Mark 7:13

Mark 7:13, in plain English

Jesus concludes: 'You cancel out God's word with your traditions. And you do things like this all the time.' This isn't a one-time problem — it's a pattern.

Why it's here

The Corban example is just the tip of the iceberg. Jesus says this kind of tradition-over-Scripture thinking runs throughout their whole system.

Who's speaking

Jesus delivers his final verdict on the Pharisees' tradition.

Where it sits in the story

Jesus doesn't just identify one problem — he exposes a pattern. Wherever tradition and God's word conflict, they choose tradition. And they do it constantly.

The scholarly reading

Jesus delivers the verdict: 'You nullify (akyrountes) the word of God by the tradition you have handed down.' The verb akyroo means to render void or invalidate. His addition 'you do so in many such matters' (polla toiauta) implies this is just one example of a systemic pattern.

Language and setting

The Corban example is explicitly stated to be one of 'many such matters,' indicating that Jesus views the entire oral tradition as systematically undermining Scripture whenever convenience demands it.

Voice

Jesus delivers his concluding judgment on the Pharisees' tradition.

Significance

Jesus pronounces his verdict: you invalidate God's actual word through your traditions — and Corban is just one example among many. The entire system of oral tradition stands accused.

11But you say that if a man says to his father or mother, ‘Whatever you would have received from me is Corban’ (that is, a gift devoted to God),

12he is no longer permitted to do anything for his father or mother.

13Thus you nullify the word of God by the tradition you have handed down. And you do so in many such matters.”

14Once again Jesus called the crowd to Him and said, “All of you, listen to Me and understand:

15Nothing that enters a man from the outside can defile him; but the things that come out of a man, these are what defile him.”

Read all of Mark 7 — Jesus declares all foods clean and then crosses into Gentile territory to heal a woman's daughter. The walls are coming down.