9 And he said unto them, Full well ye reject
9 And he said to them, "You have a fine way of rejecting the commandment of God in order to establish your tradition!
9 He went on, "Well, good for you. You get rid of God's command so you won't be inconvenienced in following the religious fashions!
9 He said to them, "All too well you reject the commandment of God, that you may keep your tradition.
9 Then he said, "You skillfully sidestep God's law in order to hold on to your own tradition.
Matthew Henry's Commentary on Mark 7:9
Commentary on Mark 7:1-13
(Read Mark 7:1-13)
One great design of Christ's coming was, to set aside the ceremonial law; and to make way for this, he rejects the ceremonies men added to the law of God's making. Those clean hands and that pure heart which Christ bestows on his disciples, and requires of them, are very different from the outward and superstitious forms of Pharisees of every age. Jesus reproves them for rejecting the commandment of God. It is clear that it is the duty of children, if their parents are poor, to relieve them as far as they are able; and if children deserve to die that curse their parents, much more those that starve them. But if a man conformed to the traditions of the Pharisees, they found a device to free him from the claim of this duty.