Bible Strands
Matthew 15:2
“Why do Your disciples break the tradition of the elders? They do not wash their hands before they eat.”
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Pharisees and scribes from Jerusalem confront Jesus, asking why His disciples violate the tradition of the elders by eating without washing their hands.
The words — The Greek παραβαίνουσιν (parabainousin) literally means "to step aside" or "break," and παράδοσιν (paradosin) translates to "tradition" or "handing down."
The thread — This conflict over ritual purity and human tradition runs through Mark 7:2, Luke 11:38, and Colossians 2:8.
Why it lands — The text demands examination of whether religious observance prioritizes external ritual over the core commands it claims to uphold.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Greek words
King James Version
Why do thy disciples transgress the tradition of the elders? for they wash not their hands when they eat bread.
Cross-references
- Mark 7:2 and they saw some of His disciples eating with hands that were defiled—that is, unwashed.
- Luke 11:38 But the Pharisee was surprised to see that Jesus did not first wash before the meal.
- Colossians 2:8 See to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deception, which are based on human tradition and the spiritual forces of the world rather than on Christ.
- Colossians 2:20 If you have died with Christ to the spiritual forces of the world, why, as though you still belonged to the world, do you submit to its regulations:
- Mark 7:5 So the Pharisees and scribes questioned Jesus: “Why do Your disciples not walk according to the tradition of the elders? Instead, they eat with defiled hands.”
- 1 Peter 1:18 For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life you inherited from your forefathers,
- Genesis 1:14 And God said, “Let there be lights in the expanse of the sky to distinguish between the day and the night, and let them be signs to mark the seasons and days and years.