Corban: Mark 7:9-13
People will use any excuse to get what they want. How often do we say something like, “I really want that piece of cake,” and justify it by saying we’ll spend an extra half-hour in the gym burning off the calories? I am always amused when I have students come in on a Friday and tell me how nice I am and how much I love them only to realize that they are trying to get me to not give them homework over the weekend! Or how often do I see a tool that I really want so I think about all the projects I can’t build without that tool until I’ve convinced myself that I really should buy the tool. Human beings are great at talking their way into getting what we want.
Today, Jesus continues to talk about tradition. The example He uses is a bit convoluted. Here’s an explanation.
As a child matured and became an adult, his parents would age and frequently become unable to support themselves. Perhaps the father would die and the mother would have a difficult time supporting herself. Under God’s Law, the child is responsible for honoring the parents, which in this case means helping to care for them. Under the manmade Jewish tradition called Corban, a child could dedicate a portion (or all) of their wealth to God. In this case, the child was released from using any of those funds to support the parent. What makes this tradition worse is that the expectation was the dedicated material would be given to the temple or synagogue to support the religious leaders.
Fundamentally, this practice circumvents God’s Law. God does not want us to use Him as a means of neglecting our parents! The Jews found a way to not honor their parents but make it seem like they were being righteous by supporting the temple or synagogue.
Even worse, don’t forget it was the religious elite who made up the traditions. Therefore, what we really have is religious elite finding ways to line their own pockets by allowing others to not follow God’s desire for them to honor their parents. Here is a tradition that disobeys God’s Law yet wraps this disobedience in supposed righteousness.
This is one of many reasons why Jesus had issues with the religious elite. God should not be a means for us to get wealthy! God does not want us neglecting our calling to care for our parents, orphans, widows, and other people in need and He especially doesn’t want us to finagle our reasoning so that He is the excuse for the neglect! The religious elite came after Jesus’ disciples for not following tradition, but they find themselves accused by Jesus. Jesus knows that people will use any excuse to get what they want.
