The handwashing traditions in view here are not explicitly contrary to Scripture, and the Pharisees would certainly not have granted that they contradicted Scripture. But Jesus infers that this is their practical result; further, he asserts, “many such things you do” (Mark 7:13). Thus, Jesus is not merely rejecting one particular Pharisaical tradition but the Pharisees’ inflated view of tradition as a whole. What is at stake is the entire theory by which the Pharisees falsely claimed divine authority for their traditions.
