Mark 7:9Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

In their interaction, Christ engaged with the Pharisees regarding the traditions of the elders, and this exchange has been faithfully recorded by the Evangelists. Mark, addressing a Roman audience unfamiliar with Jewish practices, provides clarifications on various points. For instance, he elaborates on the significance of eating bread with unclean hands and details the Pharisaic regulations regarding ceremonial washings. Matthew, in his account, offers a specific depiction of the Lord's response to the news that the Pharisees were offended by His remarks concerning the elders’ betrayal, prior to inviting His disciples to seek an explanation for the parable. Both the response and the parable’s explanation, according to Mark, were shared privately with His disciples within a household setting.

Variations among the Evangelists largely pertain to the arrangement of Christ’s statements directed at the Pharisees. When the Pharisees criticized Christ’s disciples for neglecting the washing of hands before meals—thus violating the traditions—the Lord responded by indicating that many of these customs are merely human inventions designed to evade the true commandments of God. He pointed out that while the law commands one to honor their father and mother, with severe consequences for disobedience (Ex. 20:12, Ex. 21:17), the Pharisees taught that anyone who designated their resources as a “korvan,” or gift to God, could neglect their obligations to honor and support their parents (Matt. 3-6). Furthermore, in prioritizing the commands of God over human traditions and emphasizing meticulous adherence to external rituals, what the prophet Isaiah once proclaimed regarding his contemporaries (Isaiah 29:13 in the LXX) came to fruition (Matt. 7-8). Mark presents these two points in a different sequence: 9-13 and 6-8.

Which is greater: the law given by God, or your tradition?” The scribes and Pharisees overlooked the words of Moses, who, while reiterating God’s commandments to their ancestors, stated: All that I command you, endeavor to do; do not add to it, nor take away from it (Deuteronomy 12:32). They imposed many of their own additions to the law of Moses, attributing these modifications to Moses himself. They persuaded the people that two distinct laws were given to Moses on Mount Sinai: one was inscribed by him, while the other was transmitted orally to the people and subsequently passed down through generations, referred to as the traditions of the elders. It was on these traditions that the scribes and Pharisees consistently relied whenever it suited them to disregard the law given by God through Moses.