What is the meaning of Mark 7:5? So the Pharisees and scribes questioned Jesus The religious leaders approach Jesus not with genuine curiosity but with suspicion. • Their pattern of questioning shows up earlier: after the paralytic is healed they “reasoned in their hearts” (Mark 2:6-7), and after Jesus eats with tax collectors they ask, “Why does He eat with tax collectors and sinners?” (Mark 2:16). • Such questioning fulfills Isaiah 29:13, which Jesus will soon quote, exposing hearts that honor God with lips while hearts are far away. • Luke 11:53-54 notes that the scribes and Pharisees “began to oppose Him fiercely and to besiege Him with questions,” revealing the deepening hostility that underlies their interrogation here. Why do Your disciples not walk according to the tradition of the elders? The focus is not on God’s written law but on human traditions layered over it. • “Tradition of the elders” refers to oral rules that had grown into a binding code. Jesus contrasts these later with “the commandment of God” (Mark 7:8-9), showing the danger of elevating man-made standards. • Paul warns of the same trap: “See to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deception, according to the tradition of men” (Colossians 2:8). • The Old Testament cautions against adding to God’s word (Deuteronomy 4:2). By asking why the disciples do not conform, the leaders reveal they prize tradition over scripture. Instead, they eat with defiled hands The issue is ceremonial, not hygienic; it concerns ritual purity in the sight of God. • Exodus 30:18-21 required priests to wash before entering the tabernacle, but the elders had expanded that priestly law to everyone, every meal. • Jesus will explain that real defilement comes from within: “Nothing that enters a man from the outside can defile him” (Mark 7:15). • Peter later grasps this lesson when a heavenly voice tells him, “What God has cleansed, you must not call common” (Acts 10:15). • The episode underscores Galatians 5:1—Christ sets believers free from burdensome regulations man imposes. summary Mark 7:5 shows religious leaders challenging Jesus because His disciples disregard human tradition. Their question unmasks hearts bound to man-made rules while ignoring God’s intent. Jesus will soon affirm that inner purity, not ritual washing, matters to God. The passage invites believers to value God’s Word above any custom and to recognize that true holiness begins in the heart set free by Christ. |
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