Mark 7:11Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

In contrast, the scribes and Pharisees instructed children to respond to their parents with the term 'Corban,' meaning 'the gift that I have pledged to the altar and will offer to the temple, which relieves you as though you were being sustained by my provisions.' Consequently, in situations where parents were in genuine need, children would bring offerings to the priests and scribes, who consumed these gifts.

If a parent requested, "Give me the sheep you have, or the bull, or anything else," the response would be, "What you seek I dedicate as a gift to God, and therefore cannot be given to you." Thus, a dual injustice occurred: neither was God truly offered, nor were parents honored, as they were deprived of what was rightfully theirs under a false pretense of serving God; in turn, parents were disrespected under the guise of honoring God, and God was similarly mistreated under the guise of parental duty.

Notes: The commandments from the Lord quoted by the Evangelist Matthew are echoed in Mark, albeit with slight variations: "For Moses said, 'Honor your father and your mother; and, ‘He who speaks evil against his father or mother, let him die by death’” (Mark 7:10). The command to honor one's father and mother is the fifth commandment from God, proclaimed at Sinai by Moses, while the mandate that one who speaks ill of their parents must die is one of Moses' punitive laws. Mark articulates the Lord's words regarding both the divine and Mosaic laws. Since the Ten Commandments were given through Moses, the Evangelist refers to these commandments as those declared by Moses. Both Evangelists convey the Lord’s teachings about God's commandments, which were set aside by the scribes and Pharisees to uphold their traditions. It begs the question: which commandment did they disregard? Surely, it was God's, as the Lord clearly states. Since the command to honor one's parents is indeed part of God's law, which was discarded by the scribes and Pharisees (even though the Mosaic law regarding the death penalty for speaking ill of parents remained intact), it seems reasonable to conclude that the Lord articulated: "For God commanded: Honor your father and mother," and Moses said: "He who speaks evil against father or mother shall die." This interpretation aligns with both Evangelists’ accounts without creating contradictions. Furthermore, advocates of capital punishment should not misconstrue this as the Lord condoning such measures. In commanding love for our neighbors—even our adversaries—and in entrusting us with the mission to rescue sinners, wayward souls, and the lost, Christ's teachings do not endorse capital punishment; such measures do not lead the sinner toward redemption or re-entry into Christ's fold, but rather serve to irreparably sever that connection.