Old/New Testament

Jesus Condemns The Pharisees For Obeying Their Traditions Instead of God’s Commands

15 Then Pharisees and scribes come to Jesus from Jerusalem, saying, ² “For what reason are Your disciples transgressing the tradition of the elders? For they are not washing^[a] their hands when they eat bread”. ³ But the One, having responded, said to them, “For what reason indeed are you transgressing the commandment of God for the sake of your tradition? ⁴ For God said [in Ex 20:12]: ‘Be honoring your father and your mother’, and [in Ex 21:17] ‘Let the one speaking-evil-of father or mother come-to-an-end^[b] by a death’. ⁵ But you say, ‘Whoever says to his father or his mother: “Whatever you might be benefitted from me is a gift^[c] [to God]” ⁶ shall by-no-means honor^[d] his father’. And you nullified^[e] the word of God for the sake of your tradition. ⁷ Hypocrites! Isaiah prophesied rightly concerning you, saying [in Isa 29:13]: ⁸ ‘This people honors Me with their lips, but their heart is far distant from Me. ⁹ But they are worshiping Me in-vain^[f]— teaching as teachings the commandments of humans’”. ¹⁰ And having summoned the crowd, He said to them, “Listen and understand. ¹¹ The thing entering into the mouth does not defile^[g] the person. But the thing proceeding out of the mouth— this defiles the person”.

The Pharisees Focus On What Goes Into The Body Versus What Comes From The Heart

¹² Then having come to Him, the disciples say to Him, “Do You know that the Pharisees, having heard Your statement, took-offense^[h]? ¹³ But the One, having responded, said, “Every plant which My heavenly Father did not plant will be uprooted. ¹⁴ Leave them alone. They are blind guides of blind ones. And if a blind one guides a blind one, both will fall into a pit”. ¹⁵ And having responded, Peter said to Him, “Explain this parable to us”. ¹⁶ And the One said, “Are you^[i] even yet also without-understanding? ¹⁷ Do you not perceive that everything proceeding into the mouth advances into the stomach and is expelled into a latrine? ¹⁸ But the things proceeding out of the mouth come out of the heart. And those things defile the person. ¹⁹ For out of the heart come evil thoughts^[j], murders, adulteries, sexual-immoralities, thefts, false-testimonies^[k], blasphemies. ²⁰ These are the things defiling the person. But the eating with unwashed hands does not defile the person”.