Bible Verses About Tradition: Not authoritative

He answered, "Indeed, why do you break the command of God by your tradition?

For God said, `Honor your father and mother,' and `Anyone who curses his father or mother must be put to death.'

But you say, `If anyone says to his father or mother, "I have promised to give to God what I might have used to help you,"

then he is rid of his duty to honor his father or mother.' Thus by your tradition you make null and void the word of God!

You hypocrites! Yesha`yahu was right when he prophesied about you,

`These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far away from me.

Their worship of me is useless, because they teach man-made rules as if they were doctrines.'"

Then he called the crowd to him and said, "Listen and understand this!

What makes a person unclean is not what goes into his mouth; rather, what comes out of his mouth, that is what makes him unclean!"

The talmidim came to him and said, "Do you know that the P'rushim were offended by what you said?"

He replied, "Every plant that my Father in heaven has not planted will be pulled up by the roots.

Let them be. They are blind guides. When a blind man guides another blind man, both will fall in a pit."

Kefa said to him, "Explain the parable to us."

So he said, "Don't you under stand even now?

Don't you see that anything that enters the mouth goes into the stomach and passes out into the latrine?

But what comes out of your mouth is actually coming from your heart, and that is what makes a person unclean.

For out of the heart come forth wicked thoughts, murder, adultery and other kinds of sexual immorality, theft, lies, slanders. . . .

These are what really make a person unclean, but eating without doing n'tilat-yadayim does not make a person unclean."

Have them stop devoting their attention to myths and never-ending genealogies; these divert people to speculating instead of doing God’s work, which requires trust.

But refuse godless bubbe-meises, and exercise yourself in godliness.