Home > Jesus is God in Mark's Gospel
The Pharisees challenge Jesus because His disciples do not follow the "tradition of the elders" regarding ritual washing. Jesus responds by distinguishing between human tradition and divine command.Jesus accuses them of "leaving the commandment of God" to hold onto human tradition. The fifth commandment is being bypassed by a “hedge” that God never intended.
Mark 7:6–13 - *And he said to them, “Well did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written,
“ ‘This people honors me with their lips,
but their heart is far from me;
in vain do they worship me,
teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’
You leave the commandment of God and hold to the tradition of men.”
And he said to them, “You have a fine way of rejecting the commandment of God in order to establish your tradition! For Moses said, ‘Honor your father and your mother’; and, ‘Whoever reviles father or mother must surely die.’ But you say, ‘If a man tells his father or his mother, “Whatever you would have gained from me is Corban” ’ (that is, given to God)— then you no longer permit him to do anything for his father or mother, thus making void the word of God by your tradition that you have handed down. And many such things you do.” *Isaiah 29:13 - And the Lord said:
“Because this people draw near with their mouth
and honor me with their lips,
while their hearts are far from me,
and their fear of me is a commandment taught by men
In the original context of Isaiah, the "Me" being honored is Yahweh. When Jesus applies this prophecy to the Pharisees' rejection of Him and His disciples, He places Himself in the position of the one being "worshiped in vain." By doing so, Jesus acts as the Divine Judge who determines what constitutes true worship versus hypocrisy.
By correcting the religious elite on the meaning of the Fifth Commandment (Corban), Jesus isn't just offering a better "rabbinic opinion." He is speaking with the original intent of the Lawgiver.
Jesus speaks as the one who gave the Law at Sinai, reclaiming it from those who have obscured its moral core with legalism. Children were to honour their parents and provide for them throughout their life.