What's the Big Deal About Eating Bread with Unwashed Hands?

Now that it has been established that the parenthetical phrase of Mark 7:19 is an addition to our English Bibles and it cannot serve as the conclusion of the passage, it is important to uncover the true meaning of Mark 7:1-23. See Previous:

Let's begin with the first section of that passage.

Mark 7:1-13 (KJV)
¹ Then came together unto him the Pharisees, and certain of the scribes, which came from Jerusalem.
² And when they saw some of his disciples eat bread with defiled, that is to say, with unwashen, hands, they found fault.
³ For the Pharisees, and all the Jews, except they wash their hands oft, eat not, holding the tradition of the elders.
⁴ And when they come from the market, except they wash, they eat not. And many other things there be, which they have received to hold, as the washing of cups, and pots, brasen vessels, and of tables.
⁵ Then the Pharisees and scribes asked him, Why walk not thy disciples according to the tradition of the elders, but eat bread with unwashen hands?
⁶ He answered and said unto them, Well hath Esaias prophesied of you hypocrites, as it is written, This people honoureth me with their lips, but their heart is far from me.
⁷ Howbeit in vain do they worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.
⁸ For laying aside the commandment of God, ye hold the tradition of men, as the washing of pots and cups: and many other such like things ye do.
⁹ And he said unto them, Full well ye reject the commandment of God, that ye may keep your own tradition.
¹⁰ For Moses said, Honour thy father and thy mother; and, Whoso curseth father or mother, let him die the death:
¹¹ But ye say, If a man shall say to his father or mother, It is Corban, that is to say, a gift, by whatsoever thou mightest be profited by me; he shall be free.
¹² And ye suffer him no more to do ought for his father or his mother;
¹³ Making the word of God of none effect through your tradition, which ye have delivered: and many such like things do ye.

Scribes and Pharisees from Jerusalem apparently had come to check out the stories and accounts that they had received regarding Yeshua. As they watched Yeshua and His disciples they were horrified to see that some of the disciples ate bread with unwashed hands (verse 2). In verses 3 and 4 Mark explained the traditions of the elders that these scribes and Pharisees held to.

These traditions had been passed down from generation to generation supposedly starting from the days of Moses. They were not written down but were orally transmitted. The point of these traditions was to fill in the details of the written Torah. The sages did not want the people to accidentally transgress the laws of God, so they made hedges to protect the people that would help keep them from actual disobedience of the Torah. Although the idea and intent were good, the Oral Law had often been treated as if it were as important as the written Torah. This is the attitude of the scribes and Pharisees who came to see Yeshua.

Why did some of the disciples not wash their hands? This seems to indicate that the Oral Law was not always observed the same by all the people. An example of Yeshua following the traditions of the Oral Law can be found in Matthew 14:19 where He said a blessing before feeding the 5,000. That is a tradition. The commandment is to say a blessing after eating (Deuteronomy 8:10).

Since the washing of hands before eating bread (which is a clean food) was a tradition, the Pharisees and scribes were out of line by raising that tradition up to the level of the Torah. Instead of directly stating this to the scribes and Pharisees, Yeshua called the men hypocrites and quoted Isaiah 29:13 (verses 6 and 7).

Isaiah 29:13 (KJV)
¹³ Wherefore the Lord said, Forasmuch as this people draw near me with their mouth, and with their lips do honour me, but have removed their heart far from me, and their fear toward me is taught by the precept of men:

Yeshua told the scribes and Pharisees via Isaiah that they gave God lip service, but that their hearts were far from God. They taught the traditions as if they were the commandments of God. He went on then to ask the men why they rejected the Laws of God (Torah) by their traditions (verse 9).

In verses 10 through 13 Yeshua explained a tradition where the scribes and Pharisees found a way to avoid having to honor their parents by not supplying an animal for their parents' use but claimed that the animal was going to be used for sacrifice, thereby freeing them from the obligation of providing for their parents. By doing this these men made the Word of God (Law of God) of none effect. In other words, they were using tradition to circumvent observance of God's Law. They were raising tradition to a level above the Law of God.

The point of this first section of Mark 7 has nothing to do with making all foods clean. It is a discussion on the proper place of tradition, nothing more and nothing less. Next time the second part of Mark 7:1-23 will be discussed.

Did Jesus Declare All Foods Clean?

From three different Bible verses, God has instructed mankind not to add to His prophecy or to His commandments. Please see the previous post. Yet, in the Gospel of Mark, there is an egregious example of how translation teams and commentators have ignored these warnings.

Mark 7:1-23 relates an account of a confrontation that Yeshua had with some scribes and Pharisees from Jerusalem. The problem stemmed from the fact that some of the disciples ate bread with unwashed hands. The passage is rather long and complicated, but in verse 19, the New International Version states this:

Mark 7:19 (NIV) 
¹⁹ For it doesn't go into his heart but into his stomach, and then out of his body." (In saying this, Jesus declared all foods "clean.")

Similarly, the New American Standard Bible says:

Mark 7:19 (NASB)
¹⁹ because it does not go into his heart, but into his stomach, and is eliminated?" (Thus He declared all foods clean.)

The phrase in parentheses looks and sounds an awful lot like a conclusion and even many Bible commentators have used this verse in exactly that same manner. However, the parentheses are an indication that the phrase is not in the Greek. The Greek simply ends with the phrase "purging all the food." 

So what is up with this extra phrase? Obviously, it is an interpretation of what Mark 7:19 supposedly means. So rather than allowing the verse to be translated as it was written, someone, somewhere along the line, decided that Yeshua meant more than what He stated, that the verse by itself wasn't plain enough. The problem with this is two-fold. In the first place, the Bible was violated by having an interpretation forced on it. It also became a kind of conclusion, which makes no sense when the passage is analyzed. The second problem is that the conclusion has resulted in affirming a lie. God has warned Biblical writers, translators, teachers, and pastors not to add to or subtract from His commandments. This extra phrase subtracts from the commandments of God. Therefore, the extra phrase is incorrect. This wrong conclusion has allowed sincere believers to accept that the food laws are no longer applicable, that the law can be changed, and that other passages, particularly in Paul's writings that on the surface appear to negate the law, prove that the law has been abrogated.

Some common sense demonstrates that this line of thought is impossible!

Matthew 5:17-19 (KJV)
¹⁷ Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil.
¹⁸ For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.
¹⁹ Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.

For an understanding of the word "fulfill," please see:

Yeshua had to obey the Torah perfectly in order for Him to be qualified to be man's substitutionary sacrifice. According to Matthew 5, He also could not speak against the Torah. Therefore, it is impossible that Yeshua could have concluded that "all foods were now clean." He couldn't have even hinted at it or said that all foods would be clean after His death. 

Praise God, as Yeshua was obedient to God's commandments and became the Savior, how can we even think that our disobedience is now acceptable!

Next: Mark 7:19 explained.

Adding and Subtracting

Generally, the terms "adding" and "subtracting" refer to mathematics, but can be used in other contexts as well. These terms can even be found in the Bible as commands from God.

Revelation 22:19 (KJV)
¹⁹ And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book.

This verse includes a warning that no one should add or subtract from the book of prophecy called Revelation, or there would be some serious consequences to the person doing the adding or subtracting.

Jeremiah 26:2 (KJV)
² Thus saith the LORD; Stand in the court of the LORD'S house, and speak unto all the cities of Judah, which come to worship in the LORD'S house, all the words that I command thee to speak unto them; diminish not a word:

In the book of Jeremiah, God counsels His prophet to speak all the words that God had given him to speak. He was not to subtract a single word.

Ecclesiastes 3:14 (KJV)
¹⁴ I know that, whatsoever God doeth, it shall be for ever: nothing can be put to it, nor any thing taken from it: and God doeth it, that men should fear before him.

This verse speaks about God's work and how nothing can be added to or subtracted from it.

Deuteronomy 12:32 (KJV)
³² What thing soever I command you, observe to do it: thou shalt not add thereto, nor diminish from it.

Deuteronomy 4:2 (KJV)
² Ye shall not add unto the word which I command you, neither shall ye diminish ought from it, that ye may keep the commandments of the LORD your God which I command you.

Deuteronomy, in these two different places, charges that no one is to add to or subtract from the commands that God has issued His people.

So, what can be concluded from these verses? God's work, whether His plan of salvation by grace through faith, His record of prophecy specifically in Revelation, or His commandments, is complete. There is nothing necessary to add or subtract!

Then why has Christianity found it necessary to add to or subtract from God's work? Some believe that good works must be added for salvation. Wrong! Some believe that we have prophets today speaking further prophecy of God. Wrong! Some believe that the Torah is no longer applicable. Wrong!

More on this next time!

God's Blueprint for His Success!

The parables of Matthew 13 are usually studied one by one, but this method, if not supplemented by an overview of all the parables together, leaves us with a hodge-podge of seemingly independent parables. However, there is definitely an overall scheme behind these parables, especially in how they are placed. A summary of the parables is as follows:

The Parable of the Sower - Yeshua begins spreading the Gospel, but only a small number respond. Satan comes in and snatches away the Word from some. Tribulation and persecution arise because of the Word. The cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches choke out the Word.

The Parable of the Wheat and the Tares - God created a good world, including His children. Satan ruined the world by sowing his own children. Because the two groups are indistinguishable they must all remain until the end of the age. Then the angels will remove the wicked and cast them into the fire.

The Parable of the Mustard Seed - The Kingdom of Heaven started off small, but will grow very large. Evil will find shelter there. (Don't forget that Yeshua seemed to be referring to the physical world of today, even though Satan has been allowed to have a certain control of the earth that won't end until Yeshua's return.)

The Parable of the Leaven - The Kingdom of Heaven will be infiltrated with false teaching that will go throughout the Kingdom.

Each of the previous parables seems to demonstrate how Satan tries to destroy the Kingdom!

The Parable of the Hidden Treasure - God had given Satan a certain amount of control over the world. Yeshua, by dying on the cross and rising from the dead buys the world and thereby now owns the hidden treasure (His people).

The Parable of the Pearl of Great Price - Yeshua buys each of His people by His death and resurrection.

The Parable of the Net - At the end of the age the angels will gather both the wicked and the just. In judgment, they will cast the wicked into the furnace of fire.

Each of the parables in this group seems to demonstrate God's work on behalf of the Kingdom!

The Parable of the Householder - Since the disciples have been instructed in the mysteries of the Kingdom of Heaven, it is their turn to carry on the work of the Kingdom.

Matthew's parables of chapter 13 could definitely be called a blueprint for God's success in His world. Although the multitudes heard the parables, it was only the disciples who were given the full information about Yeshua's teachings. Although they may not have completely understood at the time, they had His blueprint to refer to later when the Holy Spirit brought Yeshua's teachings to mind. God's plan meant success in the future, something that the twelve and all Yeshua's disciples, even today, need to understand and trust in!