The Life of Christ

LESSON 11

SECTION 111

Mk. 7:1-4 And the Pharisees and some of the scribes gathered together around Him when they had come from Jerusalem, 2 and had seen that some of His disciples were eating their bread with impure hands, that is, unwashed. 3 (For the Pharisees and all the Jews do not eat unless they carefully wash their hands, thus observing the traditions of the elders; and when they come from the market place, they do not eat unless they cleanse themselves; and there are many other things which they have received in order to observe, such as the washing of cups and pitchers and copper pots.)

The Pharisees placed tremendous priority on the outer displays of so-called righteousness, which had nothing to do with the condition of one’s heart.

• The Pharisees, known for their exacting interpretation of Scripture, applied the even higher purity restrictions of the temple to their own table fellowship.

• In this way they attempted to eat their meals in a state of ritual purity appropriate for priests, as a way of sanctifying all of life to God.

Perhaps their most important and outrageous outward act was the washing of hands.

• The book of Leviticus addressed the need to wash hands under such following conditions:

• From Lev. 15:11 reads , “And whomever he who has the discharge touches, and has not rinsed his hands in water, he shall wash his clothes and bathe in water, and be unclean until the evening.”

• Before and after offering an animal to be sacrificed in temple worship.

• If one had touched a person who was diseased or unclean (Lev. 15:11).

• If one had touched an unclean animal such as an owl, a pelican, or a bat (Lev. 11:28).

The Pharisees took this common-sense verse and added numerous additions leading to a procedure that required both washing before the meal, as well as after the meal.

• To wash before the meal was the “command”; after the meal was only the “duty.”

• Bread eaten with unwashed hands was as if one had eaten filth.

• A Rabbi who had held this command in contempt was actually buried in excommunication.

If the hands were defiled, two washings were required; the first to remove the defilement, and the second to wash away the waters that had contracted the defilement from the hands.

• Two separate bowls full of water were used for the cleansing.

• This routine was followed both before and after each meal.

• This procedure served the tradition of the elders — not the Law of Moses!

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