Scripture: Mark 7 (Part One)
Mark 7: 1-2
Now when the Pharisees gathered to him, with some of the scribes who had come from Jerusalem, 2 they saw that some of his disciples ate with hands that were defiled, that is, unwashed.
Commentary: The religious leaders sent people to Jerusalem to spy on Jesus. They didn’t like what they saw and questioned Jesus’s disciples about washing hands. Jesus scolded them for keeping the law and the traditions in order to look holy instead of honoring God.
The prophet Isaiah accused the religious leaders of his day of doing the same thing. (See Isaiah 29:13.) Jesus used Isaiah’s words to accuse these men.
Mark 7: 3-4
(For the Pharisees and all the Jews do not eat unless they wash their hands properly, holding to the tradition of the elders, 4 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.)
Commentary: Mark explained these Jewish rituals because he was writing to a non-Jewish audience. Before eating, a devout Jew performed a short ceremony by washing in a specific way. The Pharisees thought this ceremony cleansed them from anything unclean. Jesus said they weren’t making themselves acceptable before God just by performing this act.
Mark 7: 5-7
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?” 6 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;
7 in vain do they worship me,
teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’
Commentary: Jesus called the Pharisees hypocrites because they worshipped God for the wrong reasons. Their worship was for profit, to appear holy, and to increase their status.
Part Two of the Commentary on Mark Chapter 7 will cover verses 8-19.
Read more commentary from the Book of Mark
Pay Attention to What You Hear