'Now when the Pharisees with some scribes who had come from Jerusalem gathered around him, they observed that some of his disciples ate their meals with unclean, that is, unwashed, hands. (For the Pharisees and, in fact, all Jews, do not eat without carefully washing their hands, keeping the tradition of the elders. 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].) 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?” 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; In vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines human precepts.’ You disregard God’s commandment but cling to human tradition.” He went on to say, “How well you have set aside the commandment of God in order to uphold your tradition! For Moses said, ‘Honor your father and your mother,’ and ‘Whoever curses father or mother shall die.’ 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), you allow him to do nothing more for his father or mother. You nullify the word of God in favor of your tradition that you have handed on. And you do many such things.” He summoned the crowd again and said to them, “Hear me, all of you, and understand. Nothing that enters one from outside can defile that person; but the things that come out from within are what defile (Mk. 7:1-15).”
The issue was not one of hygiene but that the disciples failed to follow the traditional Jewish practices of ritual purification. The Mosaic Law originally defined the moral purity expected of people when they approached God (Ex. 30:17; Lev. 11; Deut. 14). The Rabbis had developed traditions that extended the rules to other areas to make clear how the Law should be applied to everyday life.
In Jesus’ time there were 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. Jesus accuses the Pharisees and Scribes of paying lip service to God and substituting human traditions as divine commandments. 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 we may worship you in spirit and truth. This we pray through Christ our Lord. Amen!
References:
Raymond E. Brown, Joseph A. Fitzmyer, & Roland E. Murphy, (Eds.). (1990, 1968). The New Jerome Biblical Commentary. Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey: Prentis Hall, Inc.
Jose M. Casciaro, Santiago Ausin, Gonzalo Aranda, Claudio Basevi, Vincente Balaguer, Francisco Varo, James Gavigan, Brian McCarthy & Thomas McGovern (Eds.). (2017). The Navarre Bible - New Testament. Dublin 8, Ireland: Four Courts Press.
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