What is the meaning of Mark 7:13? Thus you nullify “Thus you nullify” (Mark 7:13) pictures an intentional canceling out. Jesus exposes the religious leaders for taking something living and powerful—God’s own words—and rendering it ineffective. • Isaiah 29:13 shows the same heart problem: “These people draw near with their mouths … but their hearts are far from Me.” • Matthew 15:6, the parallel account, repeats the charge: “You have nullified the word of God for the sake of your tradition.” Instead of submitting to Scripture, the leaders treated their own regulations as the final authority, emptying God’s commands of impact. the word of God Jesus is speaking of the written Scriptures, divinely inspired and unchanging. • Psalm 119:89—“Forever, O LORD, Your word is firmly fixed in the heavens.” • 2 Timothy 3:16—“All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting, and training in righteousness.” • John 10:35—“Scripture cannot be broken.” Because God’s word is perfect, any human rule that sidelines it is automatically in the wrong. by the tradition you have handed down The Pharisees had elevated the “tradition of the elders,” a long list of oral interpretations, above Scripture itself. One glaring example was the Corban rule (Mark 7:11)—a person could declare his possessions dedicated to God and thereby dodge caring for his aging parents. • Colossians 2:8 warns, “See to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deception, according to human tradition.” • Galatians 1:14 shows Paul’s former zeal: “I was advancing … beyond many of my contemporaries, being extremely zealous for my ancestral traditions.” The problem isn’t tradition in itself; it’s tradition that overrides or contradicts God’s clear commands. And you do so in many such matters Jesus drives the point home: the Corban loophole wasn’t an isolated slip; it was symptomatic of a pattern. • Mark 7:8—“You have let go of the command of God and are holding on to human tradition.” • Matthew 23:23-24 exposes other examples—meticulous tithing of herbs while neglecting justice, mercy, and faithfulness. • Luke 11:42 echoes the same critique. Whenever human preferences multiply, they tend to crowd out obedience in “many” areas, not just one. summary Mark 7:13 warns that elevating human tradition above Scripture neutralizes God’s word in daily life. Jesus affirms the absolute authority of Scripture and exposes any practice—however time-honored—that contradicts it. Faithful disciples measure every custom, habit, or regulation against God’s unchanging revelation, submitting fully to His commands and refusing to let anything, however religious-sounding, dilute their obedience. |
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