1Then the Pharisees and some of the scribes gathered together to him, having come from Jerusalem. 2Now when they saw some of his disciples eating bread with defiled, that is unwashed, hands, they found fault. 3(For the Pharisees and all the Jews don’t eat unless they wash their hands and forearms, holding to the tradition of the elders. 4They don’t eat when they come from the marketplace unless they bathe themselves, and there are many other things which they have received to hold to: washings of cups, pitchers, bronze vessels, and couches.) 5The Pharisees and the scribes asked him, “Why don’t your disciples walk according to the tradition of the elders, but eat their bread with unwashed hands?”
6He answered them, “Well did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written,
‘This people honors me with their lips,
but their heart is far from me.
7They worship me in vain,
teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’
8“For you set aside the commandment of God, and hold tightly to the tradition of men—the washing of pitchers and cups, and you do many other such things.” 9He said to them, “Full well do you reject the commandment of God, that you may keep your tradition. 10For Moses said, ‘Honor your father and your mother;’ and, ‘He who speaks evil of father or mother, let him be put to death.’ 11But you say, ‘If a man tells his father or his mother, “Whatever profit you might have received from me is Corban,”’” that is to say, given to God, 12“then you no longer allow him to do anything for his father or his mother, 13making void the word of God by your tradition which you have handed down. You do many things like this.”
14He called all the multitude to himself and said to them, “Hear me, all of you, and understand. 15There is nothing from outside of the man that going into him can defile him; but the things which proceed out of the man are those that defile the man. 16If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear!”
17When he had entered into a house away from the multitude, his disciples asked him about the parable. 18He said to them, “Are you also without understanding? Don’t you perceive that whatever goes into the man from outside can’t defile him, 19because it doesn’t go into his heart, but into his stomach, then into the latrine, making all foods clean?” 20He said, “That which proceeds out of the man, that defiles the man. 21For from within, out of the hearts of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, sexual sins, murders, thefts, 22covetings, wickedness, deceit, lustful desires, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, and foolishness. 23All these evil things come from within and defile the man.”
24From there he arose and went away into the borders of Tyre and Sidon. He entered into a house and didn’t want anyone to know it, but he couldn’t escape notice. 25For a woman whose little daughter had an unclean spirit, having heard of him, came and fell down at his feet. 26Now the woman was a Greek, a Syrophoenician by race. She begged him that he would cast the demon out of her daughter. 27But Jesus said to her, “Let the children be filled first, for it is not appropriate to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs.”
28But she answered him, “Yes, Lord. Yet even the dogs under the table eat the children’s crumbs.”
29He said to her, “For this saying, go your way. The demon has gone out of your daughter.”
30She went away to her house, and found the child having been laid on the bed, with the demon gone out.
31Again he departed from the borders of Tyre and Sidon, and came to the sea of Galilee through the middle of the region of Decapolis. 32They brought to him one who was deaf and had an impediment in his speech. They begged him to lay his hand on him. 33He took him aside from the multitude privately and put his fingers into his ears; and he spat and touched his tongue. 34Looking up to heaven, he sighed, and said to him, “Ephphatha!” that is, “Be opened!” 35Immediately his ears were opened, and the impediment of his tongue was released, and he spoke clearly. 36He commanded them that they should tell no one, but the more he commanded them, so much the more widely they proclaimed it. 37They were astonished beyond measure, saying, “He has done all things well. He makes even the deaf hear and the mute speak!”
In Mark 15:1, scribes are mentioned along with the chief priests and elders as part of the Sanhedrin that handed Jesus over to Pilate. This council served as the highest administrative and legal body in the Jewish state under Rome. Scribes were an educated class who studied the Scriptures and served as copyists, editors, and teachers. They are sometimes referred to as lawyers due to their expertise in the Mosaic Law (Matt 22:35; Luke 7:30), which was the sole basis for civil as well as religious government. Some scribes were priests. Others came from the party of the Sadducees. They were usually associated with the Pharisees (Matt 12:38; Mark 2:16; 7:5; Luke 6:7) as teachers of the Law and sometimes as members of the Pharisaic party (Mark 2:16). Two such scribes were Gamaliel (Acts 5:34) and Nicodemus, who is called "a ruler of the Jews," in John 3:1.
As a body of men who transcribed the ancient records of Israel, scribes date back to the time of the kings of Israel. After the Babylonian Captivity, scribes, such as Ezra, promoted the return to strict observance of the Law and of the traditions that had grown up around it. This emphasis gave them respect as men of superior devotion and spirituality. Their official interpretation of the Law eventually became binding, and they were given the authority to enforce their rules.
To become a scribe, a young Israelite took a set course of study for several years under a teacher who helped him gain competence in deciding questions of interpretation, application, and enforcement of the Law. When they completed their study, they sat in what was called "the chair of Moses" (Matt 23:2). Perhaps to control bribery, scribes were required to be self-supporting. However, nothing seemed to curb their tendency to professional pride. In Matthew 23, Jesus boldly attacked their religious hypocrisy. His scathing denunciation of the scribes serves to warn Christians today against becoming arrogant with mere knowledge (1 Cor 8:1).