7:1-2 For a second time Mark recorded a delegation of religious leaders coming from Jerusalem to investigate Jesus (cf. 3:22). The writer interpreted what ceremonially impure hands were for his Gentile readers. The scribes and Pharisees were not objecting because the disciples were eating with dirty hands but because they had not gone through the accepted purification rites before eating with their hands.
7:3-4 These verses do not appear in Matthew's parallel account. They explain pharisaic tradition for those unfamiliar with it such as Mark's original Gentile readers. In Jesus' day the Jews communicated the traditions of the elders orally from generation to generation. About 200 A.D. the rabbis compiled these into the Mishnah, which became the basis for the Talmud (c. 425 A.D.). The Pharisees customarily washed themselves after visiting themarketplace to rid themselves of the defilement that contact with Gentiles produced. Most Jews regarded breaking these traditions as sin.
7:5 The critics asked Jesus for an explanation of His disciples' conduct because, as their teacher, He was responsible for them. They suspected that the disciples' failure to wash properly indicated that Jesus disregarded all the traditions of the elders. Walking is a Hebrew figure of speech meaning habitual conduct. It occurs frequently in John's Gospel and in Paul's epistles.
