²³  All these evils come from inside and defile a person” (Mark 7:23; read vv. 1-23).

Introduction

In our germ-conscious culture, we know that washing one’s hands before a meal is just smart. And, it was something that most of us had drilled into us while growing up—you just don’t eat with dirty hands! When we read about the Pharisee’s objection to Jesus’ disciples’ eating bread without first washing their hands, we can’t help but see their point. But.

But, ritual purity, not hygiene was the real objection. Jesus’ disciples did not follow the accepted tradition of the Jerusalemite Pharisees and scribes. For them, ritual purity, not only demonstrated their faithfulness to Yahweh, but it also distinguished them from other people. As with any practice, what began as a helpful ritual became a command of God.

Jesus counters by applying the language of Isaiah to these Jewish leaders, and by providing a specific example of how they had leveraged a ritual to escape a clear command of God. By pronouncing their resources as “Corban” (a gift, offering, anything consecrated to God) they freed themselves from caring for their aging parents. While there is some mystery surrounding this rite, rabbinical literature indicates that, when a son pronounced “Corban” over his resources, they were restricted from being used for normal purposes (like caring for aging parents), though he still had access to them.

In the end, Jesus emphasized that the heart, not the hands, is what matters. In short, he argues that our hearts, not our hands, are what needs cleansing. Perhaps we all need this reminder.

Some Background

The accepted “Corban tradition” had found a way to say “but” to the fifth commandment—honor your father and mother. The word “Corban” (Hebrew qorban) meant “sacrificial offering” (cf. Leviticus 2:1,4,12,13). In Jesus’ time, “Corban” was an offering consecrated to the temple; that is, to God. If a son declared that the material support he might have given his aging parents is “Corban”, he pledged the particular possessions to God, which restricted them from ordinary human use.

Since such vows were considered binding, they could not be broken. Later rabbinical literature tends to allow people to be released from such vows to meet the obligations of the 5th commandment. But, it appears that, in the time of Jesus, this was a practice that, somehow, still allowed the son access to possessions deemed “Corban.”

Discussion Questions

What did you hear in this morning’s message that stood out to you? What was interesting, important, or confusing?

Reflections

Traditions or rituals are not necessarily wrong. In fact, they can help us in our walk with Jesus. There was nothing inherently wrong with the ritual washing of hands prior to eating. But, when that became the Pharisaic standard used to determine another’s faithfulness to God and/or his or her moral purity, it was wrong. Whenever we stand in judgment against others simply because they do not hold to our cherished traditions, Jesus’ “inconsistency argument” is valid.

This text forces us all to ask a penetrating question: in what way or ways have we elevated our traditional understanding of God’s word to an authoritative status used to determine others’ fidelity to God? How clean are are hearts?