Tradition vs. God's Command

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Then some Pharisees and scribes came to Jesus from Jerusalem and asked,

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“Why do Your disciples break the tradition of the elders? They do not wash their hands before they eat.”

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Jesus replied, “And why do you break the command of God for the sake of your tradition?

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

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But you say that if anyone says to his father or mother, ‘Whatever you would have received from me is a gift devoted to God,’

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he need not honor his father or mother with it. Thus you nullify the word of God for the sake of your tradition.

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You hypocrites! Isaiah prophesied correctly about you:

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‘These people honor Me with their lips, but their hearts are far from Me.

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They worship Me in vain; they teach as doctrine the precepts of men.’”