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MARK 7:8 — KING JAMES VERSION 0
Mark 7:7Mark 7:9
“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.”
You have let go of the commands of God and are holding on to human traditions — the indictment is structural: the tradition of the elders has been prioritized over the commands of God to the point where the tradition violates the commands. Let go of the commands of God is not merely neglect but active prioritization of the tradition over the command. Holding on to human traditions communicates the tenacity with which the tradition is maintained even when it contradicts the divine intent.

Church Fathers on Mark 7:8

The people of the land of Gennesareth, who seemed to be unlearned men, not only come themselves, but also bring their sick to the Lord, that they may but succeed in touching the hem of His garment. But the Pharisees and Scribes, who ought to have been the teachers of the people, run together to the Lord, not to seek for healing, but to move captious questions.

Bede · 8th century · in Marc., 2, 29

For the disciples of the Lord, who were taught only the practice of virtue, used to eat in a simple way, without washing their hands; but the Pharisees, wishing to find an occasion of blame against them, took it up; they did not indeed blame them as transgressors of the law, but for transgressing the traditions of the elders.

Theophylact · 11th century

Wonderful is the folly of the Pharisees and Scribes; they accuse the Son of God, because He keeps not the traditions and precepts of men. But 'common' is here put for unclean; for the people of the Jews, boasting that they were the portion of God, called those meats common, which all made use of.

Jerome · 4th century · Hier. in Matt., 15
Read all 10 entries in the readerCatena Aurea · St. Thomas Aquinas, tr. J. H. Newman · public domain
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Mark 7:8 — Community Reflections | HolyStudy