is far away from Me. But in vain do they worship Me, teaching as doctrines the precepts of men.’ Neglecting the commandment of God, you hold to the tradition of men.” He was also saying to them, “You are experts at setting aside the commandment of God in order to keep your tradition. For Moses said, ‘Honor your father and your mother’; and, ‘He who speaks evil of father or mother, is to be put to death’; but you say, ‘If a man says to his father or his mother, whatever I have that would help you is Corban (that is to say, given to God),’ you no longer permit him to do anything for his father or his mother; thus invalidating the word of God by your tradition which you have handed down; and you do many things such as that.” (7:1–13)

As the Old Testament repeatedly declares, the only worship that pleases God is that which flows from a heart that sincerely loves Him and seeks to obey His Word (cf. Deut. 10:12; 11:13; 13:13; 26:16; 30:2, 6, 10; Josh. 22:5; 1 Sam. 7:3; 12:20; 12:24). Moses famously articulated that principle to the Israelites as they stood ready to enter the Promised Land: “Hear, O Israel! The Lord is our God, the Lord is one! You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might” (Deut. 6:4–5). True worship involves the whole person: heart, soul, and strength. Mere externalism is never acceptable to God (cf. 1 Sam. 15:22). As the Lord told the prophet Samuel regarding David, “God sees not as man sees, for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart” (1 Sam. 16:7; cf. 13:14; 1 Kings 8:39). When David passed the kingdom on to Solomon, he gave his son similar instruction, “As for you, my son Solomon, know the God of your father, and serve Him with a whole heart and a willing mind; for the Lord searches all hearts, and understands every intent of the thoughts” (1 Chron. 28:9). At the dedication of the temple, Solomon reiterated those words to the entire nation: “Let your heart therefore be wholly devoted to the Lord our God, to walk in His statutes and to keep His commandments, as at this day” (1 Kings 8:61; cf. 2 Kings 20:3).

In spite of such clear instruction, the nation repeatedly slipped into externalism, hypocrisy, and apostasy. Even Solomon, endowed with supernatural wisdom (1 Kings 3:12), was not immune to allowing his heart to be led astray (cf. 11:4). In response to Israel’s calloused unbelief, God raised up prophets who called the people back to wholehearted worship and obedience. As the Lord declared through the prophet Jeremiah (29:13), “You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart” (emphasis added). The prophet Joel similarly proclaimed,

The Lord was not interested in external symbols of sorrow, like the tearing of clothes, unless they truly represented genuine repentance and heartfelt remorse. The prophet Isaiah similarly rebuked the people of his day for their cold, heartless religion. Although the people offered the correct sacrifices (Isa. 1:11), observed religious festivals (vv. 13–14), and lifted up continual prayers (v. 15), they did so from hearts that were rebellious and unrepentant (vv. 16–17). They were good at observing tradition, yet their hearts were far from God (cf. 29:13). If they refused to repent, they would face divine judgment at the hand of the Babylonians.

Seven centuries later, the Judaism of Jesus’ day was characterized by a similar form of empty, lifeless, hypocritical worship. Over the centuries, Jewish tradition had created a legalistic religion of self-righteous externalism, primarily propagated by the Pharisees and scribes. Though their religion was directed at the true God, it was practiced in the wrong way (cf. Rom. 10:2) and was therefore unacceptable to Him.

Jesus confronted the hypocritical worship of His day in the same way the prophets before Him had denounced it in theirs. He came to bring the true religion of the heart (Matt. 5:8, 21–48; 6:19–21). Consequently, He clashed fiercely with the religious leaders of first-century Israel. He called them vipers (Matt. 12:34), condemned them as false shepherds (John 10:8; cf. Ezek. 34:1–10), and cursed them as hypocrites (cf. Matt. 23:13, 15, 23, 25, 27, 29). Though Jesus exhibited meekness, gentleness, and compassion toward the crowds (cf. Mark 6:34), He never hesitated to openly rebuke the purveyors of false religion.

The events described in Mark 6, from the commissioning of the Twelve (vv. 7–13, 30–32) to the feeding of the thousands (vv. 33–44) to Jesus walking on the water (vv. 45–52), represent both the peak of Jesus’ popularity and the climax of His Galilean ministry. The people He miraculously fed were so amazed they wanted “to come and take Him by force to make Him king” (John 6:15). But their motivation was merely national and materialistic. The following day, when Jesus articulated spiritual realities regarding the kingdom, the crowd quickly became disenchanted. Many of His followers left Him (cf. v. 66), and His popularity began to decline. From that point forward, Jesus focused more and more of His attention on training the Twelve, preparing them for their ministry to begin after His crucifixion and resurrection.

Contributing to that decline in popularity was the propaganda spread by the Pharisees and scribes, who sought to discredit Jesus by ascribing His power to Satan (cf. Mark 3:22). As noted above, the Lord frequently clashed with the Jewish religious leaders. This section describes one of those episodes, in which the messianic Judge condemned the blatant hypocrisy of apostate Judaism. The passage can be divided into three segments: the interrogation, the indictment, and the illustration.

THE INTERROGATION

The Pharisees and some of the scribes gathered around Him when they had come from Jerusalem, and had seen that some of His disciples were eating their bread with impure hands, that is, unwashed. (For the Pharisees and all the Jews do not eat unless they carefully wash their hands, thus observing the traditions of the elders; and when they come from the market place, they do not eat unless they cleanse themselves; and there are many other things which they have received in order to observe, such as the washing of cups and pitchers and copper pots.) The Pharisees and the scribes asked Him, “Why do Your disciples not walk according to the tradition of the elders, but eat their bread with impure hands?” (7:1–5)

According to John 6:4, the feeding of the thousands took place near the time of the Jewish Passover, one year before Jesus died on the cross. The episode described in this section (Mark 7:1–13), which occurred in Galilee shortly after the miraculous feeding, took place around that same time. (For a harmony of the Gospels, see John MacArthur, One Perfect Life [Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 2012].) A delegation of Pharisees and some of the scribes gathered around Jesus. Like an earlier group (cf. Mark 3:22), this commission of clerics had come to Galilee from Jerusalem. (For more on the Pharisees and scribes, see chapter 7 in the current volume.) Most likely, they came at the request of Galilean members of their sect to help confront Jesus in light of His widespread and threatening popularity. Since Jerusalem was the seat of Jewish religion, the location of both the temple and the Sanhedrin, this delegation represented significant ecclesiastical authority. As the recognized experts in both Old Testament law and rabbinic tradition, the Pharisees were champions of the popular form of legalistic Judaism that dominated first-century Israel. From the outset of Jesus’ ministry, the Pharisees and scribes knew His message was a direct assault on their system of self-righteousness. Consequently, they were always seeking ways to discredit His ministry in the eyes of the people, with the ultimate goal of ending His life (cf. Mark 3:6).

A potential opportunity arose for Jesus’ enemies when they saw that some of His disciples were eating their bread with impure hands, that is, unwashed. Though the Mosaic law prescribed ceremonial washings for priests (Lev. 22:6–7), it did not require others to wash their hands in any particular way before eating. The Pharisees insisted that the Jewish people perform specific ceremonial washings, not because they were biblically commanded but because they were part of rabbinic teaching. They were hardly concerned about sanitation but obsessed with ritual tradition. As Mark explains in his parenthetical note, the Pharisees and all the Jews do not eat unless they carefully wash their hands, thus observing the traditions of the elders. The ceremonial washing prescribed by rabbinic praxis involved several steps. First, water was poured from a jar onto both hands with the fingers pointing up, so that the water would run off at the wrists. Then, water was again poured over the hands with the fingers pointing down. Finally, each hand was rubbed with the fist of the other hand. Strict Jews would follow these regulations before every meal and between each course in the meal. (For a fuller discussion of these ceremonial washings, see Alfred Edersheim’s The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah [Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1972], 2:10–13.)

The washings became more elaborate when people returned home after going out, because they might have been defiled through contact with a Samaritan, a Gentile, or even a fellow Jew who was ceremonially unclean. Thus, as Mark observes, when they come from the market place, they do not eat unless they cleanse themselves. Added to this traditional hand-washing was the careful cleansing of cooking instruments and dining utensils. In fact, there are many other things which they have received in order to observe, such as the washing of cups and pitchers and copper pots. Together, these ritualistic washings made each mealtime an elaborate and meticulous affair.

The traditions of the elders consisted of extrabiblical regulations that had been passed down from the time of the Babylonian captivity (605–535 B.C.). These oral traditions, which pervaded the Judaism of Jesus’ day, were eventually written down in the Mishnah around the end of the second century A.D. The Mishnah, along with additional rabbinic commentary called the Gemara, makes up the Talmud (the collection of Jewish tradition that in printed form encompasses thousands of pages of extrabiblical material). According to the Talmud, God gave Moses the oral law, which he passed on to other great men in Israel. These men were charged with personally appropriating the law in their own lives, training others who would teach the law to subsequent generations, and building a wall of protection around the law in order to preserve it. That wall of protection consisted of extrabiblical regulations intended to ensure that the people never came close to breaking the law. In reality, however, those rabbinic rules actually undermined and obscured the law they were intended to protect. Over time, the Jewish people began to measure their spiritual condition in terms of external conformity to traditional requirements and ceremonial rituals, rather than in terms of sincere love for God and humble obedience to His Word (cf. Isa. 66:2).

When the Jewish people returned to their homeland after the Babylonian captivity, scribes (the first of whom was Ezra) began to copy and teach the Scriptures in order to instruct the people in the Word of God (cf. Neh. 8:8). As they explained the Scriptures, they made comments on the text, eventually accumulating a massive body of interpretive material. As the centuries passed, the distinction between Scripture and rabbinic traditions that were based on scribal interpretations of Scripture became blurred. By Jesus’ day, the traditions of the elders had overshadowed and supplanted God’s Word. Divine truth had been lost, buried under mountains of tradition. Consequently, the rituals of Judaism could be practiced outwardly without regard to the condition of one’s heart before God.

The Pharisees and scribes took their traditions very seriously, including hand-washing. Some rabbis suggested that a demon named Shibtah sat on people’s hands while they were sleeping. If the demon were not removed by ceremonial washing before eating, he would be transferred to the mouth and could enter the body. Other rabbis turned hand-washing into a salvation issue. As the Jerusalem Talmud asserts, “Whoever is firmly implanted in the land of Israel, who speaks the holy language, who eats his food in purity [as required by hand-washing rituals], and recites the Shema morning and evening, is assured of life in the world to come” (Shabbat 1:3, emphasis added). It is no wonder, then, that the religious leaders accused Jesus’ disciples of committing a serious offense. Phrasing their accusation in the form of a question, they incredulously asked Jesus, “Why do Your disciples not walk according to the tradition of the elders, but eat their bread with impure hands?” Their inquiry was not motivated by curiosity but by outrage. They were incensed that Jesus would allow His disciples to openly disregard a ritual they considered so binding.

THE INDICTMENT

And He said to them, “Rightly did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written: ‘This people honors Me with their lips, but their heart is far away from Me. But in vain do they worship Me, teaching as doctrines the precepts of men.’ Neglecting the commandment of God, you hold to the tradition of men.” He was also saying to them, “You are experts at setting aside the commandment of God in order to keep your tradition.” (7:6–9)

Jesus responded, not by answering the Pharisees’ question but by indicting them for their hypocrisy. He would later give an answer to His disciples (vv. 17–23), but to the apostate religious leaders He offered no explanation or excuse. Instead, He confronted the calloused unbelief that characterized the false system that they embraced.

Taking them straight to the Scriptures, Jesus began by pointing to the prophet Isaiah. He said to them, “Rightly did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites.” The Pharisees were hypocrites because, although they looked holy on the outside, their hearts were unrepentant and corrupt. As Jesus told them on a later occasion, “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs which on the outside appear beautiful, but inside they are full of dead men’s bones and all uncleanness. So you, too, outwardly appear righteous to men, but inwardly you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness” (Matt. 23:27–28). Like the Israelites of Isaiah’s day, the Pharisees and scribes emphasized external rituals and extrabiblical regulations while completely neglecting a genuine love for God. Quoting from Isaiah 29:13, Jesus said, “As it is written, ‘This people honors Me with their lips, but their heart is far away from Me. But in vain do they worship Me, teaching as doctrines the precepts of men.’” Isaiah’s words struck at the heart of the Pharisaic system, which pretended to love God, yet worshiped Him in a way that was superficial, contrived, unbiblical, and unacceptable. In case they missed the point, Jesus added, “Neglecting the commandment of God, you hold to the tradition of men.” The Pharisees and scribes were far more concerned with upholding rabbinic customs than obeying God’s law.

First-century Judaism, like all forms of apostate religion, elevated man-made traditions above the teachings of Scripture. The Pharisees prized their rites, rituals, and regulations, allowing that which was merely external to take the place of true worship and heartfelt obedience. Outwardly, they paid homage to God with their lips, but inwardly their calloused hearts were far away from Him. Because they had never been transformed on the inside, their attempts to worship God were inevitably hypocritical. True worship, by contrast, flows from the soul that has been regenerated and eagerly seeks to honor and submit to the will of the Lord. As Jesus explained in John 4:24, the only worship God accepts is that which is “in spirit” (from the heart) and in “truth” (according to sound doctrine). As self-righteous hypocrites who rejected the Messiah, the Pharisees failed on both counts.

These archetypal fakes were outraged that Jesus disregarded their traditions. But the Lord knew that neither He nor His disciples were bound to follow rabbinic customs. Only that which came from Scripture was authoritative; where tradition conflicted with the Word of God, tradition needed to be overturned and its purveyors openly exposed. Consequently, Jesus was also saying to them, “You are experts at setting aside the commandment of God in order to keep your tradition.” The Pharisees and scribes accused Jesus’ disciples of committing a serious offense. In reality, it was they who were guilty of the real crimes against God. They neglected the commandment of God and influenced many others to do the same. Their hands may have been washed and cleansed, but their hearts were not. Consequently, they and their followers were headed for eternal judgment (cf. Matt. 23:15).

THE ILLUSTRATION

“For Moses said, ‘Honor your father and your mother’; and, ‘He who speaks evil of father or mother, is to be put to death’; but you say, ‘If a man says to his father or his mother, whatever I have that would help you is Corban (that is to say, given to God),’ you no longer permit him to do anything for his father or his mother; thus invalidating the word of God by your tradition which you have handed down; and you do many things such as that.” (7:10–13)

After exposing their duplicity from the text of Isaiah 29, Jesus gave the hypocrites an illustration to prove His point. Taking them back to Exodus 20:12 and 21:17, He reminded them that Moses said, ‘Honor your father and your mother’; and, ‘He who speaks evil of father or mother, is to be put to death.’ God Himself had instructed His people to honor, respect, and treat their parents with care. Not to do so was both a violation of the fifth commandment and a crime worthy of death.

Inherent in honoring one’s father and mother is the responsibility to love and respect them throughout the entirety of their lives, including helping to meet their needs if they become unable to provide for themselves. But rabbinic tradition had grown to undermine that biblical mandate. It brashly suggested that a child could avoid assisting his parents simply by telling them, “Whatever I have that would help you has been given to God” (Matt. 15:5). Though the religious experts knew what God commanded, having committed large portions of the Mosaic law to memory, they used tradition to circumvent it. As Jesus explained, “But you say, ‘If a man says to his father or his mother, whatever I have that would help you is Corban (that is to say, given to God),’ you no longer permit him to do anything for his father or his mother.”

The word Corban is a Hebrew term that means “devoted to God” and referred to offerings of money or material goods that had been pledged to God. At some point in Israel’s history, a tradition arose allowing people to declare their possessions “Corban,” thereby promising that they would eventually use their resources for sacred purposes. Even if a man’s parents asked him for financial support, he was forbidden from using anything he had declared to be “devoted to God” in order to help them. The rabbinic system thus provided adult children with a loophole by which they did not have to assist their aged or needy parents, and yet could still appear to be loyal worshipers who gave generously to God. Though a person could declare all of his possessions “Corban,” he was not required to donate them immediately to the temple or synagogue. For the most part, the pledged possessions remained under his control. In fact, whenever he wanted to use them for his own purposes, he could reverse the vow merely by saying “Corban” over them again. The hypocritical system, promoted by the Pharisees and scribes, allowed people to maintain an external veneer of dedication to God while simultaneously turning their backs on their parents.

Jesus ended His confrontation with the Pharisees and scribes by issuing a blanket, devastating condemnation: “[You are] thus invalidating the word of God by your tradition which you have handed down; and you do many things such as that.” The Judaism of the Pharisees and scribes was an unbiblical religion that invalidated God’s Word. The true faith of the Old Testament had been lost, obscured by layers of rabbinic rules and regulations that the Jewish religious leaders had handed down. That they did many things such as that indicates that the illustration Jesus used regarding “Corban” was just one of many similar examples of corruption and hypocrisy within the Pharisaical system. The evil-hearted Pharisees and scribes managed to pervert even the most basic disciplines, from moral behavior to prayer and fasting to giving to the poor (cf. Matt. 5:20; 6:1–6; 23:1–36). In response, the Messiah repudiated their false form of Judaism, teaching that such traditions are meaningless and that what God requires is a heart that loves Him and seeks His glory (cf. Mark 12:29–30).

Though Jesus detested the traditions of the apostate Judaism, it should be noted that tradition itself is not inherently evil. There are many wonderful traditions that believers have celebrated throughout the centuries. Devastating problems arise when those traditions are given an authority equal to or greater than Scripture. Whenever the word of God is invalidated by tradition, as in the case of the Pharisees and scribes, it is an abomination and an offense. Those who truly love God cherish His Word and eagerly desire to submit to its commands (cf. John 14:15), even if doing so requires breaking with tradition. They look to no higher authority than God’s Word.

According to one rabbi who honestly evaluated the Judaism of his day, “There are ten parts of hypocrisy in the world, nine at Jerusalem and one in the whole world” (cited from John A. Broadus, Commentary on the Gospel of Matthew [Philadelphia: American Baptist Publication Society, 1886], 335.) Hypocrisy is not limited to ancient Judaism. It is still pervasive in various forms of Christendom today, where it thrives in empty ceremonies, superficial worship, errant doctrines, indifferent prayers, legalistic moralism, and the like. By its very definition, hypocrisy looks good on the outside, but it is corrupt on the inside.

The solution for hypocrisy is the same as for any other sin: repentance. Perhaps no New Testament example better illustrates that truth than the apostle Paul. As a Pharisee, Paul measured his spiritual condition in terms of self-righteous externals and religious accolades. When he became a Christian, he realized those things were worthless. As he explained to the Philippians:

By the grace of God, Paul came to understand what every religious hypocrite must recognize, that self-righteous works are like filthy rags before a holy God (Isa. 64:6). But true righteousness is available through Jesus Christ (Rom. 5:19; 2 Cor. 5:21). Those who embrace Him in saving faith will be forgiven and transformed from the inside (cf. Isa. 1:18). They will be made into true worshipers (cf. Phil. 3:3). As Paul declared elsewhere: “Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come” (2 Cor. 5:17).