Seeing Jesus in the Gospel of MarkSample

CLEAN VERSUS UNCLEAN

Look Closely:

- If you were a Pharisee in that group, why would you be upset about Jesus’ disciples not following these handwashing traditions?

- Why did Jesus call these religious leaders hypocrites?

- What did Jesus say makes a person truly unclean?

Bible Dictionary Spotlight: Pharisees and Laws

In the Old Testament books of Leviticus and Numbers, God gave His people instructions about how to avoid disease by staying away from those who are ill and from corpses, and he taught them laws of cleanliness. In contrast to God’s actual laws, the washing of hands and utensils that Jesus talks about here was not for hygiene, nor was it part of God’s law. Instead, this was a ceremonial ritual of dribbling water over hands, even if already clean, added by the Pharisees to show their (false) piety. Another example of the Pharisees defiling God’s law was their tradition of “Corban,” which means “dedicated to God.” God’s law teaches us to honor and care for our family, including elderly parents, but the Pharisees created a loophole. They allowed people to declare their wealth “dedicated to God” (corban) so that they would not have an obligation to support their parents financially. Jesus said the Pharisees did “many such things” contrary to God’s law.