1 Then some Pharisees and teachers of the law came to Jesus from Jerusalem and asked, 2 “Why do your disciples break the tradition of the elders? They don’t wash their hands before they eat!”

Recent scholarship has brought to light historical background to the rise of such pharisaical traditions. There was an inbred awareness and self-identity of the Jewish people that they were God’s pre-eminent, chosen nation. The Lord had promised that all the nations of the earth would be blessed through Abraham’s descendants. These promises were repeated to Isaac and Jacob. Coming into clearer focus in the time of Moses and Joshua, the promises of a special land and prominence among the nations motivated heroic action and loyalty to God. The Davidic dynasty was eventually established with the vision of benevolent rule over all the nations. The overarching ideal was to experience God’s blessing in the land, influencing all peoples toward worship of Yahweh.

Over time, Israel rebelled and God repeatedly sent prophets warning them to repent and return to the Lord, or He would punish them with defeat and captivity by another nation. This in fact happened with the Assyrian dominance and subsequently the Babylonian captivity. After 70 years in exile, they were returned to the land, but Israel did not rise again to international prominence nor did they become a blessing to the world. By the time of Jesus, some 400 some years later, they had come under Roman domination. The nation had never fully returned from “spiritual exile” nor experienced the full blessings promised.

In time, people began asking what Israel could do to bring about God’s blessings. Some, like the Maccabees, thought the solution was to rebel against their Roman overlords, leading to various insurrections that would hopefully prompt God to send His Messiah and bring them to their rightful prominence. Others, like the Essenes, thought a complete withdrawal into a “purified” community (a remnant) was the solution, then God would notice their faithfulness and raise that community to be the true Israel. Still others, wanting reform for the nation as a whole, determined the solution was to follow the Mosaic law more fastidiously. Hopefully they would then be found worthy of the Lord’s blessings. The Pharisees were rooted in this latter group.

However well-intentioned were the precursors to the Pharisees, in time that thinking led to a stringent legalism which became impossible to keep. It became a tool of coercion and manipulation. And this is what was happening when they approached Jesus concerning hand washing.

Oh Lord, in my zeal to follow You more closely, help me not to fall into rank legalism and use my convictions to coerce others to conform to my practices.