Immerse: Messiah - Flipbook - Page 283
6:53–7:18
M ar k
271
After they had crossed the lake, they landed at Gennesaret. They
brought the boat to shore and climbed out. The people recognized Jesus
at once, and they ran throughout the whole area, carrying sick people on
mats to wherever they heard he was. Wherever he went—in villages, cities,
or the countryside—they brought the sick out to the marketplaces. They
begged him to let the sick touch at least the fringe of his robe, and all who
touched him were healed.
One day some Pharisees and teachers of religious law arrived from Jerusalem to see Jesus. They noticed that some of his disciples failed to follow the Jewish ritual of hand washing before eating. (The Jews, especially
the Pharisees, do not eat until they have poured water over their cupped
hands, as required by their ancient traditions. Similarly, they don’t eat anything from the market until they immerse their hands in water. This is
but one of many traditions they have clung to—such as their ceremonial
washing of cups, pitchers, and kettles.)
So the Pharisees and teachers of religious law asked him, “Why don’t
your disciples follow our age-old tradition? They eat without first performing the hand-washing ceremony.”
Jesus replied, “You hypocrites! Isaiah was right when he prophesied
about you, for he wrote,
‘These people honor me with their lips,
but their hearts are far from me.
Their worship is a farce,
for they teach man-made ideas as commands from God.’
For you ignore God’s law and substitute your own tradition.”
Then he said, “You skillfully sidestep God’s law in order to hold on
to your own tradition. For instance, Moses gave you this law from God:
‘Honor your father and mother,’ and ‘Anyone who speaks disrespectfully
of father or mother must be put to death.’ But you say it is all right for
people to say to their parents, ‘Sorry, I can’t help you. For I have vowed
to give to God what I would have given to you.’ In this way, you let them
disregard their needy parents. And so you cancel the word of God in order
to hand down your own tradition. And this is only one example among
many others.”
Then Jesus called to the crowd to come and hear. “All of you listen,” he
said, “and try to understand. It’s not what goes into your body that defiles
you; you are defiled by what comes from your heart.”
Then Jesus went into a house to get away from the crowd, and his disciples asked him what he meant by the parable he had just used. “Don’t
you understand either?” he asked. “Can’t you see that the food you put into
