Tradition of the Elders

Biblical Text

The expression appears in a dispute over handwashing. The same episode is recorded in Mark 7:1-23 and Matthew 15:1-20. Pharisees and scribes who had come from Jerusalem saw some of Jesus' disciples eating their food without washing their hands. They challenged him: "Why do thy disciples transgress the tradition of the elders?" (Matthew 15:2).

Jesus answered by quoting the words of Isaiah (Isaiah 29:13): they honored God with their lips while teaching the commandments of men as doctrines. He then gave the example of "Corban," which means "a gift to God." Under this practice, a person who declared his property Corban was no longer obligated to use it to support his parents. Jesus pointed out that this practice nullified, by means of tradition, the commandment of the Ten Commandments to honor one's father and mother (Mark 7:9-13). Finally, he taught that what defiles a person is not the food that enters from outside but the evil thoughts that come from the heart (Mark 7:14-23).

Background

The Greek word paradosis, translated "tradition," means "a handing over" or "that which has been handed down." Here "elders" does not refer to the church office of elder. It refers instead to the teachers of the law and the forefathers of earlier generations.

Mark 7:3-4 adds an explanation for Gentile readers: the Jews observed a custom of washing not only their hands but also cups, pots, and bronze vessels. This washing was a matter of religious purity, not hygiene.

The first-century Jewish historian Josephus also left a record of this. He wrote that the Pharisees passed on to the people regulations from their forefathers that were not written in the Law of Moses, and that the Sadducees rejected them. In later rabbinic Judaism, such orally transmitted regulations came to be called the "Oral Law." This material is generally held to have been organized and compiled as the Mishnah around the late second or early third century.

Significance in the Wider Bible

Paul confesses that before his conversion he was zealous for "the traditions of my fathers" (Galatians 1:14). Colossians 2:8 warns against vain philosophy that follows "the tradition of men."

On the other hand, the New Testament uses the same word for the teaching handed down by the apostles. 2 Thessalonians 2:15 and 1 Corinthians 11:2 are examples, and both exhort believers to hold fast to these traditions. In the New Testament, then, "tradition" is not in itself always a negative term. The problem lies with human regulations that obscure or nullify the commandments of God.

Interpretation and Points of Discussion

• The relationship between tradition and Scripture: The Protestant Reformation tradition has cited this passage as one of the grounds for regarding Scripture as the final authority for faith (see Five Solas). The Catholic Church and the Eastern Orthodox Church read the passage by distinguishing between the tradition handed down from the apostles and the human traditions that this passage criticizes.
• Dietary laws: The phrase "purging all meats" in Mark 7:19 (rendered in many modern translations as declaring all foods clean) appears to be Mark's own explanatory comment (Mark 7:18-19). Many churches read this verse to mean that the Old Testament dietary laws are no longer binding. The Seventh-day Adventist Church interprets the passage as dealing with the custom of handwashing rather than with the regulations concerning unclean animals.
• Historical questions: Scholars debate how widely ordinary Jews practiced handwashing before meals in the first century, and to what extent the phrase "all the Jews" in Mark 7:3 is a generalization.
• Distinguishing the text from common embellishments: Sermons sometimes extend this passage into an indictment of the hypocrisy of the Pharisees as a whole. The passage itself, however, directly criticizes a specific practice that nullified a commandment.

In the Korean Church

In Korean church preaching, this passage is chiefly used to warn against formalism. It is applied as a call to examine whether customs or rules within the church have taken precedence over the essentials of the faith.