Mark 7:1Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

The Talmud even details the required amount of water for such purification, the method of washing, the timing, and the order of actions based on the number of diners present. Members of the Essene sect practiced immersion in water before meals. The significance of these regulations was so great that failure to comply could result in excommunication by the Sanhedrin. By highlighting the actions of the disciples, the Pharisees likely aimed to challenge the Savior with the need for handwashing alongside other customs, perhaps seeking His perspective on their importance. The Lord's response seems to lead in this direction. The Talmud asserts that the traditions of the elders hold greater value than the words of the prophets and even surpass those of the law, as the law includes both major and minor commandments, while the words of the elders are deemed universally significant and must be adhered to without exception. A parable from the Talmud illustrates this: a king dispatched two friends to one of his regions with instructions, stating concerning one that if he failed to show the king’s ring, he should not be believed; about the other, he wrote that even if he did not display the ring, he should still be trusted. This represents the distinction between the prophets and the elders. It is written about the prophets, "If a prophet arises among you... and gives you a sign or a wonder" (Deuteronomy 13:1), and concerning the elders, "You shall do according to the word that they speak to you from the place which the Lord your God shall choose" (Deuteronomy 17:10).

In response to the Pharisees, the dialogue between Christ and these leaders regarding the teachings of their elders is faithfully recorded by the Evangelists. Mark, who authored his Gospel for a Roman audience unfamiliar with Jewish traditions, provides some clarifications. He elaborates on the concept of consuming food with unclean hands and details the Pharisaic laws concerning ritual washings. Matthew, prior to asking the disciples for an explanation of the parable, presents a unique account of the Lord's reaction to the report that the Pharisees were offended by His words regarding the traditions of the elders. Both the Lord's response and the parable's interpretation, as noted by Mark, occurred privately among the disciples.

The discrepancies among the Evangelists mainly pertain to the arrangement of Christ's remarks directed at the Pharisees. In particular, regarding the Pharisees' criticism of Christ's disciples for neglecting the traditions concerning hand washing before meals, Jesus responds by asserting that the elders' traditions are often human inventions devised to circumvent God's commandments. For instance, the law instructs to honor one's father and mother, imposing severe consequences for dishonoring them (Ex. 20:12, Ex. 21:17). The Pharisees contended that if one declares to their parents, ‘Let it be a "korban", meaning a gift to God that would have been used to support you,’ they absolve themselves from their sacred obligations to honor and assist their parents (Matt. 3-6). Additionally, in prioritizing God's commandments over human traditions and in the meticulous adherence to physical regulations, the prophecy spoken by Isaiah about his contemporaries finds fulfillment (Isaiah 29:13 in the LXX, Mt. 7-8). In Mark's account, these two ideas are presented in reversed order.

The disciples had already bewildered these legal experts by plucking and grinding heads of barley on the Sabbath, which the scribes viewed with the same gravity as if they had been engaged in reaping and threshing on the sacred day. Another opportunity soon arose for their legalistic scrutiny, which they sought to exploit in order to accuse Christ and His disciples of wrongdoing.

This oral tradition, which consisted of interpretations and sayings from various rabbis over time, commanded the unwavering respect of the people, who, under the guidance of the scribes and Pharisees, often elevated human traditions above the true spirit of the law.

The intricate and often absurd regulations of oral law were commonly referred to as "traditions of the elders," and were adhered to with greater seriousness than the moral stipulations found in the God-given commandments laid out in the Pentateuch. Unfortunately, these man-made constraints often overshadowed authentic morality, ensnaring everyday Jewish life in the burdens imposed by misguided interpreters of Divine revelation, who indeed laid heavy burdens upon the shoulders of others (Matt. 23:4). On this occasion, the Pharisees and scribes accused the disciples of Jesus Christ of failing to perform the ceremonial washings established by tradition. The law of Moses (Lev. 11) meticulously detailed various clean and unclean animals, stating that merely touching something unclean rendered one impure until evening; if any unclean object came into contact with a wooden vessel, garment, leather, sack, or any item used for trade, it was required to be immersed in water, and an earthen vessel was to be destroyed (vv. 24-25, 32, 33).

By constructing an intricate "hedge" around the law and elaborating on its guidelines, Jewish legalists mandated handwashing before meals, as a safeguard against the inadvertent transfer of impurity from unwashed hands to food. This extended interpretation was rooted in the "tradition of the elders" and included numerous trivial regulations. That such provisions, which later became codified in the Talmud, were already viewed as binding in Jesus' time is evident in the words of the holy Evangelist Mark: "The Pharisees and all the Jews, unless they wash their hands with a fist, do not eat, holding fast to the tradition of the elders; and when they come from the marketplace, they do not eat unless they wash; and there are many other customs that they observe" (7:3-4). Upon witnessing some of Jesus’ disciples eating bread without having washed their hands, the Pharisees and scribes rebuked them and subsequently directed their inquiry to the Teacher Himself, asking, "Why do Your disciples not walk according to the tradition of the elders, but eat bread with unwashed hands?" St. John Chrysostom explains that the disciples did not act with disregard; rather, they dismissed what was excessive and focused on fulfilling what was essential.